Community College Week articles from April 2004

Community College Week archives from April 2004

Bush campaigns on job-training program at N.H. college.(around the nation)(George Bush)
April 12, 2004... WASHINGTON (AP) -- Trying to take the offensive on the jobs issue, President Bush highlighted his plans for retraining laid-off workers during a March 25 visit to the Nashua campus of the New Hampshire Community Technical College System. ...

Calif. students march on state Capitol, protest fee increases.(around the nation)
April 12, 2004... SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- About 5,000 to 8,000 community-college students from across California marched on the state Capitol in Sacramento March 15, in protest of the rising costs and budget cuts that have made pursuing higher education...

Calif. educators decry fee hike that targets college grads.(around the nation)
April 12, 2004... SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Community-college leaders in California are decrying a proposed fee increase that would target college graduates taking classes at California's two-year schools, saying it could hamper the state's ability to provide the...

N.Y. student suspected of rape found dead.(Hudson Valley Community College)
April 12, 2004... GUILDERLAND, N.Y. (AP) -- A community-college student found hanging from a tree near the State University at Albany campus was suspected of a rape in a dormitory a day earlier, authorities said. Michael Robinson, 21, was found hanging in a...

Fire breaks out at Wyo. college.(Northwest College )
April 12, 2004... POWELL, Wyo. (AP) -- Students fretted over lost homework and other school related items as Northwest College officials sought to house about 100 students displaced by a dormitory fire. "I don't know what I'm going to do about classes, all...

Congress debates loan-consolidation program.(dateline Washington)
April 12, 2004... In the last decade, millions of students and graduates of both two and four-year colleges have taken advantage of a federal loan-consolidation program allowing them to repay school loans locked in at historically low-interest rates. Now, as...

College students, educators lobby Congress for funding boost.(dateline Washington)
April 12, 2004... Matthew Draiss was one among nearly two dozen witnesses on March 24 urging members of the U.S. Congress to increase federal funding for higher education. But his testimony, which addressed the financial challenges of attending college, may have...

The new and improved Community-College Baccalaureate.(point of view)
April 12, 2004... When people don't understand you, it is difficult to accomplish your goals. This is why the Community College Baccalaureate Association recently revised, expanded and clarified its mission. The CCBA is all about access and being available to...

The best of both worlds? Bachelor's-degree programs at community colleges are all about bumping up access for nontraditional students--and helping meet shortages like those in the nursing and teaching fields. But some educators worry that the programs could be the beginning of the end of two-year schools as we know them.(Cover Story)
April 12, 2004... Life would be much easier for 19-year-old Oliver Aaron if Central Alabama Community College offered a baccalaureate program. Aaron recently made the transition from Central Alabama to Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., in pursuit of a...

Mississippi educators rally for funding.
April 12, 2004... JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Community-college leaders and school superintendents converged on the Capitol late last month to seek full funding for education. "We've come such a long way in Mississippi and it would be a travesty to go back,"...

More Minn. students choosing community colleges.
April 12, 2004... MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Annette Von Vett's friends couldn't believe it when she chose to attend a community college to avoid the soaring tuition costs at the four-year schools that accepted her. "Annette," they told her, "you're better than...

Pa. college considers tuition hike.
April 12, 2004... MONACA, Pa. (AP) -- Tuition at the Community College of Beaver County could be going up for the first time in three years, administrators have said. State funding cuts have created a $400,000 budget shortfall for the coming school year,...

Enrollment jumps 9 percent at Ariz. college.
April 12, 2004... FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Enrollment at Coconino Community College is up nearly 9 percent this semester from last year. Spring semester enrollment topped 4,000 students for the first time, reaching 4,204. That's 8.7 percent higher than...

Utah school drops mining degree.
April 12, 2004... SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The College of Eastern Utah, in the heart of the state's mining district, is dropping its associate's degree in mining due to declining enrollment in the program and Legislature-inflicted budget restrictions. The...

Man pleads guilty in crash that killed Minn. students.
April 12, 2004... MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- An Albert Lea man has pleaded guilty in causing a deadly accident on Interstate 94 that killed two community-college students. Daniel E. Madrigal, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal vehicular homicide for the...

Nevada regents approve tuition refunds dating back to 1995.
April 12, 2004... LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Thousands of Nevada college and university students who have paid out-of-state tuition will receive refunds because they should have qualified for cheaper, in-state rates, the board of regents decided last month. The...

Nevada chancellor to monitor lobbyists.(Jane Nichols)
April 12, 2004... LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Regents overseeing Nevada's state colleges and universities have tightened the rules that govern the schools' legislative lobbying. Under the new rules, the system's chancellor, Dr. Jane Nichols, will have the power to...

N.M. governor appoints higher-ed. task force.(Bill Richardson)
April 12, 2004... SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) -- Gov. Bill Richardson has appointed a task force to recommend ways to streamline higher education and make it accessible to more New Mexicans. The governor said the $1.5 billion the state pours into its colleges and...

Nine years of persistence pays off for Mo. student.(around campus)
April 12, 2004... SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Melissa Bryan's final transcript at Ozarks Technical Community College will show that she graduated as an honors student, with a couple of C's but otherwise straight A's. What it won't reflect is her sheer determination...

Michael Rodriguez.(Honors & Awards)(Museum of Modern Art, New York)
April 12, 2004... The Museum of Modern Art in New York has recently acquired for its permanent contemporary collection four abstract works-on-paper by Michael Rodriguez, an assistant professor of humanities at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City,...

Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz., recently honored two faculty members.(Honors & Awards)
April 12, 2004... Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz., recently honored two faculty members. Dr. Kurt Nolte, professor of agriculture, was named the 2004 Teacher of the Year for full-time instruction, and Miriam Gustafson, English instructor, was named the...

Ernest A. Berger Jr.(Honors & Awards)
April 12, 2004... Ernest A. Berger Jr., an associate professor of communication arts technology at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Md., recently won four awards in the 25th annual Telly Awards competition for his spot commercials and a short comedy...

Peter Townsend.(Honors & Awards)(Miami Dade College)
April 12, 2004... Peter Townsend, a professor of English at Florida's Miami Dade College, received the 2004 Gold Key Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Advisers Association.

Two Lakeland Community College professors in Kirtland, Ohio, were honored by The Northeast Council on Higher Education as top classroom instructors in northeast Ohio.(Honors & Awards)
April 12, 2004... Two Lakeland Community College professors in Kirtland, Ohio, were honored by The Northeast Council on Higher Education as top classroom instructors in northeast Ohio. They were: associate art professor Teresa Hess and associate chemistry...

Keeping your PC current.(technology today)
April 12, 2004... Normally we think of maintenance as a chore, something we have to do to keep things running smoothly and prevent problems down the road, whether with our car, house or computer. But with a personal computer, maintenance can actually be fun......

Ohio colleges power up for work-force training.(Bits & Bytes)
April 12, 2004... AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- FirstEnergy Corp. is joining several. Ohio colleges to train recruits who could help fill a shortage of line workers. The Akron utility developed the Power Systems Institute after a 1999 workforce analysis found many...

College helps rural N.C. get wired.(Bits & Bytes)
April 12, 2004... CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) -- The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has given $1.9 million for a fiber optics network as part of a public-private group called Balsam West FiberNET. The group's two other partners are Southwestern Community College and...

Hiyane-Brown to head Normandale.(Presidents)(Katherine Hiyane-Brown)(Normandale Community College)
April 12, 2004... Dr. Katherine Hiyane-Brown has been selected as president of Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minn. Previously, she served as vice president for academic and student affairs at Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Wash. Hiyane-Brown...

Carroll tapped as San Diego chancellor.(Presidents)(Constance M. Carroll)
April 12, 2004... Dr. Constance M. Carroll has been appointed chancellor of the San Diego community College District. She will continue to serve as president of San Diego Mesa College, one of three colleges in the SDCCD, until Chancellor Augie Gallego retires...

Deaths.(professional notes)(Maurine Brown)(Obituary)
April 12, 2004... Maurine Brown, the first African American nursing professor at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif., died March 11. She was 75. Brown was a Los Angeles native who commuted to Fullerton Junior College to receive her nursing training....

Minnesota West Community and Technical College.(Appointments)
April 12, 2004... Audrey Gramstad has been named dean of distance learning and partnership development at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Canby, Minn. Most recently she worked as the director of instructional projects with the Illinois...

Lincoln Trail College.(Appointments)
April 12, 2004... Penny Quinn has been appointed dean of instruction at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill. She was previously the director of retention management and chair of the recreation management department at Vincennes University. Quinn holds a...

Owens Community College.(Appointments)
April 12, 2004... Judy Ennis is the new executive dean at Owens Community College in Findlay, Ohio. Ennis previously served as the dean of community and corporate outreach for Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio. She earned her bachelor's degree...

Tidewater Community College.(Appointments)
April 12, 2004... Theresa M. Bryant is the new vice president for workforce development at Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Va. Bryant, formerly vice president for work-force development and continuing education at Central Virginia Community College,...

State University of New York.(Appointments)(Dennis Callas)
April 12, 2004... Dr. Dennis Callas has been named provost of the State University of New York at Delhi, N.Y. He served most recently as the college's vice president for academic programs and services. Callas earned his bachelor's degree from Hunter College, his...

Coming events.(Calendar)
April 12, 2004... April 23-24, Administration. "Management Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration," Higher Education Resource Services, at Wellesley College, in Wellesley, MA. Contact: Susan Knowles, Management Institute, Wellesley College,...

One step back to take two steps forward.(point of view)
April 12, 2004... For those of us who have labored long in the vineyards of the community-college baccalaureate development, the 2004 Community College Baccalaureate Association Conference in San Francisco represented a bittersweet learning experience. ...

Bush promotes job training at N.C., Ark. schools.(around the nation)
April 26, 2004... President Bush campaigned at community colleges in North Carolina and Arkansas earlier this month, talking up his job-training plan and promising that jobs growth is on the horizon. In North Carolina, Bush stopped at Central Piedmont...

Report says higher ed.'s fiscal crisis hardest on Hispanic and low-income students.(around the nation)
April 26, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Low-income and Hispanic students are faring worst amid the financial fix gripping American higher education, according to a report by Dr. Eduardo Padron, president of Florida's Miami Dade College. The report, "A Deficit of...

Calif. Court: instructor can't use tutoring to gain academic status.(around the nation)
April 26, 2004... FRESNO, Calif. -- A former part-time adjunct instructor at Fresno City College can t count her hours as a tutorial supervisor on top of her teaching to earn academic-contract status, the California Court of Appeal has ruled. Sona...

Mo. may cut college scholarship program.
April 26, 2004... JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- As senators look for ways to balance the state budget, they're considering cuts to a scholarship program that helps students attend community colleges. The A-Plus Schools Program is aimed at students who might...

Smooth sailing.(point of view)(college faculty at East Central College)
April 26, 2004... As a congenital optimist, I was convinced that the financial thunderheads clouding the horizons of our country's community colleges some years ago were bound to contain large veins of silver lining. To thoroughly mix my metaphors, I figured...

Graduate gratitude.(point of view)(adult graduate of community college )
April 26, 2004... I entered community college as a career adult to pursue studies in graphic design, and I found my experience far richer than what I had as a young post-high-school student at the huge and impersonal University of Washington. Since my...

Humor 101.
April 26, 2004... "Every political science professor's worst nightmare" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In the meantime: though they only serve for a season, interim presidents are vital to a college's livelihood. How so?(community college trend to hire interim presidents)
April 26, 2004... Not too long ago Dr. Paul J. Gianini was savoring retirement after a celebrated 16-year stint as president of Valencia Community College in Orlando, Fla. But he recently chose a far more unpredictable endeavor when he agreed to serve as interim...

Lawmakers consider shifting aid from ivies to public colleges.(dateline Washington)
April 26, 2004... Community colleges could end up as the beneficiaries of a long-simmering, trans-regional dispute that is pitting mostly Southern and Western Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives against their Republican and Democratic...

Report says global trade could hinder higher ed.(dateline Washington)
April 26, 2004... According to a new report, some U.S. higher-education officials are worried that international trade agreements could commercialize education and have a negative impact on the higher-education community as a whole, community colleges and...

Report calls for work-force training reforms at S.C. colleges.
April 26, 2004... As South Carolina looks to new economic development strategies to solve its fiscal woes, technical colleges must become more strategic and effective in training the skilled work force needed to attract key industries and bring new innovations...

La. colleges boon for taxpayers, study says.
April 26, 2004... BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana's fledgling Community and Technical College System is only in its fifth year, but an economic study shows that it's already reaping benefits for taxpayers. For every dollar that Louisiana taxpayers invest in...

Ala. College coach faces rape charges.
April 26, 2004... SHEFFIELD, Ala. (AP) -- Police charged a part-time assistant women's basketball coach at Lawson State Community College in Birmingham with raping one of his players at a Sheffield hotel after a tournament. Sheffield police charged Boris...

Iowa student dies of meningitis.
April 26, 2004... OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) -- A former Indian Hills Community College student from Wapello County has died, apparently of bacterial meningitis, local and state health officials said. Jessica Eakins, 20, who also had ties to Bloomfield, died after...

Ariz. student says police officer forcibly home.
April 26, 2004... PHOENIX (AP) -- A community-college student plans to pursue trespassing charges against a veteran Gilbert police officer who allegedly demanded entry into his home while searching for his teenage daughter. The Officer is under investigation,...

Ariz. College changes won't hamper transfers, official says.
April 26, 2004... LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (AP) -- A reorganization that will have a community college offering new vocational programs shouldn't affect four-year degree programs offered here, a university official said. Some students have expressed concern...

Nev. Senator's aide worked for both college, legislature.(Nevada Senator Ray Rawson's aid Linda Chapman)(Community College of Southern Nevada)
April 26, 2004... LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Nevada state Sen. Ray Rawson is defending having his assistant at the Community College of Southern Nevada also serve as his legislative committee secretary, saying it let her keep health insurance benefits. "I suppose...

Wash. colleges raise tuition again.
April 26, 2004... SEATTLE (AP) -- Tuition at the state's crowded community colleges has increased again. The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges has raised tuition an average of about 7 percent for the state's 29 community colleges, effective this...

Report paints dismal picture of Nevada's graduation rates.
April 26, 2004... RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Nevada ranks 39th nationally for its high-school graduation rate and dead last for the number of students who go directly to college after graduation, according to a report. The report, issued recently by the National...

Iowa College bumps up tuition, pares down staff.(Iowa Central Community College)
April 26, 2004... FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa Central Community College will increase tuition and reduce staff and programs to offset a budget shortfall. The college will raise tuition by $6 a credit hour, or about 7 percent, college President Bob Paxton...

Nevada regent denies sexual harassment claims.(Jack Schofield)
April 26, 2004... LAS VEGAS (ALP) -- University Regent Jack Schofield has broken his silence on sexual harassment claims made against him: contending they are a result of his vote to demote a community-college official. A one-page statement issued through...

N.Y. weighs plan requiring more schooling for nurses.(New York)
April 26, 2004... ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- New York is considering a proposal to require new registered nurses to earn a bachelor's degree in order to retain their certification, a measure critics say would further reduce ranks in a profession already facing a...

Fire Marshal: sprinkler could've limited fire damage at Wyo. College.
April 26, 2004... POWELL, Wyo. (AP) -- State Fire Marshal Jim Narva thinks an automatic sprinkler system could have prevented a Northwest College dormitory fire from spreading beyond one room. Bridger Hall, which is a total loss from the recent fire, was not...

Task force to examine Mass. college graduation rates.
April 26, 2004... SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- The chairman of the state Board of Higher Education has formed a task force to investigate why graduation rates at state colleges are below the national average. "I consider it a very important task force,"...

Man convicted of killing Okla. student may seek plea bargain.
April 26, 2004... TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A convicted killer whom investigators have linked by DNA to the 1975 death of a junior college student may be trying to strike a plea bargain with prosecutors. Clyde Carl Wilkerson appeared in court in a wheelchair when...

Kansas' immigrant-tuition bill stalled.
April 26, 2004... TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A bill that would let some illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition at public institutions of higher education appears doomed this session because of opposition from House Speaker Doug Mays. Mays has blocked House debate...

Massive mosaics.(Oklahoma City Community College)
April 26, 2004... Oklahoma City Community College dedicated its mosaic murals in the college courtyard on April 22. This art history project, which includes four 12-by-32 feet panels, has been coordinated by Mary Ann Moore, professor of visual arts, since the...

Minn. College helps American Indians fight diabetes.(partnership of University of Minnesota and six tribal colleges)
April 26, 2004... CLOQUET, Minn. (AP) -- Gayle Nikolai's life changed several years ago after she learned her body wasn't tolerating wheat. She changed her diet. "I discovered what it was like to feel good," she said. "Finding out how changing your diet...

Remembering Sept. 11, patch by patch.
April 26, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This year the "United in Memory: 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt" exhibit headed west to Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, Calif. The exhibit drew a record crowd, nearly doubling the attendance at last year's display in New...

Sen. Clinton lauds colleges' homeland-security programs.(around campus)(Hillary Rodham Clinton)
April 26, 2004... ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., recently endorsed community colleges as providers of homeland-security training during a visit to Monroe Community College. Clinton toured MCC's Public Safety Training Center in...

In celebration of Japan.(around campus)
April 26, 2004... It was a taste of Japan, literally and culturally, as the Lawrenceville campus of Georgia Perimeter College sponsored "Japan Week" in March. Along with tastes of Japanese cooking, the weeklong festival featured cultural displays and...

Shakespeare and the great war.(around campus)(Twelfth Night)
April 26, 2004... The performing arts program at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., recently presented a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." DCC alumni and the play's director John Bray updated the dress end setting to World War...

United Auto Workers Ford National Program.(Grants & Gifts)
April 26, 2004... The United Auto Workers Ford National. Program has awarded a $37,233 grant to CyFair College in Cypress, Texas, to provide a Skills Enhancement Program. The SEP will give Ford Motor Company employees, their spouses, and retirees and their...

Ellison Miles, the founder of the Rising Star Scholarship Program, has bequeathed $7 million to Texas' Dallas County Community College District.(Grants & Gifts)
April 26, 2004... Ellison Miles, the founder of the Rising Star Scholarship Program, has bequeathed $7 million to Texas' Dallas County Community College District. The donation will be equally divided among the seven DCCCD colleges.

Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa., will receive $100,000 from Pennsylvania's departments of Community and Economic Development and Labor and Industry to lead two of the 21 work-force development projects funded by the departments..(Grants & Gifts)
April 26, 2004... Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa., will receive $100,000 from Pennsylvania's departments of Community and Economic Development and Labor and Industry to lead two of the 21 work-force development projects funded by the departments....

Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., has received a $7,500 grant from the North American Council of Automotive Teachers.(Grants & Gifts)
April 26, 2004... Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., has received a $7,500 grant from the North American Council of Automotive Teachers to take its air conditioning course on the road to local high schools and vocational centers that don't have the...

The U.S. Department of Education has renewed funding of more than $2 million.(Grants & Gifts)(Pasadena City College in Pasadena)(Pasadena City College)
April 26, 2004... The U.S. Department of Education has renewed funding of more than $2 million to Pasadena City College in Pasadena, Calif., in support of two Upward Bound programs at the college.

Three Virginia community colleges recently received grants to expand and enhance access to deaf and hard of hearing students through Project HEAR.(Grants & Gifts)
April 26, 2004... Three Virginia community colleges recently received grants to expand and enhance access to deaf and hard of hearing students through Project HEAR. Tidewater Community College in Norfolk has received $6,700; Southwest Virginia Community College...

Arizona Western College in Yuma; Ariz., has been awarded $5.3 million for two Title V grants from the U.S. Department of Education.(Grants & Gifts)
April 26, 2004... Arizona Western College in Yuma; Ariz., has been awarded $5.3 million for two Title V grants from the U.S. Department of Education. The grants will focus on increasing retention and completion rates for underserved and low-income student...

Virginia Community College System.(Grants & Gifts)
April 26, 2004... The Virginia Community College System has been awarded $2.25 million from the U.S. Congress to strengthen its distance-learning program.

Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y. has received $22,500 in grant support from Quad A for Kids ($10,000) and Ronald McDonald House Charities ($12,500) for its annual National Youth Sports Program.(Grants & Gifts)
April 26, 2004... Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y. has received $22,500 in grant support from Quad A for Kids ($10,000) and Ronald McDonald House Charities ($12,500) for its annual National Youth Sports Program. The grants will help cover camp...

Genesee Community College in Batavia, N.Y., recently received a $100,000 grant from State Senator Mary Lou Rath.(Grants & Gifts)
April 26, 2004... Genesee Community College in Batavia, N.Y., recently received a $100,000 grant from State Senator Mary Lou Rath. The funds will be administered by The BEST (Business and Employee Skills Training)Center at the college to develop e-business...

Visiting lecturer at N.Y. College explores multicultural issues.(faculty lounge)(Fulbright Visiting Scholar Dr. Otelemate Harry)(Suffolk County Community College)
April 26, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Dr. Otelemate Harry, a Fulbright Visiting Scholar, has spent time on several college campuses in the United States, but this year he's getting to know the East Coast. The linguistics scholar is in the middle of an 11-month stint...

Wake Technical Community College.(Honors & Awards)
April 26, 2004... Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, N.C., recently honored several faculty members with Excellence in Teaching awards. They include: Dr. Stella Baldwin (arts, humanities & social sciences); Chen-Pi Peter Chen (computer information...

Nancy Grassilli.(Honors & Awards)(Tunxis Community College professor received an Educational Excellence and Distinguished Service Award )(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... Nancy Grassilli, a professor of marketing at Tunxis Community College in Farmington, Conn., has received an Educational Excellence and Distinguished Service Award from the college.

Christopher Berry.(Honors & Awards)(is featured artist on television show, "Fox-8 in the Morning.")(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... Christopher Berry, an assistant professor of fine arts at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio, was recently the featured artist on the Fox-8 television show, "Fox-8 in the Morning." Berry's painting, from his ongoing series of his...

Red Rocks Community College.(Honors & Awards)
April 26, 2004... Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colo., has recognized math instructor Rick Reeves and philosophy instructor Dr. Kerry Edwards with Teaching Chairs for 2004-2007.