Community College Week articles from August 2004

Community College Week archives from August 2004

Report: disabled students must self-advocate.(around the nation)
August 2, 2004... WASHINGTON -- new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy has found that students with disabilities face serious obstacles in achieving their educational goals. "Higher Education Opportunities for Students with Disabilities:...

Hispanic graduation rates lag, study says.(around the nation)
August 2, 2004... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Rebecca Padilla, a second-year student at Albuquerque Vocational Technical Institute, admits that balancing family responsibilities with her studies as an environmental health and safety major isn't always easy. ...

Game on.(around the nation)
August 2, 2004... President George W. Bush, right, compaigned at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on July 20. He talked about the economy and the war on terror in the college's new recreation center. Above, Democratic presidential candidate John...

New Jersey College official charged with robbery, assault.
August 2, 2004... NEPTUNE, N.J. (AP) -- A community-college official who also is a Republican candidate for Township Committee recently faced arraignment on drug, assault and robbery charges. Isaias Calderon Jr., 40, was arrested in early July at a...

Calif. instructor faces theft charges.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- An education professor at California State University, Sacramento is facing charges in Riverside County that he stole $20,000 worth of computer and camera equipment from a community college. Jose Lorenzo Chavez...

House budget bill quashes Bush's plans for two-year schools.(dateline Washington)
August 2, 2004... The education spending bill recently approved by a Congressional appropriations committee holds several victories for community-college leaders, as lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives turned down Bush administration requests to cut...

Reforms needed to boost graduation rates, educators tell Congress.(dateline Washington)
August 2, 2004... America's college-graduation rates need a shot in the arm, according to educators who recently discussed the renewal of the Higher Education Act with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Without reforms, the educators agreed, the country's future is in...

What's all the fuss about leadership?(point of view)
August 2, 2004... Leadership is a funny thing! Too much of it, especially for academics, and the followership revolts. Too little of it, and colleges will stagnate, no longer serving their constituencies very well (though rarely going out of business for it,...

Extraordinary challenges, unique opportunities.(point of view)
August 2, 2004... Over the past 15 years, George Baker, Suanne Roueche and I have conducted a number of investigations of effective schools and community colleges, as well as a national study of effective community-college presidents. What we have learned from...

Editor's desk.(point of view)(Editorial)
August 2, 2004... Dear Reader, I invite you to become part of the two-year college world's newspaper of record. If you are familiar with Community College Week, you know that we feature opinion pieces by leaders in the college community. We believe...

Correction.(point of view)(Correction Notice)
August 2, 2004... The cover story in the July 5 issue of Community College Week misspelled the name of the executive director of the New York-based Workforce Strategy Center. He is Julian Alssid, not Allsid. Community College Week regrets the error.

Humor 101.(point of view)
August 2, 2004... "Waaaa-hooooo! I'm in debt for life !!!"

Brave new leadership: with community-college presidents retiring left and right, what's an open-access institution to do? Leadership programs just might be the answer.(Cover Story)
August 2, 2004... As community colleges grapple with some of the most pressing issues they've ever faced--teacher shortages, swelling enrollments and budget cuts, to name a few--those at the helm of the institutions are critical in determining the schools'...

Nevada panel backs change to open-meetings law.
August 2, 2004... LAS VEGAS (AP)--State lawmakers have backed two proposed bills to strengthen Nevada's open-meetings law and give more rights to people who are the subjects of personnel inquiries. An interim legislative committee voted unanimously last...

Virginia college construction projects exceed budgets.
August 2, 2004... RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Less than two years after Virginia voters approved the sale of bonds to fund construction and renovation at public colleges, school officials are finding out that the projects are more expensive than they had anticipated....

Interest in nursing programs surges.
August 2, 2004... COON RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) -- Taryn Marshall was first in line as prospective students started lining up on a recent Friday night, camping out as they waited for registration to open for nursing school at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. Not...

Washington-state school stops taking community-college grads.
August 2, 2004... SEATTLE (AP) -- The already intense competition for admission to the University of Washington has gotten even tighter with a halt to community-college transfers. No applications from students who finish their studies at the two-year...

Maine college plans $50 million overhaul.
August 2, 2004... SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Southern Maine Community College is planning a $50 million overhaul that calls for new and renovated academic buildings, a 240-bed dormitory and 300 more parking spaces. The project, which could begin this...

Probe shows some R.I. college employees overpaid.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... WARWICK, R.I. (AP) -- Several employees at the Community College of Rhode Island have apparently pocketed some extra cash lately. A recently completed internal investigation at the state-funded school concluded that seven employees were...

North Carolina expands in-state tuition for military.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Legislators have approved a bill that its supporters said would help more members of the military in North Carolina receive in-state tuition at University of North Carolina and community-college campuses. The bill...

Oklahoma college enrollments jump, despite tuition hikes.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Community-college enrollment is on the rise in Oklahoma and across the country--a trend that points to the schools' lower costs and students' desire for higher education. Enrollment at community colleges in the...

Construction delays don't hamper Miss. classes.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... WAVELAND, Miss. (AP) -- Pearl River Community College will offer classes in Hancock County this month, despite a delay in the construction of a new classroom facility. Six months ago, the community college signed a lease on a...

Master-key theft costs Oregon college $35k.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... BEND, Ore. (AP) -- When a master key to Central Oregon Community College went missing last fall, there was plenty of consternation on campus. After all, whoever had taken it had access to every classroom, every laboratory, and every office...

Iowa school launches agriculture program.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Marshalltown Community College in Marshalltown, Iowa, is launching a two-year degree program in sustainable and entrepreneurial agriculture. The program is one of the first college programs in the nation to combine...

Arizona college may expand.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- Officials are considering expanding Central Arizona College to accommodate a projected population boom in Pinal County. The Pinal County Community College District has commissioned a Tempe firm to conduct a study and...

New Mexico college employees' domestic partners to get benefits.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Unmarried domestic partners of faculty and staff at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute are now eligible for insurance benefits. The governing board has voted 6-1 to change the policy of Albuquerque's...

The Jossey-Bass Academic Administrator's Guide to Conflict Resolution.(Recently Received Titles)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 2, 2004... The Jossey-Bass Academic Administrator's Guide to Conflict Resolution By Dr. Sandra I. Cheldelin and Dr. Ann F. Lucas Jossey-Bass, 2004, 110 pages, $20, paperback Dealing with conflict is an inevitable part of any academic administrator's...

Paths to the Professorate: Strategies for Enriching the Preparation of Future Faculty.(Recently Received Titles)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 2, 2004... Paths to the Professorate: Strategies for Enriching the Preparation of Future Faculty By Dr. Donald H. Wulff, Dr. Ann E. Austin and Associates Jossey-Bass, 2004, 336 pages, $38, hardcover It has been estimated that in the next decade, about...

Rethinking Student Affairs Practice.(Recently Received Titles)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 2, 2004... Rethinking Student Affairs Practice By Patrick G. Love and Dr. Sandra M. Estanek Jossey-Bass, 2004, 256 pages, $36, hardcover How can student affairs professionals work efficiently in an institution with a rigid division of labor and stave...

Rewriting history.(faculty lounge)
August 2, 2004... PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) -- Randy Hartman admits that when he was younger, he didn't concern himself much with the Constitution of the United States. "I remember first learning about it in high school. But of course at that time I just wanted to...

Gary Mitchner.(Honors & Awards)
August 2, 2004... Gary Mitchner, the chairman of the English department at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, has been named its first Poet Laureate.

Two faculty members at the College of Southern Maryland in La Plata, Md., were recently honored.(Honors & Awards)
August 2, 2004... Two faculty members at the College of Southern Maryland in La Plata, Md., were recently honored. Dr. Lelia T. Allen, a professor of social sciences and teacher education, was appointed by Gov. Robert Ehrlich to the Maryland State Board of...

Dr. Cheryl Boice, an instructor of microbiology, and Paula Cifuentes, a math instructor.(Honors & Awards)
August 2, 2004... Dr. Cheryl Boice, an instructor of microbiology, and Paula Cifuentes, a math instructor, both from Lake City Community College in Salt Lake City, were nominated for 2004 Professor of the Year at the Faculty Commission Workshop for the Florida...

David Ho.(Honors & Awards)
August 2, 2004... David Ho, a business instructor at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Neb., recently received the 2003 Nebraska Community College Association Faculty Member Award.

Schenectady County Community College in Schenectady, N.Y., has announced the recipients of the SCCC Foundation Awards for Excellence and the SUNY Chancellor's Awards for Excellence.(Honors & Awards)
August 2, 2004... Schenectady County Community College in Schenectady, N.Y., has announced the recipients of the SCCC Foundation Awards for Excellence and the SUNY Chancellor's Awards for Excellence. They are: Judith D. Spitz, a professor of business and law,...

Jim Cronn.(Honors & Awards)
August 2, 2004... Jim Cronn, a professor of natural resources at Morrisville State College in Morrisville, N.Y., has received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Eduardo Aguilar.(Honors & Awards)
August 2, 2004... The Minnie Piper Stevens Foundation has named Eduardo Aguilar, a professor of art at Tarrant County College's Northwest Campus in Fort Worth, Texas, a 2004 Piper Professor. Bucks

Dr. Jack Byer.(Honors & Awards)
August 2, 2004... Dr. Jack Byer, a professor of communications at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pa., has won the 2004 Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award.

Study says computers at N.C. colleges vulnerable to cyber crime.(Bits & Bytes)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Insecure community-college computer systems around the state are at risk for cybertheft, according to a state audit. Community-college officials said they are working to fix the problems. "The personal and financial...

Software company launches digital 'three-ring binder'.(Bits & Bytes)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... OREM, Utah -- Agilix Labs Inc., a software developing company, has launched a digital replacement for the old-fashioned, three-ring binder. Called GoBinder 2005, the mobile organizer helps students and faculty members organize class notes,...

Using IT for IT's sake.(technology today)
August 2, 2004... Computers are difficult. Despite the fact that the PC Revolution is now well into its third decade, and despite the fact that PCs and Macs are increasingly easy to use, printers and scanners, and software and the Internet, using a personal...

Haute stuff.(around campus)
August 2, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Fashion's young and soon-to-be famous designers exhibited their talent and creativity as 22 graduates of New York's Fashion institute of Technology recently showcased their original designs in a menswear...

Floyd College.(Appointments)
August 2, 2004... Dr. Ron Shade has been named vice president for student development at Floyd College in Rome, Ga Previously, he served as dean of student services at Kingwood College in Kingwood, Texas. Shade earned his bachelor's degree from Illinois State...

Bucks County Community College.(Appointments)
August 2, 2004... Dr. Maureen McCreadie has been named dean of learning resources at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pa. McCreadie chaired the department of arts for the last few years, after an extended stint as a professor of library and...

College of Lake County.(Appointments)
August 2, 2004... The College of Lake County in Grayslake, Ill., has promoted two administrators. Dr. Jean Kartje was named dean of communication arts, humanities and fine arts. For the past 13 years, Kartje served as executive assistant to the president....

Peruggi new head of Kingsborough.(Presidents)
August 2, 2004... The City University of New York has appointed Dr. Regina Peruggi president of Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, N.Y. In her previous post, Peruggi was president of Marymount Manhattan College. She received her bachelor's degree from...

McKeon tapped to lead Tulsa.(Presidents)
August 2, 2004... Dr. Thomas McKeon has been named president and chief executive officer of Tulsa Community College in Tulsa, Okla. McKeon was most recently TCC's executive vice president and chief operating officer. He has a bachelor's degree from California...

Gnage appointed chief of W.Va. college.(Presidents)
August 2, 2004... Dr. Marie Foster Gnage has been appointed president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg, which is a community college that also is accredited to offer baccalaureate programs. In her previous position, she was senior vice president for...

Coming events.(Career Connections)(Calendar)
August 2, 2004... Aug. 12-14 Mathematical Association of America Mathfest 2004 Providence, R.I. Web: www.ams.org Aug. 18-21 The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Annual Conference "Helping Students Make It After All" Minneapolis...

New law lets California take control of beleaguered college.(around the nation)
August 16, 2004... SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A new California law explicitly gives the state community-college chancellor's office power to take control of the beleaguered Compton Community College District through 2008. The measure was overwhelmingly approved by the...

N.Y. college not subject to open-meetings laws, court rules.(around the nation)
August 16, 2004... BRONX, N.Y. -- The Hostos Community College Senate and its executive committee are not subject to New York's freedom of information and open-meetings laws, an appeals court has ruled. Neither is considered a "public body" because they lack...

N.C. budget promises faculty pay rinses.(around the nation)
August 16, 2004... RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina community-college faculty know a thing or two about skimpy compensation, but thanks to the state Legislature, their paychecks are about to fatten up a bit. North Carolina, which has of the largest...

Bush's $250 million plan is all talk, no show, critics say.(dateline Washington)
August 16, 2004... Proposed with much fanfare six months ago, President Bush's $250 million community-college work-force initiative is now facing an increasingly bleak future amid partisan wrangling over the plan. The Bush administration and Republicans in...

Congress questions sky-high costs of college textbooks.(dateline Washington)
August 16, 2004... Why are textbooks costing Community-college students almost 50 percent of what they pay for tuition each year? Some members of the U.S. Congress and higher-education officials sought to find an answer to that question at a recent hearing on...

Enabling learning for the disabled student.(point of view)
August 16, 2004... Some years ago, a student named Al was described by his teachers as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams." Another student, Tom, was a poor speller whose teacher called him addle-brained and complained that he...

Humor 101.(point of view)
August 16, 2004... "My mom is tougher than your mom. Mine teaches at a community college." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A fresh start: remedial education gives students a new lease on college life.
August 16, 2004... He'd do it again. For Corey Flowers, a second-year, 24-year-old student at Dallas County Community College, taking remedial math and English has turned out to be a very good thing. "I knew I needed it. I had been out of school for awhile,"...

Iowa college's homeland-security center gets federal funding.(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) -- The Iowa Central Homeland Security Training Center at Iowa Central Community College will expand its classes throughout the state with the help of federal aid, center officials said. They'll do that with the help...

Three tribal colleges to share $5.7 million in grants.(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) -- Tribal colleges on three American Indian reservations in Montana will share more than $5.7 million in federal education grants. The grants include two totaling $3.1 million for the Blackfeet Community College; a...

Louisiana college pushing for pre-med program.
August 16, 2004... SORRENTO, La. -- River Parishes Community College is only 5 years old, but it's already moving to establish itself as a stepping stone for future physicians. Dr. Joe Ben Welch, the chancellor of River Parishes Community College, said he's...

Police identify missing Oregon student.
August 16, 2004... EMMETT, Idaho (AP) -- The badly decomposed body found recently near the Payette River has been identified as that of a community-college student missing since late June. Investigators said it appears Wyatt Patrick, 39, of Payette was...

Nevada regents accused of violating open-meetings law--again.
August 16, 2004... CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- The Nevada attorney general's office has accused the board of regents of violating the open-meetings law again for refusing to provide a copy of a proposed employment contract with Jim Rogers as interim chancellor. ...

Calif. university woos rejected students from community colleges.(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) -- The University of California, Santa Barbara, is trying to woo back some rejected students. Fall enrollment invitations are being sent to 66 Santa Barbara County high-school students and 84 from elsewhere in...

N.J. enrollment jump helps contain tuition hikes.(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Tuition increases at most county colleges across the state will stay below 5 percent when students return for the fall semester. A spike in enrollment, coupled with an increase in state funding, are being credited...

Report: most N.Y. colleges to raise tuition.
August 16, 2004... ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- More than two-thirds of the state's community colleges plan to raise tuition this fall by an average of 4 percent or $114 a year, according to a report released by the New York Public Interest Research Group. The...

Program lands Irish students in Virginia.
August 16, 2004... RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Lisa Leonard and Conor Mulligan traveled thousands of miles to get to know each other and learn that, despite differences in faith and residency, they're more alike than not. In the past month, the natives of Ireland...

Average tuition up 9 percent in Virginia, report says.
August 16, 2004... RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- In-state undergraduates will pay an average of 9 percent more for tuition and fees this school year over last year, a report by the State Council of Higher Education shows. The average amount of annual tuition and...

There she is.(around campus)
August 16, 2004... Miss America 2004, Ericka Dunlap, recently visited Florida's Daytona Beach Community College to discuss how she learned to overcome the prejudice and ignorance she experienced as a child and to celebrate the diversity that defines the United...

Pointing out different views.(around campus)
August 16, 2004... "Viewpoints," the annual Texas Community College Juried Show, recently ended its run at the Collins County Community College District Arts Gallery in Piano, Texas. The exhibit featured the creative work of community-college students across the...

Trees help former student branch out.(around campus)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) -- Carri Abner's office is filled with samples of trees that her crew had to cut down throughout Muskogee. "You see, this one was injured, so the tree compartmentalized the decay," Abner said of a slice of wood shaped...

Indian Hills Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, has received a $5.6 million gift from the estate of Eli and Bea Rosemann, who left the money for student scholarships.

Mt. Hood Community College.(Grants & Gifts)
August 16, 2004... Local Safeway employees donated $14,000 to the Head Start programs at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore., to buy books, CDs and other materials to support literacy activities.

Tidewater Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Va., Portsmouth City Public Schools and Norfolk Public Schools have won $975,000 in federal funding for a "Teaching American History Program." The grant will create programming for the public schools...

Community College of Rhode Island President Thomas D. Sepe with Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems President Dan Smith.(Grants & Gifts)
August 16, 2004... Community College of Rhode island President Thomas D. Sepe (left) with Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems President Dan Smith. Smith presented a company gift of $35,000 towards the construction of the new CCRI campus in Newport's North End....

LaGuardia Community College.(Grants & Gifts )(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, N.Y., and New York's Barnard College have renewed their 12-year collaboration, which allows LaGuardia students to attend a five-week summer program at the liberal arts college. The program has...

The Alamo Community College District in Texas was recently awarded a $500,000 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission.(Grants & Gifts)
August 16, 2004... The Alamo Community College District.

Don't shoot the messenger. But keep an eye on it.(A Tech Perspective)
August 16, 2004... You probably think instant Messaging--also known as "IM-ing"--is something teenagers do to chat up friends online, whether across the street or across the world. But IM has some buttoned-down business benefits, as well as some risks you may not...

Truckee Meadows Community College.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Juanita LeFlore Chrysanthou has been named vice president of student services at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nev. Most recently, she served as vice president of learning services at Bakersfield College in Bakersfield. Calif....

Tidewater Community College.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Va., has appointed Dr. Joanne M. Diddlemeyer as the academic dean for languages, mathematics and science at the Norfolk Campus. Previously, Diddlemeyer worked as a language arts and science teacher at St....

Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Dr. Ben Lastimado has been named vice chancellor of human resources for the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District in El Cajon, Calif. Lastimado comes to GCCCD from Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood, Wash., where he was vice...

Northern Virginia Community College.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va., recently named Dr. John T. Dever as executive vice president. Previously, Dever served as vice president for academic and student affairs at Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Va....

Santa Fe Community College.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Dr. Nancee Bailey is the new vice president for academic affairs at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville. Fla. She previously served as associate vice president for curriculum and instruction at Daytona Beach Community College in Daytona...

Lake City Community College.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Charles Carroll, the dean of arts and sciences at Lake City Community College in Lake City, Fla., has been appointed the college's new vice president for instruction and student services. Carroll received his bachelor's degree and his master's...

Wood tapped to head Rockland.(Presidents)(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Dr. Cliff L. Wood is the new president of the State University of New York's Rockland Community College in Suffern, N.Y. Wood was previously the vice president of academic affairs at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J. He received a...