January Activities Report

• Bluefield State College announced a 12-event series of programs for the College's celebration of "Black History Month" in February

• BSC's Student Support Services program began utilizing a promotional video, produced by a BSC Student Support Services tutor, in enhancing awareness of services available through SSS.

• "BOOKENDS," a recently-established faculty/staff organization at Bluefield State College, continued fund-raising activities to help BSC students with their textbook purchases.

• Continued efforts focused upon BSC website enhancement, and toward promoting awareness of individual divisions and programs of study at BSC

• Conducted site visits and interviews for finalists for the position of Vice President of Student Affairs, and for candidates for the position of Director of Alumni Affairs

• Completed mailing BSC "Blue & Gold" magazine to more than 8,500 alumni and friends of the College

• Accounting students and faculty at BSC's Bluefield campus and at the Greenbrier Community College Center of BSC began offering tax preparation assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Last year, BSC students and faculty provided more than 520 hours' volunteer service to area residents through the VITA program.

• Continued promoting the New Higher Education Adult Part-time Student (HEAPS) Grant Program, which provides assistance at BSC beginning this semester. The program is designed for West Virginia residents who have been out of high school for at least two years. Qualifying students must have financial need and be enrolled in a degree program and carry between six and 11 hours' college credit

• Telecast throughout Bluefield-area cable system two Bluefield City Board of Directors' meetings and the monthly Mercer County Board of Education meeting

• BSC's Director of Multicultural Affairs met with numerous community, public schools, alumni, church, and civic organizations, with a focus on recruitment of minority students, faculty, and staff, and improving community relations

• BSCAA, Inc. President Ruth R Brown notes two stellar events: a) The West Virginia Division of Culture and History congratulated the Association for the signal honor given December 3, 1999 of having Hatter Hall/Alumni House entered in the National Registry of Historic Places. President Brown extended kudos to the Hatter Hall Advisory Council for members' hard work; b) Dr. Ervin Griffin, Sr., BSC Class of '71, received the West Virginia Governor's "Living the Dream Award," January 17, 2000. President Brown expressed kudos to our "exemplary alumni for this recognition."

• BSCAA committees continued their work in planning and preparing for several activities. These activities include: "A Tribute to Robert Moose" (Spring, 2000). A printers error in the most recent issue of the "Blue & Gold" listed "Dr. Robert Moose" as "Dr. Robert Moore." We apologize for the inconvenience.

• Developing customized supervisory training and structured job training manuals for critical manufacturing processes for States Industries (Bluefield, WV). The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Development (CESD) is a training partner in this project, which is sponsored through the Governor's Guaranteed Work Force Program.

• Continuing to provide customized computer training for more than 60 employees of Flowers Baking Products, Inc. (Bluefield, WV). Classes will continue for the remainder of the fiscal year. This training program is sponsored by the Governors Guaranteed Work Force Program.

• Developing a customized computer training program for General Injectibles and Vaccines (Bastian, VA). Training assessments have been completed and instruction is scheduled to begin in February.

• Continued to offer a customized computer training program for Marshall Miller & Associates (Bluefield, VA). Training will continue through the year.

• Continued to provide customized computer training for employees of Appalachian by Design (Lewisburg, WV) and five other organizations in the Greenbrier Valley that have combined resources to minimize the cost of training. The other organizations participating in this training include: Greenbrier Valley Family Refuge Center, Hotel & Restaurant Employees Union, Greenbrier Housing Authority, Greenbrier Valley Theater, and Health Care Systems of the Virginias. This program is being taught at the Greenbrier Community College Center of Bluefield State College.

• Developing a customized computer training program for a small consortium of bed & breakfast owners who are members of the Southern WV Convention & Visitors Bureau. This program will begin in February with classes at the Greenbrier Community College Center of BSC, and has been approved by the WV Small Business Workforce Program.

• Developing a customized computer training program for Pocahontas Land Corporation (Bluefield, WV). Training assessments have been completed and training is scheduled to begin in February.

• Developing a customized work force and skill development training program for The Greenbrier Hotel (White Sulphur Springs, WV). The program is being developed in partnership with staff from BSC's Greenbrier Community College Center.

• Continued an accelerated "Cisco Business and Industry Training Program with 19 students representing nine area businesses and organizations participating. The eight-month program provides instruction on the first four semesters of the Cisco networking curriculum and will prepare students to sit for the CCNA examination. Participating organizations include First Century Bank (Bluefield, WV), Turner Vision (Bluefield, WV), Pocahontas Land Corporation (Bluefield, WV), Bluefield Regional Medical Center (Bluefield, WV), Avalon Computers, Inc. (Welch, WV), and Communications Technology (Bluefield, WV).

• Completed a planning meeting with representatives of Netserve (Beckley,WV) to explore the potential of a partnership for providing training for various types of information technology certifications

• Presented "Power Facilitation Skills," a session of "Bluefield Youth Leadership," a program for area high school sophomores and juniors, sponsored by the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce. The Director of the BSC Center for Economic Enhancement and the Human Resources Director of First Century Bank (Bluefield, WV) co-chair the program and coordinate all training arrangements.

• Completed the first session of a "Computer Lab for Seniors," a program available on alternating Fridays through the Spring Semester, 2000. The program has been developed in partnership with BSC Computer Science faculty and will be supervised by BSC senior Computer Science students. The first session attracted 16 senior adults. The "Computer Lab for Seniors" is a program of the BSC Creative Retirement Center.

• Conducted an "Investment Club for Seniors" program through the BSC Creative Retirement Center, with 1 0 senior adults participating

• Developing an Elderhostel program to begin later this year or in early 2001. Potential locations are currently being reviewed, and assistance is also being provided by the Northeast Regional Director of Elderhostel.

• Completing revised needs assessment for planning of future senior programs