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Vance-Granville Community College Providing Access&Opportunity 2008-2009 President’s Report Providing Access & Opportunity — A Message From Our President — cross our nation and around the world, our four-county area in outstanding fashion, as economic challenges have been at the evidenced recently when VGCC met all eight A forefront of our minds in the past year. state performance measures for 2007-08. In Such difficult times remind us of something this report, you will learn about the wide va- we should never forget: that the answer to so riety of activities and opportunities that the many economic problems, both for individuals college has provided for our students and for and for communities, is education and train- our communities in the past year. Together, ing. That fact must not be lost on many people they demonstrate how VGCC is excelling, in our communities, because in the past year, growing and changing. The ability to change VGCC set new historic records for enrollment to meet new demands is one of the hallmarks in curriculum programs. Area residents have of the community college, and that ability has also flocked to basic skills and short-term job been a key attribute of VGCC for the past four training courses in order to start new careers decades. or adapt to economic change. As we continue to celebrate the 40th an- Today, when our community needs niversary of VGCC, we are filled with grati- Randy Parker VGCC more than ever, it is our responsibil- tude for the strong community support that President ity to create the potential for all our people sustains the college, pride in the tens of thou- 2004 - Present to be successful, by protecting their continued sands of our students whose lives have been access to higher education, opportunity and changed by higher education, and confidence hope for the future. Our faculty and staff are that we will continue to create success for the doing that for the students and businesses of next 40 years and beyond. — A Message From Our Chairman — n behalf of the Board of Trustees, and exciting ways. Our central goal remains I want to express appreciation to to hold open the door to education for all. To- O President Parker and all our faculty, day’s growing numbers of students join their staff and students for their accom- predecessors, who walked through those open plishments during the past year. The role of doors and walked out with the education and VGCC in personal and economic develop- training they needed to be successful. Even as ment has been recognized and renewed in we reflect on how important the college has the midst of an economy that has presented been to the community over the past 40 years, new challenges. Through it all, the college my fellow trustees and I look forward to an Donald C. Seifert, Sr. has not only maintained existing high-qual- even brighter future for VGCC and the area VGCC Board Chairman ity programs but also moved forward in new it serves. 2003 - Present 2008-2009 2008-2009 Board of Trustees President’s Cabinet Seated, clockwise from left: Sara C. Wester, secretary Henrietta Seated, from left: Dr. Angela Ballentine, vice president of in- H. Clark, VGCC president Randy Parker, chair Donald C. Seif- struction; Katherine Williamson, director of human resources; ert, Sr., student trustee Ed Lyons and Grace W. Vickery; stand- April Perkinson, executive assistant to the president, Vanessa ing, from left: L. Opie Frazier, Jr., Ronald E. Gregory, John Jones, vice president of community & economic development; M. Foster, vice chair J. David Brooks, Ernest Thompson and Jo Anna Jones, vice president of institutional advancement & Stanley H. Fox. Not pictured: D. Bernard Alston, Abdul Sm Ra- endowment fund director. Standing, from left: Matt Williams, sheed, trustee emeritus John K. Nelms, Franklin County liaison vice president of finance & operations; Gene Purvis, vice presi- Ralph S. Knott and Warren County liaison Clinton G. Alston. dent of student affairs; Randy Parker, president; Dr. Ken Lewis, vice president of information technology. 2 2008-2009 President’s Report v rts LIVE a OME at VGCC! usical and dramatic arts son, presented concerts at Warrenton Bap- were in the spotlight in Atist Church and Creedmoor United Meth- 2008-2009. Michael Ste- odist Church. As an orchestral saxophonist, phenson joined VGCC in Stephenson has appeared with the North 2008 as the new music instructor. That fall, Carolina, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and he organized the Vance-Granville Commu- Western Piedmont Symphonies, and he is Cnity Band, a combination of VGCC students the soprano saxophonist for the New Cen- and interested citizens. All four counties of tury Saxophone Quartet. the VGCC service area are represented in Meanwhile, VGCC drama students mthe band, which has grown to more than 50 presented two plays during the year. In members. The group has entertained hun- December 2008, they staged Mary Chase’s dreds of area residents with well-received The VGCC community band entertained classic comedy, Harvey, which tells the concerts in the VGCC Civic Center and at hundreds of area residents with numerous story of Elwood P. Dowd and his imagi- the Gazebo on the college’s main campus. concerts during the 2008-2009 year. nary friend, a six-and-half-foot tall rabbit The band also performed at named Harvey. Students fol- the May 2009 commence- lowed that success in March ment exercises. 2009 with another comedy, In addition to leading the Larry Shue’s The Nerd. First band, Stephenson teaches a performed in 1981, The Nerd variety of music courses at centers on an aspiring young VGCC. Stephenson has also architect and his annoying reached out to the community houseguest. Both produc- with special performances. In tions were directed by VGCC April 2009, Stephenson and Theatre Arts/Speech instruc- Mark Hopper, the Minister of tor Betsy Henderson. Music and Organist at First Instructor Michael Stephenson (left) performs with the Community Band. Baptist Church of Hender- Under the direction of Betsy Henderson, VGCC drama students rehearse Following the success of “Harvey,” drama students per- the play, “Harvey.” formed the comedy, “The Nerd.” Providing Access and Opportunity 3 Highlights of 2008-2009 Master Plan Artist Paints Murals Culinary Technology Even as current economic needs were at VGCC Culinary Technology students priorities in 2008-2009, VGCC continued VGCC Campuses demonstrated their skills by preparing hors to think about how the college can adapt d’oeuvres for the 2008 North Carolina Com- to meet changing needs in the future. The munity College System Conference, which Facilities Master Plan, a ten-year proposed was held Oct. 12-14 at the Raleigh Conven- plan to meet the building and growth needs tion Center. More than 2,500 instructors of the college, went into phase one project planning. The Master Plan was created so the college would have the initial plans for expansion in place should building funds become available in the future. In the fall of 2008, the Pearce Brinkley Artist Wanda Satterwhite (above, left) Cease + Lee (PBC&L) architectural firm poses with the mural she painted in the in Raleigh was selected for the planning Snack Bar on the college’s main campus in for the proposed Allied Health and Science the summer and early fall of 2008. Building on Main Campus. Other expansion Each of the mural’s four corners rep- priorities for the future will be the renova- resents one of the four counties served by tion of Buildings 5 and 6 on Main Campus; the college, along with the VGCC campus construction of a Corporate Education Cen- in that county: clockwise, from bottom left, ter at a location to be determined; and reno- Franklin County, Granville County (South and staff members from all of the state’s 58 vations of Building 1 and construction of a Campus), Vance County (Main Campus) community colleges — including 94 from new classroom/ library building, both at the and Warren County. The familiar gazebo by VGCC — attended the biennial conference, Franklin County Campus. the lake on Main Campus served as the cen- which is the largest event sponsored by the terpiece of the mural. One of these murals system. Above, VGCC Culinary Technol- Summer 2008 Graduation is located on Main Campus, South Campus ogy student Denise McLeod (left) serves and Warren Campus, while two are painted Dr. Scott Ralls, president of the N.C. Com- at different locations at Franklin Campus. munity College System, at the conference In addition, Satterwhite painted one reception. mural on each campus that depicts the col- lege’s “Vanguards” mascot logo (below). Satterwhite has taken art classes at VGCC under Lelia Brigham and Leslie Johnson, and she has also taught an art class at the Warren County Campus. Linda H. Weiner, then Special Assistant In the spring of 2009, VGCC Culinary stu- to the President for Engagement and Eco- dents began preparing and serving lunches nomic Development at the North Carolina to the public at the new “Vanguard Café,” Community College System, saluted the at the program’s home, the Masonic Home summer graduating class at VGCC as the for Children in Oxford. “This is an oppor- principal speaker for the Aug. 7, 2008 com- tunity for the culinary students to show off mencement exercises. The summer gradu- the kitchen and hospitality skills they have ating class consisted of 210 students. The been learning in a real public service set- ceremony was the last of its kind scheduled ting. That’s the best way to prepare them by VGCC, which returned to the practice of for their careers,” said Chef Ross Ragonese, one commencement per year in May 2009.