<<go back
March 29, 2006
April Designated Community College Month
Calhoun Community College will join community colleges across the country in recognition of April as "Community College Month." The Alabama State Board of Education recently passed a resolution recognizing the month and highlighting the opportunities Calhoun and the state's other two-year colleges provide and the critical role they play in workforce and economic development.
Calhoun has planned a number of events to take place throughout the month of April. These activities provide an opportunity for the college to recognize its many outstanding students, faculty and staff and to highlight its exceptional academic and workforce training programs. Among these events are the following:
- April 13 - Springfest activities at Calhoun's Huntsville campus, 5:00 p.m.
- April 18 - Reception recognizing the college's Top Ten Students for 2006, 10:30 a.m., Aerospace Training Center , Decatur campus
- April 27 - Springfest activities on the Decatur campus, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- April 28 - 37th Annual Honors Day Program recognizing Calhoun's outstanding students, faculty and staff.
In addition, the college's baseball and softball teams have several games scheduled throughout the month of April. A complete listing of these games can be found on the Calhoun website at www.calhoun.edu .
There are more than 1,100 community colleges in the United States , and the majority of higher education students in the nation are educated in community colleges. Last year 316,090 individuals were served through academic and technical courses, workforce training and adult education programs in the Alabama College System. The majority of undergraduate students in public higher education in Alabama are enrolled in two-year colleges.
"Community colleges like Calhoun serve a unique higher education mission, that of providing affordable access to college, increasing educational opportunities of the population, and providing workforce training in partnership with business and industry helping to ensure a highly-skilled, competitive workforce," commented Calhoun president Marilyn Beck.
President Truman's Commission on Higher Education brought the idea of community-centered, publicly-supported two-year colleges to a national level, when it became clear after World War II that veterans needed local opportunities to enter higher education and prepare for increasingly technical jobs. The role two-year colleges play in the state of Alabama is invaluable. Alabama 's two-year institutions provide an array of programs and opportunities, which include
- Access to higher education in Alabama - affordability, schedule flexibility, geography and developmental education
- Workforce training geared to industry needs exemplified in the auto industry, aviation and shipbuilding
- Health education programs that produce the majority of nurses, first responders and allied health professionals in Alabama
- STARS- Alabama 's articulation agreement that guarantees transfer of two-year college courses to four-year institutions, one of the top comprehensive articulation systems in the nation
- Arts and culture - community colleges' role in bringing the arts to rural communities
- Distance learning and technology in two-year colleges
- Bridging secondary and postsecondary education to prepare students for the workforce.
For more information about Calhoun's academic and workforce training programs, call 256/306-2500 or visit the college's website at www.calhoun.edu .
Coverage of this release:
- April is Community College Month, The Decatur Daily, Thursday, March 30, 2006 issue, p. B2.
- April Designated Community College Month, Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce website, Chamber Member News, www.hsvchamber.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Janet Kincherlow-Martin
Director of Public Relations
(256) 306-2561
Back to Menu |
