Community College Week articles from October 2004

Community College Week archives from October 2004

Court: former Md. college official can't pursue free-speech claims.(around the nation)
October 11, 2004... BALTIMORE -- A former top-level campus administrator at Maryland's largest community college cannot pursue claims for First Amendment and due-process violations, a federal judge has ruled. Dr. Barney Wilson voluntarily resigned and wasn't...

Pa. legislature considers adjunct faculty's effect on colleges.(around the nation)
October 11, 2004... PHILADELPHIA -- Does the widespread use of part-time faculty affect the quality of education? Critics and supporters of using part-time faculty at community colleges recently debated that question, testifying at a Pennsylvania House Education...

Senate bill would fund Bush's job-training plan.(dateline Washington)
October 11, 2004... Seven months after President Bush proposed a new $250 million initiative for job training at community colleges, a Senate panel is stepping forward to try to fund it. The Senate committee responsible for education spending has included...

Many states fail affordability test, report finds.(dateline Washington)
October 11, 2004... A new report, "Measuring Up 2004: National Report Card on Higher Education," gives many states D's and F's on enrollment and affordability issues, in some cases noting the widening gaps that leave low-income students and students of color...

Saving more than a pretty penny.(point of view)
October 11, 2004... Congress is working on the renewal of federal higher-education programs, and it's expected that final legislation will be considered in both the House and Senate early next year. So far, House Republicans have proposed legislation (the College...

The threat of stereotypes.(point of view)
October 11, 2004... As the human landscape of our country changes, so does the face of the community college. With a changing student population, community colleges must adapt to different teaching modalities to address environmental and social issues. One of...

Humor 101.(point of view)
October 11, 2004... "I need to take a call. Argue amongst yourselves." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A not-so-golden state: though California colleges are enjoying short-term relief, they're facing long-term challenges.(Cover Story)
October 11, 2004... California's community colleges, which serve one-third of the nation's two-year students, have received their first state funding increase in three years and strong support from voters who have mostly backed bonding referenda for capital...

Three former employees of Calif. college charged with embezzling.
October 11, 2004... VICTORVILLE, Calif. -- In California's Mojave desert town of Victorville, the ex-president of Victor Valley College is among three former employees criminally charged with embezzling public funds. According to prosecutors, the college paid...

Florida college to revive newspaper.
October 11, 2004... Manatee Community College may again have a campus newspaper, following several contentious months during which administrators shut the publication down after an article critical of the student government's spending was published against the...

Virginia colleges to honor high-school credits.
October 11, 2004... RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Gov. Mark R. Warner signed an agreement with 62 Virginia colleges and universities that allows the state's high-school students to earn up to 13 college course credits. Warner's signature finalized an initiative he...

Court reinstates bias suit against Texas college.
October 11, 2004... LUFKIN, Texas -- The Texas Court of Appeals has reinstated a suit accusing Angelina College of illegally discriminating against a 65-year-old white faculty member based on his age, race and sex. Dr. Ronald Kokes offered enough evidence of a...

Iowa schools turning nursing students away.
October 11, 2004... CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- With Iowa's nursing shortage expected to worsen as baby boomers grow older, nursing schools have been deluged with applicants, forcing them to create waiting lists or turn applicants away, officials said. At the...

Man charged in stabbing of Conn. student.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) -- Police have charged a city man with murder in the fatal stabbing of his former girlfriend. Edwin Cabrera, 34, was arrested and charged with one count of murder in the death of Kelly Lombard. Lombard, 23, a...

Police find body of missing Arkansas student.
October 11, 2004... MELBOURNE, Ark. (AP) -- A body found in Izard County is likely that of community-college student Rebekah Gould, who had been reported missing, state police said. Gould, 22, was last seen Sept. 20 and was reported missing the next day. ...

Calif. college faces fine for conflict violations.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... COMPTON, Calif. (AP) -- The Compton Community College District could face a $100,000 fine because its director of business affairs and other officials failed to file conflict-of-interest statements for as long as 20 years, according to the...

Pa. faculty protest new payroll software.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Professors at Harrisburg Area Community College are outraged over a change in the college's payroll software that could force them to forfeit a paycheck next year. The majority of the college's 260 full-time...

Ark. college gets $1 million to teach anti-terrorism.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Northwest Arkansas Community College has received nearly $1 million from the federal government to start a rural homeland-security training program. Dr. Becky Paneitz, the college's president, said the $983,669...

Iowa college to get $500,000 for mass-fatalities fund.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Kirkwood Community College Will receive nearly $500,000 for an institute that helps officials deal with mass fatalities, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said. The National Mass Fatalities Institute will use the funds for...

Fund-raising group sues California college.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... SANTA FE, Calif. (AP) -- The foundation formerly responsible for raising and distributing money for Santa Fe Community College is suing the school. The college's board has voted to dissolve the foundation and replace it with another. ...

Enrollment up at Louisiana colleges.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- About 3,500 more students are enrolled in Louisiana's colleges and universities than a year ago, and officials are predicting the count could climb as final enrollment head counts come in. Preliminary figures from...

W.Va. Council urges reduction in learning gap.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) -- Most jobs available today require math skills that 70 percent of West Virginians don't have, according to the chancellor of the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education. The WorkKeys...

Hispanic graduates of Ky. college to get scholarships.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- The Lexington Hispanic Association will receive help from the University of Kentucky in coordinating a privately funded scholarship program for undocumented and other Hispanic students. The scholarship fund is open to...

Nebraska official questions chancellor's comments.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) -- At least one community-college official is taking exception to remarks made by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman. As UNL officials announced a 4 percent drop in fall enrollment. Perlman...

Ore. college president quits.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) -- After one year on the job, Dr. David Beyer resigned as president of Umpqua Community College to take a similar job in Washington state. Beyer e-mailed his decision to staff members on Sept. 27, the first day of...

Immigrant student makes case for federal, state legislation.
October 11, 2004... HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Majan Jean believes she got a miracle last summer. The 19-year-old illegal immigrant from Haiti received an 11th-hour reprieve from deportation when U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and others interceded on her...

More Texas students taking remedial classes.
October 11, 2004... HOUSTON (AP) -- Nearly two-thirds of high-school seniors enrolled at Houston-area community colleges aren't prepared for college and are taking remedial classes. Records at the Houston Community College System and the North Harris...

CUNY gets $26 million in research grants.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... NEW YORK (AP) -- The City University of New York has received more than $26 million in research grants, including $12.5 million to train public-school teachers in mathematics and the sciences. The $12.5 million National Science Foundation...

Dr. Len Roberts.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Dr. Len Roberts, a professor of English at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa., has received the Lannan Foundation Literary Translator's Award for a collection titled "Before and After the Fall: New Poems" by Hungarian poet Sandor...

Evelyn Irvin.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Evelyn Irvin, a nursing instructor at Casper College in Casper, Wyo., has been chosen as the Stuckenhoff Endowed Nursing Faculty for 2004-2005.

Gail Tucker.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Gail Tucker, a nursing instructor at Citrus College in Glendora, Calif., has received the 2004 Jane M. Cardea Outstanding Graduate Student Award and was inducted into the Azusa Pacific University Academic Hall of Fame by APU.

National Association for the Education of Young Children Associate Degree Advisory Council.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Alison Lutton, an assistant professor of early childhood education at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa., was recently appointed to the National Association for the Education of Young Children Associate Degree Advisory Council.

National Association of Biology Teachers.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Dr. Linda Crow, a professor of biological sciences at Maryland's Montgomery College, was recently selected as the recipient of the 2004 two-year College Biology Teaching Award by the National Association of Biology Teachers.

Six faculty members from Harrisburg Area Community College in Harrisburg, Pa., have received the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Excellence in Teaching Award.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Six faculty members from Harrisburg Area Community College in Harrisburg, Pa., have received the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Excellence in Teaching Award. They include: Cathryn Amdahl, an associate professor of...

Dr. Charles F. Martin.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Dr. Charles F. Martin, a professor in the basic skills department of the City University of New York's Queensborough Community College in Bayside, N.Y., is co-winner of the Academy of American Poets 2004 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award...

A cultural exchange.(faculty lounge)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Va., recently welcomed its first Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Andrew Mwenda Mbatiah, in partnership with Norfolk State University. Mbatiah comes from the University of Nairobi, where he is a senior...

I, robot.(faculty lounge)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Community-college instructors and high-school teachers from across the country recently met at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio, to build robots demonstrating math and science principles for their students. Because they are powered...

Internationally recognized ceramicist Marlo Bartels recently completed a stint as Citrus College's third annual Artist-in-Residence.(around campus)
October 11, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Internationally recognized ceramicist Marie Bartels recently completed a stint as Citrus College's third annual Artist-in-Residence. Bartels taught summer classes at the Glendora, Calif. school, exhibited...

A well-sculpted path.(around campus)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Sarah Silberman remembers scooping up hat tar from the roadside to sculpt into lime figures. Today Silberman, a 95-year-old artist and community-college student, still loves getting her hands dirty. Some of her work is currently showing at...

Collin County Community College District.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Texas Instruments has donated $1 million to the Collin County Community College District in Plano, Texas. The endowment, the largest in the college's 20-year history, creates scholarships for students majoring in science, math and engineering.

Tidewater Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... The National Science Foundation recently gave $600,000 to Tidewater Community College in Norfolk, Va., to create a model program that mentors at-risk women students, drawing them into the science, technology, engineering and math disciplines.

San Antonio College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... The Levi Strauss Foundation Board has awarded a $20,000 grant to support the Women's Center and adult reentry program at Texas' San Antonio College.

Monroe Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y., has received $25,000 from The Flanders Group to establish the Murph Shapiro Excellence in Coaching Award for coaching, good sportsmanship and achievement.

Northeastern Junior College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., will receive a $1.8 million grant through the U.S. Department of Education's Title III Strengthening Institutions Program to increase student success through academics and student services.

Dutchess Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... The State University of New York's Workforce Training program has provided Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with three grants totaling $125,000 to bolster job-training programs.

Hudson County Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, N.J., recently received two grants: a $100,000 endowment for business scholarships from the Provident Bank Foundation and a $484,000 grant from the New Jersey State Department of Labor and...

Raritan Valley Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Raritan Valley Community College in North Branch, N.J., has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support a program that helps at-risk students achieve academic success.

Metropolitan Community College.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Neb., recently received a $45,000 grant from the J. Paul Getty Trust to help preserve its Fort Omaha Campus.

Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute.(Grants & Gifts)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... The National Science Foundation has awarded a four-year, $2.8 million grant to Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute in Albuquerque, N.M., to establish a regional center for microsystems training.

Wash. college coalition fights cyber crime.(Bits & Bytes)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... DES MOINES, Wash. -- With hacking, spam and computer viruses disrupting more businesses and even threatening national security, three area colleges will launch a new program to train experts in countering such cyber threats. The colleges,...

N.J. college wins Web award.(Bits & Bytes)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... CAMDEN, N.J. -- Camden County College's Internet site has topped the "schools" category of the SouthJersey.com 2004 Best of the Web Awards for the third straight year. Criteria included site content, ease-of-use and overall value to users....

New software to help online learning.(Bits & Bytes)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- Elluminate Inc., a provider of live e-learning and Web conferencing solutions for education, recently introduced Elluminate Live! to educational institutions and virtual schools. With the No User Left Behind[TM]...

And the computer survey says ...(technology today)
October 11, 2004... Your computer is working now. But will it work tomorrow? And what about the next PC you buy? Will it be a reliable workhorse or a lemon? One of the most pressing issues regarding computers is reliability. Nearly a quarter century after the...

West Kentucky Community and Technical College.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Dr. James E. Selbe has been named provost of academic and student affairs at West Kentucky Community and Technical College in Paducah, Ky. Previously, he was professor of education at Jackson State University. Selbe earned his associate's...

Bucks County Community College.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Dr. Maureen McCreadie is the new dean of learning resources at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pa. Most recently. McCreadie served as the college's arts department chairwoman. She has a bachelor's degree from Cornell University, a...

Columbia Basin College.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Camie Glatt is the new assistant vice president of human resources and legal affairs at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash. Before coming to CBC, Glatt was a prosecuting attorney. She has an associate's degree from CBC, a bachelor's degree...

Messner tapped to head Holyoke.(Presidents)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Dr. William F. Messner is the new president of Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Mass. Messner has served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges, a system of 13 two-year colleges. He earned an associate's degree at Concordia...

Parker takes helm at Vance Granville.(Presidents)(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... George R. "Randy" Parker is the new president of Vance Granville Community College in Henderson, N.C. In his previous position, Parker served as vice president for instruction and student services at Lenoir Community College in Kinston, N.C....

Coming events.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
October 11, 2004... JANUARY 2005 Jan. 21-Feb. 1 The 11th Annual Southeastern African American Student Leadership Conference (SEAASLC) "Creating Leaders Today to Conquer Tomorrow" Meredith College Raleigh, NC E-mail:...

Ohio Court classifies former instructor as sexual predator.(around the nation)
October 25, 2004... CLEVELAND -- A former community-college administrator who spent a decade behind bars for raping a student after class was properly classified as a sexual predator, the Ohio Court of Appeals has ruled. Aside from the rape conviction, the...

Former California college officials charged with embezzling.(around the nation)
October 25, 2004... SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Three former Riverside Community College officials, who are also former sheriffs deputies, are scheduled to stand trial Nov. 5 for allegedly trying to embezzle more than $1 million in a scheme that involved the California...

Maine college system welcomes expanded role.(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- The head of the Maine Community College System welcomes the added responsibilities being placed on the system, but says more resources are needed to do the job right. Dr. John Fitzsimmons, president of the...

Report examines dual enrollment, suggests reforms.(around the nation)
October 25, 2004... One thing is abundantly clear about dual-enrollment programs that offer high-school students a jump start on their college education: The programs are increasingly popular among secondary students. What's not so clear is whether the hodgepodge...

Congress weighs simplifying student-aid process.(dateline Washington)
October 25, 2004... Nora Diaz almost didn't make it to college because her student-aid application form was too long and complicated. Diaz told a congressional panel that she couldn't have filled out the form without help from counselors. And without student aid,...

Foreign-student Visa process clumsy and cumbersome, educators say.(dateline Washington)
October 25, 2004... Visa requirements imposed foreign students since Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are confusing, redundant, and causing more problems than they solve, witnesses appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said earlier this month. They...

Senate plan would boost colleges' open enrollment.(Capitol briefs)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Two senators have proposed a plan to help community colleges fulfill their mission of providing open enrollment. "The combination of budget cuts and increased enrollments is forcing community colleges to make tough choices between raising...

Getting youth to vote: is it rocking the boat?(point of view)
October 25, 2004... Teachers know that students are good at doing what little it takes to get by in class. Of course, there are those who excel and put in that extra effort, but even these laudable souls are probably setting out to please rather than to challenge....

Nurturing women in the work force.(point of view)
October 25, 2004... Anybody who knows anything about work-force development these days recognizes that women still face significant barriers when it comes to careers in historically male-dominated technical, vocational and applied-learning areas. Sadly, young...

Humor 101.(point of view)
October 25, 2004... What happens in the biology lab after hours. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

On the brink: community colleges are striving to engage more women in science and engineering fields--and America's status as a world leader in the sciences just might depend upon their success.
October 25, 2004... What do silver tea sets, fine china and dainty finger sandwiches have in common with science, technology, engineering and math? Plenty, according to educators and students at Florence-Darlington Technical College in Florence, S.C. "The...

Engineering a work force.
October 25, 2004... How critical are community colleges in educating America's engineers? According to many educators, the schools play a vital role, and their influence will continue to grow. In 1999-2000, 40 percent of engineers reported having turned...

Congress votes to shut student-loan loophole.(Capitol briefs)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Following weeks of partisan bickering, on Oct. 9 the Senate unanimously passed the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act, which would end for one year an estimated $285 million in special allowance payments made to certain student loan providers...

Indiana Governor to dissolve college alliance.
October 25, 2004... EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- Gov. Joe Kernan will formally dissolve the troubled alliance that manages Indiana's community-college system, a report said. Management of the Community College of Indiana may move solely to Ivy Tech State College,...

Ariz. college employees accused of breaking law.(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- An opponent of a Maricopa Community College bond proposal is accusing district employees of violating state law. Several community-college employees are trying to influence the outcome of an election on the bond measure,...

Report: colleges tapping into a wired culture.
October 25, 2004... BOSTON -- For the nation's community colleges, it has been a slow but unending revolution: In less than a generation, every two-year school in the land has embraced technology and become wired. The question now is one of degrees: How much...

Report: college students don't get aid because they don't apply.
October 25, 2004... WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new study says hundreds of thousands of college students who may be eligible for federal financial aid don't get it for a simple reason--they don't apply. The study, "Missed Opportunities: Students Who Do Not Apply for...

Stumping under the sun.
October 25, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Rep. Kendrick Meek of the Sunshine State's 17th Congressional District joined presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., during a town-hall meeting at Broward County Community College in Davie, Fla.

Pa. college presidents push for funding reforms.
October 25, 2004... HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Community-college leaders appeared before a Senate panel to make their case for revamping the state's funding formula for the two-year schools and giving them greater input into funding and policy decisions. Eight...

Georgia students may avoid tuition hike.(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia's public-college students might avoid a midyear increase in tuition after all. Gov. Sonny Perdue met with members of the board of regents to urge them to reject a proposed 10 percent increase in tuition. Perdue...

North Carolina instructor uncovers cancer-causing gene.(faculty lounge)
October 25, 2004... TARBORO, N.C. -- Edgecombe Community College science instructor Dr. Alan Stephenson has unlocked some of the mystery wrapped up in cancer. Stephenson, instructor and chairman of the ECC science department, recently identified a new...

Zoe Close.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Zoe Close, a philosophy instructor at Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif., was recently presented with the college's Distinguished Faculty Award.

Joyce Bremer, a professor of economics, and Judith Rodman, an adjunct instructor of social science and business at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Ill.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Joyce Bremer, a professor of economics, and Judith Rodman, an adjunct instructor of social science and business at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Ill., have received the 2004 Ray Hartstein Award for Outstanding Professional Excellence...

Two instructors at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, N.Y., were recently honored with the 2004 State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Two instructors at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, N.Y., were recently honored with the 2004 State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence. They are: John L. Haluch, a professor of biology, and Karen D....

Dr. Kathryn Frost.(Honors & Awards)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Dr. Kathryn Frost, an adjunct instructor of psychology at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach at the University of Bucharest in Romania during the 2004-2005 academic year.