Contact: Public Affairs
Date: December 21, 2006
TOP TEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE NEWS STORIES IN NORTH CAROLINA IN 2006
The Public Affairs Office of the North Carolina Community College
System has selected the following stories as the "Top Ten" news
items from the community college system in 2006. For more
information about a particular story, contact the Public Affairs
office at the number above.
1.Big changes in Biotechnology. 2006 saw many changes in
biotechnology. Susan Seymour, BioNetwork Director, retired in
August. Her replacement, Matthew Meyer, came on board in November.
In May, the North Carolina Community College System BioNetwork BioAg
Center, based at Robeson Community College, officially opened.
Officials broke ground on the North Carolina Research Campus in
Kannapolis, of which Rowan-Cabarrus Community College will play a
big part. In May, the State Board of Community Colleges toured the
new BioNetwork Mobile Laboratory. The mobile lab, funded by Golden
LEAF, takes equipment and instructors to biomanufacturing facilities
around the state. For more information, contact Norman Smit,
smitn@nccommunitycolleges.edu or at 919-807-7181.
2.SAS forms business partnership with North Carolina Community
College System. In October, SAS and the North Carolina Community
College System announced an online learning pilot program. The pilot
will provide Curriculum Pathways for Higher Education, a newly
released, robust array of digital learning content for e-learners in
colleges and universities, to the state's 58 public community
colleges. Curriculum Pathways provides Web-based educational content
that adult learners can access from any place with an Internet
connection. For more information, click on
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/News_Releases/new_SAS_online_learning_program.htm
3. In April, Apple Computers, Inc. selected Guilford Technical
Community College as an iTunes U campus. Guilford Tech is the first
community college in North Carolina to be included in iTunes U.
iTunes is a media browser and presently the largest online retailer
of music and videos. For more information, see page 2 of this link
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Connections/ccnews039.pdf
4.Six community college students joined state summer internship
program. Six community college students from throughout North
Carolina participated in the 2006 North Carolina State Government
Internship Program. The program is run by the Youth Advocacy and
Involvement Office of the North Carolina Department of
Administration. Two of the students, Tina Mortier of Weaverville,
and Connie Hedrick of Morganton, later accepted positions at the
organizations where they interned. Mortier now works as a
correctional officer at the Marion Correctional Institute in Marion.
Hedrick works part time at the exceptional equestrians research
program at the J. Iverson Riddle Development Center in Morganton.
For more information, see page 8 of this link
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Connections/ccnews039.pdf
and page 8 of this link
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Connections/ccnews040.pdf
5. State budget includes salary boost for faculty and staff without
raising tuition. For more information, see page 1 of this link
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Connections/ccnews039.pdf
6.Lancaster and Bowles establish working partnership. H. Martin
Lancaster, president, North Carolina Community College System and
Erskine Bowles, president, University of North Carolina, spent much
of 2006, working together on joint proposals of interest to both
systems. In June, the two presidents made a joint tour of Camp
Lejeune to highlight the educational opportunities offered to
Marines by Coastal Carolina Community College and UNC-Wilmington.
The two also made a very successful joint presentation at the North
Carolina Community College Conference in Greensboro in October. For
more information, check
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/News_Releases/camp_lejeune_higher_education.htm
and
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Connections/ccnews041.pdf
7.Senator Richard Burr hosts grant workshop for community college
faculty and staff. In January, U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)
hosted an economic development workshop in Raleigh for community
college faculty and staff. Burr encouraged community colleges to be
more aggressive in seeking federal grants. He discovered that many
community colleges are already taking his advice. Burr hosted
similar events throughout the state during the year. For more
information, check page 1 of this link
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Connections/ccnews037.pdf
8.First faculty exchange highlights growing partnership with
Northern Ireland. Denise Baker, a professor of fine arts at
Sandhills Community College, participated in an exchange program
this spring in which she traded jobs with Jasper McKinney, head of
the design and technology faculty at Northern Ireland’s Newry
Institute. The program, proposed by H. Martin Lancaster, president,
North Carolina Community College System, was designed to allow
faculty members to investigate the “best practices” that each school
uses to prepare students for changing economies and careers. The
exchange is the first in a multi-year, ongoing collaboration between
the North Carolina’s community colleges and the equivalent colleges
in the United Kingdom, especially Northern Ireland. Future
collaborations will include student exchanges, joint research
projects, formation of sister institutional agreements, and
exchanges of seminar and forum speakers. For more information, check
page 4 of this link
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Connections/ccnews040.pdf
9. Community college photos on display at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Sixteen photos from community college artists were on display this summer at the North Carolina Museum of Art. The photos were from previous President’s Art Exhibitions held at the North Carolina Community College System Office in Raleigh. This was the first time that community college artists were featured at the museum. For more information, check page 8 of this link http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Connections/ccnews038.pdf
10. Students benefit from corporate and foundation investment in
community colleges. Students at Alamance Community College, Durham
Technical Community College, and Wake Technical Community College
can apply for a scholarship to attend UNC-Chapel Hill thanks to a
$27 million investment by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. The
foundation’s investment will enable high achieving low income
students at community colleges to get a bachelor’s degree at one of
eight four- year institutions throughout the country. For more
information, see page 2 at this link
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Connections/ccnews037.pdf
Funding from the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation enabled
six North Carolina community colleges to join the Breaking Through
initiative, making North Carolina the first system participant.
Durham Tech, as the Lead College will receive $250,000 over three
years. Davidson County, Forsyth Tech, South Piedmont, Pamlico, and
Pitt are the Learning Colleges and will receive travel support to
participate in national meetings. The initiative, which now
encompasses 22 colleges in 16 states, helps low-skilled adults
realize their potential to enter and succeed in college and careers.
The Charles Stuart Mott Foundation provides funding to the other
participating colleges. For more information, see
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/News_Releases/Six_in_Breaking_Through.htm
Golden LEAF, a non-profit organization founded with part of the
tobacco settlement funds, continues its generous funding to
community colleges. Since 1999, it has invested almost $26 million
in about 50 projects directly related to community colleges. About
30 of North Carolina's 58 colleges and the System Office have
received the funds or are major partners in large joint projects.
Duke Energy began its Community and Technical College Grant Program
in 2004, with plans to fund up to $3 million a year in grants in
North Carolina through June 30, 2009. Duke Power's commitment to
North Carolina's community colleges is truly historic. To date, 13
community colleges have received more than $2.6 million in grants
for 16 projects.
-NCCCS-
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