Community College Week articles from March 2002

Community College Week archives from March 2002

Flag burning sparks scuffle on California campus. (around the nation).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... FULLERTON, Calif. -- A student attempting to burn an American flag sparked an angry confrontation last month at Fullerton College. The incident drew hundreds of student onlookers, and the Fullerton Police Department sent a dozen...

W. Va. plan to cut college tuition at university students expense. (around the nation).(West Virginia )(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... CHARLESTON, W. Va. -- A statewide tuition proposal under consideration would force students at every four-year college in West Virginia to pay more while benefiting those who attend community colleges. The proposal before the Higher...

Instructor named in sex suit arrested on new charge.(Paul Slifer)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... NEWARK, N.J. -- A former college instructor named in a student's sexual harassment suit has been arrested in a separate case of alleged sexual assault. Paul Slifer, who taught science at a Jewish high school in Essex County, was fired and...

Pell Grant shift in budget. (Capitol briefs).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... A little-noticed provision in the Bush administration's new education budget could bring major changes in how the federal government awards Pell Grants. As part of its fiscal 2003 budget plan, the U.S. Department of Education is asking...

2-year schools have edge in new competitive grant. (Capitol briefs).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Two-year colleges may gain from a new $15.5 million federal grant competition focusing on Hispanic-serving institutions. The U.S. Department of Education is offering five-year development and cooperative grants under its HSI grant program....

Bush budget could cause college closure. (Capitol briefs).(George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... President Bush's budget proposal threatens the future of United Tribes Technical College, its president says. Dr. David Gipp said the Bismarck, N.D., college would take a $3 million cut. "This came as a big surprise," he said. "It's...

2-year colleges set new agenda. (dateline Washington).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... A larger Pell Grant, expansion of HOPE Scholarship tax credits and nursing education are among the top priorities set by community college leaders for 2002. The priorities were set forth at the National Legislative Seminar of the American...

There's more than one pane in that glass ceiling. (point of view).(Brief Article)(Column)
March 4, 2002... The glass ceiling is a lot thinner than it was in 1969 when I began my career as an educator. Yes, it still exists, but it is no longer impenetrable for women. Why is that? In large part, it's because there have been a number of inspiring...

Taking your lumps on the road less traveled. (point of view).(women college presidents)(Brief Article)(Column)
March 4, 2002... Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -- Robert Frost Women who are presidents of two-year and four-year institutions of higher education have all taken Frost's...

Leadership is a emotional craft. (point of view).(Column)
March 4, 2002... Fewer than 1 percent of the 1,000 largest companies in the United States have women CEOs. Fortunately for the nation's community college system, women have made considerably more progress in occupying leadership positions. About...

Moving on up: over the last decade, women have fractured the glass ceiling that once separated them from community college leadership roles. But many female leaders say more effort will be needed to truly break the gender barrier.(Statistical Data Included)
March 4, 2002... WASHINGTON -- In the middle of a recent meeting at a community college searching for a new president, Dr. Narcisa Polonio, whose job at the Association of Community College Trustees includes helping trustee boards conduct presidential searches,...

Ind. Senate backs off plan to remake community college.(Indiana)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... INDIANAPOLIS -- State senators have backed away from threats to dissolve the partnership that created Indiana's community college system, voting instead for legislation designed to give lawmakers a greater voice in higher education issues. ...

Conn. Gov. wants to merge universities, community colleges.(Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... HARTFORD, Conn. -- Gov. John G. Rowland wants to merge the state's community colleges and the Connecticut State University system, but some lawmakers doubt whether savings would result. Rowland said the proposed merger would save $2.5...

Accused Oklahoma student attacker tied to earlier assault.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... OKLAHOMA CITY -- A man accused of attacking an Oklahoma City Community College student has been tied to at least one earlier attack, authorities said. Six felony charges will be presented to the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office...

Lawyer: prof. charged in Archive theft has mental problems.(Shawn P. Aubitz)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... PHILADELPHIA -- A former government archivist charged with stealing valuable documents, including pardons signed by President Lincoln, was described as a likable college professor who sometimes brought historical treasures to class. But he...

La. colleges use creative financing to hasten building.(Louisiana)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... BATON ROUGE, La. -- Bracing for an expected enrollment explosion, Louisiana's public colleges are using a creative financing method to avoid the red tape normally found in state construction projects. Two-year colleges expect their...

Michigan colleges grateful without budget increase.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... LANSING, Mich. -- Community colleges won't see their state funding increase for the upcoming school year under the proposed budget announced by Gov. John Engler. Still, they'll fare better than many other institutions in the proposed...

Tribal College farming initiative's success spreads across country.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... BILLINGS, Mont. -- An initiative that originated at a tribal college in Box Elder is being expanded to other states to help American Indians gain better access to federal farm aid. Since its inception at Stone Child Tribal College four...

Northwest Indian College president quits.(Dr. Tommy Lewis)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... LUMMI RESERVATION, Wash. -- Dr. Tommy Lewis has left his post as Northwest Indian College president three months after telling reporters he was staying at the school. Lewis cut a deal with the Lummi tribal college's Board of Trustees in...

Iowa instructor leads collaborative effort on black history. (faculty lounge).(Dr. Hal Chase)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... MASON CITY, Iowa -- What began as a project to mark Iowa's sesquicentennial has resulted six years later in a book, "Outside In: African-American History in Iowa from 1838-2000." Dr. Hal Chase, a history instructor at Des Moines Area...

Pinning down the feminism of pin-ups. (faculty lounge).
March 4, 2002... In observance of Women's History Month, Santa Monica College art historian Maria Elena Buszek will explicate her decidedly feminist perspective on the famous 1940s Vargas girl pin-ups. Her free lecture, "From Varga Girls to Riot Grrrls: The...

Honors & awards. (faculty lounge).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Dr. Milady Murphy, an instructor of wellness at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Ala., has been named the 2001 recipient of the Dr. and Mrs. John A. Todd Award for Exceptional Achievement in Teaching. Murphy is also the director...

Grants & gifts. (around campus).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Spring U.S.A. recently donated 12 chafing dishes and two induction stoves worth $16.838 to the culinary arts program at Elgin Community College in Elgin, Ill. Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash., has received a $447,000 Technology...

Student speed-sacker stacks up to competition. (around campus).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... LINCOLN, Neb. -- Perhaps he had an advantage: Tim Scott, a Nebraska community college student, is training for the 2004 Olympic Games in tae kwon do. But he also is the third grocery sacker from the same store to win the state competition...

Student-built housing project takes bids. (around campus).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... NORTH PLATTE, Neb.--Mid-Plains Community College students are building the house of your dreams. Bids are now being taken. By participating in the construction of a three-bedroom home on campus, the building and construction students...

Kan. college discovers cheating `epidemic'.(Barton County Community College, Kansas)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... GREAT BEND, Kan. -- As many as 30 students may have been involved in academic dishonesty during finals week of the fall term at Barton County Community College, officials at the two-year school said. That number includes seven students...

Former Colorado campus employee faces child porn charges.(Peter K. Dunn)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... DENVER -- A former Auraria Higher Education Center employee has been charged with using his work computer to view child pornography. Peter K. Dunn, of Lakewood, was charged with 42 misdemeanor counts of sexual exploitation of children. He...

Computing your way to a sharper image. (technology today).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Although image isn't everything, it does count, and computers can help refine an image in a number of ways. But it is important to remember that if they are used incorrectly, computers can convey an image that is sloppy. The earliest...

High-tech altruist got start at Oregon college. (Bits & Bytes).(Lane Community College )(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... EUGENE, Ore. -- Until she took a basic computer class at a community college five years ago, Lorraine Kerwood knew nothing about computers. Today she's a self-taught techie who loves messing with hardware and improving the lives of the...

A high-wire act, Sans wire. (A Tech Perspective).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... You're a college administrator. The chancellor has just told you he expects the entire campus to be networked. By the end of the term. And you're in charge. You walk back into your office, close the door and begin sobbing,...

Community College of Allegheny County.(new dean of occupational technologies)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Dr. John Glenn has been selected dean of occupational technologies at the north campus of the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh. Glenn most recently served as interim director of community education and outreach at Onondaga...

Santa Barbara City College.(dean, educational programs)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Santa Barbara City College in Santa Barbara, Calif., has appointed Dr. Ronald E. Baker as a new dean of educational programs. Before joining SBCC, Baker was director of supportive services at Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, Calif. Baker...

St. Philip's College.(vice president, student affairs)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... St. Philip's College in San Antonio has named longtime staff member Dr. Patricia Candia to the position of vice president of student affairs for the community college. Candia, who most recently served as the college's director of student life,...

Northern Kentucky Community and Technical College District.(vice president )(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... The Northern Kentucky Community and Technical College District in Highland Heights, Ky., has appointed Dr. Charles Stebbins vice president for institutional research, planning and effectiveness. Involved in community college education since...

Prince George's Community College.(dean)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Dr. Eric Grosse Jr. has been named dean of business, management and technology at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Md. Before joining PGCC, Grosse was an instructor at Trinity College in Washington, D.C. Grosse has a bachelor's...

North Harris Montgomery Community College .(vice chancellor selected)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Ray Laughter has been appointed vice chancellor of external affairs of North Harris Montgomery Community College District in Houston. Previously the associate vice chancellor for community and workforce development, Laughter has his bachelor's...

Community College of Allegheny County.(Richard L. Allison named dean)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... The Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh has named Richard L. Allison dean of its Washington Center. With Allegheny since 1981, Allison most recently served as the college's dean of occupational technologies. He has a bachelor's...

Community College of Baltimore.(assistant vice chancellor selected)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... The Community College of Baltimore County in Dundalk, Md., has selected Dr. May Kuang-chi Chen as the assistant vice chancellor for strategic enrollment management. Chen has more than 25 years of experience in higher education, including 10...

Oakland Community College.(new dean)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... David L. Mathews was recently named dean of academic and student services at Oakland Community College in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Before joining Oakland, Mathews was at Marygrove College in Detroit, where he had been a member of the economics...

Information tech jobs in demand at non-tech firms.(information technology )
March 4, 2002... Of the 10.4 million information technology workers in the United States, the vast majority are employed by non-IT companies. Yes, you read that correctly -- the vast majority of IT workers are employed by non-IT companies. That sentence...

Keeping balance: when technology meets core values.
March 4, 2002... In a recent conversation with some of our colleagues at the University of Texas, we were exchanging stories about the amount of time we spend at our computers and how we spend it -- something along the lines of "What in the world did we do...

Unifying the digital campus at North Shore.(North Shore Community College implements web-integration software)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... How do we streamline registration, tuition payment and other administrative tasks? What technologies can help us deliver targeted communications? Where can we house centralized information for our multiple campuses? These are some of the many...

SCT announces enhancements to Banner.(SCT Education Systems Software)(Banner Student Solutions)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... SCT global education solutions announced in January a number of initiatives and enhancements to SCT Banner that are scheduled to be delivered over the next 18 months, beginning in April. The company also announced it will make a multimillion...

Navigating the print/digital spectrum.(XanEdu online CoursePack development)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... We've all seen the images. State-of-the-art classrooms in dramatic new facilities. LCD projectors on every lectern with faculty presenting multimedia pyrotechnics every class. Everyone jotting notes on hand-held devices. While it's all...

Classroom adventures just a click away.(historic documents on the Library of Congress' web site)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Photos taken by famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady are priceless, yet Carolyn Franklin, class of 1988, can put those pictures right into the hands of her students. Thanks to a pilot program called Adventures of the American Mind,...

Drexel creates fully wireless online campus.(Drexel University )(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Drexel University recently launched an energetic strategic agenda targeted at its major differentiating characteristic: technology-focused education and research. Drexel has a long history of technology firsts. In 1983, Drexel became the...

Columbus State goes global with education.(distance education services at Columbus State Community College)
March 4, 2002... Ever wondered how your college can reach more nontraditional students who don't quite have time to go to a traditional class? Or do you wonder how to train your faculty and staff on the technology of distance learning once these programs...

WebFocus streamlines curriculum.(Information Builders Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Attending medical school is a huge commitment, causing medical students to plan their time very carefully. Thanks to Information Builders, the task of evaluating courses has become much easier at the University of North Texas Health Science...

Siemens benefits Seminole Community College.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Competition comes in many forms, and every business faces it. But for institutions of higher learning, the discussion is rarely framed in this context. Not surprisingly, and appropriately, the emphasis is given to providing students with the...

Reshaping education tech-knowledge-y.
March 4, 2002... In classrooms throughout the world, computers, digital projectors and other high-tech tools are becoming as common as the traditional overhead projector. During the 1990s, U.S. schools invested heavily in computer and networking hardware so...

ACCUPLACER and the community college.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Community colleges are faced with a unique set of challenges in education. Many of the students coming to campus are non-traditional students who, because of job or family commitments, may not be able to fit into the stringent time frames...

Courses you teach, resources they need.
March 4, 2002... It's an axiom to say educational technology is rapidly evolving. Classrooms that were once populated with only chalkboards now have projectors and PowerPoint presentations. Textbooks come with CD-ROMs and DVDs, or they can be downloaded in...

Be careful buying computers on the Web.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... For years, savvy computer users have saved money by buying PCs through the mail. Now the Internet has opened up a totally new channel for saving money. And for getting taken. Despite the collapse of the dot-com economy, buying computers...

Skeptics and true believers hash it out.(educational technology)
March 4, 2002... Like it or not, education is moving rapidly into the digital world. It is a world where teachers and students will locate Web sites, watch videos and animations, listen to audio clips, download data, conduct simulations and communicate...

Students collaborate from remote locales.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Thanks to technology, busy professionals now can go back to college without ever setting foot in a classroom. Through an innovative program proposed by master's in business administration students at The University of Phoenix, students would be...

From support to strategic partnerships.
March 4, 2002... Monroe Community College (MCC) in Rochester, N.Y., will enroll its 40th freshman class in the fall semester 2002. Like many community colleges created during the 1960s, MCC's history has reflected local and statewide trends in employment,...

21st century skills at work in Daytona.(Daytona Beach Community College, Florida)
March 4, 2002... Digital literacy. Inventive thinking. Communication skills. Quality output. These 21st century skills are a far cry from what most of us grew up with back when reading, writing and `rithmetic were the buzzwords of the day. But that's where...

EtherneTV replaces plain old cable.
March 4, 2002... It does not seem so long ago that textbooks and pencils were the staples of college life. But increasingly, students make their college choice based on a school's technology, and practically every school either has or plans to provide...

Change or be changed: best tech practices.
March 4, 2002... With important goals and increasingly tight budgets, community college administrators continually ask: "Am I doing the right thing? Am I making the right purchases to strategically direct this institution?" To determine the value of...

Online and in class: parallels and prospects.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... The community college in America plays a critical role in our educational system, providing access to higher education and greater professional opportunity to millions of students who would have otherwise ended their formal education with a...

Modern classrooms -- with staying power.
March 4, 2002... At the community education level, technology rules! That statement is echoed in the findings of a recent survey by the American Association of Community Colleges regarding the credit programs students are taking that lead to immediate jobs....

Thin Computing launches BeTwin. (Technology Tidbits).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Thin Computing Inc. last month announced the launch of BeTwin 2000/XP as its latest addition to its offering of Ultra Thin Client solutions. BeTwin 2000/XP, the latest product developed by Thin Computing, enables up to five users to...

SUNY, WebCT have new agreement. (Technology Tidbits).(State University of New York)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... The State University of New York (SUNY), and WebCT, the world's leading provider of integrated e-learning systems for higher education, have signed a three-year agreement that allows all of SUNY's 64 campuses and pro education's top course...

College program whistling BICSI. (Technology Tidbits).(Building Industry Consulting Service International)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Montgomery College in the North Harris Montgomery Community College District in Houston has experienced a number of "firsts" in its seven-year history, and the most recent involves an instructor who teaches cabling and telecommunication courses...

Virtual Ink unveils new product. (Technology Tidbits).(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... Virtual Ink, creator of the award-winning mimio family of products, was one company selected for DEMO 2002, the industry's premier launch platform for new technology products. The market leader in innovative and affordable collaboration...

Blackboard joins with George Washington University.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... The George Washington University and Blackboard Inc. announced in January that they reached agreement for the transition of the Prometheus project from the university to Blackboard. Prometheus is a leading course-management system developed...

Toxic threat clouds future of college building at ground zero. (around the nation).(Manhattan Community College)
March 18, 2002... NEW YORK -- Tests performed by a private consultant for the Borough of Manhattan Community College have revealed dangerous levels of toxins at Fiterman Hall, the 15-story college building pummeled by debris during the collapse of the World...

Miss. high court approves university expansion, rebuffs colleges. (around the nation).
March 18, 2002... JACKSON, Miss. -- After years of legal wrangling, the University of Southern Mississippi has received the green light to offer classes to freshmen and sophomores at its campus in Long Beach. The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that the...

Commission: thousands embezzled from Ore. College.(Treasure Valley Community College comptroller Susan Shaw charged)
March 18, 2002... SALEM, Ore. -- A state ethics commission has found that a former Oregon community college comptroller embezzled more than $650,000 over a four-year period. After an investigation, the Government Standards and Practices Commission has...

Bush welfare plan draws criticism from higher ed. officials. (dateline Washington).
March 18, 2002... President Bush's new welfare reform plan is getting negative reviews from educators and some lawmakers who want more emphasis placed on job training and post-secondary education for low-income Americans. "We're very disappointed in the...

Labor budget scales back on job training. (Capitol briefs).
March 18, 2002... Minor cuts in federal support for one-stop job training centers at community colleges are justified because programs increasingly gaining financial support at the local level, a Bush administration official said. The U.S. Labor Department...

Waylaid on the way to the grade book. (point of view).
March 18, 2002... An office in which I could swing at least three cats end to end, a computer clever enough to make toast (although I never quite worked out how to make this happen), a staff lounge with a leather sofa and deep pile carpet. And they called this...

If we're losing the battle, what about the race? (point of view).
March 18, 2002... No one in a position of power in academia has yet admitted the degree to which feelings of resentment about being forced to confront issues of race can bleed into the evaluation process. An exchange I heard during "Comparative and...

Student evaluations: keeping up accountability or dumbing down the curriculum? (Or both?).
March 18, 2002... They destroy academic integrity. They encourage instructors to dumb down courses and inflate grades. They provide important feedback about how instructors are performing. They are crucial to the teaching mission of community colleges. Love...

Controversial head of unopened Nevada College resigns.
March 18, 2002... LAS VEGAS -- The president of the Nevada state college in Henderson -- which has not yet opened -- has announced he will resign, casting the opening date for the new campus into limbo. Dr. Richard Moore cited criticism of his management by...

College official sentenced for hiring, `phantom' worker.(Brief Article)
March 18, 2002... CARSON CITY, Nev. -- The former head of Western Nevada Community College's day-care center has been sentenced to a suspended jail term in a case charging she hired her sister as a "phantom employee." Raylene Sue Golden, 47, sentenced...

Two colleges move from probation to approbation.
March 18, 2002... After a year spent on probation, two community colleges are back in the good graces of their accrediting commission, the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools. Both El Paso Community College in Texas and North Carolina's Robeson...

Mich. bill would allow opt-out from college taxes.
March 18, 2002... LANSING, Mich. -- Wayne Community College shut down within three if a bill passes allowing communities to decide not pay taxes that support the school, according to WCCC Chancellor Curtis Ivery. A bill introduced by state Rep. William...

Wash. College, former president settle suit.
March 18, 2002... SPOKANE, Wash. -- A former Spokane Falls Community College president who was demoted after a public dispute with the chancellor has agreed to settle her lawsuit against the community college district. Under an agreement reached last month...

Former S.C. president settles with college.
March 18, 2002... MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- The yearlong battle between former President Tim Lightfield and Horry-Georgetown Technical College is over. Lightfield has agreed to take a year's salary of $129,630 and drop his lawsuit against the college. In...

Campus shooting victim sues N.Y. College.
March 18, 2002... WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A woman who was shot in the head by an ex-boyfriend after she obtained an arrest warrant and an order of protection says officials treated her case cavalierly because she was not living with the man. Joy Thomas, 20,...

Seattle College collaborates on Wash. earthquake study.
March 18, 2002... SEATTLE -- A network of about 90 seismographs is being buried around Puget Sound -- in flower beds, under decks, alongside businesses -- for a three-month study of how the region responds to earthquakes. Packed in heavy gray plastic...

Michigan College grapples with difficult diversity dilemma.
March 18, 2002... DEARBORN, Mich. -- Some say Henry Ford Community College reflects the diversity of this city, with its large Arab-American and Muslim populations. Others say bias still is a problem on campus. A number of teachers and students describe the...

Professor accused of falsifying background.
March 18, 2002... NANTICOKE, Pa. -- A history professor is falsely claiming to be a Navy SEAL, according to SEALS who have called the professor's reported account into question. David Silbergeld, an adjuct professor at Luzerne County Community College,...