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Blue Ridge Community College Henderson County Campus faculty and staff at the Fall 2024 Convocation. Photo by Rich Keen.
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On Monday, August 12, Blue Ridge Community College hosted the annual fall Convocation, which serves to unify and inform Blue Ridge’s faculty and staff in preparation for the new academic year. The “Go Further” convocation theme was woven throughout the event, serving as a reminder to help students and the community excel.
Executive Vice President Dr. Chad Merrill was the first to welcome the employees to the event and new semester. A special message from President Dr. Laura Leatherwood welcomed attendees and outlined the College’s mission, vision and core values.
“As we start the new fall semester, let us continue to embrace our vision of transforming lives through the power of learning and our mission to empower individuals with knowledge and skills to enrich our communities and build a competitive workforce,” Leatherwood said. “These aren’t just slogans but calls to action that drive everything that we do at Blue Ridge.”
Vice President for Instruction Kathy Allen provided an update regarding the College’s performance measures, which are facilitated by the North Carolina Community College System to ensure excellence in instruction statewide. In particular, she highlighted the success of the Adult Literacy team’s work last year to improve its “basic skills” measure to above average in the statewide ranking.
Trina Stokes, executive director of the Educational Foundation, shared that the Foundation provided $1.3 million to 1,500 students through scholarships last year.
Vice President for Student Services Kirsten Bunch introduced the keynote speaker, Dr. Kenyatta Lovett. Dr. Lovett, principal for the Education Strategy Group, spoke about understanding and better serving one of Blue Ridge’s rising student populations: adult and working learners.
“When an adult goes back to college, the entire family goes back to college,” Lovett said.
He shared personal experience of understanding the challenges adults face going back to college. His mother returned to college when Lovett was about 7 years old. Lovett remembered sitting with his sister outside his mother’s classroom in the evenings, as well as the difference education made for his family. After the presentation, Lovett fielded questions from the audience.
Learn more about learning opportunities at Blue Ridge at blueridge.edu/programs.