Innovations
June
2007
Finding ways to provide excellent instructional programs and bring new people to college campuses is challenging. When Bellingham Technical College made plans to expand its welding program to address critical skilled labor shortages, the greatest need was finding additional ways to draw students. Recruiting for the industrial welding program has been a challenge, especially since high schools keep discontinuing these programs because of their high cost. Making matters worse is the public's lack of understanding about what welders do and what career opportunities are available in this field,...
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April
2007
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 people would...
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March
2007
Most community colleges attract their students locally. But Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida, has one program so unique and prestigious, it draws 50 percent of its students from out of state. In fact, students have come from as far away as Switzerland and Japan. This program has a 12- to 18-month waiting list and requires 1,800 hours of physical labor. Students will get nipped and scratched, dig ditches, trim trails, and sweat through a five-month, 90-degrees-plus Florida summer. And they won't care, because they'll be doing what they love.
Santa Fe's Zoo Animal Technology...
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February
2007
Pizza and cake are normal daily fare in the Foster Corporation's lunchroom. The pizza may be edible, but the cake is part of a work of art, Let Them Eat Cake, by 2006 Quinebaug Valley Community College graduate Jennifer Kuszaj of Danielson, Connecticut. Foster Corporation is a full-service material solutions company serving medical device, pharmaceutical delivery, and biotechnology companies with extremely precise polymer technologies.
Kuszaj was one of the art students at QVCC who was selected to display art work by the Dayville, Connecticut, manufacturer over a six-month period beginning in...
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January
2007
On a Mission
Where can inexperienced and aspiring authors explore the business of publishing, chat with editors of small presses, learn the grassroots steps of publication, and obtain advice from successful authors? For several years in the Texas Gulf Coast region, that place was the Texas Writers and Publishers Festival, presented annually at the Walden Yacht Club by the Montgomery County Literary Arts Council. Founded in 1995 by community leaders and citizens enthusiastic about the written word, the council presented the conference along with a yearly reading series and worked hard to, as...
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2007
Community colleges are uniquely poised to prepare tomorrow’s teachers to use internet-based tools and curriculum resources to enhance learning. Through the U.S. Department of Education-funded Pathways project, almost 250 faculty from over 40 community colleges nationwide have incorporated new tools and resources into their courses while modeling best practices in technology-based instruction to their students; approximately 6,900 preservice teachers have been affected by this program.
2007
As the centerpiece of conferences and federal initiatives across the educational spectrum, career pathways could be seen as be the latest fad offering community colleges the promise of increased funding and student success. In contrast, the authors of this paper contend that career pathways are the building blocks of a critically needed systemic transformation that will position community colleges as leaders in the effort to address some of the most pressing economic and social concerns facing the country today--not as a short term fix or project, but as incubators of innovation capable of...
December
2006
City College of San Francisco (CCSF) is home to a world treasure called Pan American Unity, a mural by the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. This true fresco was painted locally as a gift for the college in 1940 at Treasure Island's Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE).
As a practitioner of the ancient fresco buono technique he learned in Italy, Rivera dissolved finely ground earth pigments in distilled water and painted directly on a diaphanous coat of lime-rich moist plaster. The resulting chemical reaction is such that the image is not on the surface, it is the surface.
The fresco...
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November
2006
"Anyone who sees a difference between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either one." So said cultural historian and communications theorist Marshall McLuhan. Inspired by his vision, Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) in Southwest Michigan decided to accept the recommendation of a citizens committee and assume the governance of a regional museum of history, science, and technology.
After the voters approved a small property tax, the $20-million building was filled with interactive displays that to date have attracted 1.25 million visitors. Now, a decade...
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October
2006
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October
2006
This November, hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and community members, as well as budding writers from nearby cities and states, will once again journey to Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) in the Philadelphia suburb of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, for the Eleventh Writers' Club Conference. Begun in 1988, the conference lasts from one to three days and includes a keynote presentation, workshops, panels, agent appointments, and other features for writers in many disciplines.
This year's conference features as the keynote speaker renowned author Norman Mailer, winner of two Pulitzer...
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September
2006
In conducting an economic and intrinsic impact study for the Ludington Area Arts Council, West Shore Community College in Scottville, Michigan, has found a distinctive way to connect and work with the local community. The college, located in rural northwest lower Michigan, has a service area of approximately 60,000 people. The area, hard hit by Michigan's slow economic recovery, relies on tourism as a major part of its economy.
With this in mind, the Ludington Area Arts Council (LAAC) sought tangible evidence that communities benefit economically by hosting arts and cultural events. LAAC is a...
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August
2006
Twenty-five students and faculty from Sinclair Community College (OH) gave up their leisure plans for Memorial Day weekend to build a Habitat for Humanity home as part of Blitz Week in and around Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The build site was not far from the worst damage from Hurricane Katrina.
The home was actually constructed in neighboring Plaquemine, Louisiana, for Kendrell and Keiane Collins, who had been displaced from their New Orleans home by Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath of the storm, they had been renting in Plaquemine. Kendrell works for Turner Industries, and Keiane had been...
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July
2006
It happens every October: The campus of Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, bustles with activity amid crowds of people. The sound of old-time and bluegrass music echoes through the mountains overlooking the school, while the smell of comfort food permeates the air around it. Yes, it must be that time of year again, time for Home Craft Days in southwestern Virginia.
Fall 2006 will mark the 35th year of the festival, which draws thousands of visitors annually. Home Craft Days takes place every year during the third weekend of October, with a free concert...
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June
2006
It is common knowledge that income directly corresponds to education. It is also common knowledge that community colleges provide affordable education. As federal education funding continues to be cut, though, the question becomes, "How can community colleges keep education affordable?" At Wright College (IL), the answer is, "Teach financial literacy."
In July, 2001, the City Colleges of Chicago made a commitment to the community to teach financial literacy through the Our Money Matters program. In collaboration with the city treasurer's office and various banking institutions, the classes...
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