February 1, 2006

Celebrating A-B Tech's selection as a finalist for a national Bellwether Award are (l-r) Max Queen, A-B Tech’s vice president of Continuing Education; Dr. Linda Hagedorn, chair of the Department of Educational Administration and Policy at the University of Florida; Russ Yelton, director of the A-B Tech Small Business Center and Incubator; A-B Tech Graphic Designer Justin Page; Susan Arscott, President-Elect of the Council for Resource Development; and A-B Tech President K. Ray Bailey.

A-B Tech’s Center for Corporate and Economic Development was honored Jan. 24 in Orlando, FL, as a finalist for a national Bellwether Award, which recognizes trendsetting programs that can serve as models for other community colleges.

The awards were presented as part of the Community College Futures Assembly, a four-day conference sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida. “The New Rules of Business” was the conference theme.

“A-B Tech’s Center for Corporate and Economic Development has become an economic engine for Western North Carolina, and we’re delighted it was chosen as one of the most innovative programs in community colleges in the country,” said President K. Ray Bailey.

“Through partnerships with other educational institutions, government agencies, and business and industry, we have developed the Center into a catalyst for transforming our region’s economy from one that is largely dependent on manufacturing to one that is emerging as a haven for small businesses and knowledge-based professionals,” Bailey said.

Bellwether Awards are presented in three categories: instructional programs and services; planning, governance, and finance; and workforce development. A-B Tech was chosen as a finalist in the planning, governance, and finance category, which recognizes programs or activities that have been designed and implemented to improve efficiency and effectiveness in community colleges.

Located at A-B Tech’s Enka campus, the Center for Corporate and Economic Development houses a corporate technology training and conference center, a technology commercialization center, a biotechnology incubator, and a small business center and incubator. It also is home to Western Carolina University’s nursing program and such business partners as ERC Broadband, Blue Ridge Food Ventures, and Baron Advanced Meteorological Systems.

The campus was created in 2000 when textile maker BASF donated 37 acres and three buildings containing 277,000 square feet to A-B Tech. Then-Gov. Jim Hunt said the gift was the largest donation of property to a community college in the country.