Contact: Sammy McDavid
More than 30 community college leaders from Mississippi and Alabama are scheduled to take part in a weeklong professional development program organized by Mississippi State and Alcorn State universities.
The 2000 Mid-South Community College Fellowship Program is being held Sunday-Friday [July 23-28] at the Lake Tiak O'Khata Conference Center near Louisville. The Phil Hardin Foundation of Meridian, Ford Foundation of New York City and participating community colleges also provide support.
Now in its seventh year, the fellows program gives special attention to the encouragement and training of minorities and women for leadership positions. To attend, participants must be nominated either by their institution's president or the Mississippi Board for Community and Junior Colleges.
Problem-based learning, team building, technology in education, conflict management, and workplace diversity are among areas covered during the training.
Ned Lovell, MSU educational leadership department head and a founder of the program, said many of the 144 graduates are expected to join this year's class for a reunion at the conference center on the 27th.
"It is important to nurture and prepare the next generation of community college leaders and that's what this program has done," Lovell said. "We continue to grow and to attract attention from community colleges out of state."
In addition to representatives from all 15 of Mississippi's two-year colleges, this year's meeting will include administrators from Alabama's Bevill State Community College in Sumiton, Bessemer State Technical College in Bessemer and Ayers State Technical College in Anniston.
Among keynote speakers will be Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Mary Libby Payne; ASU Dean of Education Josephine Posey; former North Carolina governor Robert W. Scott; and Jill Triplet, president-elect of the Southeastern Association for Community College Research.
The 2000 fellows class includes (listed by institution):
AYERS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE-Eric Stringer, director of business and industry training.
BESSEMER STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE-Charles Murray [position title not available].
BEVILL STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Suzanne Bush and Napoleon Jones [position titles not available].
COAHOMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Patricia Furdge [cq] [position title not available], Rosetta Howard, director of continuing education, and Barbara Nielsen, instructor of hotel and restaurant management technology.
COPIAH-LINCOLN COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Bettye Mullen, director of student support services, and Evelyn Sutton, humanities instructor.
EAST CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Joe A. Killen, director of housing and security, and Donna Luke, director of admissions, records and research.
EAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLEGE-Andra Brown, district director of adult basic education.
HINDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Gail Muse, instructor for special populations and related studies, and Jeremy K. Smith, instructor of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration.
ITAWAMBA COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Teddy Bouchillon, director of student housing and residence life, and Carrie Hall, women's basketball coach and director of student activities.
JONES COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE-Grant Crowder, dean of men.
MERIDIAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Steve Arinder, chair of the health education division, and Al Mitchell, an English education instructor.
MISSISSIPPI DELTA COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Gail Bailey, nursing instructor; Marcia Hudson, instructor [not specified]; and Edward Rice II, assistant dean of students.
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Joseph W. Cliburn, associate vice president for institutional research and planning; Marsha Cluff, marketing instructor; Kathern [cq] Dedeaux, mathematics instructor; Carol Holley, chair of the language arts department; and Elisha R. Towles, manager of career and placement center.
NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Mitzy Johnson, director of institutional research and staff development; Cheryl Ragan, director of finance; and John W. Yarber, instructor of economics.
NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Marcella Lewis, dean of continuing education.
PEARL RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Adam Breerwood, instructor and coach [not specified].
HOLMES COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Steve Diffey, executive director for foundation and alumni affairs.
SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE-Jerry Malone, director of the One-Stop Career Center.