Conducted Homecoming '98 week (Oct. 3-9, 1998) program
of activities, including Founder's Day Luncheon (attended by more
than 100 alumni, students, and friends of the institution),
Homecoming Parade, Campus Carnival, Homecoming Coronation and
Dance, and a variety of musical programs
BSC Criminal Justice Club, the "Enforcers," was awarded
a $1,000 grant from Wal-Mart (Bluefield, VA) to underwrite its
activities during "Make A Difference Day," Oct. 24. In
coordination with the "We Can" program, the Enforcers invited
more than 30 area youngsters to participate in a program
involving bicycle and fire safety, peer pressure, and drug &
alcohol prevention
New York Times best-selling writer Sharyn McCrumb, and
noted Appalachian ballad singer & musician Betty Smith presented
a program in word and song at Bluefield State College, October 21
for students from area schools & BSC
Nearly 200 area high school
seniors visited Bluefield State College's open house for
prospective college students
Director of the Afro-Appalachian Performance Company,
delivered a dramatic presentation, "John Brown's Raid," October
23 on the Bluefield State College campus
BSC Instrument Society of America Student Team
participated in the recent International Competition, held by the
International Society of Measurement and Controls during the
ISA/TECH Expo in Houston, TX. BSC students won district
competition to qualify for the national event, which featured
teams from Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Italy, in addition to the
U.S.
PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES
Dr. Edward Fort, President of the National Association
For Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) and Chancellor
of North Carolina A & T University, met with the administration
and several faculty at BSC to consider collaborative
opportunities involving both institutions
Presidential Task Force on the Recruitment of
Minorities conducted two meetings focused upon long range
planning, and hosted a program featuring one of the founders of
the nation's largest minority public relations firms
North Central Appalachian Center for Higher Education
(NCACHE) has established its regional base of operations at
Bluefield State College. NCACHE concentrates upon increasing the
college-going rate in West Virginia and in Appalachian Maryland.
The Veterans Upward Bound program at Bluefield State
College met or exceeded all goals and objectives for its third
project year, assisting 141 military service veterans in pursuing
their educational goals during the past year
BSC served as a host site for the "Healthy People 2000
Progress Review for Black Americans" videoconference
CONSOL, Inc. presented a $1 0,000 gift to assist in
support of BSC's mining engineering technology program. Since
1980, CONSOL has contributed $158,000 to BSC. More than 80 BSC
students have benefited from CONSOL scholarship support and more
than 60 BSC graduates have accepted employment with CONSOL.
Continued organizational work in co-sponsoring, with
the Bluefield Holiday Inn, the November, 1998 Greater Bluefield
Chamber of Commerce's "Business After Hours" program
BSC Accounting Club program featured two regional CPAs
who discussed with club members the requirements for becoming a
CPA, along with experiences the students could anticipate during
their first few years as a CPA
BSC was notified that its "Teacher
Training Grant" from Microsoft Corporation has been renewed for a
second year. Through the grant, BSC and five area public schools
will be able to utilize Microsoft software for another one year
period. The program permits BSC to train public school teachers
in Microsoft applications, so the teachers may return to the
public schools and use the software in classroom and laboratory
settings with their students
With the help of a West Virginia Experimental Program
to Stimulate Competitive Research (WVEPSCOR) grant, BSC has
acquired a state-of-the-art printed circuit board and prototyping
machine to be used with the College's engineering technology
curriculum
BSC Director of the RBA program visited the Greenbrier
Community
College Center of BSC to talk to individuals interested in the
program
Greenbrier Community College Center
of BSC participated in the Oct. 1 0 "Taste of Our Towns"
celebration in Lewisburg. Tours of the newly-renovated
Greenbrier Hall (home of GCCC) and a GCCC Bookstore open house
were conducted
Associate Professor of Nursing at Bluefield State
College presented a paper at the "Opportunities and Challenges
for Associate Degree Nursing Graduates" conference at Eastern
Kentucky University
Former West Virginia State and South
Carolina State football coach Oree Banks presented a "Drug &
Alcohol Awareness Seminar, attended by more than 100 students
from area public schools and BSC students, October 1
Announced three interim appointments
within the athletic department to cover the responsibilities of
the head basketball coach/athletic director while he is on a
medical leave
BSC Department Head of Electrical
Engineering Technology presented a two-day faculty development
workshop, "Printed Circuit Board and Prototyping Techniques. The
workshop was attended by faculty from eight regional technical
and higher education institutions
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
BSC Center for Economic Enhancement
is coordinating a preemployment training program for prospective
employees of Interbank, an organization scheduled to open
teleservices call centers in Bluefield & Welch, WV. The company
began interviewing graduates of the intensive program in October,
in an effort to begin filling up to 25 positions per week. Other
partners whose effort will be coordinated in the project include
Southern WV Community & Technical College, McDowell County
Vocational Technical Center, Welch Job Service, Mercer County
Technical Education Center, Bluefield Job Service, and the WV
Department of Education. (The project is sponsored through the
Governor's Guaranteed Workforce Program and the WV Workplace
Education Program.)
Developing a First-Aid and Safety
training program for Nash-Finch Corporation (Bluefield, VA). The
program will begin with CPR training, taught by a CPR-certified
member of the BSC nursing faculty
Discussed developing a welding
certification preparation training program with Platnick Steel
and Engineering (Bluefield, VA)
Developed customized desktop
publishing and training assistance for Pemco, Inc. (Bluefield,
VA). The program will assist the firm in developing capability
to produce its sales/marketing materials internally
Took part in Open House ceremonies
at the new location of the Beckley Raleigh County Chamber of
Commerce
Scheduling "Computer Courses for
Seniors" to address a waiting list of senior adults who expressed
desire for such courses when the Creative Retirement Center
offered a series of computer courses earlier in 1998. Initial
waiting list courses have been completed in Windows 95.
Remaining courses focus upon Microsoft Word and Internet/E-Mail.
Center for Economic Enhancement co-
sponsored "How to Respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP)"
workshop in Flatwoods, WV. Other sponsors included the Regional
Contracting Assistance Center (RCAC), WV Small Business
Development Centers, WV High Technology Consortium, and the
Southern Virginia Community College Procurement and Technical
Assistance Center.
Coordinating development of a
workplace education program for B.F. Goodrich (Union, WV). The
project involves assisting the company in evaluation of different
alternatives for testing the basic skills of its employees with
respect to the jobs they perform and developing training to meet
these needs. Partners that Bluefield State College recruited to
this project, Concord College and the WV Workforce Education
Program, will assess and profile one representative job, and
training options will be developed based upon that profile. The
program will be expanded for other jobs if the initial pilot is
successful. (The program is funded through the Governor's
Guaranteed Workforce Program.)
Developing introductory and advanced
Microsoft Access training programs for employees at B.F. Goodrich
Aerospace (Union, WV). The program will be scheduled at the
Greenbrier Community College Center of BSC
Developing additional Welding
Certification Preparation training program for Triple S
Manufacturing (Beckley, WV). This training will expand the
amount of welding processes the firm is certified to perform and
is a sequel to a program completed earlier this year by the
Center for Economic Enhancement.
Participated in the first Technology
and Training Expo, sponsored by the Princeton-Mercer County
Chamber of Commerce. In addition to focusing upon career
directed academic programs including Engineering Technology and
Allied Health Sciences, the BSC display also illustrated
workforce development and technical assistance projects completed
in the previous year by the Center for Economic Enhancement.
Complimentary training opportunities were provided by BSC for
Chamber members in "Stress Management," "Microsoft Powerpoint,"
and "Working Productively Through Teams."
Developing a "Team Launch" training
session for Med-Response (Bluefield, WV) as a sequel to "Team
Building and Process Improvement" training completed earlier this
year. (The program is funded through the WV Small Business
Workforce Program.)
Hosted "Engineering Ethics" forum
for Pentree Engineering (Princeton, WV). This program was taught
by BSC's Division Chair for Engineering Technology.
Participated in an organizational
meeting with the Tazewell County (VA) Economic Development
Authority to prepare for an industrial recruitment meeting with
EDS Corporation (Herndon, VA).
Co-Sponsoring "Introduction to
Federal Contracting and Meet the Buyers" conference in Beckley,
WV. Other conference sponsors include the Regional Contracting
Assistance Center, the Procurement and Technical Assistance
Center (Vienna, WV), Bank One, and the U.S. Small Business
Administration
Center for Economic Enhancement co-
sponsored ISO 9000 training programs in Beckley and Bluefield.
Other sponsors include the Robert C. Byrd Institute at Marshall
University and the Center for International Understanding at BSC.
Additional ISO 9000 technical assistance is being provided by
B.F. Goodrich Aerospace (Union, WV) and Petroleum Transportation
Company (Bluefield, Charleston, & Beckley, WV) as a result of
this introductory seminar.
Completed "Neuro Nursing" continuing
education course for more than 30 local registered and licensed
practical nurses. Additional courses are scheduled for Bluefield
and Beckley during the remainder of this semester.
Hosted "Census 2000" training to
prepare local residents who have registered to assist in
completion of data-gathering for the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
The program was coordinated by the BSC Department of Career
Planning and Placement
Hosted the first two "Travel &
Adventure Series" travelogue narratives of the season. This is
the llth year of the program, which brings professional film
makers and world travelers to narrate their films on various
locations and countries. The program is co-sponsored by
Bluefield Regional Medical and Wellness Centers, First Century
Bank, AAA--The Bluefield Automobile Club, Abbott Bus Lines, Inc.,
and BSC.
Completed hiring of two new trainers
for positions with the Center for Economic Enhancement. One
position focuses upon computer and technology training for local
businesses and industry. The other focuses upon management
training and job skills analysis, including the competitive
training modules developed by the Governor's Guaranteed Workforce
Program.
BSC Center for International
Understanding (CIU) conducted three week training program,
"Community Development" for 12 Azerbaijani social workers in
cooperation with Delphi International (Washington D.C.), and CIU
Washington, D.C. bureau is performing program coordinator's
duties for this program in West Virginia through Nov. 15, 1998
Registered CIU Russia bureau with
relevant Russian offices, hired new business manager for the
bureau, and held first meeting of bureau's Advisory Board
CIU
Russia bureau started "Fair of Russian and International Programs
for Children and Youth, with more than 600 children
participating, along with several public and private sector
agencies/entities
CIU is disseminating international bids to West
Virginia companies
CIU received contract to direct Uzbekistan Judicial
Development Program for officers of the Judges Association (Nov.
7-15, 1998), in cooperation with the American Bar Association
US Agency for International Development (USAID) is
currently reviewing three CIU program proposals:
a) Five-week training program proposal that is being
developed for
Russian Civic Education officials sponsored by the American
Council of Teachers of
Russian-American Council for Collaboration and Education Study
b) Eleven-day training program, the "Role of NGOs in
Emergency Management to World Learning-USAID," for NGO leaders
from Poland
c) Three-week training program, "Conditions Conducive
to Refugee Return at Local Level-Croatia," for 6-8 officials from
Croatia
CIU directed three-week training program, sponsored by
U.S. Information Agency, for 12 Russian educational
administrators
CIU English as a Second Language program is enrolling
students, with BSC ESL website averaging nearly 270 hits per
month, and the program has established programs overseas, with
CIU bureaus in Azerbaijan and Ukraine acting as liaisons
CIU is implementing international trade and investment
export assistance service activities in its offices in Saratov
(Russia), Bombay (India), Bratislava (Slovakia), Baku
(Azerbaijan), and Dnipropetrovosk (Ukraine)
CIU Washington, D.C. bureau is researching grant
programs for CIU Russia bureau, and is reviewing applications of
U.S. teachers wishing to teach in Russia for American Council of
Teachers of Russia
CIU Russia bureau continued negotiations with USAID for
funding of bureau's Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Abuse and AIDS
Prevention programs
CIU Eastern Europe Bureau established liaison with
National Agency for Small and Medium Enterprise development to
deliver English Language program
CIU Caucasus-Central Asia Bureau
recruited 40 students for English as a Second Language Program
and obtained a classroom for ESL Program
Developing customer service and teamwork internal
training sessions for BSC, in partnership with the BSC Office of
Human Resources