PINEHURST – Ed Spitler started out as a community college student. And through five degrees and 19 years teaching civil engineering technology and surveying, that’s where his heart remains. Spitler, a Sandhills Community College alumnus, began teaching at Sandhills in 1997 after he earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering Technology at UNC Charlotte. He… READ MORE
UNCG professor sees a Digital Zen
GREENSBORO – Religion, we all know, is a touchy subject – but imagine how challenging it is to teach religion in a world that is both increasingly polarized and increasingly digital. Through a mixture of enthusiasm, humor, scholarship and technology, that’s where Dr. Gregory Price Grieve lives. Grieve, an Associate Professor and Head of the… READ MORE
New Community College President a man of many hats
RALEIGH – Dr. James “Jimmie” Williamson has worn quite an assortment of hats – and he might need them all when he becomes President of the NC Community College System on July 1. Williamson, currently President and CEO of the South Carolina Technical College System, will succeed Scott Ralls, who left last year to become… READ MORE
NCGAP: You’re in, but you’re not
The General Assembly needs to defer its deferred admissions program. In a provision tucked into the state budget last year, legislators declared that 6-year graduation rates at our state’s public universities are too low – even though they are nearly 10 percentage points above the national average.1 Legislators ordered the University and Community College systems… READ MORE
Eagle Connect houses Durham Tech students on NC Central campus
DURHAM – Fourteen students at Durham Tech already have one foot on a university campus. Literally. When applicants fall just short of admission standards at NC Central University, NCCU doesn’t write them off. Under a 2014 agreement with Durham Tech, the university invites selected applicants to join a program called Eagle Connect. The students pay… READ MORE
Voters Approve $350 Million for NC Community Colleges
Much-Needed Construction, Repair and Renovation to Begin at all 58 Colleges RALEIGH (March 16, 2016) – North Carolina voters approved Tuesday’s $2 billion bond referendum with nearly two-thirds supporting the infrastructure projects, including $350 million designated for North Carolina’s 58 community colleges. The vote marks the initial step in the first major infusion of capital… READ MORE
Connect NC and NC Community Colleges
If voters approve on March 15, North Carolina’s community colleges plan to use proceeds from the Connect NC bond package to help students fill jobs in each community they serve. The $2 billion bond proposal includes $350 million for construction, repairs and renovations at the state’s 58 community colleges.1 State officials stress that no tax… READ MORE
Ralls “a tireless advocate”
By Gary M. Green President, Forsyth Technical Community College WINSTON-SALEM – In 2008, North Carolina, and the entire country, entered the most difficult economic period since the Great Depression. The colleges of the North Carolina Community College System were called upon to step up to the challenge — to stretch their capacity, to provide training… READ MORE
“One of the most visionary and effective community-college leaders in the country.”
BOONE – With word that NC Community College System President Scott Ralls will leave his post next fall to head a 75,000-student college in Virginia, the system’s former president says Ralls will be difficult to replace. “His loss to North Carolina is great,” H. Martin Lancaster, who headed the community college system from 1997-2008, said… READ MORE
