Contact: Sammy McDavid
Nearly 30 teachers and administrators from community colleges and other institutions in five Southern states are at Mississippi State next week for a leadership training program celebrating its 10th year.
To be held on the university campus Monday-Friday [July 7-11], the Mid-South Community College Fellowship Program involves a range of activities that help prepare the next generation of campus administrators. In addition to locations throughout Mississippi, participants will arrive from schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana.
MCCFP was established in 1994 with assistance from the Meridian-based Phil Hardin Foundation. Since then, participating schools have joined with the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges and the Lower Pearl River Valley Foundation to provide financial support.
"The fellowship program is the first and only university-based training in Mississippi that focuses on future community college leadership," said founder and director Ned Lovell. "In addition to providing a vehicle for professional development, it has established a solid reputation for encouraging university-community college collaborations and involving diverse agencies and individuals in preparing these future leaders.
"Many people have worked very hard to make it a success," he added.
During its decade of existence, the fellows program has trained more than 215 community college professionals. Also, what began as an all-inclusive weeklong summer format has expanded over time to encompass an entire academic year that includes completion of a required service project and participation at a follow-up training conference during the winter.
Keynote speakers for the 2003 sessions include Michael Bailey, president of Bessemer (Ala.) State Technical College; Charles Chance, president of Northeast Mississippi Community College; David Cole, president of Itawamba Community College and former top assistant to Gov. Ronnie Musgrove; Sid Salter, veteran Mississippi journalist and "Perspective" Editor at the Jackson Clarion-Ledger; B. Carlyle Ramsey, president of Danville (Va.) Community College and chair of the Rural Community College Alliance; and Harold Wade, president of Bevill State Community College in Sumiton, Ala.
This year's participants include (by institution location):
BESSEMER, Ala.--Renay Herndon, retention and assessment coordinator, Bessemer State Technical College.
BOONEVILLE--Johnny Allen, vice president for instruction, Northeast Mississippi Community College.
CAMDEN, Ark.--Robert Gunnels, vice chancellor for instruction, Southern Arkansas University Tech.
CLARKSDALE--Kenneth Done, criminal justice instructor, Coahoma Community College.
CORINTH--Rilla Jones, interim division head, Northeast Community College.
DECATUR--Phillip Crenshaw, social science and history instructor, and George Vaughn, oral communications instructor, East Central Community College.
ELLISVILLE--Sam Jones, assistant dean of student services, and Michelle Walters, Dean's Office intern, Jones County Junior College.
FULTON--Ellene McCrimon, distance learning coordinator, Itawamba Community College.
GAUTIER--Tammy Franks, bookkeeper, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
GULFPORT--Sandra Murphy, department chair for associate degree nursing program, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky.--Jerry Gilliam, associate professor, Hopkinsville Community College.
MAYHEW--Emmett W. Farrar Jr., automation and control instruction, East Mississippi Community College.
NEW ORLEANS, La.--Carmen Walters, assistant to the chancellor, Delgado Community College.
OPP, Ala.--Tonitta Sauls, chair of business, computer science and personal services division, Lurleen B. Wallace Community College.
PERKINSTON--Glenda Redmond, librarian, and Mark Smith, director of student services and distance learning, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
PICAYUNE--Jennifer Seal, mathematics instructor, Pearl River Community College.
RAYMOND--Richard Blackburn, instructional technology specialist, and Carolyn White, district director of human resources, Hinds Community College.
SOMERSET, Ky.--Tim Zimmerman, dean of financial services, Somerset Community College.
STARKVILLE--Thomas Bourgeois, associate dean of students, MSU.
SUMITON, Ala.--Bonnie Craven, business and office administration chair, Bevill State Community College.
SUMMIT--Dixie Fouche, instructor of child care technology, Southwest Mississippi Community College.
SWAINSBORO, Ga.--Donald Avery, enrollment services director, East Georgia College.
WESSON--Allen Kent, assistant dean of students, Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For a complete schedule of events and additional information, telephone Mandy Lusk at (662) 325-9480 or Dr. Lovell at 325-0215.