HR Chamber and BRCC sponsor Making the Most of Brief Contacts
“Most business happens in the frame of a brief contact, and your success correlates with your ability to make the most of those brief contacts.” So says Frank Patterson Jr., who will be in Harrisonburg on March 5th and 6th to conduct his Making the Most of Brief Contacts program under the sponsorship of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce and Blue Ridge Community College.
The program will be held at the Festival Conference and Student Center at JMU. Continue reading “HR Chamber and BRCC sponsor Making the Most of Brief Contacts” »
Dixie Gas & Oil makes donation to BRCC foundation
Dixie Gas & Oil Corporation is proud to support the Blue Ridge Community College Educational Foundation through BP’s Fueling Communities Program with a grant donation of $3,250.
The grant will enhance the Blue Ridge Annual Fund in supporting projects and programs to the students and faculty of BRCC. Each year the Blue Ridge Annual Fund provides support in different ways including: financial-need-based scholarships to students who might not otherwise be able to afford a college education; mini-grants to faculty members for instructional improvement activities that allow for more focused and career-specific instruction; emergency financial assistance through the Women’s Resource Center to students – both women and men – in need; and professional development opportunities for all BRCC staff members to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. Continue reading “Dixie Gas & Oil makes donation to BRCC foundation” »
AFP to participate in business seminar at BRCC
Augusta Free Press LLC President Chris Graham will be among the featured speakers at a business conference at Blue Ridge Community College on Friday, Nov. 4.
“Make Your Art Your Business!” will offer artists and artisans detailed tips on how to generate business activity from their artwork.
Betty Hoge, a business analyst at the Small Business Development Center, will offer a talk on the topic of “Creating a Business Plan.” Other speakers include Phill Ungar from Cedar Hill Pottery, Deb Booth from Different Light Studio and Barbara Polin from Solace Studios.
Graham will speak on “PR/Marketing for Artists,” with advice and strategies for building interest through the web, Facebook and interactions with local newspapers, TV and radio.
The cost to attend the daylong seminar is $35.
To register, call BRCC at 540.453.2215. More information is available online at www.brcc.edu/wsce/nc-art.
BRCC earns workplace honors
Results of The Chronicle of Higher Education’s 2011 survey of “Great Colleges to Work For” were released today and Blue Ridge Community College was once again recognized as a “Great College to Work For” in 10 of the 12 two-year college categories. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received Great College to Work For recognition was employee feedback. According to the Chronicle’s criteria, BRCC was recognized in the following areas:
Collaborative Governance
Professional/Career-Development Programs
Teaching Environment
Compensation and Benefits
Facilities, Workspaces, and Security
Job Satisfaction and Support
Work/Life Balance
Confidence in Senior Leadership
Supervisor or Department-Chair Relationship
Respect and Appreciation
As a result of achieving this designation in so many different areas, BRCC was also listed on the Chronicle’s “Honor Roll” as one of the top three 2-year colleges in its size category! This is the 3rd consecutive year that BRCC has achieved this honor roll designation. Honor Roll members in the four-year college & university category included institutions such as Duke, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Baylor, and University of Southern California.http://chronicle.com/article/Great-Colleges-to-Work-For/128312/. The BRCC group that volunteered in Haiti is also recognized in a feature article at http://chronicle.com/article/These-Community-Colleges/128303/.
According to The Chronicle, recognition was based on the results of responses from nearly 44,000 administrators, faculty members, and staff members at 310 institutions. The number of institutions participating in this survey makes it the second-largest workplace-recognition program in the country, after Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.” In addition to the employee survey, the assessment process also included an analysis of demographic data and workplace policies at each participating college or university.
Participating institutions were segmented into four-year and two-year schools, and then within those categories, institutions were classified based on undergraduate and graduate enrollment: small (fewer than 3,000 students), medium (3,000 to 9,999 students), and large (more than 10,000 students). BRCC achieved its ten designations in the 2-year, medium-sized enrollment category.
More information about BRCC’s recognition can be found at http://chronicle.com/article/Great-Colleges-to-Work-For/128312/. The BRCC group that volunteered in Haiti is also recognized in a feature article at http://chronicle.com/article/These-Community-Colleges/128303/.
BRCC’s ABG Business Honor Society hosts fourth annual Career Expo
Job seekers are encouraged to attend the fourth annual Alpha Beta Gamma Business Honor Society Career Expo on Tuesday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., at Blue Ridge Community College’s Plecker Workforce Center and the Advanced Technology Building.
The Expo will offer career seminars, job finding assistance, employer exhibitors, a résumé clinic, tours of the new Advanced Technology Building and giveaways of gas cards.
“The focus of the Expo is to help students find necessary tools to build careers, and if needed, find part-time jobs in a challenging marketplace,” said Audrey Lail, PhD, assistant professor of business management and ABG advisor.
Several seminars, all held in the Plecker Center Auditorium, will help accomplish this goal:
- At 11 a.m., Patrick Sturges, tour manager with Casterbridge Tours, will explain the benefits of international education and travel abroad opportunities. Sturges, from Sorges, France, has led BRCC’s last two travel abroad seminars in Great Britain.
- Two highly successful BRCC graduates, Bruce Bowman, DVM and Rosalie Nicosia, will discuss how their start at Blue Ridge helped launch their dynamic careers. Dr. Bowman, a BRCC Board member, founded Commonwealth Veterinary Clinic in 1988. Nicosia has served as Chief Operating Officer for Whitaker Securities in New York since 2003. Dr. John Downey, BRCC president, will moderate this panel discussion at 2 p.m.
- At 3:30 p.m., back by popular demand, Ben Irick, financial advisor with LPL Financial Services, and Jim Leech will lead a symposium on career building. Irick will impress upon students the necessity of not only preparing for a good career, but also doing the right things to build wealth in that career. Leech, BRCC manufacturing technology instructor, will encourage students to use their leadership skills to compete successfully for the job of their dreams. Dr. Kevin Ratliff, dean of Business, Humanities, Workforce Services and Continuing Education, will moderate.
- Throughout the day, ABG students will assist attendees in accessing various job banks. Area employers with both full-time and part-time positions available will be on hand. The Expo is sponsored by the BRCC Educational Foundation, the Cultural Affairs Committee, the Division of Business, Humanities, Workforce Services and Continuing Education, Casterbridge Tours and ABG.
For more information, contact Dr. Audrey Lail at 540.453.2411.
United Way to kick off 2010 campaign on Wednesday
The United Way of Greater Augusta invites the public to attend the 2010-2011 Campaign Kickoff at the Blue Ridge Community College Plecker Center on Wednesday beginning at 3:30 p.m..
The kickoff will begin with an information fair featuring community partners funded by the United Way. The Campaign Kickoff Celebration is at 5:30 p.m. with music by the Gabby Haze Band and light fare to follow.
“We are very excited about this year’s kickoff, and this as a great way to invite the public to become better acquainted with the United Way’s community partners,” said Cynthia Pritchard, the executive director of the United Way of Greater Augusta.
The information fair will feature programs and agencies including the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, the Daily Living Center and Vector Industries.
The kickoff itself will focus on this year’s campaign and how the Greater Augusta community can Live United through giving of their money, time and talent to support the community and the greater services provided by the many nonprofits in the region.
For more information on this year’s campaign and how you can or your company can help United Way of Greater Augusta meet its goal, contact Pritchard at 540.885.1229 or go to the agency website at www.unitedwayga.org and click on GIVE.
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Back to school: Adults hitting the books in search of new opportunity
For Sabrina Almarode, who was, admittedly, “scared” after learning that she was being laid off from Invista in 2009, the chance to go back to school under a federal education program was a lifeline.
And the Fishersville woman is taking full advantage, working toward a degree in business at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, and thinking that she’ll continue from there in the adult-degree program at Eastern Mennonite University with the aim of launching a career as a business-operations consultant.
“The idea is to be able to go in and look at their operations and try to find cost savings that they can apply to their bottom line,” said Almarode, who was at Invista and DuPont in Waynesboro for 20 years, including a stint as an operations manager.
“A lot of companies have had these positions on their payrolls. More and more are moving to contractors to save on overhead. It’s an interesting field to be in, it’s growing, and it’s something that I’ve had an interest in,” Almarode said.
Link to story on TheNewDominion.com.
Adult learning in the Valley, Central Virginia
Lifelong learning at Mr. Jefferson’s University
An innovative program of university-level short courses developed at the University of Virginia will be offering classes in Staunton starting in September.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute offers classes in topics ranging from the modern presidency to the relationship between science and faith, the history of opera, memoir writing, genealogy and more.
Classes will be offered at the R.R. Smith Center for History and Art in Downtown Staunton. Coursework is not graded.
Classes are usually ninety minutes long and are held once a week during the day for three to six weeks.
“I can attend courses that are taught by people who love their subject the way I love mine and learn new things and broaden out my experience,” said Tom MacAvoy, a retired UVa. faculty member who teaches and takes classes through OLLI at UVa.
On the web: www.olliuva.org
VAE honors area’s teachers of the year
The Valley Alliance for Education 2010 Annual Reception was held last night at Robert Plecker Workforce Center at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave. The annual reception is held each year to honor grant winners as well as teacher of the year for Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro Public Schools. The audience that was in attendance were teachers from the surrounding areas, school board members, contributors and superintendents.
The teacher of the year award this year went out to Russell Laub of Staunton, Elizabeth Williams of Augusta County and Brian Lundstrom of Waynesboro.
Each teacher was awarded a plaque and a cash prize of $1,000.
“It is very humbling. There are so many teachers that do a wonderful job in the Waynesboro school system, and I feel honored to be able to represent the rest of the teachers,” says Lundstrom.
The Valley Alliance for Education was able to raise $30,901 from applications for grants and teacher of the year as well as from donations. A few of the contributors for the VAE and this annual reception were Ntelos, which funded the teacher of the year award, Dominion Virginia Power, which is funding two grants in the fall, and McClung, which revamped the VAE webpage.
Story by Jenny Hypes. Jenny can be reached at jenny.hypes@emu.edu.
It’s official: BRCC is a great place to work
Blue Ridge Community College is one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to a new survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The results, released earlier this week in The Chronicle’s third annual report on The Academic Workplace, are based on a survey of more than 42,000 employees at 277 colleges and universities.
In all, only 97 of the 277 institutions achieved “Great College to Work For” recognition for specific best practices and policies. Results are reported for small, medium, and large institutions, with BRCC included among the small two-year institutions.
BRCC won honors in 10 of 12 categories this year:
- Collaborative Governance
- Professional/Career-Development Programs
- Teaching Environment
- Compensation and Benefits
- Facilities, Workspaces, and Security
- Job Satisfaction and Support
- Work/Life Balance
- Confidence in Senior Leadership
- Supervisor or Department-Chair Relationship
- Respect and Appreciation
As a result of achieving this designation in so many different areas, BRCC was also listed on the Chronicle’s “Honor Roll” as one of the top three two-year colleges in its size category.
“I am delighted that Blue Ridge has been recognized two years by the Great Colleges to Work For program. Our employees are happy at BRCC because we all recognize the importance of the work we do and the teamwork that is an essential aspect of getting the work done well,” commented BRCC President Dr. John Downey.
The Chronicle is the nation’s most important source of news about colleges and universities. “With the Great Colleges program, The Chronicle can provide even more of the vital information our readers rely on – unbiased reporting on which colleges are being innovative in their workplace practices,” said Jeffrey J. Selingo, The Chronicle’s editor.
The survey results are based on a two-part assessment process: an institutional audit that captured demographics and workplace policies from each institution, and a survey administered to faculty, administrators, and professional support staff. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition was the employee feedback.
To administer the survey and analyze the results, The Chronicle worked with ModernThink LLC, a strategic human capital consulting firm that has conducted numerous “Best Places to Work” programs, surveying hundreds of thousands of employees nationwide.
Great Colleges to Work For is one of the largest and most respected workplace-recognition programs in the country. For more information and to view all the results of the survey, visit The Chronicle’s Web site at http://chronicle.com/academicworkplace .
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Latin Ballet of Virginia performs at BRCC on Saturday
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Blue Ridge Community College’s Fine Arts Center plays host to the Latin Ballet of Virginia’s Baile & Rumba on Saturday, April 10 at 7 p.m. Continue reading “Latin Ballet of Virginia performs at BRCC on Saturday” »
Valley gets $5M for green job training
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Blue Ridge Community College and James Madison University are among a group of Shenandoah Valley partners that will take part in a new program to train workers for jobs in the emerging green sector.
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb on Friday announced a $5 million investment from the federal economic-stimulus package that will go to the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Investment Board to get the job-training program off the ground.
“The formation of the Shenandoah Valley Energy Partnership is exactly the kind of forward-looking collaboration we need to help jump-start our economy and create next-generation jobs in the clean energy field,” said Sen. Warner. “This investment in training workers for new green energy represents an exciting opportunity for the entire Valley region.” Continue reading “Valley gets $5M for green job training” »
