SECC Faculty, Staff and Student organizations who have news items of interest can contact Chris Jones, via e-mail: chris.jones@kctcs.edu, or by calling(606) 589-2145, ext. 2006. |
Updated Feb. 19, 2004 EXPLORE College: Partnership that
Promotes Enrollment of High School Students |
Southeast Community College, like most colleges in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, has a long history of working with local high schools and area technology centers.
However, until recently, there was no structure in place to accommodate all the partnership areas that were available.
Now there is. Called EXPLORE College, it is a collaborative program that allows high school students to earn college credit, in many instances at no cost to the student, in a variety of formats.
According to Dr. W. Bruce Ayers, President of SECC, EXPLORE College eliminates barriers and helps to build a seamless delivery system that allows student to take advantage of dual credit, tech-prep, and articulation program, available in many different settings: at their local high schools, area technology centers, or on one of the College’s five campuses.
“We believe EXPLORE College will open up opportunities for high school students in our service area that have not been available to them,” Ayers said.
Students can enroll in general education or dual credit courses that do not commit them to any particular major or career path. It simply allows students to explore a broad-based area of interest while in high school.
On the other hand, students who are enrolled in technical education or tech-prep courses will be much closer to entering the job market upon graduation from high school with a highly marketable technical skill.
Principal Barney Judd, Bell County Area Technology Center, says students on his campus-from Bell County, Middlesboro or Pineville high schools-are enrolled in a variety of technical programs for which receive college credit and, by the time they graduate from high school, most probably a certificate in their chosen field.
“We can help students to finish high school and be well on their way to receiving a diploma or associate degree from Southeast Community College in several different technical fields,” he said.
“And since our instructors, all of whom must meet accreditation standards established for SECC by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), are teaching, at our facility and using our equipment, it doesn’t cost the student anything,” Judd continued.
This semester more than 350 students are dual enrolled with the Bell County Area Technology Center and SECC. Almost that many more are enrolled in centers in Knox County (Barbourville) and Letcher County (Whitesburg).
Another example of tech-prep programming is articulation.
Several students who are enrolled in information technology courses at local high schools are able to receive college credit for up to four courses after they are enrolled as full time students at SECC and have completed one full semester.
Finally, students are able to receive college credit for general education that are taught by high school instructors who meet accreditation standards established for college instructors by SACS. High schools participating in this program include James A. Cawood, Cumberland, Evarts, Fleming-Neon, Harlan, Letcher and Pineville.
“We’re pleased to allow student to get a jump-start on post-secondary enrollment,” Ayers said.
One of the primary reasons, he said, was that studies show that those who enroll in college while in high school are much more likely to continue work toward a certificate or degree.
“And given the low college-growing rate in Southeast Kentucky, we need programs like this. It’s not only good for the students but the region as well,” Ayers concluded.
Art, drama, music, readings and an overnight Learning Lock-in are among the many activities planned in celebration of Black History Month at colleges in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
William Turner, an alumnus of Southeast Community College and the acting president of Kentucky State University, returned to his alma mater Feb. 6-7 to direct the Learning Lock-In.
At the event, coordinated by Southeast, kids ages 3 to 18 stayed overnight at the Eastern Kentucky Social Club gymnasium at Lynch. Area high school athletes, clergy and community leaders also participated in the overnight event. Carolyn Sundy and Andrea Massey coordinated the event.
Erma Bush, an actress, poet and playwright from Louisville, will give a compelling living history portrayal of Miss Dinnie Thompson (1857-1939) on Feb. 7 at Prestonsburg Campus of Big Sandy Community and Technical College.
Juanita White, a retired teacher and longtime researcher in African American history and culture, also will participate in the presentation. White wrote the “Dinnie Thompson” script and will answer questions following the performance.
A complete listing of KCTCS-sponsored activities follows. Activities are subject to change. Contact the sponsoring college for any changes and/or exact times. Unless otherwise noted, admission is free and open to the public.
Feb. 1-March 31: Black History Essay Contest for students at Gateway Community and Technical College, on Have we realized Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream? Why or why not? Prizes will be awarded at Gateway’s graduation May 20. For more information, call 859-442-4109.
Feb. 2: The National African-American Read-In, presented by Winston Farrell, a renowned poet, dramatist and essayist from Barbados, 10:35 a.m. to 1 p.m., Krantz Art Gallery, Jefferson Community College Downtown. Farrell will teach and perform at Jefferson during his Feb. 2-13 stay in Louisville.
Feb. 2: An Evening of Art and Culture, 7 p.m., Clemens Fine Arts Center, West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Paducah.
Feb. 5: A Living History Presentation on military pioneer Anna Mac Clarke and performances by the Black Community Chorus and the Signs of the Times from Boyd County Middle School, 7 p.m. at the Highlands Museum & Discovery Center in downtown Ashland. Sponsored by Ashland Community and Technical College.
Feb. 5: African Fashion Show featuring authentic attire from the motherland and handmade fashions from Marie Nicholson, a Madisonville designer, 12:15 p.m. Student Center, Madisonville Community College North Campus.
Feb. 7: The Marvelettes & Cornell Gunters Coasters in Concert, 7:30 p.m., Clemens Fine Arts Center, West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Paducah. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students and children. For more information, call (270) 554-6216.
Feb. 10: Gospel Musical: Musical selections from local church choirs, 7 p.m., First Baptist Church, Elizabethtown. Sponsored by the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College’s Multicultural Committee and Student Support Services, and the First Baptist Church Scholarship Committee.
Feb. 11: Brown Bag Lunch Seminar: Black History Virtual Tour of Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati, presented by Gwen Davis, 12 -1:30 p.m., Edgewood Campus of Gateway Community and Technical College.
Feb. 12: Lecture: Affrilachia: Redefining the Literary Landscape, by Frank X. Walker, poet and arts administrator. The Ramey-Estep High School Choir and Ironton High School I-Town Soldiers will also perform, 7 p.m., Highlands Museum & Discovery Center in downtown Ashland. Sponsored by Ashland Community and Technical College.
Feb. 12: Panel Discussion: The Plight of the Black Male in America: A Discussion of the Issues and Solutions to the Problems, 11 a.m., Student Center, Central Kentucky Technical College, Lexington.
Feb. 13: Lecture: Celebrating a Proud Heritage and a Proud America, by Hasan Davis, motivational speaker and founder of Empowerment Solutions, noon, 101 Crounse Hall, West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Paducah.
Feb. 17: The 15th Annual African-American Read-In Chain, 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Elizabethtown. Sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, and Barnes & Noble locally.
Feb. 17: Brown Bag Lunch Seminar: An Open Discussion of African American Culture by Hensley B. Jemmott, first vice president, NAACP Northern Kentucky, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Bluegrass Room, Covington Campus of Gateway Community and Technical College.
Feb. 17: The 10th annual Day Voices, featuring Gail McEuen, soloist and gospel radio show host from Paducah, noon, Student Center, Madisonville Community College North Campus.
Feb. 18: Brown Bag Lunch Seminar: Who Makes Black History, by Dr. Michael Washington, director of Afro-American Studies and professor of history at Northern Kentucky University, 11:30 a.m.- 1 p.m., Room 101, Highland Heights Campus of Gateway Community and Technical College.
Feb. 19: Morrison Gallery Poetry Series: Affrilacian poet Frank X. Walker will read from his new book, Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York, 7 p.m., Morrison Gallery, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College.
Feb. 20: Lecture: Underground Railroad and the Freedom Center presented by Steve DeVillez, public relations coordinator, Underground Railroad Freedom Center. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., LeFarge Room, Covington Campus of Gateway Community and Technical College.
Feb. 20: 4th annual Multicultural Potluck, featuring ethnic dishes, art exhibits, music and collectibles. 11:30 a.m., Multipurpose Room, Madisonville Community College North Campus. For information, call (270) 824-8673.
Feb. 24: Evening Voices Coffeehouse, featuring winners of the Stanley Lewis Writing Contest, 6:30 p.m., Grill, Hatley Building, Madisonville Community College Health Campus.
Feb. 25: Annual Multicultural Dinner, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., Student Center, Henderson Community College.
Feb. 26: Lecture: Four Steps to Living an Unbiased Life, presented by Aaron Thompson, vice president for academic affairs at Eastern Kentucky University. The Paul G. Blazer High School Jazz Band will also perform, 7 p.m., Highlands Museum & Discovery Center in downtown Ashland. Sponsored by Ashland Community and Technical College.
Feb. 27: Dramatic Presentation: Miss Dinnie Thompson, No Ordinary Woman, featuring Erma Bush of Louisville, 10 a.m., Pike Auditorium, Prestonsburg Campus of Big Sandy Community and Technical College.
Feb. 27: The Third Annual Jazz Night, 7:30 p.m., Student Center, West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Paducah. Tickets are $8 per person and $15 for couples. For information, call (270) 534-3425.
Feb. 27: Nashville-based Dream 7 Productions presents Cultural Millennium, featuring Madisonville native Shawn Whitsell, 7 p.m., Glema Mahr Center for the Arts, Madisonville Community College North Campus.
Students enrolled in the Southeast Community College Academic Advantage Program recently took part in a daylong cultural enrichment trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
The group traveled by chartered bus and during the outing they toured various sites in the area, had the opportunity to shop at outlet malls and attended the Dixie Stampede performance.
According to Shelia S. Gordon, a counselor within the SECC Student Support Services Division who also serves as the coordinator for the cultural enrichment program, a total of 31 students made the recent trip to Tennessee.
“The students had the chance to be exposed to some new and exciting things,” said Gordon. “The trip allowed students to bond with one another and build friendships that can last over the years. It also gives them the chance to become part of a group, and friendships established on these trips can also serve to help students remain in school.”
According to Gordon, the Academic Advantage Program operated by Southeast Community College sponsors one cultural enrichment excursions during the academic year. Funding from a federal grant makes the trips possible. In the past, SECC groups have traveled to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C., to museums in Newport, Cincinnati and Louisville and have attended operatic performances in Lexington.
Carolyn Sundy is the head of TRIO programs at Southeast of which Academic Advantage is a component. Assisting Gordon on the trip as chaperones were college employees Dianne Fain and Michelle Ashby.
“Our program is here to serve students and help them overcome any barriers that would possibly prevent them from becoming a success in college,” said Gordon.
Southeast Community College faculty members Gary Steenbergen and Robert Bianchi recently took part in a math curriculum conference held at Rough River State Park. The Kentucky Community and Technical College System of which Southeast Community College is a part sponsored the event.
During the four-day session, which was comprised of 32 educators from the 16 KCTCS districts across the state, faculty members labored to consolidate courses by creating five new classes for the Associate in Applied Science Degree. The five new classes will replace 20 existing math classes according to professor Steenbergen, who, along with Bianchi, teaches at the SECC Middleboro campus.
The five classes created during the conference include: Business Math, Health and Human Services Math, Computer Science and Information Technology Math, Technical Math (Geometry and Trigonometry based) for CAD, CAM, MTT and Surveying and Technical Math (Algebra and Trigonometry based) for Electricity and Electronics.
Students enrolled in the nursing program at Southeast Community College have raised $10,000 for the annual March of Dimes Walk America event held recently on the Cumberland campus.
With a preliminary goal set at $5,000, SECC students, receiving aid and support provided by faculty and staff, generated approximately $10,000 for the March of Dimes. Through a variety of sales and promotions, students raised money for the walk that is sponsored each autumn in communities across the country.
Event organizer and SECC nursing faculty Scott Blanton noted the event is a community service project with all of the program’s 115 students taking part. Students from SECC locations at Cumberland and Pineville participated in the daylong event held Oct. 24.
According to Blanton, preliminary work for the 2003 event began in early September with a kickoff dinner at which time students became organized and developed strategies for meeting and surpassing the goal.
“Students did all the work,” said Blanton, “they went door to door in their communities selling popcorn, Beanie Babies and candy, and they also received the support of the local businesses who signed on as sponsors.”
Sophomore Jennifer Cassim lead the way collecting $910, while freshmen Paula Longsworth and Deborah Boggs generated $711 and $690, respectively.
Following a symbolic walk around the campus, students enjoyed food and music and also took part in the awards ceremony.
Southeast Community College nursing faculty and staff also played a key role in the success of the march. SECC employees working to make the event a success included, Scott Blanton, Joyce Buchanan, Milton Borntrager, Kathy Guyn, Jo Ann Martin, Janet Pace, Mitzi Sellars, Ellen Saylor, Deb Roark, Judy Gilbert, Peggy Martin, Marisa Green and Carol Evans.
The Southeast Community College nursing program provides graduates of the two-year program with the Associate of Applied Science degree.
Middlesboro’s Jamie H. Vaught, who is also a veteran sportswriter, has penned his fourth book on University of Kentucky basketball, Krazy About Kentucky: Big Blue Hoops, which was released in late November. The 220-page paperback, which is published by Wasteland Press in Louisville, is another perceptive look at the UK's hoops program through the eyes of former players and individuals who have connections with the Wildcats.
The book contains stories and personal profiles of Mike Casey, Mike Pratt, Bob Guyette, Jamal Mashburn, Herb Sendek, Scott Padgett, Reggie Hanson, Mrs. Tubby Smith, among others.
"If you’re a Kentucky Wildcat basketball enthusiast, you will enjoy reading about the former Cats as well as the outspoken wife, (Donna), of coach Tubby Smith and former UK assistant Herb Sendek, who is now the head coach at North Carolina State," said the author. "If you enjoyed my other books, which were published during the 1990s, you will like Krazy About Kentucky.
"In addition to my teaching job, I really love to write, and I just can't stop writing. I'm very fortunate to have met many interesting people from the Wildcat camp over the years."
Vaught, 47, is a respected authority on UK basketball. A former columnist for The Cats' Pause magazine for 13 years, Vaught is a sports columnist for several publications in Kentucky, including The Daily News in Middlesboro and the Big Blue Nation magazine.
He also has written articles for Kentucky Monthly in recent years, including one on legendary Kentucky coach Adolph F. Rupp. A graduate of UK with two degrees -- B.S. in accounting and the MBA, Vaught once served as sports editor of UK's student daily newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel, in the late 1970s.
Interestingly, Vaught's childhood interest in sports writing grew after he personally got to know baseball superstar Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the late 1960s and early 1970s before the outfielder was killed in a plane crash in the Caribbean. Vaught is also mentioned in at least three biographies of Clemente.
Clemente once told the author, who is severely hard of hearing (lip-reading along with the voice), that he didn't have to hear well to enjoy baseball.
"At first, I think Roberto felt sorry for me since I didn't hear very well," said Vaught, who grew up in the sleepy hamlet of Science Hill in Pulaski County.
"But we got to know each other well by visiting him when the Pirates played the Reds in Cincinnati. We also visited him in Atlanta as well. We once ate breakfast together at a nice hotel and I even paid for it. I also met his beautiful wife, Vera. He was a superstar who took the time to be a caring friend.
"If Clemente hadn't been around, I probably wouldn't be writing columns or books today. He really got me enthused about sports back then. Since I wasn't very good in athletics, I decided sports writing would be a good way to stay involved with sports."
Vaught is employed at Southeast Community College in Middlesboro where he has taught since 1991. He is a professor of business administration and accounting.
Vaught and his wife, Deanna, live in Middlesboro with their daughter, Janna.
Vaught's Krazy About Kentucky is available at most bookstores in Kentucky and on various Web sites, including Amazon.com. The book also can be ordered by calling the publisher at 1-888-772-9678.
While many rural communities across America are suffering from the combined effects of an economic downturn and the flight of young people to urban areas, faculty and staff at Southeast Community College have a strategy to address those problems. They are partners in a new federally funded program that will prepare students to become leaders for community change.
College faculty have partnered with faculty from five other rural community and tribal colleges across the country to create the Rural Leadership for Community Change program. The program will allow faculty to collaborate on developing teaching approaches and coursework that prepare students to become leaders for community change. The new curriculum will combine classroom learning with hands-on projects in the community and will serve as a model for rural community and tribal colleges throughout the United States.
This program is funded by the federal Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), which supports innovative educational reform projects that can serve as national models for the improvement of postsecondary education. The grant application process is highly competitive; this year, fewer than three percent of applicants received grants from FIPSE.
“We are committed to providing our students with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful as members of the community as well as members of the workforce,” said Dr. W. Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Community College. “This community leadership curriculum is a natural next step for the college and the community; it will increase our students’ understanding of and commitment to the place they’ve called home, and it will provide the community with skilled leaders to help bring about a better future.”
Through the program, students will learn theories of and approaches to community change and will gain corresponding leadership skills. They will gain new understanding about economic and social issues in their community and increased motivation to become active in civic affairs. Faculty and staff from the six participating colleges, assisted by MDC, a nonprofit organization, will collaborate on developing and testing the most effective methods for achieving these results.
The grant is, in part, an acknowledgement of Southeast Community College’s outstanding background in working to benefit its community and students. “Very few community colleges win FIPSE grants,” said Sarah Rubin, the MDC staff member assisting the colleges and an expert in postsecondary education rural policy and programs. “This grant shows that the Department of Education understands how important developing community leaders is for rural places, as well as the fact that these colleges have the experience and ability necessary to do it.”
The Office of Technology at Southeast Community College presented the third annual Technology Boot Camp recently on the Cumberland campus.
The boot camp attracted participants from each of the SECC five campuses as well as educators from public and private schools located within the area. Serving as instructors for the 2003 camp were SECC faculty Charley Simpson, Bart Massey, Gary Gibson and Paige Brooks-Jeffiers.
During the sessions, participants received an extensive overview on a variety of technological-based subjects including hands-on training in digital photography, graphics, PowerPoint, streaming media, beginning Web CT, advanced Web CT and more.
Participants in the eight-day workshop included:
GRAPHICS, GETTING THE BIG PICTURE--
Judy Gilbert, David Day and Lyna Cornett
STREAMING MEDIA-- Judy Gilbert, Shirley Bowman and Paul Hutson
DIGITAL IMAGING WITH THE DIGITAL CAMERA BASICS--Margie Huff, Nancy Miles, Peggy Partin, Kim Byrd and Debra Gidens
DREAMWEAVER-- Judy Gilbert, Richard Call, Lynn Cox, Andrea Noe, Teresa Osborne, David Day, Paul Hutson, Veronica Blanton, Lisa Ahlstedt, Lyna Cornett and Misty Townsend
ENHANCING YOUR CLASSES WITH FLASH--Judy Gilbert, Richard Call, Suzanne Bagony, Paul Hutson and Lisa Ahlstedt
POWERPOINT POWER-- Margie Huff, Suzanne Bagony, Joanne Martin, Ronnie Hampton, Carolyn Sundy, Shirley Bowman, Gayle Borders, David Day, Janet Pace, Anne Carr, Wayne Collett, Misty Townsend, Kim Byrd and Bill Engle
TIDBITS--Judy Gilbert, Anne Carr, Shirley Bowman, Lyna Cornett, Milton Borntrager and Margie Huff
BEGINNING WEB CT-- John Pitt, Judy Gilbert, Karin Gibson, Kevin Lambert, Tiffany Bullock, Gayle Borders, Gary Steenbergen and Milton Borntrager
ADVANCED WEB CT--Sue Greer-Pitt, John Pitt, Judy Gilbert, Kevin Lambert, Tiffany Bullock, Gayle Borders, Paul Hutson, Christa Dunn and Milton Borntrager
DIGITAL IMAGING WITH THE DIGITAL CAMERA BASICS-- Judy Gilbert, Brenda Morris, Donna Cox, Shirley Bowman and Paul Hutson
Southeast Community College faculty members David Clutts and Steven Nycum took part in the President’s Leadership Seminar sponsored by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Lexington.
The purpose of the recent seminar was to support participants in developing their potential to become better leaders. The leadership seminar, according to Nycum, featured a wide variety of backgrounds of the employees of KCTCS who represented all colleges within the system. During the sessions, each participant was required to demonstrate his or her ideas of what is required to be an effective leader.
“David and I were impressed by the scope of the seminar and by the useful information we obtained,” said Nycum. “While in Lexington, we also learned more about the overall mission of KCTCS, and grew to appreciate the job the system is doing to make the lives of all Kentuckians more meaningful and productive.”
Nycum and Clutts noted how pleased they were to have gained the support of the SECC faculty and administration that nominated them for inclusion into the program and presented them with the “privilege of representing the college.”
KCTCS has developed into one of the premier college systems in America, and has won acclaim for merging technical and community colleges into one highly effective and seamless system.
Locally, Southeast Community College has enjoyed unprecedented success following the merger three years ago that saw SECC campuses at Cumberland, Whitesburg and Middlesboro join with technical colleges in Harlan and Pineville.
SECC now provides a much more varied core curriculum and serves a geographic area that stretches over 120 miles along the spine of Pine Mountain; the college currently serves 4,178 students.
Nycum and Clutts will return to Lexington for a two-day retreat in March where they will receive supplementary training and be assigned a “leadership” project that is to be implemented by the summer of 2004.
Clutts, a native of Harlan County, has been associated with SECC since 1997. He holds Bachelor and Masters degrees from Union College as well as a Rank I. Currently, he is working on a doctorate from Liberty University in Virginia. He and his wife, Melody, are the parents of Matthew and Nathaniel.
Nycum began working for SECC in 2002 and is a resident of Harrogate, Tenn. He is a graduate of Lincoln Memorial University with a Masters degree received from East Tennessee State. He recently received an Ed. D. in curriculum instruction from the University of Tennessee. He and his wife, Louise, reside on a 75-acre farm where they raise beef cattle.
Faculty from Southeast Community College recently participated in the Kentucky Association for Developmental Education Conference held in Owensboro.
Ruth Lewis, director of academic support, Ed Frost, the coordinator of academic support at the SECC Middlesboro campus and Marlisa Austin, associate professor of English took part in the annual event.
The organization, also known as KADE, is devoted, according to Austin, to the promotion and support of developmental education at the post-secondary level. Membership in KADE consists of developmental educators from post-secondary institutions across the state.
Ms. Austin, who serves as secretary of the executive board for KADE, was a presenter at the conference. Her session, entitled: “Fun With Fundamentals,” included research into the debate on grammar instruction in the writing classroom, statistics on enrollment in college writing courses, references to KERA’s emphasis on writing and the value of games and technology to reinforce grammatical concepts. The session also included various games and Internet websites for educators to use in their writing classrooms.
