Community College Week articles from April 2003

Community College Week archives from April 2003

Facing drug charges, Iowa college president resigns. (around the nation).
April 14, 2003... ANKENY, Iowa -- The Des Moines Area Community College board of trustees has accepted the resignation of the school's president, who has been charged with marijuana possession and trafficking. After a closed session, the board emerged to...

Amendment would safeguard slice of California budget for colleges. (around the nation).
April 14, 2003... SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Under a proposed amendment to California's constitution introduced last month, the state's 108 community colleges would receive a guaranteed portion of the state budget that couldn't be cut without a special two-thirds...

FBI arrests college official in money-laundering sting.(Rafael Diaz and James B. Holderman)
April 14, 2003... MIAMI -- A high-ranking Texas community college official was arrested here on charges of conspiring to launder $2 million and obtain student visas for undercover FBI agents posing as Russian mafia members. Rafael Diaz, vice president at...

Closing the degree divide. (point of view).(bachelor degrees at community colleges)
April 14, 2003... For a large number of students in higher education today, there is much more than a digital divide. There is also a "degree divide"--the lack of access to a bachelor's degree for place-bound students and students who are training for...

We need a baccalaureate now. (point of view).(urging community colleges to offer 4 year programs)
April 14, 2003... Today there are more than a thousand community colleges in the United States. They enroll more than 5 million credit students, representing almost half of all undergraduates in the United States. Nearly 55 percent of all first-time freshmen...

Killing the cure: from the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.). (What Others Are Saying).(protesting California budget cuts to community colleges)
April 14, 2003... Like they say, it doesn't make very much sense. Merced College students, like their community college counterparts throughout California, are protesting state budget cuts and the prospect of their fees more than doubling. About 100 Merced...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
April 14, 2003... On the cover and page 4 of its March 31 issue, Community College Week referred incorrectly to the collective street value of marijuana found in Des Moines Area Community College President David C. England's home. England was arrested after 72...

2+2=? The associate's degree has long been the bedrock of a community college education. But as more two-year colleges begin offering bachelor's degrees, higher-education officials are wondering: are these programs a natural part of the schools' evolution, or could they lead to the extinction of the community college as we know it?
April 14, 2003... WASHINGTON -- What does two plus two equal? Usually posed in the very early stages of a child's education, the question is being looked at afresh by higher education leaders postulating a new sum: two plus two equals a community college...

White House proposal could undermine Perkins funding. (dateline Washington).
April 14, 2003... Just weeks after voicing strong support for the Carl D. Perkins Act, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives seem to have had a change of heart. Much to the chagrin of many community college officials, Congress is now backing a White House...

U.S. Senate endorses Pell increase. (Capitol briefs).(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Despite mounting fiscal pressures, the U.S. Senate is supporting a large increase for the federal Pell Grant program--at least for now. Under pressure from Democrats, the Senate agreed to an amendment setting the maximum Pell Grant at...

House Bill would defer soldiers' student loans. (Capitol briefs).(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... A new plan in Congress would help military reservists called to action in the Persian Gulf. The Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students, or HEROES Act, would relieve active reservists of their student loan payments while they're...

Thousands of students protest proposed Calif. budget cuts.
April 14, 2003... LOS ANGELES -- Thousands of students marched through downtown last month to protest proposed fee increases and state budget cuts that would slash funding for California community colleges by $520 million next year. Chanting and waving...

Calif. College restricts war talk in classes.(Irvine Valley College)
April 14, 2003... IRVINE, Calif. -- The top academic officer .at Irvine Valley College has banned faculty members from discussing the Iraqi war in their classrooms, unless their course touches directly on he conflict. Vice President of Academic Instruction...

Mont. officials support soda-tax college funding.($1,000-a-year renewable scholarship from soda pop tax)
April 14, 2003... HELENA, Mont. -- Student government lobbyists have come up with an idea to provide a $1,000-a-year renewable scholarship to a Montana public college for nearly every Montana high school student. The students persuaded several key...

Former Fla. college student is POW.(Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams)
April 14, 2003... ORLANDO, Fla. -- After playing football in high school and attending community college here, Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams joined the Army reserves. He liked it so much he signed on for active duty. Williams, 30, was captured...

Utah college employee quits, cites discrimination.
April 14, 2003... SALT LAKE CITY -- The director of equal employment at Salt Lake Community College has resigned, charging the school practices "unchecked favoritism and employment discrimination." Clyde W. Johnson quit his post of three years in a letter of...

Wyo. college presidential candidate withdraws in protest.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... CODY, Wyo. -- A presidential candidate at Northwest College has withdrawn from consideration in protest following the selection of interim President Elise Schneider as a finalist. Schneider's application showed "inappropriate behavior,"...

A display of force. (around campus).(exhibit of Manhattan Project artifacts at Queensborough Community College)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... An unusual exhibit of sand fused into glass is now on permanent display in the physics department at Queensborough Community College in Bayside, N.Y. The artifacts are a result of the extreme heat produced by the first atomic test detonations...

Jam sessions. (around campus).(job information fair at Bronx Community College)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... A recent hip-hop job information fair at Bronx Community College in New York drew more than 150 college and high school students. They caroused with industry experts such as Atlantic Music Recording Corporation's radio managers, who discussed...

Comedy student is funniest man in Phoenix.(high school student Mike Colucci )(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... TEMPLE, Ariz. -- Unfortunately for the "Funniest Man in the Valley," most of his friends can't come watch him perform at local clubs and bars. Mike Colucci, who will turn 17 later this month, wouldn't be able to get into most of the places...

Grants & Gifts. (around campus).(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kan., received an unrestricted gift of nearly $100,000 from the estate of alumnus Clifford and Marcella Burton. The Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont, N.J., has received a 48-liter,...

Internet lets student soldiers do double duty. (Bits & Bytes).(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana student-soldiers who have been deployed to the Middle East or elsewhere won't have to worry about falling behind in their studies, thanks to a new program approved by the state Board of Regents. The board...

.Edu domain name approved for beauty colleges. (Bit s & Bytes).(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... NEW YORK -- Beauty, theological and distance-learning schools will be among the educational institutions that will soon share online real estate with the likes of Princeton and Harvard. The U.S. Department of Commerce approved the expansion...

Seeing in your sleep. (technology today).
April 14, 2003... Queensborough Community College student Shah Ahmed demonstrates a prototype of "eyeglasses" used to counter sleep disorders and alleviate other medical problems. Enlightened Technology Associates, Inc. created the prototype using laboratory...

$26 million pilot program to retrain high-tech workers. (technology today).
April 14, 2003... NORMAL, Ill. -- Community colleges in Illinois and Ohio are part of a new $26 million national pilot program to retrain displaced workers who could help fill a growing shortage of high-tech manufacturing employees. In Illinois, the...

Should you upgrade your software? (technology today).
April 14, 2003... The buzz these days among many computer insiders is about the coming releases of upgrades to Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. Windows Server 2003, an operating system designed for computer networks, was scheduled to be released in...

Camden County College. (Appointments).(. Kathleen Gorman Carter )(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... An academic administrator with more than 20 years of higher-education experience has been appointed dean of business, computer and technical studies at Camden County College in Blackwood, N.J. Dr. Kathleen Gorman Carter most recently served as...

Bunker Hill Community College. (Appointments).(Dr. Sondlo Leonard Mhlaba )(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Dr. Sondlo Leonard Mhlaba is the new dean of arts and sciences at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. Mhlaba was previously director of the academic resource center at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Mass. He has a bachelor's...

Manatee Community College. (Appointments).(Carol Probstfeld)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... The new vice president for business and administrative services at Manatee Community College in Bradenton, Fla., is Carol Probstfeld. Probstfeld was formerly the vice president of Finance and administration for Notre Dame Colleges, in Ohio and...

Albert to head Pima's West Campus. (Presidents).(Dr. Louis S. Albert)(Pima Community College )(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Dr. Louis S. Albert has been named president of the West Campus at Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz. Albert has been vice chancellor for educational services at California's San Jose/Evergreen Community College since 1998. He earned his...

Deaths. (professional notes).(Dr. Alfred T. Quinn)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
April 14, 2003... Dr. Alfred T. Quinn, the first African American teacher in Santa Monica, Calif., and a dean and professor at Santa Monica College, passed away recently. He was 80 years old. Quinn was committed to education and civil rights and spent most of...

The chancellor of the Peralta Community College District in Oakland, Calif., has retired. (Retirements).(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... The chancellor of the Peralta Community College District in Oakland, Calif., has retired. Dr. Ronald J. Temple had been at Peralta's helm since 1999, overseeing the district during the largest enrollment increase in its history. Temple has a...

Augustine Gallego, the longest-serving chief executive of California's San Diego Community College District, has announced his plans to retire, effective Dec. 31, 2003. (Retirements).(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Augustine Gallego, the longest-serving chief executive of California's San Diego Community College District, has announced his plans to retire, effective Dec. 31, 2003. Gallego served the district for 28 years, 14 of them as chancellor. Gallego...

Coming events. (Career Connections).(Brief Article)(Calendar)
April 14, 2003... April 28-30, Admissions. College fair, National Association for College Admission Counseling, in Ventura, CA. Contact: Gregory Ferguson, (800) 836-2222, www.naeac.com April 28-30, Alumni. Annual conference for senior alumni-relations...

La. campus shooting leaves one dead, one wounded. (around the nation).(school violence in Louisiana)
April 28, 2003... NATCHITOCHES, La. -- An April 7 classroom shooting at a local technical college left one student dead, a second wounded and an entire community in shock. Herschel Horton, dean of the Louisiana Technical College's Natchitoches campus, said...

Calif. college system head to resign. (around the nation).(Thomas Nussbaum)
April 28, 2003... SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California's chancellor of community colleges is leaving his job after a seven-year tenure, in part because he's grown tired of funding struggles and budget cutbacks crippling the nation's largest higher-education system....

Former college president fined $40,000 for ethics violation.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... OLYMPIA, Wash, -- The president of the University of Washington Alumni Association has been fined $40,000 by the state Executive Ethics Board for illegally directing a $350,000 contract to a friend. It is the largest penalty the board has...

Congress cuts Pell's portion of budget. (Capitol briefs).(budget cuts reduce student financial aid)(Pell Grant)(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate negotiators working on a 2004 budget plan dealt a temporary blow to advocates seeking a large Pell Grant increase next year. Weeks after the Senate endorsed a $450 increase in the top grant for...

Retention, career pathways help Hispanic students, report says. (Capitol briefs).(increasing graduation rates)(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... The nation should support new student retention efforts and career pathways to help promote Hispanic student achievement in higher education, a Bush administration commission says. Noting that one out of every three Hispanics fails to...

Student visa system spurs more sparring. (dateline Washington).(evaluating the efficiency of the Student and Exchange Visitor Visa Information System)
April 28, 2003... The debate over the newly implemented student-visa tracking system is raging on as the Bush administration spars with higher education officials about the system's effectiveness. "The new federal system for monitoring international students...

The order of merit. (point of view).(affirmative action and reverse discrimination)
April 28, 2003... This semester, I'm teaching "Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender"--an especially provocative course title now that affirmative action has become fair game for anyone with a political hatchet. This course or its equivalent is a requirement for...

That's why they call them humanities. (point of view).(importance of humanistic education)
April 28, 2003... When I was chosen, along with three others, as U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, I tried to figure out why I was selected for such a distinguished award. It couldn't be just because of my...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
April 28, 2003... To the Editor, I am an avid reader of Community College Week. I enjoy almost everything about this publication, but I would like to see some articles on support personnel (office professionals, custodians, cafeteria workers, etc.). ...

Cultivating the future.(graduate degrees specializing in community colleges)
April 28, 2003... Clayton Tatro believes the doctorate in community college leadership he's working on is already paying off, but will pay even bigger dividends down the road. For now, he says, the work he is doing toward the credential is giving him the...

Faculty Senates sue their district over hiring rules.(South Orange County Community College District)
April 28, 2003... MISSION VIEJO, Calif. -- In an unprecedented move, the academic senates of Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges have voted to sue their district chancellor and trustees over a new districtwide hiring policy that gives more power to...

Report: for second year, colleges lag in disclosing faculty pay.(average salary of college teachers)
April 28, 2003... WASHINGTON -- For the second consecutive year, community colleges have had the lowest participation rates of all higher-education institutions surveyed in an annual report on faculty salaries. The survey by the American Association of...

Mich. study: college cuts may shoot state economy in the foot.(relationship between unemployment and college enrollment statistics)
April 28, 2003... LANSING, Mich. -- Planned cuts in state aid to community colleges could lead to tuition hikes that trigger a decline in enrollment, according to a legislative analysis. "If so, the drop-off in enrollment would occur, ironically, just at...

La. lawmakers may cancel Gov.'s education budget boost.
April 28, 2003... BATON ROUGE, La. -- As other states slash their higher-education budgets in response to the tight economy, Gov. Mike Foster's $16 billion spending plan has come under fire for injecting new dollars into the classroom instead of into health care...

Lawmaker's wife, Nev. colleges settle discrimination suit.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... LAS VEGAS -- The Nevada state university system has settled a discrimination lawsuit filed by the wife of Assemblyman Wendell Williams, her lawyer said. Zelda Williams will receive $49,900 from the University and Community College System...

First killed U.S. soldier dreamt of drawing.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... LOS ANGELES -- The first U.S. soldier to be killed in combat in Iraq, Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, 28, of Los Angeles, was a former community college student who dreamed of becoming an architect one day. An orphan who grew up on the...

Former college student, POW set free.
April 28, 2003... ORLANDO, Fla. -- Among the seven American prisoners of war set free on April 13 by Iraqi troops after three weeks of captivity, was Army Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, 30, a former community college student from Orlando, Fla. ...

Student has parents as dorm-mates.
April 28, 2003... VINCENNES, Ind. -- The new Miss Vincennes University is like a lot of students, sharing a one-bedroom apartment with a couple of college roommates. But 21-year-old Terra Johnson's roommates are not just any students. They're her parents,...

Conn. college union negotiates job security with wage freeze.
April 28, 2003... HARTFORD, Conn. -- The union representing faculty and professional staff at Connecticut's 12 community colleges has reached a tentative concession agreement with the board of trustees. The Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges, known...

Submarine chefs sink their teeth into Ga. culinary arts program. (faculty lounge).
April 28, 2003... KINGS BAY NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE, Ga. -- Fresh vegetables, fruit and milk last about three weeks on a Trident nuclear submarine. That means sailors are stuck with canned and frozen food on the 70day patrols. But a cooking school at Kings Bay...

No lame-duck effort to save teacher's pet. (faculty lounge).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Daffney the duck will get a new chance at waddling, thanks to an artificial duck foot. "Instead of making duck soup, I guess," said Linda Kennedy, the duck's owner and surgical technology instructor at Kirkwood...

Sign of the times. (faculty lounge).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Dr. Angeia Bodino (seated, center), professor of English at Raritan Valley Community College in North Branch. N.J., signs a copy of "Racism: A Global Reader" for RVCC trustee Evelyn S. Field (standing, right) during a book signing event at the...

Honors & awards.
April 28, 2003... Dr. James P. O'Brien, a science instructor at Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Va., has been selected by the Virginia Academy of Science as its representative to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Elisa...

Calif. program goes wireless. (Bits & Bytes).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... OROVILLE, Calif. -- The Butte College Math, Engineering. Science Achievement--MESA for short--program has been awarded an HP Wireless Mobile Classroom by the Hewlett-Packard Company. The grant is worth over $100,000 and is part of HP's 2003...

Microsoft, AACC, workforce center launch IT alliance. (Bits & Bytes).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Colleges around the country are feeling the pinch of a faltering economy, forcing them to serve increasing enrollments with decreasing budgets. As a response to that challenge, the Microsoft Corp., the American...

Hear me out. (technology today).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: When hearing-impaired students go to college, statistics show that more than 70 percent of them drop out, compared to the 47 percent dropout rate among students without disabilities. Virginia's community...

It's 2 a.m. Do you know where your librarian is? Online, of course. (technology today).
April 28, 2003... BALTIMORE -- Need a librarian in the middle of the night? In Maryland, you'll be able to find one ready to help, and you won't even have to leave the house--if you have a computer with Internet access. A new service seeks to enable...

Sprucing up a Web site. (A Tech Perspective).
April 28, 2003... It's spring cleaning time. When you tidy up, discarding that which is no longer useful, dust off your keepsakes and adding anything needed. But you can do this any time of the year, to a home page as well as to a home. Web experts advise...

The buck starts here. (around campus).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Students with old tuition and fee bills at St. Cloud State University and St. Cloud Technical College could soon be bearing from the state's collection agency. St. Cloud State is owed $3.56 million, and the technical...

Iowa college to offer anti-terrorism courses. (around campus).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... FORT DODGE, Iowa -- Officials are working to start a new emergency-response-training center at Iowa Central Community College. Mike Burke, head of the Iowa Central Homeland Security Training Center, said the program will offer courses in...

Grants & gifts. (around campus).
April 28, 2003... The industrial and engineering technologies division at Owens Community College iii Toledo, Ohio, received more than $256,000 in state-of-the-art computer numerical control machining equipment as a gift from the Haas Automation Inc. Red...

More than words. (around campus).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: The North Carolina Community College System has temporarily converted its Caswell Building into an art museum. The exhibit, launched March 20 and continuing through the end of the year, was created in 1998...

Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa., is hosting its 36th Annual Student Exhibition and Competition in its Multiple Choice Gallery from April 13 to May 4. (around campus).
April 28, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa., is hosting its 36th Annual Student Exhibition and Competition in its Multiple Choice Gallery from April 13 to May 4. Shown above is a detail of a...

Morgan to be Salt Lake's interim head. (Presidents).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Judd Morgan has been named interim president of Salt Lake Community College in Utah. Morgan, who has been a consultant to the Salt Lake since retiring last June as the school's vice president of student services, will replace former President...

Viera appointed president of Citrus. (Presidents).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Dr. Michael J. Viera has been named superintendent/president of the Citrus Community College District in Glendora, Calif. Viera, who will take office on June 1, is currently the president of Fullerton College in Fullerton, California. He has a...

Wallace State names interim president. (Presidents).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Dr. Allen B. Champion has been appointed interim president of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Ala. Champion is currently vice president for instruction, student services, institutional research and management information systems...

Chesson is Alamo's interim chancellor. (Presidents).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Dr. J. Parker Chesson Jr. has been named interim chancellor of the Alamo Community College District. Chesson is currently a consultant for community colleges and workforce development agencies. He has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree...

Maryland's Community College of Baltimore County. (Appointments).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Maryland's Community College of Baltimore County has named Bruce G. Berman vice chancellor for institutional advancement. Berman comes to CCBC from Seneca College in Toronto, Canada, where he worked for 30 years, most recently as the executive...

San Jacinto College. (Appointments).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Brenda Hellyer has been named vice chancellor of fiscal affairs at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas. She has served in that position on an interim basis since January. Previously, Hellyer was executive vice president for institutional...

Kentucky's Lexington Community College. (Appointments).(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Dr. Sandra Carey has been named dean of academic affairs at Kentucky's Lexington Community College. Carey has taught English and women's studies and served as English coordinator, director of the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges...

Deaths.(Obituary)
April 28, 2003... Carol Coltharp, a longtime higher education administrator in Louisiana, died recently from complications of pneumonia in Washington, D.C. She was 61. At the time of her death, Coltharp was vice chancellor for administrative affairs at Louisiana...

Coming events. (Career Connections).(Calendar)
April 28, 2003... May 21-22, Fund Raising. "Campaign Communications: Marketing the Opportunity to Give," conference, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, at Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA. Contact: CASE, 1307 New York Avenue. N.W., Suite...