RELEASE: November 17, 2006
CONTACT: Public Affairs, (919) 807-6963
Ruth G. Shaw presented the I.E. Ready by State Board of Community Colleges
Board honors community college president, faculty, and staff person of the year
RALEIGH: It was a day of high praise at the RBC Center when the State Board of Community Colleges hosted its Day of Recognition Awards Luncheon. The I.E. Ready Award went to former Duke Power president Ruth G. Shaw of Charlotte for her years of service and commitment to the North Carolina Community College System.
The award is named for Isaac Epps Ready, the first state director of the Department of Community Colleges. It is the highest honor bestowed by the State Board of Community Colleges. The award recognizes individuals who have made important contributions to the establishment and growth of North Carolina's community colleges. Previous winners include James T. Broyhill, William C. Friday, William Dallas Herring, James Holshouser Jr., Phillip J. Kirk, Terry Sanford, and Robert W. Scott.
Shaw
( left, with CPCC president
Tony Zeiss) has
always believed that education is the pathway to a full and
successful life and her accomplishments reflect that belief. The
Danville, Virginia native earned her Bachelor of Arts (magna cum
laude) and Master of Arts degrees in English from East Carolina
University and a Ph.D. in Higher Educational Administration from the
University of Texas at Austin. She left the presidency of El
Centro College in Dallas, Texas to lead Charlotte’s Central Piedmont
Community College from 1986 to 1992.
Shaw moved from education to the business community as executive vice president of Duke Power in corporate communications in 1992. She was appointed senior vice president, corporate resources, in 1994, executive vice
president and chief administrative officer in 1997, and became president of Duke Power in 2003. In April 2006, Shaw was named group executive of public policy and president of Duke Nuclear for Duke Energy.
Shaw has always shown a strong commitment to developing the economy and educational resources of North Carolina so that the state can better compete in the global economy. During her tenure the Duke Power Community and Technical College Grant Program began. It will fund grants totaling up to $3 million annually through June 30, 2009.
A trustee for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a member and immediate past chair of the Foundation for the Carolinas board, Shaw also serves on the board of visitors at the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. Shaw and her husband, Colin, have two sons.
The System also honored its top president, faculty member and staff members.
Wachovia President of the Year
Gordon G. Burns,
Jr., president of Wilkes Community College since 1996, is the
2006 Wachovia President of the Year. Dr. Burns has served as
president of the Wilkes Chamber of Commerce and the North Wilkesboro
Rotary Club, as a member of the board of directors of the United Way
of Wilkes County, Inc., and as the president of the North Carolina
Association of Community College P
residents
from January 2005 to July 2006. An amateur photographer, he has
participated in the annual President’s Art Exhibition at the System
Office and has work displayed at the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Burns earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial education from
Eastern Kentucky University, a master’s degree and a doctorate in
industrial education from the University of Missouri, Columbia.
After teaching school in Kentucky and Missouri, Burns came to North
Carolina and became the dean of continuing education at Wilson
Technical Community College. He later became vice president for
instruction at Wilson Tech and executive vice president at Lenoir
Community College. Recipient of numerous awards, he and his wife,
Ruth, are members of North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church. They have
two children.
The President of the Year Award, endowed by Wachovia, was established in 2001 to recognize an outstanding community college president. Burns received $8,000 and a plaque. His college’s foundation receives $2,000.
R.J. Reynolds Excellence in Teaching Award
Robert (Bob)
Pontious,
chair of the English department at
Brunswick
Community College,
is the
2006 R.J. Reynolds Excellence in Teaching Award
recipient. Pontius
believes in getting students involved in class.
Often, instead of lecturing, he asks his students to form
“cooperative learning groups,” to work together with his help. “This
gives them the opportunity to interact with each other and provides
learning experiences in a less structured environment.” A 20-year
teaching veteran, Pontious earned his bachelor’s degree in English
from Kenyon College and a master’s degree in education and reading
from Southern Illinois University. Pontious was a high school
English teacher, football coach and yearbook adviser in Highland,
Illinois and an adjunct English
instructor at McKendree College in
Lebanon, Illinois. He has also taught English in Newark, Ohio. In
1996, Pontious came to North Carolina and became a teaching parent
at the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina in Lake Waccamaw. In
1998, Pontious became the lead instructor in developmental English,
reading and study skills at Brunswick. He was promoted to chair of
the English department in February 2004. Pontious and his wife,
Renae, have two children and a grandson.
Pontius
with his wife, Renae and daughter
Other finalists for the
Excellence in Teaching Award are: Ann Bellamy Russell,
Director,
Distance Education, and Instructor of Communications,
Public Speaking and Critical Thinking at Bladen Community College;
Ronald Layne, Associate Professor, Department of Languages at
Sandhills Community College; Sloan M. (Bud) Burton,
Department Chair and Instructor, Architectural and Landscape
Architecture Technologies at Wake Technical Community College; and
Cheryl Oxford, Coordinator and Instructor of Performing Arts
at Western Piedmont Community College.
(l to r) Layne, Russell, Burton and Oxford
The Excellence in Teaching Award, endowed by R. J. Reynolds was established in 1985 by the State Board of Community Colleges to provide recognition for full-time teachers who exemplify the highest standards of instruction and professionalism in the classroom and who consistently demonstrate excellence in service to their colleges and communities. The recipient this year received $8,000 and a plaque. His college foundation will receive $2,000. Each finalist received $500 and a plaque.
BB&T Staff Person of the Year
Blue Ridge President David Sink, Parkhill,
and SBCC member Jimmie Ford
Molly Parkhill, Dean of Continuing Education at Blue Ridge Community College, is the 2006 BB&T Staff Person of the Year. The Ohio native earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work and a master’s in public administration, all from Ohio State University. She later earned a doctorate in vocational and technical education from Clemson University. Parkhill joined the staff at Blue Ridge Community College as a Job Training Partnership Act planner and training representative in 1986. She has also served as director of cooperative education and associate dean for Transylvania programs. She became dean in 1998 and she oversees ten programs including New and Expanding Industry, Focused Industry Training, Small Business Center Network, Occupational Continuing Education, Human Resource Development, Basic Skills, Community Service, Environmental Health and Safety Institute, Digital Media Institute, and the Henderson County Joblink Career Center. She supervises 50 employees and 500 adjunct faculty. Parkhill is very active in professional, community and civic organizations and has been published in several journals including Community College Journal of Research and Practice and Community College Journal. She and her husband, Kevin Parkhill, have two children and attend Grace Lutheran Church in Hendersonville.
Other finalists for the Staff Person of the Year award are: Cheryl Miller, Office Manager at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute; Linda Stone, Dean of Library Services at Central Carolina Community College; Charlie Harrell, Vice President of Administrative Services at Edgecombe Community College; and Terry Allen Plummer, Director of Management Information Services at Fayetteville Technical Community College.
The Staff Person of the Year Award was established in 2001 and is endowed by BB&T to recognize the outstanding achievements of a staff member at one of North Carolina's community colleges. The recipient this year received $6,750 and a plaque. Her college foundation receives $1,250.
Distinguished Partners for Excellence
A new award established by the State Board last November was presented to two businesses located in North Carolina. The North Carolina Community College Distinguished Partners for Excellence Award recognizes an exemplary employer, business, or industry group that has demonstrated decisive involvement and a firm commitment to the professional development of its employees and/or to the development of North Carolina's workforce through its partnership efforts with the North Carolina Community College System.
( l to r) SBCC Chair Pinnix-Ragland, SBCC member Joanne Steiner
BSH EVP Clemens Schaller, Craven CC Pres. Scott Ralls,
System Pres. Martin Lancaster
The innovative partnership that exists in Craven County between Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Corporation and Craven Community College serves as a model for economic revitalization in eastern North Carolina. BSH will locate its $8 million Advanced Manufacturing Center on the Craven campus which will house programs such as computer integrated manufacturing, precision sheet metal fabrication, plastics, drafting, design engineering. The center will also provide the hub for Craven’s new “Early College,” part of a national initiative of “new schools” championed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a statewide program of “Learn and Earn” high schools endorsed by Governor Mike Easley. Supported by the workforce development programs of Craven Community College, BSH will ultimately employ 2,000 full-time associates and nearly 1,000 additional manufacturing jobs will be created by the expanding supplier base within eastern North Carolina.
The second
partnership award went to Grady White Boats Inc. and Pitt
Community College who have participated in numerous partnership
programs for more than 20 years. Two of the most significant
programs are VISIONS and HORIZONS. The VISIONS program selects
about 50 at risk and/or economically disadvantaged Pitt County high
school juniors each year to participate in a special educational
experience which includes a one-week career development summer
institute on the college campus and with local industries. Grady
White Boats has provided more than $100,000 to support 128
students. Last year, Eddie Smith, Grady White Boats CEO and Owner,
suggested that the college apply services similar to the VISIONS
program for selected students
currently enrolled in Pitt’s GED or
adult high school programs. His suggestion resulted in the creation
of the HORIZONS program. The company has a strong commitment to
supporting its employees’ continued professional development and
provides substantial salary incentives and bonus pay for course
completion or skill demonstration and certification.
Pitt Pres. Dennis Massey dons Grady-White hat with approving
smiles from Grady-White's Kris Carroll, left, and PCC's Herman Simon
The State Board also recognized the retirees from the 58 community colleges and the System Office who were in attendance.
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