The Three R's

In the aftermath of the Great Recession, as had been predicted, college enrollment is leveling off while state funding continues to decline. Historically, these are the worst times that our College has seen in terms of available resources and the expectations of us. In the most recently published Reclaiming the American Dream:  Community Colleges and the Nation's Future report, they state:

“Community colleges are not funded at a level permitting them to perform the monumental tasks expected of them…community colleges must make better use of the resources they have. Most of the necessary changes in these institutions and in student outcomes will come not through an influx of new or restored funding; rather, they will come through the leadership commitment and skill to reallocate existing resources to fund effective educational practice at scale.”

We are facing significant challenges in the future sustainability of the College; therefore, significant changes are needed to better align us with the realities of our current operating environment. Unfortunately, raising student expenses has been a difficult but necessary measure for us to take. We continue to evaluate other options to determine additional measures that will be needed.

As the Reclaiming the American Dream report recommends to community colleges, we must Redesign students’ educational experiences; Reinvent institutional roles; and Reset the system to create incentives for student and institutional success.  This is why your input in evaluating our strategic themes is so important. I take our strategic themes very seriously and your feedback helps us to know how to best set course for the next five years. Please make sure you take the time to complete the planning questionnaire by Friday, May 11.

Making Progress on Campus Master Plan



Before



After

One of the goals for our Campus Master Plan is to have a pedestrian-focused campus core. The first step to creating this will be the development of our major pedestrian corridors, one of which is the east-west corridor. This corridor runs from the eastern gateway, at the rear of campus near buildings F and G, to the west side of campus, towards Anderson Road. This corridor intersects nine of the 15 buildings on our campus and is frequently used by students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Currently, the western portion of this corridor, between buildings C and H (Administration building), is confined and enclosed by walls and utility infrastructure. The College’s goal is to remove these barriers as we implement the Campus Master Plan and create a more inviting campus with universal access. The first step in the implementation process is to remove several walls located around the plaza between buildings C and H. During spring break, a large portion of this wall system was removed. Many thanks to Robby Brown, James Reeves, Roy Polk, and their staff for making this happen! Over the next several weeks, the area where the wall once stood will be re-landscaped to create a more open space, providing better visibility in the area. There will be interim landscaping performed by our grounds department to tie the two spaces together. As we develop our central energy plant, eventually the utility infrastructure will be removed, which will provide full access to the east-west corridor. There are also future plans to enhance the plaza area to provide additional outdoor collaborative learning space and possibly a signature water feature.

Before

After

In addition, over the next six-eight weeks the College will add landscape improvements to Hood Center Drive (from Baskins Road to Garrison Road). These improvements are part of our Campus Master Plan and coincide with the development of our loop road system and eastern gateway to the campus. These improvements will require the use of the roadway at times for the contractor to off-load equipment and plants. Please use caution as you travel this roadway so that our contractor crews may work safely in these areas.

Your input received from the ‘07-‘08 planning sessions, as well as input received from the ‘09 visioning and design meetings, helped us to develop a comprehensive Campus Master Plan. Thanks to all of you, we are making progress in our strategic theme – Campus Environment. Our campus is more than shelter for classes. Our campus must welcome us all, support our goals, and be an inspiration.

Faculty Recognition

I am proud to share with you that John McGill, York Tech’s Science Department Chair, was recently recognized as a finalist for the Governor’s Professor of the Year award at a luncheon on the University of South Carolina campus. John was one of 10 finalists selected among 34 candidates nominated by their respective institutions. Craig Garner, South Carolina Higher Education Foundation President, presented John with an award for his excellence in teaching and student advising.

Last year, John was the recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence at York Tech’s 2011 graduation. John is passionate about his work and the success of his students. He continuously looks for new and creative teaching methods to engage his students. We are very proud of John and all his accomplishments!

More great things happening at York Tech…..

Please read some of our most recent news items, published by our Marketing and Public Information Office, by clicking on the below headings.

York Tech Students Recognized for Promoting Art Awareness
Congratulations to our Phi Theta Kappa chapter for receiving second place in the 2012 SCTEA Student Community Involvement Project!

SCTEA Recognizes York Tech Educators of the Year
Congratulations Dr. Jack Bagwell, Jyron Baxter, and T’rone Gibson for being recognized as York Tech’s Educators of the Year.

York Tech’s Bobby Plair Receives Community Service Merit Award
Is that Bobby and Glen the Frog? It is! Congratulations, Bobby, for all your work in the community and being one of six recipients of the Community Service Merit Award.

I am so proud of our students, faculty, and staff!  I am grateful for all that you do!

YTC LEAD

The College and our surrounding environment is constantly changing. I have said many times that we must continuously evaluate the way we do business in order to thrive in today’s economy. The reVIEW program and the Operations Excellence (OpEx) program both support our efforts to evaluate and improve our business processes. We all have a part in the improvement process! However, in order to truly transform the organization into the best it can be, we must transform ourselves into better leaders. We all have the opportunity and responsibility to make a difference. One of the many books I have read, The Leadership Challenge, summarizes the patterns of behavior in individuals who exhibit exemplary leadership.

• Model the Way – Establish principles concerning the way people should be treated and the way goals should be pursued
• Inspire a Shared Vision –Passionately believe you can make a difference
• Challenge the Process – Search for opportunities to change the status quo
• Enable Others to Act – Foster collaboration and build spirited teams
• Encourage the Heart – Recognize contributions that individuals make

Regardless of your position in the organization, I believe we can all work on the behaviors mentioned above in order to Be Real, Be Bold, and Be Better – for ourselves, our coworkers, our partners, and for our students! To assist in this endeavor, we launched the YTC LEAD program in December and will be offering a leadership speakers series for all employees in the near future. The YTC LEAD inaugural cohort includes Jyron Baxter, Ivan Lowe, John McGill, Mike Brumbach, Jamey Abercrombie, Chris Cimino, Nikisha Dawkins, Brenda Odom, Ginger Dewey, Michele Wells, Michael McAllister, and Stacy Scott. I’d like to thank Edwina Roseboro-Barnes, Kathy Hoellen, Monique Perry, and Laura Sturgis for helping develop the YTC LEAD program.

Just as a reminder, one of our strategic themes, Organizational Development, resulted from the 650 inputs received from faculty and staff. I believe the YTC LEAD program, among other professional development opportunities, will help better support our efforts to be better than we have to be. Remember – organizations do nothing, technology does nothing, PEOPLE do everything!

The winner is......




"Urban Unity"

 Last year, artists and designers across the nation submitted their work to be considered as one of the official posters for the 2012 Democratic National Convention. After 400 submissions and over 26,000 votes, the winner was announced recently by the mayor of Charlotte, Anthony Foxx. I am delighted to tell you that our very own Steve Ward is the winner of the official poster contest for the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Steve is a digital design instructor at York Tech and a graduate from UNC-Charlotte. His poster titled “Urban Unity” shows the Charlotte skyline and with clasping hands showing the importance of people coming together for a common cause. We are very proud of Steve and his accomplishment!

“Urban Unity” was designed to celebrate diversity. We all have different political, economic, and religious views, but that's what makes this country so special. Too often political arenas are used to shun other's way of thinking and promote their own. We should all come together, unified, with ears and minds open. Steve Ward

QEP Impact Report Accepted!

I am proud to announce that the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Impact Report submitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS COC) in the fall of 2011 has been accepted! The Committee reviewing the report noted, “The Quality Enhancement Plan Impact Report adequately and appropriately addressed all the required elements in the Report. The QEP dealt with critical thinking across the curriculum. The project was an ambitious undertaking, with strong institutional buy-in. The assessments of the outcomes were adequately documented and on target. The institution is to be applauded for the success and the commitment to the QEP.”

We could not have asked for a better response. I want to thank Dr. Jack Bagwell and Taunya Paul for their leadership and the ACTiON Team members Chris Cimino, Martin Grant, Ed Moore, Shelly Myers, Sue Tatro, and Michele Wells for all their hard work on the QEP initiatives! All faculty and staff are to be commended for a job well done for their work on improving students’ critical thinking skills as part of the QEP!