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. Read more
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.” Read more
A story of survival
BRCC group gets out of Haiti
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Mass chaos. People running through the streets ripping their clothes off.
“People thought it was the apocalypse, that it was the end of the world,” remembers Rebecca Evans, an accounting professor at Blue Ridge Community College, who led a group of students and faculty to Haiti last week to work on a sustainable-agriculture project outside the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
You are probably aware of at least a bit of what happens next. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit just outside Port-au-Prince at 4:53 p.m. local time the afternoon of Jan. 12, pancaking buildings across the Port-au-Prince area almost instantaneously.
Evans and another faculty member, Gail Foley, a laboratory specialist in the veterinary-technology program, and two students in the BRCC Students in Free Enterprise program, Michael Aronoff and Megan Samples, were on the road back to their base of operations at a local school when the earth moved. Read more
Report: BRCC students safe in Haiti
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
As of the most recent report, a group of Blue Ridge Community College students and staff members in Haiti this week on a service project is accounted for and safe.
“We have received an encouraging message from an American volunteer who is currently in Haiti and who has worked closely with BRCC. She has e-mailed her organization, letting them know that she is OK and that our BRCC group is with her and fine as well,” a message from BRCC president John Downey posted to the college’s website last night reported.
The message from the volunteer on the ground in Haiti indicated that the group, working on a service project near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, has “safe accommodations and food, and are not harmed.” Read more
