|
Graduation Ceremony Planned for May 8
in Rainsville
The graduation ceremony for students at Northeast Alabama
Community College will be held at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, May 8,
2008, at the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum, according to
college officials.
“Due to our enrollment growth, this is the
first time that we have held graduation off campus,” stated Dr.
David Campbell, NACC President. “We will have some two hundred
students receiving their associate degrees at this ceremony
which is an increase of some seventy students over last year.
The Coliseum provides us with a larger venue so that more of
these students’ family members and friends can attend the
ceremony.”
NACC has experienced a substantial
enrollment increase over the past several years. More than 2,500
students were registered for credit courses at Northeast for the
Fall Semester of 2007 compared to 1,659 the Fall Semester of
2000. According to figures from the Alabama Department of
Postsecondary Education, enrollment at Northeast increased by
nine percent alone from 2006 to 2007. The college also serves
the community through its Adult Education program, Training for
Business and Industry, Alabama Technology Network Center, and
educational and cultural events activities.
Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL, Fourth
District) will be the keynote speaker for the graduation
ceremony. Congressman Aderholt was reelected to his sixth term
in Congress in November of 2006. He serves on the House
Appropriations Committee, the Homeland Security Subcommittee,
the Transportation Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee,
and the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee. Congressman Aderholt also serves on the Commission
on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission).
“We at Northeast are honored to have
Congressman Aderholt as our graduation speaker. He is a model
Congressman and great public servant. We also are appreciative
to Superintendent Charles Warren and the DeKalb County Board of
Education for permitting us to use the Coliseum for graduation,”
Campbell said. “This is going to let so many more people enjoy
the event.” Coliseum Director DeWitt Jackson is helping
Northeast with the graduation arrangements.
Although some two hundred NACC students
will go through the ceremony, approximately three hundred
students graduate with associate degrees from Northeast each
year. Not all graduates participate in the ceremony. Many other
students also receive short and long-term certificates from
Northeast each year. These certificates represent substantial
training in a job-related field. Angie Stewart, Administrative
Assistant to the Vice President/Dean of Instruction, notes that
this year’s graduation will be the largest in Northeast’s
history. She works with Dr. Joe Burke to certify students for
graduation. “A degree from Northeast aids our students in
getting a salary increase, a job advancement, and/or prepares
them to transfer to a university to seek a degree in a
professional career,” Stewart added.
“We particularly are pleased that we are
graduating more and more students in health care fields,”
Campbell noted. “There is a real shortage in these areas. Our
nursing staff especially has worked very hard to increase the
number of nursing graduates and the opening of our new Health
Education and Technology Center has helped us in this regard.
The number of RN graduates has increased from 34 in 2004 to 70
in 2008 and from 15 LPN graduates in 2005 to 28 in 2008.”
Northeast music Instructors, Dr. Dan Knox
and Dr. Kathy Adkins, will direct musical performances at the
graduation ceremony, and the college’s most outstanding students
and faculty will be recognized. Susan Barron, Director of
Recruiting and Event Planning, is chair of the Graduation
Committee that is organizing the ceremony. Other committee
members are Julise Clement, Kent Jones, Dr. Kathy Adkins, Dr.
Dan Knox, Angie Stewart, Holly Williams, Andrea Wheeler, Carolyn
Jones, and Dr. Joe Burke.
For more information about graduation and
programs at Northeast, follow the Student menu (above) to
Academics.
College officials finalize plans for the 42nd
commencement ceremony for Northeast Alabama Community College:
(L-R) Dr. Joe Burke, Vice President/Dean of Instruction; Susan
Barron, Director of Recruiting and Event Planning; Dr. David
Campbell, President of NACC; and Angie Stewart, Assistant to
Vice President/Dean of Instruction.
 |
