Dr. Delores A. Parker, senior vice president and chief academic officer for N.C. Community Colleges, will give the keynote address during the 45th annual DCCC Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 15. It will be held at 7 p.m. in the Richard Childress Racing Auditorium in Welcome.

Approximately 600 DCCC students are candidates to receive two-year degrees, one-year diplomas, and certificates. Due to safety precautions regarding on- going construction projects, Commencement could not be held on the Davidson Campus grounds this year.

Parker worked as a college counselor at DCCC in the 1970s, and since then, has become a state and national leader in higher education administration and a role model for many. As senior vice president and chief academic officer for the nation's third largest community college system, Parker leads the division that oversees development, approval, and quality control of curriculum programs and basic skills as well as student services such as financial aid, counseling, resource development and distance learning.

Since she joined N.C. Community Colleges in 1999, Parker has worked with the State Board of Community Colleges and senior leaders of all colleges to create programs of study that match the state's economic needs with the educational goals of students. She played a major role in attracting millions of dollars for professional development, scholarships, and global education as well as federal grant and foundation funds for other vital community college initiatives.

Before she came to N.C. Community Colleges, Parker worked at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation as Associate Director of the Kellogg National Fellowship Program, and Program Director at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. She has also headed her own consulting firm and served as adjunct faculty in the graduate school at North Carolina A&T State University.

She holds an undergraduate degree from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University), a master's degree from North Carolina A&T State University, and her doctorate degree from North Carolina State University. "I firmly believe that higher education is crucial for everyone, and that community service along with higher education can enhance the quality of a person's life," said Parker.

DCCC is integrating sustainable practices and principles into policies, course offerings, and student activities to promote environmental and economical health both on the College campuses and sites and in the community. The "go green" initiatives are having an impact on the energy efficiency of College buildings, awareness of being eco-friendly through student organizations and campus life, and the need grow a green collar workforce for the future.

Students scheduled the annual Spring Fling in April to coincide with Earth Day. Students were encouraged to wear a green hat or t-shirt made from 100% organic or recycled material. Booths sponsored by student organization offered opportunities to view demonstrations of environmentally friendly products and visit educational displays with information on ways to recycle, conserve energy, and reduce waste. A hybrid car was on display.

Green initiatives are being implemented in the following areas:

Educational programs: As part of the NC Community Colleges "Code Green" initiative, DCCC will infuse green practices into courses and curriculum programs. The purpose of the initiative is to provide curriculum based around training for "green collar" jobs and incorporating sustainable practices and building methods into the state's community college campuses. Two DCCC faculty members participated in a one-day solar heating course that provided them with information to develop potential courses at the college dealing with alternative and renewable energy sources. Continuing Education courses currently offered include "Green Design and Living" and "Making an Informed Decision about the Environment." The College is looking to include sustainability into other course offerings and curriculum programs.

Construction and existing buildings: The College has completed the installation of motion light detectors, "Watt Misers," that turn lights off when not in use; replaced traditional lighting with energy efficient low wattage lamps; set up computer programming of parking lot lights; installed brighter, more efficient courtyard lighting; set up computer control of courtyard fountain pump and lights to maximize efficient; coordinated scheduling of buildings during summer to conserve energy; raising campus building temperatures 2-3 degrees during summer; expanded recycling efforts to include used motor/oil/paper/plastic bottles/old computers/batteries/old lamps/wire/metal; addition of light timers to skylights to turn fluorescent lights off during daylight hours; added a driver to the Brooks Student Center air handler to run the motor at a lower rpm to save energy; implemented use of a computer- controlled lighting panel in the Brinkley and Gee buildings to turn off lights during unoccupied times.

Transportation: A hybrid car has been purchased for local trips by College personnel.

Marketing: The Public Information and Marketing Staff have developed new strategies for promoting College programs and services by looking at ways to reduce paper usage. For example, as of summer 2009, a printed publication of continuing education courses is no longer distributed by mail. Instead, a smaller publication with course listings has been printed in- house and will be available at all College sites and in strategic community locations. Prospective students are encouraged to access additional information through the College website.

DCCC recently earned national recognition for its successful integration of a variety of classroom educational technology and for the number of Master- Level Certified SMART Technology Trainers on staff.

As of April 14, 2009, DCCC was the only community college in the nation with four nationally certified, SMART Technology master-level trainers and one advanced trainer. This number exceeded all other community colleges in the U.S. at that time.

DCCC was number one in the nation, just ahead of Dayton University and Northwestern Community College in New York in having the most SMART Technology nationally certified trainers on staff, according to a representative of SMART Technologies. A letter congratulated DCCC and stated that on April 14th, DCCC's number of trainers exceeded all other colleges in the United States.

"Congratulations! Davidson County Community College now has a total of four SMART Certified Trainers for Notebook collaborative software V10 on the Windows operating system.This is the most SCTs that one community college has on staff in the U.S.A. as of April 14, 2009," wrote Tara Scarrow of SMART Technologies.

DCCC's master level technology trainers are Suzanne LaVenture, Spanish instructor on the Davie Campus of DCCC in Mocksville; Brenda Payne, instructional technologist; Holly Weir, biology instructor on the Davie Campus; and Dori Stanfield, math instructor. Jason Setzer, reference librarian, is an advanced level SMART Technology trainer.

The credential gives advanced trainers the required skills to deliver high-quality training for faculty using SMART Board interactive whiteboards and Sympodiums. Pay a visit to DCCC's SMART classrooms in Gee and other buildings on both the Davie and Davidson campuses to see exactly how it helps our students.

For instance, in Tina McDaniel's medical laboratory technology classes, she uses integrated technologies to enlarge pathology slides on the projector. This allows students to better know what they are looking for prior to viewing their individual slides under microscopes. McDaniel also integrates the ELMO document camera into her curriculum in a variety of ways. In addition, DCCC is the national "spokescollege" for ELMO.

With the May 15th Commencement just around the corner, I am amazed at the many wonderful accomplishments of our staff, faculty, and students during the 2008-2009 academic year. As we review the year that is coming to a close, how can we not be optimistic about the future of DCCC and its graduates? There is not enough space in this newsletter to include all, but here is just a small sampling in no certain order:

• Recognized for the highest number of nationally certified master-level technology trainers in the nation as of April 14th
• Tutoring program earned international certification
• Won a competitive federal grant to offer a new, four- semester healthcare option in the fall for medics or paramedics who wish to become registered nurses. Tuition, books and fees will be free for students until all the grant monies are used.
• Named to Presidential Honor Roll for Community Service
• Earned a favorable five-year SACS review
• Ranked nationally as the 7th fastest-growing public, two-year college when compared to colleges its size
• Construction began on first campus facility built using only grant funds
• $3 million construction project completed on Davie Campus
• A new Human Services program was approved to begin in the fall, providing much needed employees for agencies such as social services and the health department where client rosters are bulging due to the slow economy
• Many new "JobsNow" education programs are now in development to put citizens back to work in six months or less in fields where jobs still exist