Headlines
- Fall Semester Enrollment At Record High
- A-B Tech And Volvo To Receive Distinguished Partners for Excellence Award
- First-Year Seminar Classes Incorporate Career Readiness Certification Into Curriculum
- Inaugural Golf Tournament Earns $5,000 For Early College Student Scholarships
- Schwartz Spearheads Culinary Internship For High School Teachers
- Business Computer Technologies Incorporates DT&L Into High Enrollment Course
- Grove Park Inn Donates $20,000 For Sammons Scholarships
- A-B Tech Invitational Education Committee News
- Young and Knott Selected For Leadership North Carolina
- Mountain Gorilla Veterinarian Speaks At A-B Tech
- New Mentoring Program Designed to Enhance Minority Male Student Success
- Faculty And Staff Talent Shines At Mountain State Fair
- A-B Tech Faculty And Staff Serve As NCCCS Conference Presenters
- Welcome, New Employees
- Instructor Rebuilds Bookcase For Elementary School
- Professional Development Afternoon Focuses On Emergency Preparedness
- Tech Notes
Fall Semester Enrollment At Record High
A-B Tech's Fall Festival was attended by a large number of students due, in part, to the record-high enrollment for the fall semester.
A-B Tech's fall semester enrollment has reached a record high, passing 7,000 for the first time in the College's history.
"We anticipated enrollment between 6,600 and 6,800, and for us to break 7,000 is just unheard of," said Dr. Dennis King, Vice President of Student Services.
The registration summary as of Sept. 15 totaled 7,020 students, a 6.6 percent increase over the 6,587 students from fall 2007.
"One of the reasons for the growth is the downturn in the economy," said King. "That is a fact nationally. When the economy goes down, the public turns to community colleges for retraining and preparing for new jobs. The time involved in training for a new profession at a community college is quicker than at a university."
King also attributed the College's enrollment success, in part, to the addition of programs in Entrepreneurship and Medical Assisting. "Another reason you can't ignore is A-B Tech has a wonderful reputation in the community. We are responsive to the community needs and that brings people in," he said.
A-B Tech And Volvo To Receive Distinguished Partners for Excellence Award
A-B Tech and Volvo Construction Equipment are recipients of a Distinguished Partners for Excellence Award from the North Carolina Community College System. Pictured are Allison Moses, Vice President and General Manager of Volvo Construction Equipment North America, Inc. and Dr. Betty Young, A-B Tech President.
A-B Tech and Volvo Construction Equipment will be recognized at the North Carolina Community College System's Day of Recognition Nov. 21 at the RBC Center in Raleigh as recipients of a 2008 Distinguished Partners for Excellence Award.
A partnership between A-B Tech and Volvo Construction Equipment resulted in a $250,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation that helped retain existing manufacturing jobs and will add new jobs in Buncombe County.
"We look to A-B Tech as our first source to provide our training needs," said Allison Moses, Vice President and General Manager of Volvo Construction Equipment North America, Inc. "A-B Tech is committed to meeting our manufacturing training needs, adding value and improving quality."
When Volvo decided to expand, the company planned to add assembly, fabrication and welding jobs to a plant that had primarily assembly jobs. A-B Tech was involved throughout the process of recruiting and negotiating with Volvo to locate the new production line at its Asheville facility.
The Golden LEAF grant provided A-B Tech with resources to upfit a new welding lab with state-of-the-art high-tech equipment specifically used for heavy equipment production. The welding lab will be available to train other students who come to A-B Tech after the Volvo expansion.
"Volvo has been a wonderful asset to A-B Tech," said Dr. Betty Young, A-B Tech President. "The partnership has benefited the community through job and educational opportunities."
Volvo also donated a prototype compactor and a skid steer loader to A-B Tech for use in the assembly training lab and the College's Heavy Equipment and Transport Technology Program.
In 2001, Volvo also created two scholarships for $1,000 each for students in the Heavy Equipment and Transport Technology Program. In 2002, Volvo donated an additional $4,000 to continue the original scholarships and add two more for a total of four annually.
Tech Talk is published by the Communications Office for employees and friends of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
Editor: Mona Cornwell, Writer: Martha Ball, Designers: Justin Page, April Sides
Send submissions to: Mona Cornwell, Director of Communications, at mcornwell@abtech.edu
Publication of the next issue
is scheduled for November 3.
Deadline for submissions is October 17.