Proposed Advanced Technology Center to be located on the Georgetown Campus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College.
KCTCS expands workforce development opportunities through Center for Excellence in Automotive Manufacturing
Amy Carman, KCTCS Public Relations Manager KCTCS President Michael B. McCall and Gary Convis, executive vice-president for Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc., joined federal, state and local officials in Georgetown today to announce details of a multi-faceted partnership to extend workforce development training opportunities through the KCTCS Center for Excellence in Automotive Manufacturing.
Gathering in the Visitors' Center at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, President McCall and Convis outlined the expansion of a partnership between KCTCS and Toyota that will help create a nationally recognized model for workforce education and training in the automotive industry. Toyota will soon allot space within their North American Production Support Center for KCTCS to provide on-site skills training for the company's current workforce.
"Our announcement today highlights our statewide concept of the KCTCS Center of Excellence in Automotive Manufacturing, which utilizes our network of 16 community and technical colleges to provide a highly skilled workforce capable of meeting the dynamic and changing needs of the industry," said President McCall. "Our new agreement with Toyota in Scott County will help ensure a pipeline of new workers ready to utilize high-value, advanced manufacturing techniques."
Convis said Toyota is "extremely proud of our relationship with KCTCS. It's a relationship that is addressing an important issue of assuring a properly trained workforce for manufacturing in the future, which will have a positive impact on the automotive industry and the Kentucky economy."
While the training partnership will initially be inside the Toyota plant in Georgetown, President McCall said, the KCTCS goal is to expand the programs and services of Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Scott County to assist other manufacturers, suppliers and companies with first-class, advanced technology education and training.
To help expand training opportunities for the benefit of all automotive manufacturing industries across the Commonwealth, KCTCS recently received a $2.48 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
"Through the High Growth Job Training Initiative, the Department of Labor is supportive of this new vision in technical education for Kentucky," said Bill Sanders, Director of Workforce Innovations for the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. "This is learning driven by the need to operate, service and maintain a factory operation. It's an opportunity for students to have work-like experiences that build high-skill levels."
During the announcement, Dr. Jim Kerley, President and CEO of Bluegrass Community and Technical College, unveiled the design for the future Advanced Technology Center and Scott County campus.
"This advanced technology center will be an innovative, flexible space that recreates the look and feel of a manufacturing facility, rather than the traditional classroom," Dr. Kerley said. "Working collaboratively with industries, secondary school systems, economic development officials, and workforce investment boards, we will enhance our capabilities to meet the needs of companies like Toyota, and to expand our services to other businesses and industries that must utilize advanced manufacturing techniques to remain competitive in the global marketplace."
The proposed site in a nearby Scott County business park will become an integral part of the region's economic development strategy to support the expansion of existing businesses, and also help to attract new industry to Scott County, Dr. Kerley said.
Deborah Clayton, Commissioner for the Department of Commercialization and Innovation within the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, attended the announcement on behalf of Gov. Ernie Fletcher.
"The Advanced Technology Center will not only help enhance the skills of Toyota's manufacturing workers, it will help meet the current and future needs of all of Kentucky's manufacturing companies," Clayton said. "This facility is proof that the state remains committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure that our workers have the tools, knowledge, and facilities they need to compete effectively with any workforce, anywhere in the world."
Dr. Jo Marshall, President and CEO of Somerset Community College (standing, left), and Natalie Gibson, the SCC Director of Cultural Diversity (standing, right), greeted 89-year-old Ruth Robinson (seated), an aunt of the late Robert Todd Duncan. Robinson was representing the Duncan family at a ceremony at SCC to induct Duncan into the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians.
Todd Duncan is newest member of the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians
David Cazalet Jr., Director of Public Relations, Somerset Community College The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights added Robert Todd Duncan to their Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians on Wednesday, Feb. 22, during ceremonies held in the Community Room of the Harold Rogers Student Commons on the Somerset Community College Somerset Campus. Duncan is the 41st person in the Gallery.
Linda Strite Murnane, the Executive Director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights; Dr. Jo Marshall, the President and CEO of Somerset Community College; Viola Gross, a Duncan family member; and Ruth Robinson, a Duncan family member, unveiled the poster of Duncan which will be added to the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians.
Duncan was a civil rights pioneer, a star on Broadway and in opera, and a lifelong teacher. He was born in Danville, in 1903 and grew up in Somerset. He attended Simmons College in Louisville. He died in Washington, D. C. in 1998 at the age of 95. He was inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2005. On Thursday, Feb. 23, Duncan was one of nine Kentucky music legends inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame located at the famous country and gospel music venue, Renfro Valley, which is located near Mt. Vernon, Kentucky. The induction ceremonies were held at Heritage Hall in Lexington.
In inducting Duncan into the Gallery, Murnane said, "Not only was Todd Duncan an extraordinary musical talent, but he was an incredible Civil Rights activist. He was an unsung hero for too long."
Members of the staff and faculty at Somerset Community College had assisted local officials and community members in obtaining these and other honors for Duncan.
Dr. Jo Marshall, the President and CEO of SCC, said, "It has been our dream that this day would come and that this would be the result. Todd Duncan was a truly great black Kentuckian. For our part, it is a great honor to have these ceremonies here on our campus."
"I'm proud that he lived part of his life here in Somerset," said Somerset Mayor J. P. Wiles. Wiles also commended the Somerset community for its diversity.
Pulaski County Judge-Executive Darrell Beshears recalled an incident from his military service which had a great impact upon his life. Beshears said that he and a black soldier attempted to enter a restaurant in the South during segregation. He said they were told that Beshears could enter, but not his black friend, "even those we were both wearing the uniform of our nation."
Beshears refused to enter the restaurant without his friend. "I was ashamed," Beshears recalled.
Boyle County Judge-Executive Tony Wilder said, "Duncan's efforts to strike down Jim Crow made a difference. Today, we need people like Todd Duncan to inspire our young people and let them know that they can make a difference." (Editor's note - Laws that made segregation of the races legal in the American South during the early part of the 20th Century were called "Jim Crow" laws.)
Duncan's biographer and chair of the department of music at Austin Peay University, Dr. Gail Robinson-Oturu, provided the audience of about 60 with some of the highlights of Duncan's life including the first integrated performance at Centre College in Danville in 1955 and the story of how Duncan accepted George Gershwin's offer to create the role of Porgy in Gershwin's great American Folk Opera Porgy and Bess.
SCC Director of Cultural Diversity Natalie Gibson ended the program by calling on the audience to celebrate the life and legacy of Todd Duncan and to "keep his memory alive and celebrate it with our children."
Scelinda Webb examines comet particles at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tex.
Challenger Center participates in NASA training in Houston
Evelyn Wood, Director of Public Relations, Hazard Community and Technical College When the Stardust spacecraft arrived at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, with its cargo of comet and interstellar particles from its seven-year, three-billion mile journey in space, Challenger Learning Center of Kentucky's Program Coordinator Scelinda Webb got a preview of its contents.
Tom Cravens, Challenger Center director, said, "The Challenger Learning Center of Kentucky is fortunate to have Scelinda Webb participate in this exciting experience. Our students will benefit from her involvement in the Stardust project. We expect that we will see programs at the Challenger Center based on the data that she has collected."
NASA surprised Scelinda Webb and 56 other educators when they were hand-selected to be one of the first to catch a glimpse of the cosmic dust. The educators were from existing Stardust partnership programs, which include the Solar System Educators Program, the Challenger Center for Space Science Education and the JASON Project. Scelinda was one of six members selected from the Challenger Learning Center Network.
The participants were chosen for surpassing their commitment to their organization. Scelinda is a team member of a curriculum development and sharing project that is sponsored by NASA, the Challenger Network and the Boeing Corporation. This team will help develop a software program and mentor other Challenger Centers as they use this program to share their curriculum. Challenger Learning Centers now number 52 worldwide.
"It was very magical and humbling to stand only a few inches from material that once made up the stardust in our ancient solar system and to learn about the technology that was developed and used in this mission. I'm excited about bringing this special experience back to our curriculum here at the Challenger Learning Center of Kentucky in Hazard," said Webb.
The Stardust educator experience included a visit to Johnson Space Center from January 18 to 21 where the educators heard from scientists about their discoveries, interact with engineers and pilots who designed and maneuvered the spacecraft and received daily updates from Stardust's Principal Investigator Dr. Donald Brownlee and NASA Stardust scientist, Dr. Peter Tsou. Two days spent on training, gave the participants specific mission details.
Inside the capsule, a tennis racket-like sample tray holds the particles captured in a gel as the spacecraft flew within 149 miles of comet Wild 2 in January 2004. An opposite side of the tray holds interstellar dust particles caught streaming through the solar system by Stardust during its seven-year journey.
The particles will be sent to select investigators worldwide. Scientists believe these precious samples may unlock the mysteries of comets and the origins of the solar system.
The album cover presents each Singers (left to right, front to back) Beth Adkins, Clayton Case, Louanna Calhoun, Troy Burchett, Susan Scott, Jessica Keathley, Director Laura Ford Hall, Frances Branham, Amanda Stepp, Brandon Maynard, and Album Producer/Technical Director Timothy Cooley.
Big Sandy Singers release first album
The Big Sandy Singers, the elite, auditioned, student singing ensemble from Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC), will release their first album "Down to the River to Pray" at an Album Release Party and Business After Hours on Tuesday, March 21, at 5:30 p.m., in the atrium of the Prestonsburg Campus Student Center.
The event is coordinated by Big Sandy Community and Technical College in conjunction with the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce.
The Big Sandy Singers are directed by BSCTC Instructor and Kentucky Opry member Laura Ford Hall, with Timothy Cooley - album producer and technical director.
Auditions are held for the group yearly and are open to BSCTC students or MSU at BSCTC students. The singers who are chosen receive a $1,200 scholarship to attend the school as well as in-studio recording experience.
"Down to the River to Pray" is the first album the group has recorded, after the installation of the Big Sandy Recording Studio on campus.
The Aquaculture Program at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College is flourishing with the recent delivery of 10,000 trout fingerlings from a fishery in Pennsylvania. Paul Pratt, right, SKCTC dean, and Mike Sergent, a local entrepreneur who has invested in the project, are shown at the site located in the old U.S. Steel machine shop at Lynch in Harlan County. Kentucky State University is assisting in the program. Photo by Chris Jones, Director of Public Relations, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.
Southeast and K-State working to make aquaculture project pay dividends
Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College's newest entrepreneurial venture involves about 10,000 trout.
The Aquaculture Learning Center in Lynch also involves three local men who will have some ownership in the project and will help farm and market the trout.
"This is also an exciting collaboration with Kentucky State University (KSU), who is offering assistance with this venture," said Paul Pratt, dean of community business and development at SKCTC. "We've been in discussions with this group for about a year, and we hope to eventually formalize a partnership."
James Tidwell, Ph.D., professor and chairman of KSU's Division of Aquaculture, said his agency's role in the project is to help propel the entrepreneurial endeavor. "We're actually buying the fish and the feed, but we're also here to offer advice, address questions and help this community cultivate the business aspect of the project and to take their product out to the market," Tidwell said.
The KSU Aquaculture Program is the national leader in research on freshwater shrimp and paddlefish. The Aquaculture Center and Cooperative Extension Service Programs at KSU provide statewide services of aquaculture production, consulting, disease diagnosis, water quality testing and site evaluations.
Tidwell said aquaculture was the fastest-growing food-producing industry in the world. "In Kentucky, we're trying to make strides right now for the industry to grow," he said. "And we're just starting to scratch the surface, but nights like this are exciting.
"Harlan County is a good location for aquaculture ventures because of its mines. The most important component of an aquaculture operation is water, and in a former coal mining town like Lynch, you've got a great source of cold water running from these mines into the streams that's not being used. This is a good way to take advantage of that natural, available resource, so yes, there's a great amount of potential for a successful acculturate industry in Harlan County."
From left, BSCTC President George D. Edwards; Debbie Trimble, Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center administrator; and Robert Bayes, chairman of the board of Big Sandy College Educational Foundation, Inc.
BSCTC receives $25,000 gift from Paintsville Medical Center
Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center in Paintsville recently pledged $25,000 to the Fulfilling the Promise Major Gifts Campaign at Big Sandy Community and Technical College.
Debbie Trimble,Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center administrator, said, "It is our pleasure to partner with the college in funding education for students."
Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center and its predecessor, Paintsville Hospital, have served the citizens of eastern Kentucky since 1920. Throughout this time, it has served as a clinical training center for students enrolled in health care programs.
From left are Kathy Smoot, vice president for academics and provost; Carolyn Bush, coordinator of the early childhood education program; and HCTC President and CEO Jay K. Box.
Bush receives STARR award
Carolyn Bush was honored for excellence because of her work with the early childhood education program at Hazard Community & Technical College.
Letter to the Editor of the Exchange from Paul Kirkeminde, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College
January 2006
Dear KCTCS,
I would like to express my appreciation for this school as it has been a Godsend to me. I love the other students here and I get a kick out of all of them. The staff and professors have gone out of their way to make sure I get the education I need for my future life. I have been blessed by so many people here it would be crazy to try to name them. Thank you again for the extra time you have spent on an (elder) student like me! This goes for all campuses.
I came to S.E as a freshman looking to get into nursing school. I had been a medical specialist in the Army Special Forces (Green Berets) a million years ago. I was a good medic back then, and thought: maybe I hadn't completely burned myself out, taking drugs and drinking for the last 40 years.
I have had an interesting life to say the least, but it all boiled down to me, all I cared about was myself, I was the most self-centered person you could ever meet.
Here is a little background. I got out of the service in 1976, went to the oilfields and worked for about 10 years; then came back and worked in Real Estate for another 10, after that, I worked in Knoxville as a job superintendent in a succesful home improvement company for five years.
I always kept a pretty decent job, but I was never satisfied. I would want to go on somewhere, move to the greener grass. The fact is I didn't know what I wanted. I became a heavy drinker early in my life, but I tried to never let it affect my work, (of course it did, but I didn't think so). I later got into cocaine and really liked it!!!! Heck, I could drink longer before I passed out. It was a great way to have plenty of friends. If you had the dope, they would be all over you, girls too! Yeah man, I thought I was mighty handsome back then,-LOL. In the days after Jesus got me cleaned up I started seeing how ugly I had really been.
I had a hard time realizing my life was a sham. I wasn't anyone's real friend; all I wanted was the dope, or something I could take to buy dope. I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired, and while I was sitting in an alley one night in Knoxville, I asked, "If there is a God in Heaven up there, could you please help me do something better with my life!" I remember distinctly looking at my hands and saying, "Surely I could help someone with these hands, I learned how back in the Army, why should I waste all they taught me?"
You people can see the result of my change, and it is all due to the glory of God. He sent me to this school for a reason; most of you know I also go to Clear Creek Baptist Bible College. Everyone said, "It can't be done, you can't go to two colleges; you need to take it slowly, adjust yourself to college; nursing school is too hard to go to another college at the same time." Well, Nursing School IS hard, and so IS Bible College, but the Lord is stronger!
So I tell you, my friends and fellow students please don't listen to anyone who tells you are too dumb to go to school - don't tell yourself that either! Don't give up because you don't have the money to go. Of course you don't; that's why you need to go! There are many financial programs out there to help a person get a decent education. I urge you to go for it!! Ask God to help you; you won't be disappointed if you have Him as your guide! If this old drunk, crack-head can be saved and come back to college, you know you can make it!
PS. My younger brother was a meth-cook for five years-and a drunk for 35- he got saved by the blood of Jesus and he is attending Clear Creek Bible College with me! He preaches to the guys at the forestry camp a couple of times a week now. He knows what it was like to be where they are. Praise God!
So don't tell us it can't be done. You can go to school if you really want to and you can have fun doing it! You can find the One who will help you, too!
I love you all, so smile at me when you see me; it gets my day going right!
Thank you again to KCTCS for allowing me the opportunity of a lifetime. I am so glad my Savior led me here!
Sincerely,
Paul Kirkeminde
Workin' for Jesus now!
Fractal Art exhibited at Hopkinsville
Terry Brown, Director of Public Relations, Hopkinsville Community College Fractal Art, a collection of 38 digital collages created by artist Connie Livingston-Dunn, PhD, was a February display in the Hopkinsville Community College Auditorium Gallery. The images were created using computer graphics techniques and mathematical formulas.
"Fractal geometry reveals a new way of looking at the universe, a hidden order underlying what seem to be chaotic events, through beautiful self similar repeating patterns that have an endless variation of forms throughout scale changes," Livingston-Dunn said. "The mathematical formulas are rendered on a computer to make the fractal images and can contain over 300,000 points which need to be run through the fractal formula as much as 1000 times. Large, complex fractals can take days to be completed on the computer."
Livingston-Dunn has worked as an art and expressive therapist since 1966 with a variety of populations and different settings. Currently, she is an adjunct professor at Austin Peay State University and at Murray State University in Hopkinsville.
She maintains a consultation and private practice and is the founder and director of the Rainbow Arts Center. She was also director of the Art Therapy Internship Program at Mt. Mary College in Milwaukee, taught art at Sauk Valley College in Dixon, Illinois and art therapy at Oasis Center in Chicago.
Livingston-Dunn has presented numerous seminars and workshops nationally on art and expressive therapy and is the author of Functional Art Therapy for the Severely Handicapped, and Forming the Pearl: A Creative Receptive Process Model of Expressive Therapy. She is listed in the Chicago Art Review and has had her work and an article published in Working With Images: The Art of Art Therapists.
She is certified as an expressive therapist and hypnotherapist and is a board certified art therapist. She received her doctorate in expressive therapy from the National Institute of Expressive Therapy in Honolulu, Hawaii, her Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts Degrees from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, and her Associate of Arts Degree from Sauk Valley College in Dixon, IL
Shawn Roop and his mother Barb Roop
Big Sandy welcomes home Shawn Roop
Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC) staff and faculty welcomed home Criminal Justice Instructor Shawn Roop from his tour of duty with the Kentucky National Guard in Iraq. A celebration reception was held at the Prestonsburg Campus of BSCTC on Tuesday, February 7. Shawn was joined by his mother, Barb Roop, who expressed her gratitude by saying, "I am so grateful to have Shawn home. My nightmare is over but so many others still need your prayers."
2006 Harriette Simpson Arnow Conference
on Appalachian Literature & Culture: A Patchwork of Words
Best-selling authors will highlight SCC's Fourth Annual Arnow Conference, April 7-8
David Cazalet Jr., Director of Public Relations, Somerset Community College The Fourth Annual Arnow Conference on Appalachian Literature and Culture features a superior group of writers for 2006. Affrilachian Poet Frank X. Walker; Sena Jeter Naslund, the author of the best-selling novel Ahab's Wife; and National Public Radio Appalachian commentator Bob Sloan will bring the Somerset Community College event to a new level of prestige.
The theme of the April 7-8, 2006, conference is "A Patchwork of Words." Also returning to this year's event are Arnow scholars Sandra L. Ballard and Haeja K. Chung, the editors of The Collected Short Stories of Harriette Simpson Arnow, just published by Michigan State University Press.
Completing the truly amazing lineup of talent will be Cari Norris. Norris' music stems from the traditions of her grandmother, the late Lily May Ledford, original leader of the first all-women string band in radio, The Coon Creek Girls. Cari performs ancient ballads as well as original songs on guitar, clawhammer banjo, and mountain dulcimer. She has been featured on several Kentucky Educational Television programs such as "Kentucky Life," "Mixed Media," and "Jubilee," in which she performed with Jean Ritchie.
"The Humanities Division, lead by SCC professor Lynn Crabtree, has put together an impressive cast of writers and musicians for this year's Arnow Conference," said Dr. Jo Marshall, the President and CEO of SCC. "I think the quality of this year's conference puts SCC at the top of the list for best academic events."
Frank X. Walker, from Danville, will be returning for his second visit to the symposium and writers' conference. Walker's newest work is "Black Box: Poems," a collection of 68 personal and biographical poems from the prolific writer. In 2004, Walker won the Lillian Smith Award for his book Buffalo Dance, a volume of poetry about York, the heroic slave who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition. He is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets.
Sena Jeter Naslund is the nationally acclaimed author of Ahab's Wife, a bestseller. Naslund is from Birmingham, Alabama. She is the winner of the Harper Lee Award and is currently the Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Louisville. Naslund's latest work is Four Spirits, an inspiring novel about the awakening conscience of the South and the nation. The novel weaves together the lives of blacks and whites in the turbulent 1960s and goes beyond tragedy to redemptive triumph.
Bob Sloan's commentaries have been heard on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" and on the editorial pages of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Sloan has two books in print. The first is a collection of short stories entitled Bearskin to Holly Fork: Stories from Appalachia and a novel called Home Call: A Novel of Kentucky.
Norris served as community artist in residence for Knott County during 1997/98. She has conducted several residencies in traditional music throughout Kentucky schools in all grade levels. She feels a calling to teach the music and art traditions which have been handed down to her from family, fellow musicians, and friends.
In addition to this fantastic and talented group, conference attendees can expect the usual high-quality scholarly papers presented by their authors, plus writing and poetry workshops taught by the fabulously talented Walker, Sloan and Naslund.
Information about the conference schedule of events and fees will be announced soon.
For more information about the conference contact Lynn Crabtree at (606) 451- 6765 or e-mail lynn.crabtree@kctcs.edu.
KCTCS College News
ASHLAND COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Ashland, Inc. has provided a lead gift to Ashland Community and Technical College's "Fulfilling the Promise" campaign. The gift of nearly seven acres of land is located near Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital and the Natural Horizons building in Russell. Valued at approximately $125,000, the site will eventually be sold to help finance new programs or capital projects.
BIG SANDY COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Dr. Charles P. Wheeler and Cassy M. Preston have been appointed to the BSCTC Board of Directors. The Board is made up of members appointed by Kentucky's Governor and representatives of staff, faculty and students elected by their peers.
Wheeler, a local physician specializing in ophthalmology, is serving his first term on the Board. Wheeler has practiced in Pikeville for 22 years and sees patients at Highlands Regional Medical Center in Prestonsburg. Preston, who was serving out an unexpired term, was re-appointed to a full term on the Board. Both board members are graduates of Prestonsburg Community College, now Big Sandy Community and Technical College.
BSCTC has entered into an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to place students in co-op positions with the Corps. The students will work as regular employees -part-time while in school, full-time in the summers - until the student graduates. The student will then have work experience, training and skills that will make him/her eligible for a full time job with the Corps.
The first student to be placed in the new co-op position is Nathan Carroll. He is currently in the second semester of the Industrial Maintenance Technology program. He is working at the Dewey Dam site in Prestonsburg. He plans to become a maintenance technician with the Corps of Engineers upon graduation.
BLUEGRASS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
The Kentucky Conference for Community and Justice (KCCJ) named BCTC a recipient of the KCCJ 2006 Humanitarian Award. "Bluegrass Community & Technical College (BCTC) is an institution constantly striving to become more culturally competent while providing excellent academic instruction," said KCCJ Executive Director, Mindy Shannon Phelps. "Not only have there been great strides in a diverse student and faculty representation, but BCTC also offers classes that represent a wide range of cultures, religions and lifestyles."
BCTC also was recognized for its newly created Latino Task Force that addresses issues faced by this community, a mentoring program for African American students and for its efforts to enhance and coordinate the educational experience for the international student population. The award will be presented at the annual Lauren K. Wienberg Dinner presented by the Kentucky Conference for Community and Justice. The event will be held on April 27, at the Marriott-Griffin Gate Resort in Lexington.
BCTC's Carpentry Program recently received over $4,600 worth of books and construction equipment from the Homebuilders Association of Kentucky. Homebuilder Association member Mac Crawford said, "We need people in the trades and Kentucky's seamless system from high school to college is offering people the opportunity to get an education and advance in the industry. I think the college is lucky to have instructor Claude Gross and he has done an excellent job with this program."
Fellow Homebuilder Association member Richard Bean echoed his comments saying, "Homebuilders are happy to support technical education and we hope to spread this support to other Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges across the state." Mr. Bean also serves as the Chair of the KCTCS Board of Regents.
High school students from 14 counties around the state were on hand February 10 at the Leestown Campus of BCTC to attend the first annual Statewide Latino Student College Fair. The highly successful event attracted around 300 students and recruiters from 19 Kentucky colleges and universities along with representatives from the state Transportation Cabinet.
Sponsored by BCTC, KSU, the Americana Community Center and Educating Latinos for Kentucky Future, the fair's goal was to encourage more Latino students to attend college. At the fair, students attended bi-lingual breakout sessions where they learned the ins and outs of how to apply for college and receive financial aid. The event also included workshops for the parents of potential students.
BCTC President James Kerley and his leadership team participated in The Mandala Movement, Strategic Diversity Leadership & Management training, in February. The training was designed to allow leaders to accept multiculturalism as a basic and crucial environmental need by mastering four crafts:
* Mastering the craft of developing and maintaining an inclusive institutional effective domain;
* Mastering the craft of taking a deep look at one's self which requires a paradigm shift in thinking and attitude;
* Mastering the craft of striving to raise one's quality of cultural
intelligence by constantly upgrading one's level of cultural competency;
* Mastering the craft of leading changes.
The Mandala Movement, presented by Dr. Bill Parker, is designed to train Diversity Change Ambassadors who are willing to effect institutional change through role-modeling, recruiting others to serve as change ambassadors and training potential change ambassadors.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing recently recognized BCTC's Associate Degree Nursing Program for its outstanding board pass rate. The Associate Degree Nursing Program students had a pass rate of 97% on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for 2004 - 2005. The Licensed Practical Nurse Program at the Leestown Campus achieved a 94% pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for 2004-05 and the Danville Campus LPN Program had a 91% pass rate.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College and Kentucky State University announced yesterday they have signed an agreement to improve procedures for transferring from Bluegrass to KSU. This pact will make transferring easier for students who begin at the two-year college in Lexington and decide later to pursue a bachelor's or a master's degree at KSU's campus in Frankfort.
ELIZABETHTOWN COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College and the First Baptist Church Scholarship Committee recently sponsored "Hands of Time: 20 Years of Unity: A Celebration of Black History Month." This gospel musical tradition, held Feb. 17, is a centerpiece of Black History Month celebrations in central Kentucky and attracts hundreds of people. Fifteen choirs and ensembles performed at this year's event.
OWENSBORO COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Owensboro Community & Technical College's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) has been submitted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to the U.S. Department of Education as a part of the exemplary documents that were reviewed by on-site committees during the fall of 2005. The QEP is an integral part of the SACS reaccredidation process.
Sue Greer-Pitt and Roy Silver recently released the fifth edition of their popular introductory textbook, "Everyday Sociology." Photo by Chris Jones, Director of Public Relations, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.
Southeast Professors publish 5th Edition of Everyday Sociology
Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College professors Sue Greer-Pitt and Roy Silver have just released the fifth edition of their popular introductory textbook, "Everyday Sociology."
First published in the fall of 1998, this text is the collective effort of seven community college sociologists from five states who decided to write a text that would address the needs and interests of their students. It is written in language that is readable, understandable, and interesting. Relevant examples and scenarios are presented to highlight and clarify concepts.
According to author and editor Michael Botterweck "from the beginning, our strategy was to draw together a group of highly talented community college sociologists to author a textbook specifically targeted to our students.
"We deliberately selected community college teachers because their principle teaching assignment is the introductory course. And, unlike professors at senior institutions, we will teach the introductory course throughout our career. We are convinced that maintaining contact with students enrolled in the introductory course is crucial to the success of our text."
Dr. Greer-Pitt wrote the chapter on "Marriage and the Family" and Dr. Silver wrote a chapter on "Class and Stratification."
They acknowledged the contributions their students have made to the success of Everyday Sociology.
"The feedback the students provide has made our text more accessible. They are proud to be part of the process and of the fact that they have teachers who are authors of their text," Botterweck said.
KCTCS People in the News
ASHLAND COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Professor Janie Kitchen, program coordinator of the Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program, has been appointed interim Dean of Academic Affairs. Jennifer Carroll, ADN nursing professor, has been named the interim ADN Nursing Program Coordinator. The two are filling the vacancy of Dr. Jim Cargill, Dean of Academic Affairs, who was recently named president of Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana.
Two area leaders have been named to the Board of Directors of the Community and Technical College Foundation of Ashland, ACTC's fund-raising arm. Larry Jones, regional president with Community Trust Bank, and Sue Strehle, vice president of long term care at King's Daughters Medical Center, will serve to June 30, 2008. The Foundation mission is to provide flexible funding for the education of ACTC students.
BIG SANDY COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Forrest Stewardson, associate professor of automotive technology at Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC), was invited to the Automotive Industry Planning Council (AIPC) conference in Florence, Ind. While there he was given three new computerized trainers: the 18002VTI Virtual Trainer Stage 1; 18002VT2 Virtual Trainer Stage 2; and 18002VT3 Virtual Trainer Stage 3. These trainers allow students to have hands-on practical experience on troubleshooting equipment they will encounter on the job once employed.
BLUEGRASS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Jaclan Williams has been appointed director of BCTC's Transfer Center, the first of its kind at a community college in the state of Kentucky. The new Transfer Center will be located in the lobby of the AT Building on the Cooper Campus. The center will serve as a resource center for students who wish to pursue and finish a four-year degree at regional colleges and universities.
Rebecca Mercier, a licensed social worker and an adjunct professor in Criminal Justice, has recently been appointed to serve the next three years as an Accreditation Commissioner for the Council on Accreditation in New York City, NY.
Christina Lovin's poem "Overburden" was recently featured in an anthology published in protest of mountain top mining methods, "Missing Mountains: We Went to The Mountaintop But It Wasn't There."
Kevin Dunn, assistant professor of engineering technology, was named as an outstanding teacher in the 2006 edition of Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
James B. Goode recently had his short story "The Baptism" appear in the winter issue of the Journal of Kentucky Studies. Additionally, his poem "The Small End of Nothing Sharpened" is in the winter issue of Appalachian Heritage and his essay "Appalachian Literature" will soon appear in the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.
Emily Piercy has been selected to be among the 174 nurse educators nationwide to have earned the distinction of Certified Nurse Educator.
Richard Smoot, professor of social sciences, was selected as a candidate for inclusion in the 2007 edition of Who's Who in America.
BOWLING GREEN TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Rick Wilson, financial aid director at BGTC, attended the 43rd annual Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (SASFAA) conference held February 12-15 in Greensboro, NC. Wilson co-presented a concurrent session titled "Web Links That Will Help Unmask Your Daily Headaches" with Sandra Neel, SASFAA secretary and financial aid director at the University of Tennessee-Martin.
Dr. Roger Vincent has been named director of the Kentucky Advanced Technology Institute and Transpark Training Center. In addition to these responsibilities, he will oversee the training for industry for the college. Prior to his employment with Bowling Green Technical College, Vincent was the North American Human resources director for SyGen, a genetics improvement company located in Franklin, Ky. He has extensive experience in managing and developing industrial training and development systems, plant start ups, leading edge industrial management work concepts, and technical writing. He has international work experience in Japan, England, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. Vincent received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University and his masters and bachelors degrees from Western Kentucky University.
Executive Chef Michael Riggs, assistant professor of culinary arts at BGTC, will serve on the Advisory Board for CAF, The Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education, based out of Annapolis, Md. CAF is focused on education and provides professional development for post secondary and secondary culinary arts instructors across the country.
HAZARD COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Frank Winstead, a coal miner with more than 25 years of experience, has been hired by HCTC to teach mining classes. Winstead will offer a 40-hour underground initial mine training class at the Technical Campus. He also will provide training on-location at different companies in the area.
Linda Poppas, has been named the new Expanding Horizons Program Coordinator to assist students prepared for college. HCTC received a grant from the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) to run the program for one year in one school with the intent that it would be replicated in other school districts in the region.
HENDERSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Bill Dixon will serve as the college's first director of Cultural Diversity beginning March 1. A native of Henderson and an alumnus of HCC, his prior work experience includes serving at the executive director of the Owensboro Human Relations Commission, the executive director of the Hoosier Uplands Economic Development Corporation, director of operations of the Evansville Community Action Program, and senior employment sounselor of the Southwestern Indiana Training Association. In addition to his studies at HCC, Bill has a BS in Sociology/ Psychology from Indiana State University/ Evansville.
Mary Jane Jones, associate professor of nursing, was recently chosen by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to be a member of a panel of expert nurses who will write items for the NCLEX-RN Examination. The item writing session was held in February in Chicago.
MADISONVILLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
David Murphy, professor of business administration at MCC, recently published his first book, "12 Steps to Financing a College Education With Minimal Borrowing." "12 Steps" assists readers on a variety of topics such as preparing for the ACT or SAT, applying for scholarships and grants, and preparing a personal financial plan. Families can customize the book to their particular needs by utilizing the worksheets, charts, and lists of related websites that are included. Using many of the same tactics featured in the book, he and his wife have helped their four children raise tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, grants, and work-study programs. For information, go to www.davidwmurphybooks.com.
Jay Parrent has been named dean of student affairs at MCC. Parrent joined MCC in 2002 as registrar, and he has served as interim dean of student affairs since April 2005. In this role, he led implementation of the successful Master Advising program at MCC and created a process to register student organizations. Parrent holds a bachelor of arts in history from Kentucky Wesleyan College and a master's degree in history from Murray State University. He has completed additional graduate study in management and economics and in higher education.
SOMERSET COMMUNITY COLLEGE
A poem by SCC English Professor Wanda Fries entitled "Good Friday in Manhattan" will appear in the April 2006 issue of Sojourners Magazine. Fries has been teaching at SCC since 1988. Fries' fiction and poetry have been published in The Michigan Quarterly Review, Wind, Appalachian Heritage, and River City Review. Her work was also included in "Poetry as Prayer: Appalachian Women Speak," an anthology.
SYSTEM OFFICE
Monica McFarlin, Esq. has been named vice president and general counsel for KCTCS. She will serve as a member of the KCTCS President's Cabinet and the KCTCS President's Leadership Team, following Beverly Haverstock who retired in December.
Ms. McFarlin's legal career has spanned over 20 years in various areas such as tax law and health care law, having worked in both the private sector and public sector. Her work experience includes serving five years with the state office of Attorney General and most recently having served as General Counsel for CHA Health, a managed health care organization.
WEST KENTUCKY COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Dr. Tena Payne, director of nursing, was recently appointed interim associate dean of academic affairs. Teresa Mayo also serves as an associate dean. Dr. Payne's responsibilities will include monitoring new programs, such as international business, Chinese language, and travel marketing courses being offered this semester, which will allow Sherry Anderson to focus on her interim provost responsibilities. Anderson was named interim provost after WKCTC Provost James Selbe was appointed interim president of Hopkinsville Community College last fall.
Bill Wade, distance learning director and English professor, recently had an article published in The Greentree Gazette, a business magazine for Higher Education. The article, ""Spanish online: Students and teacher share the talk," appeared in the January 2006 issue of the magazine. It will also appear in the League for Innovation in the Community College in March.
Lake at the Park - Photo by Chris Jones, Director of Public Relations, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.
Lake at the Park
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