Congratulations to the Science and Math faculty for an important nomination. The Vol State Science and Math Expo was recently nominated for a prestigious Bellwether Award. The nominations come from the
Community College Futures Assembly which "convenes annually as an independent national policy
forum for key opinion leaders to work as a “think tank” in identifying critical
issues facing the future of community colleges, and to recognize Bellwether
Finalist colleges as trend-setting institutions."
It's always nice to be counted among "trend-setting" institutions. However, the innovative nature of the event is of no surprise to folks here at the college who have witnessed the Expo and it's impact on area kids. For those of you who have not been to an Expo yet, the annual event brings in hundreds of secondary school kids and their parents for hands-on activities in science and math. Those activities are designed and presented by Vol State students, who work closely with faculty members during the school year to prepare. Parris Powers put together the Bellwether entry. He will be making a presentation with Math and Science Dean Nancy Morris at the Community College Futures Assembly conference coming up later this month.
"This nomination goes to our hard working students and faculty who put together the event," said Parris Powers, a long-time organizer of the Expo. "For us the Expo is community outreach to excite students about science, technology, engineering and math. Almost all of the activities are hands-on, which stimulates students."
A number of Math and Science faculty have lead the event organizing over the years, including this year's Expo Chair Glenn McCombs, Parris Powers, Tim Farris, Bob Carter and Sue Forrester.
Here is the official release:
Community
colleges selected as 2013 Bellwether Award Finalists
For
immediate release
Gainesville, FL.— The Community College
Futures Assembly (CCFA) issued a call for Bellwether Award nominations in the
fall of 2012, and 30 finalist colleges
in three categories were competitively chosen from the applicants. The field of
Bellwether nominations was very competitive this year with nearly 250
Bellwether applications. Ten finalists were selected in each category: Instructional Programs and Services,
co-sponsored by the National Council of Instructional Administrators; Planning, Governance and Finance,
co-sponsored by the Council for Resource Development; and Workforce Development, co-sponsored by the National Council for Continuing
Education and Training. All finalists will
present at the Assembly on January 28th, 2013 in Orlando, Florida,
and one winner will then be selected from each category by a panel of national
experts within each category. The winners will be announced on Jan. 30th
at the CCFA annual meeting in Orlando.
The Community College Futures Assembly
(CCFA) has the following programs as 2013 Bellwether Finalist programs:
Instructional
Programs & Services (IPS):
Programs or
activities that have been designed and successfully implemented to foster or
support teaching and learning in the community college.
El
Paso Community College
Math Emporium
Redesign: Using the Force of
High-Technology for the Good of High-Touch Teaching and Learning
Elgin
Community College
One School Can
Do So Little; Together We Can Do So Much
SC
Technical College System
SCTCS's Teaching
and Learning with Technology Conference: Planning and Hosting a
National-Caliber Technology Conference
Monroe
Community College
The Civility
Project; Enough is Enough – An Anti-Violence Campaign at Monroe Community
College (MCC)
NHTI,
Concord's Community College
Communicating
Mindfully: Helping Others Help Themselves
Queensborough
Community College of the City University of New York
The Freshman
Academy Assessment Protocol
South
Texas College
Dual Enrollment
Medical Science Academy
Tarrant
County College, South Campus
Innovations in
Bioscience Courses to Improve Student Success Without Sacrificing Rigor
Virginia's
Community Colleges
Mobilizing
Virginia’s 23 Community Colleges for Student Success Through Statewide Redesign
of Developmental
Volunteer
State Community College
Creating A STEM
Pipeline: A Community & College Event