Tansey Topics: A Weekly Look At What's Happening At BCCC | Eastern North Carolina Now

    The BCCC Board of Trustees and the Foundation Board of Directors held a joint retreat on Wednesday. During the morning session, Rick Smith, dean of Institutional Advancement at Sandhills Community College, gave the two boards an overview of foundation successes in Pinehurst and suggested a road map for the BCCC Foundation to follow. Smith said that while financial aid to students is an important part of fund-raising efforts at Sandhills Community College, promoting excellence in the classroom - by providing stipends for faculty sabbaticals, for example - is also a focus of the organization's activities. Board of Trustees Chairman Russell Smith suggested that the trustees host a mixer with the Foundation board to discuss future activities. "I'm interested in talking about what we can do not in what we can't do," he said. In subsequent sessions, the trustees heard inspiring stories from BCCC's Men of Success, a presentation on BCCC's new Behavior Intervention Team and met with groups of students to learn about their experiences here at the college.

    Here's a look at other BCCC events happening on campus and in the community:

Beaufort County Early College High School

    There's good news to share about the Beaufort County Early College High School and one of its teachers this week!

• First, congratulations to our students, teachers and administrators at the school. The BCECHS students scored higher on the ACT than other early college high schools in eastern North Carolina according to a recent report from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. Beaufort County Early College High School, or BCECHS, students take high school and tuition-free community college courses and graduate in five years with a high school diploma and an associate's degree in the field of their choice. The school is housed on the BCCC campus with classrooms and offices in the lower level of Building 5 and a portion of Building 10. The ACT, or American College Testing, is a national college admissions exam. All juniors in North Carolina are required to take it. More than 26 percent of students at BCECHS met all benchmarks on the ACT, well above other early colleges in eastern North Carolina.!
• Amanda Smith, a teacher at Beaufort County Early College High School, has been named North Carolina History Teacher of the Year for 2014. Smith teaches World History and Civics and Economics to ninth grade students at the high school, housed on the Beaufort County Community College campus. The award is to be presented to Smith at the Tuesday, Sept. 22, meeting of the Beaufort County Board of Education by Fay Gore, Section Chief of the K-12 Social Studies Division of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. As the 2014 N.C. History Teacher of the Year, Smith will receive a $1,000 award, a certificate of recognition, an archive of books and historical resources presented in her name to the BCCC library and an invitation to attend the 2015 Gilder Lehrman Teacher Seminar of her choice. She is also a finalist for the National History Teacher of the Year Award.

BCCC Foundation

• In news regarding the Digital Sign Campaign, Foundation Director Judy Jennette reports that $51,848.32 in donations and pledges has been received, over 60 percent of the way towards the final goal! To make a donation, contact Judy at 252-940-6326.
• Rock for Human Rights, a concert sponsored by the Foundation and the Student Government Association brought an awareness to campus of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights along with a concert of exciting world music. Thanks to Judy and the SGA for bringing this event to campus.
• Don't forget about several upcoming opportunities to participate in Foundation-sponsored activities. They include a sold-out day trip on Saturday, September 20, to the Durham Performing Arts Center to see the musical Dirty Dancing; the 21st annual Foundation Golf Tournament on Friday, Sept. 26, and a trip to Ireland from April 21 to 30, 2015. For more information about any of these events, contact Judy or Foundation Specialist Marcia Norwood at 252-940-6218.

Candidate Education Forum

• There's still time to submit your questions for the Education Forum sponsored by Beaufort County Community College and the Beaufort County Schools. Send your questions to Director of Learning Resources and Distance Education Penny Sermons at pennys@beaufortccc.edu. The forum will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 30, in the auditorium at Washington High School. Professional development credits will be available for those who attend. Don't forget to wear your blue shirt to show BCCC's voting power!

Continuing Education

• BCCC's Small Business Center is co-sponsoring the 2014 Business Expo that will be held on the BCCC campus Wednesday, Sept. 24. As part of the event, the center will over three workshops for current and prospective business owners from noon to 2 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room of Building 10 next door to the Expo. They include Resources for Prospective and Current Business Owners, Legal Entities and Your Business and Social Media: What's in it for My Business? The workshops are free of charge but pre-registration is recommended. Contact our Small Business Center Director Lentz Stowe at 252-940-6306 or Eva Peartree at 252-940-6375 for more information or two register.

Free Day at BCCC

• For the second year in a row, BCCC will open its doors to give prospective students the chance to attend classes for one day at no cost on Thursday, October 9. This will give those who may be hesitant to continue their education the chance to see what college life is like. For more information, visit the BCCC website at www.beaufortccc.edu and click on the Free Day icon.

Gulls on the Run

• Get out your running shoes! The BCCC running club, Gulls on the Run, is sponsoring its first five kilometer race in conjunction with Gullfest. The race will be held on a new 5K-certified course around the BCCC campus beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 18. Registration for the event opens soon. The registration fee will be $25. For more information, contact Medical Office/Office Administration Instructor Michele Mayo at 940-6495 or at michelem@beaufortccc.edu. Thanks to Michele and the club for sponsoring this new event!

Learning Resources Center

• BCCC's Learning Resources Center will host a poetry reading at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 7, when former instructor Tim Mattimoe returns to the campus to read from his book, Calligraphy on the Moon's Face. Published earlier this year, the poems were written after his retirement and are inspired by his surroundings in Chatham County. Mattimoe has been writing haiku since he was 18 years old. He enjoys working in the form, he said, because of the discipline it requires. I look forward to meeting Tim and hearing him read from his works.

Outdoor Classroom

• Now that the summer heat has passed, BCCC faculty may want to take advantage of the nice weather and use our new outdoor classroom behind Building 5. To schedule a class, contact Early College High School Principal Emily Pake at 940-6227 or by email at emilyp@beaufortccc.edu.

Student Services

• BCCC's Student Services is hosting a day-long retreat today. The purpose of the retreat is to discuss ways to better serve our students during the registration process and to ensure the smooth distribution of financial aid. A variety of issues are scheduled to be discussed so watch this space for more information about the decisions the group made. Thanks to Vice President of Student Services Rick Anderson and Vice President of Academics Crystal Ange for arranging this retreat.

TRiO/Student Support Services

• BCCC's TRiO/Student Support Services welcomed agencies from around the county to participate in the annual Community Resource Day. The day activity encourages students to meet with representatives from groups such as the Boys and Girls Club, Eagles Wings and others that can help remove any barriers that exist to students receiving an education. Thanks to all who work on this event.

Travel/Study Group

• Don't forget to support our Travel/Study group with its fund-raising event! The group is selling the attractions coupon book to raise money for students to travel to Belize. The books contain more than $3,000 in savings for businesses in Washington, Greenville, Kinston and New Bern. They are valid now and do not expire until December 2015. Tentative dates for the trip are May 26 to June 1. Student participants must be 18 years old or older, have a 2.5 grade point average or better and be enrolled in International Cultural Exploration for the Summer 2015 Term. You may purchase the book online at https://www.attractionsbook.com/ezpay/code/. Enter beaufortccc as the EZPAY code in order for our group to get funding from your purchase. You can also purchase the books from Instructor Suzanne Stotesbury or from any member of the travel group. For more information, contact Suzanne at 252940-6339 or at suzannes@beaufortccc.edu.

And in the coming weeks, watch for the following:

September 20	BCCC Foundation trip to see Dirty Dancing at the Durham Performing Arts Center
September 23	Professional Development - Integrating Technology Into Learning, noon, Room 104, Building 1
September 24	Gulls on the Run organizational meeting, noon, Room 115, Building 2
September 26	BCCC Foundation Annual Golf Tournament, Washington Yacht and Country Club
September 30	Professional Development - Web-Based Activities in learning, noon, Room 104, Building 1
September 30	Education Forum for Candidates, 7 p.m., Washington High School
October 1	Enrollment begins for participants in the State Health Plan and N.C. Flex. Call the Human Resources Office at 940-6404 for more details or to schedule an appointment to help with enrollment
October 2	BCCC Open House, 6 to 9 p.m., campus-wide
October 3-6	Student/Faculty vacation
October 7	Poetry reading by former instructor Tim Mattimoe, BCCC Library, noon
October 7	Professional Development - Tech Tools, noon, Room 104, Building 1
October 7	BCCC Board of Trustees, 5:30 p.m., committee meetings; 7 p.m. board meeting, Board Room, Building 10
October 8	Flu Shot Clinic, Multi-purpose Room, Building 10
October 9	Free Day at BCCC
October 9	Veteran on Campus service session, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call Sandria McFadden at 9406353 for an appointment
October 9	BCCC Foundation Board of Directors, 11 a.m., Board Room, Building 10