Tansey Topics: A weekly look at what's happening at BCCC | Eastern North Carolina Now

    The Christmas and New Year's holidays are fast approaching as are exams. I know our faculty has been working hard to prepare our students for success in their exams and all of us are preparing for the end of the semester. I hope all of our students find success next week.

    Here's a quick look at other recent events at BCCC:

    BCCC Foundation News

    • Join the BCCC Foundation Saturday, Jan. 25, for a trip to Durham to see the award-winning stage production of Once and enjoy a meal at an authentic Irish pub. The trip will also include a tour of the Birds of Paradise Exhibit at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh and lunch at the Triangle's first gastropub. The cost of the trip, open to all BCCC students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the college, is $180 per person. The registration deadline is Friday, Jan. 17. Contact Foundation Director Judy

    Jennette for more information.

    Business and Industrial Technology

    • Lead Computer Information Technology and Computer Programming Instructor Brian Miller reports that he will unveil BCCC's new Microsoft IT Academy in mid-January. The academy will provide two types of certification  -  Microsoft Office Specialist and Microsoft Technology Associate  -  free of charge to current students faculty and staff. The certification will be of special value to our students seeking jobs after they graduate because they will be able to prove to employers that they have skills in various

    Microsoft programs and practices. Thanks to Miller and Business and Industrial Technology Dean Ben Morris for their work on this project.

    • Students in BCCC's Court Procedure and Evidence class held a mock trial this week. The students in Instructor Cynthia King's class took various roles in the case of People v. Carter, adapted from Criminal Justice in America with Dean Ben Morris acting as judge. The mock trial is an annual event for students and gives them insights into the real-life operation of the court system. Thanks to Cynthia and Ben for providing our students with this opportunity.

    Student Services

    • BCCC's Admissions Office has a new look. Prospective students now have a lobby area within the office to use a computer for completing applications or other forms or wait for assistance from one of the admissions staff members. As a result of the change, prospective students no longer have to wait in line at the counter. Thanks very much to Admissions and Recruitment Director Daniel Wilson, Allied Health Admissions Coordinator Phylicia Bridgers and Administrative Assistant Sarah Hudson for their hard work in making this change.

    Student, Faculty and Staff Activities

    • BCCC's Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society gave several boxes of toys donated by our students, faculty and staff to Young Lives, a project of Young Life of the Pamlico.

    • BCCC's Staff Association enjoyed their annual Christmas luncheon on Wednesday when members drew the name of the winner of the association's Basketball Raffle. Congratulations to Ray McKeithan, public information officer for Potash Corp-Aurora who was the lucky winner of four tickets to the Carolina-Maryland basketball game in Chapel Hill in February.

    • Several organizations are collecting canned goods for charities this Christmas season. Look for information on drop boxes across the campus. Please respond to this appeal soon as the drive ends next week.

    Personnel and Personal Notes

    • Vice President of Academics Crystal Ange, Vice President of Research and Institutional Effectiveness

    Jay Sullivan and I attended the annual meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges annual meeting in Atlanta and returned with several ideas and new information that we will share with faculty and staff in the weeks to come.

    • I was delighted to welcome BCCC alumnus James Gaynor back to campus last week for a tour. Gaynor owns an occupational therapy business in Washington and serves with me on the Beaufort County Economic Development Advisory Committee. Giving tours of our campus is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job.

    • Congratulations to Writing Center Director Karen Eckert who has been recommended to serve as a panelist for the Standards Setting Process for the English and Language Arts portion of the N.C. Diagnostic Assessment and Placement Exam. She will be one of those who will help decide the standards that are established for placement exams that students take when they enroll.

    • I'm delighted to welcome Christopher Harrison as Chief of Campus Police to the BCCC family and thank Ernie Coleman for assuming the role of Interim Chief following Hal Swindell's retirement.

    And in the coming weeks, watch for the following:

    Dec. 15  -  Beaufort County Orchestra Christmas Concert, Of Carols and Mozart, 3 p.m., auditorium, Building 8.

    Dec. 17-18  -  Exams.

    Dec. 18  -  Faculty and Staff Christmas Luncheon, noon, Building 10, Multi-Purpose Room. Ugly Christmas Sweater and Tie competition.

    Dec. 23-Jan. 1  -  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

    Jan. 7  -  Late Registration.

    Jan. 8  -  First day of class for Spring 2014 Semester.