A Message from the New President

Dear Colleagues:

I’d like to start by commending our devoted faculty, staff, and administration for the remarkable job you have done in sustaining the college during this period of transition. We have an exceptional opportunity before us as we strengthen existing initiatives and explore new strategies designed to deliver quality, state-of-the-art educational services to southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond.

Recently, I have enjoyed extraordinary meetings with many of CCAC’s current partners—all of whom praised our institution and the successes discovered through our alliances—and with others interested in ventures that would prove mutually beneficial. A meeting with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development revealed its recognition of CCAC as an extremely capable training provider. A joint venture with this organization could position us as the region’s primary engine for providing workforce skills needed by regional employers. I also met with the Pittsburgh Public Schools to discuss the possibility of a collaborative learning center for K-12 students. Discussions with the chancellors and presidents of the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Point Park College, and Robert Morris University, as well as members of the region’s foundations and many others, have also been positive and a testament to the important role CCAC plays in the region.

While partnerships are a pillar of this college, several other key areas must also remain focal points:

• CCAC must capitalize on its excellent reputation as a health care training provider. We will accomplish this through the establishment of CCAC’s Center for Excellence in Health Services. This initiative will build upon our quality health care programs by tapping further into the expertise of the region’s top-notch health care providers.
• The college will enhance its business and industry division to provide even more cost-effective instruction and to further develop our model for skilled labor training. Meanwhile, we will improve the quality of our personal enrichment classes by taking a more market-driven approach in selecting our curriculum.
• CCAC will establish a Center for Learning and Instruction to support the advancement of teaching and learning techniques. CCAC faculty and administrators will collaborate with district-wide groups to promote innovative educational techniques and services for K - 12 and beyond.
• CCAC is in the process of developing a self-study for Middle States reaccreditation. We must take a hard look at this process and ask ourselves what deliverables we owe to our community and to our students. I hope we can take this self-study and incorporate it into our next two-year operational plan.

We must follow through with these initiatives so that we may not only attract more students to our classrooms—but also keep them. CCAC must improve its retention rates, and to do so will require initiatives and program offerings that match today’s changing society.

CCAC offers a powerful combination of affordability, open enrollment, accessibility, and committed employees. Because the future of our region is dependent on how it competes in a global trade economy, CCAC must become an even more important partner in helping turn our local economy around. To accomplish this, we must be passionate about CCAC as a gateway to opportunity. Our challenge now is to build on our successes and to clarify how CCAC can be identified as a national model in the areas we select. We have to choose the areas we want to be known for nationally and then go after that challenge with spirit and intellect.

Allegheny County is a great place to live—you can’t beat it. And for that, this region deserves the best. In recent weeks, I have been visiting CCAC’s campuses to tour the facilities, meet the students, and talk with the administrators, faculty, and staff about current and future goals. I am particularly excited about sitting down with our students to hear their thoughts, concerns, and questions. Their input is invaluable as CCAC cultivates itself as an educational provider, community partner, and responder to workforce needs.

Best wishes,

Stewart Sutin, Ph.D.

President

CCAC News & Initiatives

Enrollment for the fall semester is up 3.7 percent (head count) college wide versus last year. We have 18,374 credit students enrolled this fall; 17, 718 credit students were enrolled last fall. CCAC has maintained consecutive enrollment growth each fall since 1999—a trend indicative of the college’s commitment to expansion of curriculum and services, as well as the region’s need for efficient workforce training. The numbers have grown particularly in our transfer programs, which have received an influx of visiting students dually enrolled at other colleges. Enrollment has also jumped in our health care and building trades curricula and in our online courses.

CCAC’s international education connection

We have embarked on an exciting venture that takes the innovations the college has already made in regional workforce education to a global level. CCAC and five domestic and international partners have received a grant of more than $200,000 to standardize electrical construction technology training here and in Europe . Not only is the three-year grant the first ever obtained by CCAC for an international educational partnership, it is the college’s first-ever grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE), a program of the U.S. Department of Education. It will finance efforts to globalize the CCAC/IBEW Local No. 5 apprenticeship program. The exciting venture enlarges the IBEW program, incorporating curriculum that features hands-on instruction in European Union and U.S. electrical industry practices. The program includes a student and faculty foreign exchange program, and it is an excellent opportunity for CCAC to impact the world labor force by providing skilled employees for international joint ventures.

CCAC establishes new Braddock Hills Center

I am pleased to announce that the Braddock Hills Center opened for business on Tuesday, September 2. As most of you already know, this merging of the former Turtle Creek and Braddock centers has resulted in a state-of-the-art instructional facility complete with six classrooms, three computer labs, a video conference lab, and a health careers program lab. CCAC will officially introduce the new center to the community and local disnitaries during a special ribbon-cutting ceremony in late September. I hope you will take the time to stop by this impressive new facility at the Braddock Hills Center and learn more about this new venture.

Middle States Task Forces meet at All-College Conference

The Middle States self-study project was the focus for faculty, staff, and administrators at the All-College Conference held Aug. 13 at Boyce Campus. During the conference, the chairs of the 12 Middle States task forces conducted meetings with members of their groups to discuss plans for action and the implementation of the self-study report. The enthusiasm of the college community for this project is truly impressive and should certainly yield fantastic results.

Enhancing the meetings was the launch of the official website of the Middle States self-study, which can be accessed through CCAC’s home page by typing “middle states” into the site search. The entire self-study design appears on the site, as does a list of the Steering Committee members and task force charges.

During the next few months, the task forces will begin their work. Sub-committees are already forming to meet, discuss, and analyze the questions that must be answered as part of the self-study process. Beginning in September, the Steering Committee—which oversees the development of the self-study—will receive progress reports that will continue throughout the fall term.

Talks of budget resurface as state legislature convenes

Community colleges throughout the state were watchful as the Pennsylvania State Legislature reconvened on Sept. 9. The state budget remains unresolved and is of primary concern for all community colleges. As discussed in previous editions of this report, the proposed state budget does not provide for several key matters: supplemental funding for enrollment increases, funds for non-mandated capital, and funding to support the increase in reimbursement for workforce development courses from 70 to 90 percent. I will certainly keep the college community informed as we learn more about the budget and how it will impact CCAC and community colleges statewide.

In other legislative news, House Bill 564, which pertains to the college’s audit issues, has been passed by both the state Senate and the House, but will now be referred to a committee because language was added to the bill that is unrelated to community colleges. Also, House Bill 744, which deals with the creation of a Community College Coordinating Board, has been referred to the Senate Education Committee and it will be considered this fall. Community colleges in Pennsylvania are currently governed by the state Department of Education; this legislation, if adopted, would place us under the governance of the Coordinating Board.

President meets with international visitors

While many of CCAC’s successes have been built on partnerships with local businesses, unions, health care providers, and others, it is also important that CCAC establish alliances with international organizations that share the vision of CCAC and other educational institutions. To help foster this international connection, I met with eight South American guests of the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors on Aug. 22. The group, which was invited to the U.S. under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Program, included university professors, researchers, government officials, and those skilled in international business and trade. Argentina , Mexico , Nicaragua , Peru , Uruguay , and Venezuela were among the countries represented.

I presented my view of CCAC and explained that the four components of our mission include a core of social consciousness, assisting those who need help, reaching people at their economic level, and helping individuals reach their potential. I also described how the college fits a unique segment of the education market given its low expense and high quality. Our academic excellence is evident in conversations I’ve had with Pittsburgh-area college presidents who told me CCAC students are prepared when they move on to four-year universities. CCAC’s agility also enables the college to move quickly to address employment needs in the face of a changing regional economy.

I would like to thank the following administrators for assisting with my presentation: Dr. Margaret Williams-Betlyn, North Campus vice president; Brenda Trettel, interim dean, Workforce Training and Development; and Mary Jo Guercio, director of Community Training and Development.

All-College Conference rejuvenates college

Nearly 500 employees and guests attended some portion of the All-College Conference activities at Boyce Campus on August 13.l It was my great pleasure to address the college in person for the first time. I was thrilled to have the chance to meet so many staff members. The auditorium was also filled for out keynote speaker, Profesdsor Randall Kennedy, author, scholas, and teacher at Harvard Law School. Professor Kennedy’s open forum later in the morning was attended by more than 150 people, and the three concurrent workshops were filled. Plans for next year’s conference are already underway.

New Programs

South Campus launches aviation program

South Campus is offering a revised associate's degree program in aviation technology this fall via hands-on instruction at the Allegheny County Airport--as well as video conferencing to expand the program to Washington County. The program, which was relocated from Allegheny Campus due to South Campus' close proximity to the county airport, will provide students with the skills needed to meet Federal Aviation Administration requirements for private, instrument, commercial and multi-engine pilot licensing, and flight instructor certification.

Education in aviation technology is particularly important as commercial airlines downsize and more corporate executives and businesspeople prefer to fly at their own convenience rather than stand in lines at large airports. Graduates of the program will qualify for jobs with cargo companies and flight instruction schools, and be prepared to work as pilots for business customers.

Rewards & Recognition

Allegheny Campus child development volunteer recognized

Nettie Bullit, a volunteer who has worked at the Allegheny Campus Child Development Center, was recently honored by the American Red Cross for her 15 years of work with the Foster Grfandparent Program (FGP) of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Ms. Bullitt, who has volunteered at Allegheny for 10 years, assists the basic needs of two toddlers and helps to promote their self-esteem. She implemented the Partners Achieving Literary Success (P.A.L.S.) Program. She also makes children’s costumes and donates stuffed animals and dinosaurs to the center.

CCAC is fortunate to benefit from the efforts of such a remarkable, caring individual. She is certainly deserving of this honor.

Child development centers at North, South, and Boyce campuses receive grants

Earlier this year, the child development centers at North, South, and Boyce campuses received Keystone Stars Merit Awards from the Child Care Resource Developers (CCRD) of the Western Region, which is a program of the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh. This award is based on the star rating that a center attains and the size of the facility.

In celebration of these awards, the Education Policy & Issues Center announced the creation of $1,000 Quality Improvement Grants to support the efforts of child care providers who have earned four-star ratings. These grants also recognize the leadership efforts that have contributed to our centers’ achievement of National Association for the Education of Young Children accreditation. I am pleased to announce that North, South, and Boyce campuses have received these one-time grants, which will support continuous improvement efforts and further enhance program quality. These grants will be supported in part by the generosity of The Grable Foundation.

Congratulations!

CCAC Educational Foundation

Foundation awards more than $40,000 in scholarships

The CCAC Educational Foundation kicked off the Fall 2003 semester by awarding more than $40,000 in scholarships collegewide. The scholarships were awarded amidst intense competition to more than 60 students with a wide variety of majors and interests. The Foundation is proud to help these students pursue their educational goals and dreams. Information about additional scholarship opportunities can be obtained online at www.ccac.edu or at campus financial aid offices. Applications for Spring 2004 scholarships will be available in November.

Annual golf tournament sets record

Congratulations to the Foundation for a record-setting golf tournament on Sept. 8. The annual event raised more than $70,000 due to the generosity of our sponsors, including: Sprint, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 5, National Electrical Contractors Association Labor Management Cooperation Committee (Western Pennsylvania Chapter), FedEx Ground, Ripple Effects Interactive, National City Bank of Pennsylvania , Pittsburgh Steelers, West Penn Allegheny Health System, and Dynamic Design Engineering, Inc. I wish to thank these sponsors and the other tournament participants for their commitment to quality education. Their time and support helps the Foundation increase educational opportunities for hundreds of men and women throughout the region.