The annual awards recognize community college excellence among students, staff, faculty, presidents, and workforce development partners. This year’s winners include:

• Dallas Herring Student Achievement Award: Kyle Harris, Vance-Granville Community College student.
• I.E. Ready Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Dale McInnis, president emeritus of Richmond Community College.
• Excellence in Teaching Award: Dr. Lisa Smelser, newly appointed executive director of workforce strategic initiatives at Central Carolina Community College.
• Staff Person of the Year Award: Denise Young, director of apprenticeships at Southeastern Community College.
• President of the Year Award: Dr. Shelley White, president of Haywood Community College
• Apprenticeship Champion: Blum with Central Piedmont Community College
• Innovative Leadership Award: GE Aerospace with Wilkes Community College
• Business of the Year (<500 Employees): Mertek Solutions with Central Carolina Community College
• Business of the Year (>500 Employees): Novo Nordisk with Johnston Community College

The majority of Stein’s priorities around community colleges and postsecondary access were related to creating a healthy workforce in North Carolina. Stein celebrated the fact that North Carolina has ranked highly in CNBC’s top states for business in recent years, while also calling for additional investments to keep the state’s momentum going.

Included in Cox’s requests were $68.5 million in recurring funds for workforce sectors seeking FTE value increases. The Health Care, Information Technology, and Public Safety and First Responders sectors would see increases, among others. He also asked for a 5.8% increase to the base funding level to community colleges, which he said hadn’t seen a major update since the 1980s.

The North Carolina Community College Foundation announced D’Andre Esposito as the new chief advancement officer. Esposito will help coordinate the Foundation’s national campaign and aid in developing a multi-year campaign on behalf of the system that is focused on building relationships with national and multi-national corporations.

The IDD Caucus hasn’t met yet this year but has already received support from legislators with personal ties to the IDD community. Potential legislative efforts of the caucus could include a push for higher pay for direct care workers, more in-home services for people with IDD and looking at special needs teacher retention.

Transfer students made up 13.1% of non-freshman undergraduates in fall 2024. While transfer enrollment remains below pre-pandemic levels, it is ahead of fall 2020 levels by 7.9%. The national report notes that COVID-19 significantly impacted enrollment at community colleges, which caused a ripple effect across all higher education sectors.

According to the announcement, the reduction in force will impact all divisions within the department, with “some divisions requiring significant reorganization to better serve students, parents, educators, and taxpayers.”

“The Department of Education will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking,” the announcement says.

Awards dinner | Wake Tech Alumna and Fox5 DC Anchor Jacqueline Matter will emcee this year’s N.C. Community Colleges Awards dinner and celebration on April 3.

Community College Day | Community College Day at the North Carolina General Assembly is scheduled for March 19. Nash Community College will be showcasing their electric line construction technology program and is one of several colleges that will be in attendance. Legislators will have the opportunity to view demonstrations and learn about several community college programs on the Halifax Mall.

STEM industries and community colleges | Forsyth Tech’s President Dr. Janet Spriggs was part of a panel cohosted by New America and the Association of Community College Trustees. The event focused on the role of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in “supporting community college workforce pathways to a strong, skilled technical workforce across STEM industries.”

Grants | Nash Community College’s Small Business Center was awarded the N.C. Idea Mindset grant to fund entrepreneurial education in the region. The grant will fund initiatives geared toward small business owners, including the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program which is a “nationally recognized initiative that helps future business owners ingrain an executive mindset,” the press release says. 

Cleveland Community College was awarded a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation for more than $600,000 to establish a Health Sciences Academy for high school juniors and seniors. The program will provide students with the opportunity to complete prerequisite courses and industry-recognized health care credentials while still in high school.

Hurricane Helene | McDowell Technical Community College recently highlighted how disaster recovery funding directly impacted their community in this press release.

Call for proposals | The NCWorks Partnership Conference is calling for proposals, which must be submitted no later than April 17. You can view submission information here.

Past events | Johnston Community College, Capital Area Workforce Development, and NCWorks Career Centers recently hosted the NCWorks Job Fair on JCC’s main campus. “Nearly 30 employers connected with 350 job seekers in attendance,” the press release says.

Wayne Community College, STEM East, and the Wayne Executive Jetport partnered to host an aviation “Lunch & Learn” event. Attendees had the opportunity to interact with WCC students in aviation labs and explore the college’s program offerings, while learning about aviation opportunities in eastern North Carolina.

Upcoming events | Fayetteville Technical Community College and the North Carolina Military Business Center will host a Federal Food Symposium April 1-2. More information about the event can be found here.

MerleFest, a music festival fundraiser for Wilkes Community College, is scheduled for April 24-27. You can find the full lineup and more information on MerleFest’s website.

Multi-platinum country music icon Wynonna Judd will perform on Sunday, June 15 at Cape Fear Community College’s Wilson Center. You can find more information about the event here.