"Bluefield State College is an institution that is changing," College President Dr. Robert Moore noted at a recent speech to the Princeton Rotary Club. "Senate Bill 547 has mandated change so that higher education in West Virginia will be afford-able, relevant and accessible."
The BSC President elaborated on the state and future direction of the College in his address to the Princeton civic club. "BSC has a baccalaureate institution and also a two year component -- a community and technical college," he noted. We have a service district representing seven counties in southeast West Virginia (Mercer, McDowell, Raleigh, Greenbrier, Summers, Monroe and Pocahontas)."
"Bluefield State has initiated a triad campus. We have a facility in Bluefield and we are in the process of renovating the Greenbrier College building in Lewisburg, a $4.5 million project. We will relocate to that facility from our current Lewisburg location during the Fall Semester, 1997. We have a facility in Beckley and are looking at the expansion of programmatic offerings there."
Dr. Moore added that the development of a distance learning studio in Bluefield electronically connects the campus there with campuses in Lewisburg and Beckley. "This is a two-way interactive connection so that students and faculty at each campus can have visual and audio contact essential for dialogue and instruction," he said.
"We have placed an emphasis at Bluefield State College on developing our Community and Technical College," he continued. "To do that, we have evaluated our-selves, dropping some major pro-grams because: 1) students were not interested in them, and/or 2) they are not cost-effective. It is my responsibility to operate this institution as efficiently as I can. However, we are not in a downsizing mode. We are growing, adding programs industry has told us it wants." Among the recently added A.S. programs are Technical Communications, Medical Assistant, Legal Assistant, Corrections, and at the Greenbrier Community College Center, BSC has added a program in Lodging Operations. "We are increasing our involvement with business and industry so our graduates will have skills and knowledge that fill needs and create opportunities," the BSC President said.
"Faculty have been encouraged to implement technology in their classes, and they are doing so," he added. "It is important to note that technology will never replace a faculty member. It will only enhance the faculty member."
"Bluefield State College will be entrepreneurial" he said. "We are in the process of finalizing arrangements with entrepreneurs who are seeking to develop dorms near Bluefield State College. We will be hiring an individual whose responsibility will be data collection, institutional research, performance and quality."
"I see a bright future for Bluefield State College," he concluded. "We are growing and changing. Change is dynamic and brings challenge, but it also brings opportunity."
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