A-B Tech is Superior - Again

For the second year in a row, A-B Tech has earned a superior rating from the state on how well the college serves its students and local business and industry. The rating is based on performance measures mandated by the General Assembly to ensure strong public accountability from North Carolina's 58 community colleges.

Colleges are evaluated on such measures as the employment rate of their graduates, the performance of their college transfer students after one year at a public university, the percentage of students who indicate they achieved their educational goal, and the passing rate of students enrolled in developmental courses.

Among the highlights from the state report:

• 100 percent of the A-B Tech graduates surveyed indicated they met their educational goal
• 97.44 percent of the 1999-2000 graduates were employed within one year of graduation
• 93.5 percent of the 1998-99 college transfer students held a grade point average greater than 2.0 after two semesters at a UNC institution
• 95 percent of the graduates and early leavers from 2000-2001 who were surveyed indicated the quality of college programs and services met or exceeded their expectations
• 98 percent of the businesses sampled indicated satisfaction with A-B Tech graduates they hired
• 99 percent of the businesses and industries surveyed said they were satisfied with the services provided through New and Expanding Industry Training and the Small Business Center.

Long-Time Supporter Virginia Taylor Dies

Virginia "Tee" Taylor, then chairperson of the A-B Tech Board of Trustees, installs K. Ray Bailey as the college's third president on July 2, 1990. At his side is his wife, Glenda.

Virginia "Tee" Taylor, a long-time supporter of A-B Tech who served on both the College's Board of Trustees and the Foundation's Board of Directors, died June 24.

Mrs. Taylor was a trustee from 1985 to 1993 and chaired the board from 1989 to 1991. She served on the Foundation board for the past six years.

Mrs. Taylor chaired the trustees when K. Ray Bailey became president of A-B Tech in 1990. He describes her as "one of the most intelligent and organized people I've ever met," adding that she also had "a tremendous sense of humor."

"She was extremely active in helping us find opportunities for donations," he said. "Tee was very interested in providing educational opportunities for young people in the Asheville-Buncombe County area.

"She was a tremendous supporter of our college. She loved A-B Tech and helped sell our college to the community for all these years." Return to top

President, Other Public Policy Leaders Visit Mexico

A NEW FRIEND - President Bailey meets one of the children who attend school at the Juan Diego Community Development Center in Chalco.  

Not only did President K. Ray Bailey bring souvenirs home from a recent trip to Mexico, he took them as well.

A-B Tech T-shirts and pen sets were packed along with clothes and camera as the president and other public policy leaders from Buncombe, Catawba, and Henderson counties traveled to Michoacan, Mexico, in May through a program sponsored by the North Carolina Center for International Understanding (NCCIU).

Called the Latino Initiative, the program is designed to introduce leaders to the cultural background of Mexicans and the social, economic and political forces that cause them to migrate to North Carolina. The impact their presence has on the state's resources and the contributions they make to the well-being of the state are also studied. Private foundations fund the visits.

In addition to President Bailey, Buncombe's delegation included Bill Stanley, vice chairman of the Board of Commissioners; Asheville Mayor Charles Worley; Cliff Dodson, superintendent of Buncombe County Schools; pediatrician Olson Huff; Mandy Stone, director of the Buncombe County Department of Social Services; Rick Lutovsky, president and CEO of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce; Carlos Gomez, executive director of Western North Carolina Community Health Services; and attorney Marla Adams, who chairs NCCIU's board.

THE CATHEDRAL OF MORELIA - Restored churches, civic buildings, and mansions are among the sights in Morelia, a city of about 1 million people. The capital of Michoacan, Morelia serves as the educational, cultural, and political center of the state.

The delegates visited cities populated by millions and villages of a few thousand. They saw magnificent cathedrals and heart-wrenching poverty among citizens whose average wage is the U.S. equivalent of $500 a year. In Mexico City, with 22 million people, they encountered an aging infrastructure struggling to keep pace with the growing population. Old Volkswagen "bugs" were a common sight, even serving as taxicabs, and roads were jammed with people who live in outlying areas trying to get to work.

The delegates traveled to a school on the Island of Janitzio on Lake Patzcuaro, an island of about 2,000, and discovered they were the first visitors ever. "I gave the teacher an A-B Tech pen set, and it was like I gave him a million dollars," President Bailey said.

Yet of all the sights he saw and the people he met, it was the children who made the most lasting impression - "wanting to help the kids, but knowing there were so many of them, it was almost an impossible task," he said. "They're living in poverty and don't have a future."

Now that he has returned to A-B Tech, President Bailey said he plans to gather faculty and staff to look at ways the college can help people like those he met. (See related story on new English as a Foreign Language program on page 2.) He and the other delegates also will have a follow-up meeting in August to discuss how their organizations can collaborate on issues that affect their service delivery to the area's growing Latino population. Return to top

Brownlee named to Citizen-Times 2002 President's Circle

A-B Tech Personnel Director Paulette Brownlee has been named to the Asheville Citizen-Times 2002 President's Circle, a group that will meet monthly for six months to discuss with editors possible improvements to the newspaper. The group will have an opportunity to participate in the process of producing a daily newspaper as well. Citizen-Times Publisher Virgil L. Smith is encouraging candid feedback from the Circle group and other readers to help improve the quality of the newspaper.

Kudos to Yarbrough

A-B Tech Human Resources Development Adjunct Instructor Shelley Yarbrough received her Master of Science Degree in Human Resources Development from Western Carolina University in May.

Career Fair nets jobs and leads for CNA students

A-B Tech's Human Resources Development Department brought employees and applicants together in a Health Career Fair April 26. Coordinated by Workforce Investment Act Case Manager Gea Skeens, the event was the first of its kind and highly successful in placing students in jobs. According to HRD Coordinator Kay Manley, nine area employers from both facilities and agencies attended and a "high percentage" of the students landed CNA jobs or strong leads as a result.

ADN students complete Geriatric clinical

Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) students participated in a geriatric clinical last semester by visiting home health clients and completing wellness assessments on volunteers at the Givens Estates, an area retirement home. Student Olivia Bennett was touted by volunteer patient and Givens resident Pauline Brawley as being "so knowledgeable." Bennett and other recent ADN graduates are now eligible to apply for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN), which is required to practice as a Registered Nurse.

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