Innovations
December
2008
The Problem
Our rural county is defined by poverty. Fifty years ago Del Norte County, California, was awash in timber money and fishing money, but the big timber is gone and the coastal waters are fished out. One sad consequence of jobs that require little education is that machines can replace the people who used to do the hard work, and that has happened here. We have found ourselves with an unfortunate confluence involving a community that has traditionally put a low premium on education, industries that have outgrown their labor force, and a region that is so stunningly beautiful that...
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November
2008
When four Johnson County Community College employees set out for a barbecue lunch in 1997, little did they know they had created one of the most unique ways to foster collegiality on a community college campus in the country. They like to say unique in "the universe," which might be true or might be hyperbole. It's hard to really care about fact-checking when you're sinking your teeth into a hot tender serving of well-smoked ribs.
Participants in the June 2008 Learning College Summit in Overland Park got a taste for the camaraderie generated by barbecue when approximately 100 people signed up...
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October
2008
The New York State Thruway snakes across the state for 641 miles, connecting major cities, four neighboring states, and uncounted communities. It passes directly by Genesee Community College, making the college an ideal stopping place for a variety of travelers, students, and car enthusiasts in particular.
It was these car enthusiasts that Genesee welcomed to its second annual Cruise at the College on Saturday, July 26, 2008. The event attracted more than 75 cruising cars, trucks, and motorcycles from across the region, whose owners parked their vehicles in Genesee's spacious parking lots and...
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September
2008
Each year, South Seattle Community College hosts Gifts From the Earth, a signature event that brings together the campus and the larger Seattle community for an evening of good food, good wine, and a celebration of education.
For more than 20 years, South Seattle Community College has been home to an award-winning, American Culinary Federation accredited culinary arts program, which offers degree and certificate options in restaurant and food service production, catering and banquet operations, and pastry and specialty baking. Many of the guests and participants in Gifts From the Earth are...
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August
2008
Five years ago, at a time when colleges were slow to rid their campuses of tobacco products and smoking, Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) faced the problem head-on and has enjoyed great success since. As a result, the college is now a national leader providing information and assistance to others in their tobacco-free efforts. This month marks the fifth year of the policy going into effect at OTC.
In 1997, there were about 5,000 faculty, staff, and student smokers on the OTC campus who produced debris and pollution affecting the 15,000 students and community members coming on campus...
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July
2008
Context
San Diego City College is an urban, largely working-class community college of 15,134 students in downtown San Diego not far from the international border. The student population of City College is diverse: 31.9 percent are white, 30.3 percent are Latino, 12.7 percent are African American, 5.8 are percent Asian American, 4.6 percent are Filipino, and 1 percent are Native American. A variety of other ethnicities are represented in the remainder. Immigrants comprise 10 percent of the student body. Just over 54 percent of our students are women and 45.6 percent are men. Over 40 percent...
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June
2008
For almost a decade after the first observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a national holiday in 1986, the third Monday in January was, for many Americans, a time for sleeping in and closed post offices. Since the 1994 passage of the King Holiday and Service Act marking the day as a national day of volunteer service, however, the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday has evolved into a day of interracial and intercultural cooperation and sharing. Instead of a day off of school and work, Americans of all different classes, colors, and creeds are asked to come together in the spirit of...
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May
2008
Established 26 years ago, the League's Innovation of the Year Award was devised as a way to recognize significant innovations reflecting capstone achievements and the continuing renewal of the spirit of innovation and experimentation upon which the League was founded. The award recognizes staff at member colleges who have designed and implemented a significant innovation. The award also provides a venue for showcasing these innovations and the dedicated community college educators who are working to create new programs, improve processes, and enhance the opportunities available in their...
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April
2008
Moving to a new country, looking for a new job, and seeking educational opportunities can seem daunting for anyone. Add the fact that English isn?t your native language, and the challenge becomes even greater. More than 14 percent of the residents of Charlotte, North Carolina, are facing these obstacles.
Fortunately for Charlotte, Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) is the number one provider of English as a Second Language (ESL) services in the region and is tackling this growing community need head-on. With the burgeoning influx of non-English speakers to the area, CPCC?s Adult ESL...
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March
2008
Portland Community College (PCC) in Oregon loves to expose people to art and culture.
PCC, the largest institution of higher education in the state of Oregon, has many large community cultural events during the year. From an acclaimed African film festival and a Native American powwow to a day devoted to the Asian arts, PCC is dedicated to making that connection with the college and its community in a variety of ways. This belief is even part of its mission.
But nothing is quite as big as PCC's Art Beat festival, held every May at its four major campuses. It offers students and the community...
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February
2008
Storytelling is the oldest form for communicating events, beliefs, traditions, values, and goals that people have. It is an interactive art form that relies on the relationship between the teller, the listener, and the story. Storytelling brings people together in community. The story of storytelling at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, begins in the fall of 1994 when two faculty members, Lorraine Calbow and Liz Warren, attended a statewide Tellers of Tales conference where they experienced the magic of this ancient art form.
On returning to campus, Calbow was amazed when...
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January
2008
Middle school kids are called "tweens" for good reason: They're too old for daycare but too young to be left home alone after school.
Norwalk Community College (NCC) in Norwalk, Connecticut, cares about community youth. When the college learned that local children were at risk because their after-school program lacked adequate space, it offered to host a program on campus and provide student volunteers to serve as tutors and mentors. The volunteers are part of a recently launched service learning program that gives students the opportunity to earn college credits while giving back to the...
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2008
The League's College and Careers Transition Initiative (CCTI) engaged high schools, community colleges, and businesses in a process to improve career and technical education systems, programs, strategies, and outcomes. This monograph reports on examples of these systems changes that resulted from CCTI participation: expanded use of career pathways; improved academic instruction; improved CTE instruction; measures to improve college readiness; high school-college partnerships and articulation; education-business partnerships; advising and student success initiatives; and data-driven decision ...
December
2007
The mesalands of northeastern New Mexico are well known for the abundant fossil deposits from Triassic times--the dawn of the dinosaurs--as well as fossil remains of other ages and diverse paleontological treasures found and yet to be discovered. Museums around the world have excavated, exhibited, and studied specimens found here.
Recognizing that an opportunity was, literally, under their feet, in 1996, the new administrators at Mesalands Community College began to develop programs in paleontology and geology to preserve, study, and promote the region's rich heritage as one of the premier...
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November
2007
Although the word "community" may not be part of Delta's name, it is certainly evident in the college's vision statement, "Delta College is our community's first choice to learn, work, and grow." The main campus is a 640-acre complex located in a rural area affectionately called "the Cornfield." Because it is somewhat hidden from view, Delta College has repeatedly sought ways to increase its presence in the three counties it serves (Bay, Midland, and Saginaw). In addition to college public radio and television stations, the Delta College Planetarium and Learning Center has become a primary...
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