Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Nearly 30 teachers and administrators from community colleges and supporting organizations in four Southern states are new graduates of a leadership training program at Mississippi State University.
Now celebrating its 12th year, the Mid-South Community College Fellowship Program provides a range of activities that help prepare the next generation of campus administrators. In addition to locations throughout Mississippi, participants in the weeklong mid-July workshop came from Alabama, Kentucky and North Carolina.
Established in 1994 with assistance from the Meridian-based Phil Hardin Foundation, MCCFP now is sponsored by the Mid-South Partnership for Rural Community Colleges. The partnership is a collaborative effort among MSU, Alcorn State University and participating community colleges, with additional support provided by the Picayune-based Lower Pearl River Valley Foundation.
"The fellowship program is the first and only university-based training in Mississippi that focuses on future community college leadership," said founder 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."
To date, the MSU-based fellowship program has trained more than 275 community college professionals, added the retired MSU College of Education administrator who now is a staff member with the land-grant institution's John C. Stennis Institute of Government.
A dozen community college and university presidents and other employees served as instructors or speakers for the 2005 sessions.
The 2005-06 MCCFP class includes (by institution location):
BESSEMER, Ala.--Regina Doriety, administrative assistant to the dean of students at Bessemer State Technical College.
BOONEVILLE--Mitzy Johnson, associate vice president for planning and research at Northeast Mississippi Community College.
CLARKSDALE--Deborah Carter, academic business department chair at Coahoma Community College.
DECATUR--Chris Jenkins, choral and vocal music instructor, and Maudean Sanders, assistant dean for career/technical instruction, both at East Central Community College.
FAYETTE, Ala.--Sherry Terry, public relations director at Bevill State Community College.
FULTON--Harold Plunkett, respiratory therapy program director at Itawamba Community College/Fulton Campus.
GAUTIER--Bobby Ghosal, career placement manager, and Joy Mitchell, assistant dean for instruction, both at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College/Jackson County Campus.
GULFPORT--Larry Miller, chair of mathematics and computer science at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College/Jeff Davis Campus.
HATTIESBURG--Sonja V. McCaskill, psychometrist and general educational development instructor for the Pearl River Community College/Forrest County Campus.
MERIDIAN--Michael J. McGrevey, president of the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Institute, and Amy Wolgamott, speech instructor at Meridian Community College.
MIDDLESBORO, Ky.--Susan Croushorn, associate academic affairs dean and director of the Pinesville and Middlesboro campuses, and Rebecca P. Robbins, associate dean of student affairs, both at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.
PERKINSTON--Marketing and recruiting coordinator Allison P. Matthews and assistant librarian Vanessa Ritchie, both of at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College/Perkinston Campus.
POPLARVILLE--Accounting instructor Lisa Bernard, development disabilities specialist Lisa Besnoy and business and economics instructor Jennifer Rester, all at Pearl River Community College/Poplarville Campus.
PURVIS--Amanda Powell, adjunct instructor of biology at Pearl River Community College (exact campus not specified).
RAYMOND--Betty Carraway, director of Hinds Community College Foundation's special projects and donor relations.
ROXBORO, N.C.--Doris Carver, dean of general education and business technology at Piedmont Community College.
SENATOBIA--David Campbell, director of Northwest Community College's Beverly B. Stark Career Center.
SUMITON, Ala.--Leslie Cummings, psychology instructor at Bevill State Community College.
TUPELO--Meredith Byers, a Workforce Development Center team coordinator at Itawamba Community College/Tupelo Campus.
WESSON--Gail Baldwin, associate dean for career and technology instruction, and Upward Bound coordinator Dewayne Middleton, both at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.