Innovations
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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May
2006
Whether they inspire contemplative reflection or provoke searing social comment, the arts are opportunities for growth. A painting, a dance, a musical passage reveal something about ourselves, our community, and our world that we didn't know before. Not just beautiful or provocative, the arts are, at heart, educational.
Part of the mission of Johnson County Community College (JCCC), located in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, has been to develop an arts education program that fosters an understanding of the arts' essential role in realizing core values in education and in life. Indeed...
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April
2006
Faculty members in the dental programs at Century College (MN) have always emphasized to students that community involvement is part of their professional responsibility. As part of its efforts to provide access to dental care for those experiencing oral health disparities, the college established the Century College Dental Institute (CCDI). The CCDI is committed to making a positive difference in the oral health care system through service to underserved populations and the education of dental professionals.
The concept for the initiative evolved from faculty involvement with the Minnesota...
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March
2006
Almost heaven. At least, that's what folks attending the annual Virginia Mountain Music Festival near Richlands, Virginia, are inclined to think. The festival, a 30-year-old tradition, is held on the campus of Southwest Virginia Community College, nestled at the foot of the Clinch Mountains on 185 acres of hills and rolling valleys.
It's all part of the college's commitment to the community aspect of community college. "This event is our gift to the deserving people of our service area" is how Charles King puts it. President since Southwest's establishment in 1967, King sees to it that the...
March
2006
February
2006
In the Spring of 1944, the U.S. War Department opened Crile General Hospital on a 150-acre campus in the village of Parma, Ohio. It would be one of 60 such general hospitals in "the zone of the interior." The hospital was named in honor of General George Washington Crile (1864-1943), a pioneering surgeon and officer in the Army Medical Corps. General Crile took the first American surgical team to France during World War I. Upon returning from war and as a result of these experiences, he and three colleagues founded the now world famous Cleveland Clinic.
At the close of World War II, the...
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January
2006
Community colleges are responsible for some of the most innovative programs and practices in higher education. As community college educators, we believe this claim when we hear it, and some of us have even been known to make the claim ourselves. With this new monthly publication, the League seeks to showcase these innovative programs, particularly those that focus on the community aspect of the work we do. Community colleges are home to art galleries, book fairs, film and music (and chocolate!) festivals, archive collections, planetariums, environmental stewardship efforts, publications,...
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