Community College Week articles from July 2004

Community College Week archives from July 2004

Nevada judge voids vote demoting college president.(around the nation)
July 5, 2004... LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A Clark County District Court judge has held that Nevada university regents violated open-meeting laws with a dosed-door vote to demote two Community College of Southern Nevada administrators. District Judge Jackie Glass...

Report dubs '90s 'Decade of the Community College'.(around the nation)
July 5, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Dubbing the 1990s the "Decade of the Community College," a new report from the American Council on Education says public two-year colleges saw a bigger enrollment boom during that decade than other higher-education institutions...

Republican plan for proprietary colleges draws fire.(dateline washington)
July 5, 2004... Should for-profit, proprietary institutions be considered in the same way as traditional nonprofit schools, such as community colleges? This is a question the U.S. Congress is grappling with, and one that concerns community colleges, who fear...

Developing--not outsourcing--America's work force.(point of view)
July 5, 2004... More than ever in history, community colleges are serving people who are looking for jobs as well as those with jobs who wish to advance their careers. These community-college work-force programs also serve people who are looking for workers....

Retooling the system.(point of view)
July 5, 2004... A change in the organization of state government is making New Jersey's successful job-training programs available to more individuals and businesses than ever before. Gov. James E. McGreevey recently announced that Trenton will merge all...

Editor's desk.(point of view)(Editorial)
July 5, 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...

Reinventing the job wheel: as manufacturing and other traditional industries continue to decline, mid-career workers--and employers--see community colleges as a bridge to the new economy.
July 5, 2004... Rich Homar of suburban Willoughby, Ohio, graduated from Lakeland Community College in 1978. Next summer, he'll graduate again. His original associate's degree in electronics provided him with a quarter-century of employment as an electronic...

Program to help Colleges retain minorities, low-income students.
July 5, 2004... WASHINGTON -- For administrators at Danville Community College in the tobacco-and-textile country of southern Virginia, receiving as $50,000 investment grant from the Lumina Foundation is a shot in the arm during a long struggle to retain...

With approval of grants, N.C. colleges poised to train biotech work force.
July 5, 2004... RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina's growing biotechnology industry got a major boost June 3 when Golden LEAF (Long-term Economic Advancement Foundation) approved $4.3 million in grants for 29 community colleges. The colleges are now setting up...

Calif. court: injured student can sue study-abroad group.
July 5, 2004... PASADENA, Calif. -- A London-based company that handles logistics for study-abroad programs sponsored by U.S. colleges must defend itself in a California court against a suit by a seriously injured Pasadena City College student. Rocky...

Kerry campaigns at Virginia College.
July 5, 2004... ALEXANDRIA, "Ca. (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry stumped at Northern Virginia Community College recently, where he proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $7 an hour by 2007. He argued that such an increase could boost...

Worker shortage prompts coal industry to tap Virginia Colleges.
July 5, 2004... RICHLANDS, Va. (AP) -- With an aging workforce nd few people willing to fill their shoes, the coal industry in southwest Virginia is preparing for an expected boom in the coal industry by tapping the region's community colleges. "I bad one...

N.C. College to pay former instructor in discrimination case.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Durham Technical Community College must pay nearly $100,000 for the legal fees of a former employee who accused the school of discriminating against her by not renewing her teaching contract because of a polio-related...

Lawsuit delays add $2 million to Montana College project.
July 5, 2004... KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) -- Delays caused by lawsuits over Flathead Valley Community College's planned expansion have likely added about $2 million to the project's price tag so far, officials say. Since voters first approved the construction...

Judge denies takeover of troubled Calif. College.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... COMPTON, Calif. (AP) -- A judge refused to bar the state takeover of financially troubled Compton College. A Superior Court judge refused to issue an injunction sought by trustees of the Compton Community College District. The issue now...

Conn. student stabbed to death.
July 5, 2004... BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) -- City police were trying to find a man who escaped from a halfway house for questioning in the stabbing death of a 23-year-old college student. Kelly Lombard, who was studying criminal justice at Housatonic...

South Carolina student found dead.
July 5, 2004... CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- A 19-year-old community-college student was found dead in her apartment, and police said her injuries indicate she was assaulted. Latarsha Maxwell's body was found on a recent Saturday in her West Ashley apartment,...

Congress restores funding for N.D. tribal college.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- The U.S. House of Representatives has restored funding for United Tribes Technical College, said Pep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D. The $3 million for the Bismarck school is included in the fiscal 2005 Interior Department...

Arizona colleges critical of new university system.
July 5, 2004... PHOENIX (AP) -- How the state will study the proposed restructuring of Arizona's university system is beginning to take shape amid new criticism by community colleges. The Board of Regents released an outline of the study, including the...

Florida College suspends student newspaper.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) -- Manatee Community College disbanded its student newspaper after administrators clashed with the staff of The Lance over censorship issues. Administrators said an article titled "Dude, Where's my student activities?"...

R.I. officials decry proposed increase in state control of colleges.
July 5, 2004... PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Higher education leaders said a series of budget cuts and proposed changes would give the General Assembly control over the state's public colleges. The powerful House Finance Committee recommended taking budget...

Report: North Dakota needs more 2-year programs.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) -- North Dakota's colleges could do a better job of providing two-year programs for students, a task-force report says. The report, discussed at a state Board of Higher Education meeting, says that more...

Housing crunch squeezes Maine students.
July 5, 2004... SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Rising enrollment at Maine's community colleges is making it harder for students to find a place to live while they attend school. At Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, which has seen a 54 percent jump...

Missouri reverses course on scholarship program.
July 5, 2004... JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- At the urging of Gov. Bob Holden, state education officials have backed off a plan to cap scholarship money to some community-college students because of budget concerns. But word of the reversal has not reached...

Art, inside and out.(faculty lounge)
July 5, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: SUNY's Dutchess Community College In Albany, N.Y., recently held a faculty art show featuring work in ceramic, sculpture, painting, photography and design. At left is "Inner World," a piece by drawing...

Mary Ann Bretzlauf.(Honors & Awards)
July 5, 2004... English instructor Mary Ann Bretzlauf was recently named the 2004 Outstanding Faculty Member at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Ill.

Florida Community College at Jacksonville has announced seven faculty members as recipients of annual awards.(Honors & Awards)
July 5, 2004... Florida Community College at Jacksonville has announced seven faculty members as recipients of annual awards that recognize excellence in teaching. Winners of the Outstanding Faculty Award are: Hope Clayton, professor of English; Richard...

Sibyl James, an adjunct faculty member at Highline Community College in Des Moines, Wash., received $2,500 from the Cultural Development Authority of King County.(Honors & Awards)
July 5, 2004... Sibyl James, an adjunct faculty member at Highline Community College in Des Moines, Wash., received $2,500 from the Cultural Development Authority of King County for her forthcoming book, "Ho Chi Minh's Motorbike."

Pensacola Junior College in Pensacola, Fla. has honored five faculty members with the Teaching Excellence Award.(Honors & Awards)
July 5, 2004... Pensacola Junior College in Pensacola, Fla. has honored five faculty members with the Teaching Excellence Award. The 2003-2004 Academy of Teaching Excellence inductees are: Liesa Bromet, assistant professor, diagnostic medical sonography; Rich...

Candida Johnson, a business professor at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Mass., has Won the 2004 Teaching Excellence Award.(Honors & Awards)
July 5, 2004... Candida Johnson, a business professor at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Mass., has Won the 2004 Teaching Excellence Award from the Northeast Regional Council of the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs.

How to beat the back-up blues.(technology today)
July 5, 2004... "What's the worst thing that can happen to your computer? Worse than a hard-disk crash, virus infection, spam assault, denial-of-service attack, hacker takeover, fire, flood, or other human, mechanical or natural disaster is a faulty backup...

Pennsylvania College launches summer IT Institute.(Bits & Bytes)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... MEDIA, Pa. -- Delaware Comity Community College's department of business and computer information systems will offer accelerated computer training in its new Summer Information Technology Institute. At the institute, students can take...

California College gets $60,000 in tech grants.(Bits & Bytes)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Santa Aria College is one of 42 colleges and universities in the country to get a $30,000 HP Technology for Teaching grant designed to transform and improve learning through the use of technology. SAC also was one of five...

High-tech help is on the way for Oregon College.(Bits & Bytes)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... PORTLAND, Ore. -- The National Science Foundation has given Portland Community College in Portland, Ore., $697, 750 to develop the college's Building Construction Technology program. The program will help the "Framing Student Success"...

Canvas capers.(around campus)
July 5, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: The Lakeland Community College Fine Arts Gallery in Kirtland, Ohio, recently hosted a solo exhibition called "A Delightful Addiction," by fine-arts student David Russell. Russell works with both acrylic and...

Bourgeois banter.(around campus)
July 5, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Camden County College In Blackwood, N.J., recently held a performance of the Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical, "The Threepenny Opera." The play satirizez bourgeois society, examining the conventions of...

Hudson County Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, N.J., has received a $50,000 grant from the Independence Community Foundation for scholarships and outfitting the free-arts studios.

Miami Dade College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... The Florida Department of Education has given a $50,000 English Literacy and Civics State Leadership grant to the adult education program at Miami Dade College to develop research-based reading instruction for adult English language learners.

Pasadena City College.(Grants & Gifts)
July 5, 2004... Pasadena City College in Pasadena, Calif., has received a high-speed Canon 9080C scanner from the Pasadena Community Foundation to help students who need access to learning materials through nontraditional means.

Texas' Alamo Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Texas' Alamo Community College District, in partnership with Toyota Motor Corp., recently received a $2.15 million job-training grant from the Texas Workforce Commission's Skills Development Fund.

Fashion Institute of Technology.(Grants & Gifts)
July 5, 2004... Herbert Solomon, a publisher of periodicals, has given 1,500 books owned by his late wife, Sally, to the Gladys Marcus Library at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. The books are valued at $22,500.

LaGuardia Community College.(Grants & Gifts)
July 5, 2004... LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, N.Y., recently received a $150,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to help increase the number of businesses that develop products using renewable energy...

Johnson County Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan., has received $750,000 from The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation and the Sunderland Foundation to help construct the Regnier Center for Technology and Business on campus.

Palm Beach Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... The College Board has given Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth, Fla., a $75,000 Community Outreach Grant to help eighth-graders boost their algebra skills and math teachers enhance their teaching methods.

College of Technology.(Grants & Gifts)
July 5, 2004... SUNY's College of Technology in Delhi, N.Y., has received a $143,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to fund a certified training program for solar-electric installers.

Jane Schulman.(Appointments)
July 5, 2004... LaGuardia Community College in Long Island, N.Y., recently promoted two administrators. Jane Schulman was named associate dean of the adult and continuing education program. Schulman has worked at the college for the past 27 years in...

Sandra Watson.(Appointments)
July 5, 2004... Sandra Watson is LCC's new assistant dean of adult and continuing education. In her 29 years at LaGuardia, she worked as adviser to the International Cross-Cultural Black Women's Studies Institute, among other positions. She earned a bachelor's...

Dr. Carmen Simone.(Appointments)
July 5, 2004... Dr. Carmen Simone has been appointed vice president for academic affairs at Casper College in Casper, Wyo. Simone, who spent the past four years as chair of the college's physical science division, earned her bachelor's degree from the...

Dr. Forrest "Skip" Gillum.(Retirements)
July 5, 2004... Dr. Forrest "Skip" Gillum, vice president for academic affairs at Casper College in Casper, Wyo., has retired. Gillum has been with the college for the past 31 years. He earned an associate's degree at Casper College, a bachelor's degree at...

Dr. Tommy Davis.(Retirements)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Dr. Tommy Davis, president of East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Miss., has retired. He was president of the college since 1990. Davis received his associate's degree from EMCC, his bachelor's degree from Mississippi College, his...

King to lead Cabrillo.(Presidents)
July 5, 2004... Dr. Brian King has been selected as the new president of Cabrillo College in Aptos, Calif. King is currently the vice president of administration and business at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Me. He received his bachelor's...

CCSN taps Carpenter as chief.(Presidents)
July 5, 2004... Dr. Richard G. Carpenter has been tapped to head the Community College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. Carpenter is currently serving as the president and state director for the Wisconsin Technical College System. He holds an associate's...

Kerry touts plan for low-income, minority students.(around the nation)(Presidential candidate John Kerry)
July 19, 2004... CHICAGO (AP) -- Democrat John Kerry, pledging to help low-income and minority students, said if he's elected president, 1 million more college students would graduate under his plan than are now forecast to do so. Kerry's campaign says the...

Troubled California college faces uncertain future.(around the nation)(Compton Community College)
July 19, 2004... COMPTON, Calif. -- Faculty observers at California's Compton Community College are waiting to see what will happen now that the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office--in a highly unusual move--has taken control of the college. ...

Court: fired Iowa College employee's speech not covered by 1st Amendment.(around the nation)(Indian Hills Community College)
July 19, 2004... OTTUMWA, Iowa -- A long-time custodian who was fired after discussing pay disparities with his coworkers at Indian Hills Community College cannot pursue claims for wrongful discharge and violation of his First Amendment rights, a federal...

HEA hearing focuses on accreditation.(dateline Washington)(Higher Education Act reauthorization hearing)
July 19, 2004... A national profile of America's more than 3,000 accredited higher-education institutions should be created and made available to the public, according to a Republican-sponsored bill being debated in the U.S. Congress as part of the renewal of...

U.S. government sets foreign-student fee at $100.(around the nation)
July 19, 2004... Despite earlier requests by higher-education groups urging the government to reconsider, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued new rules setting the visa fee at $100 for most international students seeking to study in the United...

Funding = dollars and sense.(point of view)
July 19, 2004... During the Vietnam era of campus unrest that culminated in the now-infamous incident at Kent State, National Guardsmen fired on unarmed student demonstrators, a time at which I was a student at the University of New Hampshire. The Kent State...

Lending single-parent students a helping hand.(point of view)
July 19, 2004... A single-parent college student's decision to return to school is a positive one. But such students must overcome many obstacles to successfully navigate their roles as parents and students. Many students find their lives often are totally...

Editor's desk.(point of view)(Editorial)
July 19, 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...

Humor 101.(point of view)(Illustration)
July 19, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: WE'RE TAKING AWAY ALL PUBLIC FUNDING UNTIL THIS COLLEGE CAN PROVE IT'S USING THE TAX PAYERS' MONEY RESPONSIBLY. PSST, MR. CONGRESSMAN SHOULD I KEEP CIRCLING THE BLOCK WITH THE LIMO? THE STRIPPERS ARE...

Refueling funding: beset by anorexic budgets, community colleges are finding creative ways to fatten up their funding.(Cover Story)
July 19, 2004... Imagine a world where enrollments in America's public higher-education system are booming. Schools across the land rush to meet the demands that go along with more students-most of them financial-and state and local governments swoop in,...

Espousing values.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... Teresa Heinz Kerry, center, with students and women professionals at Florida's Miami Dade College last month. Heinz Kerry, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, participated in a roundtable at the...

Community-college leadership program turns 60.(University of Texas at Austin's Community College Leadership Program)
July 19, 2004... AUSTIN, Texas -- It's hard know how many people have had the same experience as Dr. George Boggs. But what happened to him one day when he was a student at the University of Texas at Austin's Community College Leadership Program is instructive....

More colleges playing the name game.
July 19, 2004... WANTED: Benefactor willing to ante up $20 million to Texas Panhandle community college. In return, institution will be renamed in donor's honor Individuals or corporations welcome. Serious inquiries only. The above want ad may be...

Unnaming.(removing the name of a benefactor from a building)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... It's a potential nightmare scenario: What if the benefactor whose name graces one of your institution's gleaming new buildings is found guilty of a major crime or defaults on naming payments? Should the name be removed from the facility? ...

FBI questions Nevada college employee.(Federal Bureau of Investigation)
July 19, 2004... LAS VEGAS (AP) -- The FBI has interviewed a Community College of Southern Nevada employee in an investigation of corruption allegations and ties with a state lawmaker, officials said. Topazia "Briget" Jones, a college clerk and former aide...

N.J. student killed while helping car accident victim.(New Jersey)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... NEWTON, N.J. (AP) -- A community-college student was struck and killed by a sport utility vehicle recently after she and a group of friends stopped to help a stranger who had been in a car accident, police said. Rebecka Storer, 25, of...

Nevada lawmaker quits college post.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said she's quitting her Southern Nevada Community College job because of frustration over "no direction and no duties." Giunchigliani has been a director for the...

Police arrest suspect in slaying of Connecticut student.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) -- Police raided a motel room on a recent Friday afternoon and found a suspect in the killing of a 23-year-old community-college student. Edwin Cabrera, 30, of Bridgeport, was charged with first-degree escape for...

Rhode Island board raises college tuition.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... WARWICK, R.I. (AP) -- A state education oversight board has raised the tuition by about 9 percent for Rhode Island's three public colleges, beginning this fall. The rise is a tad below initial forecasts of hikes affecting the Community...

California Trustees demote college president.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- The president of Santa Ana College has been removed from the job she's held for five years. The Rancho Santiago Community College District trustees have voted unanimously to oust Dr. Rita M. Cepeda. There was no...

Leader of Minnesota colleges gets raise, contract extension.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The chancellor of the 32-school Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system has received a 5 percent raise as part of a 14-month contract extension. Dr. James McCormick, 65, is now under contract until August...

No funding cuts for Missouri colleges.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has sent official word to the state's various community colleges that--contrary to a previous announcement--there will be no funding cut this fall in a...

Wyoming college commission director resigns.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Dr. Richard Gilliland has resigned as executive director of the Wyoming Community College Commission. Gilliland has served in the job since April 2002. "The transition to a new executive director will be a smooth...

Colorado college drops plan to move campus.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... GREELEY, Colo. (AP) -- The Aims Community College Board of Trustees has dropped a proposal to move the school to the Hewlett-Packard site in west Greeley. The board voted unanimously to focus instead on renovating and expanding the...

N.J. scholarships offer free college tuition for high-school grads.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) -- High-school seniors who graduate in the top fifth of their class can now attend a community college for free. Scholarships are expected to go to about 10,000 students. Gov. James E. McGreevey, who pushed the $10 million...

South Carolina students to get more aid.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) -- Students at technical colleges will get more aid than last fall through an increase from tuition assistance from the South Carolina Education Lottery. The maximum award for students at two-year colleges will...

Kansas college helps students finish classes.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) -- Students at Wichita Area Technical College whose academic programs are being eliminated by the school's budget cuts can complete their education through classes taught on campus by Butler Community College. The...

W. Va. Higher-Ed. Commission names vice chancellor.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The Higher Education Policy Commission has a new vice chancellor for administration. The West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education concurred with Dennis Taylor's appointment. In his...

Going out in style.(faculty lounge)
July 19, 2004... After teaching for more than 38 years at Montgomery College, Professor Dan Voss will say goodbye this summer, when he retires from the Rockville, Md., school. He has taught a host of subjects there, including illustration, graphic design,...

Michael Guista.(Honors & Awards)
July 19, 2004... Michael Guista, an English instructor at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, Calif., has won the annual Bakeless Literary Publication Prize for fiction for his book, "Brainwork: Stories in Search of a Soul."

Tidewater Community College.(Honors & Awards)
July 19, 2004... Tidewater Community College in Chesapeake, Va., has named Helena Krohn, chairwoman of the history department at the Norfolk Campus, as Outstanding Professor of the Year.

State University of New York.(Honors & Awards)
July 19, 2004... The State University of New York at Delhi recently recognized Dr. Linnea Goodwin, an assistant professor in the liberal arts and science division, and Michael Branigan, an assistant professor in the applied sciences and recreation department,...