The Kentucky Enquirer
November 28, 2004
Hughes has own style
Gateway's president known for his personality, teamwork
COVINGTON - Even the 7-year-olds at Sixth District Elementary School were on
edge.
Would the president of Gateway Community & Technical College - a beloved
figure in Northern Kentucky after just three years - be leaving for a bigger
job at a four-year university?
On Nov. 18, Ed Hughes decided the answer would be no. Business and education
leaders were thrilled. And in an example of Hughes' knack for knowing everybody,
so were the kids at Sixth District.
"I like Dr. Hughes so much," said Jasmine Tarver, 7, who had heard
about the situation from teachers.
"He came over and read a book to us, and we got to keep the books, and
we got to have doughnuts with him," said classmate Jaslynne Scruggs
Such is the style of Northern Kentucky's first community-college president.
Building partnerships with others - from the nursing director at St. Elizabeth
Hospital Medical Center to the president of University of Cincinnati - is the
key to success for everybody, he said. Why not demonstrate the idea by teaming
up with an elementary school to promote learning?
"You never know what's going to change a kid's direction," Hughes
said last week, as he handed out trophies to top writers at the school. "This
might be it."
Hughes, 54, became Gateway's president in 2001, after 16 years at the helm
of Hazard Community College in Eastern Kentucky.
Earlier this year, he received a call from Morehead State University in the
same region, inviting him to apply for the presidency there. Hughes was one
of two finalists.
On the day Morehead's board was to announce its selection, he called the university's
search firm to say he didn't want the job.
He doesn't know whether it would have been offered. That night, Morehead tapped
the other finalist, Wayne D. Andrews, a vice president at East Tennessee State
University.
Hughes has never met the man, but already he has dropped him a note.
"I've been (in Kentucky) 20 years," he wrote, "and if there's
anything I can do to help you."
That's just the sort of gesture that has endeared Hughes to Northern Kentucky.
He seems to be everywhere, chairing last year's United Way campaign, serving
on the founding board of the National Submarine Science Discovery Center in
Newport, contacting major corporations to raise money for the Fine Arts Fund.
On the night before Morehead's decision, Hughes attended an awards dinner at
Thomas More College. Retiring state Rep. Jim Callahan, who was being honored
that night, told the crowd he hoped Hughes would stay. Other speakers piled
on. Toyota executive Helen Carroll joked about the "Ed Hughes lovefest."
"He's got everyone's trust; he's got their enthusiasm," said Rick
Jordan, president of Gateway's board. "It's like he's been here 20 years."
Actually, it's only been three.
Gateway was created in 2000 as part of an overhaul of Kentucky's higher education
system. Before becoming a community college, it was a technical center with
about 750 students. Hughes shepherded its growth to the current 2,900.
During his tenure, the college has launched six associate degree programs.
Five specialized certificate programs are being added. And Gateway now offers
30 general-education courses, with credits transferable to Northern Kentucky
University.
The speed with which Gateway and NKU worked out its agreements has been remarkable,
said Barbara Stonewater, executive director of an agency that links Northern
Kentucky universities with secondary schools.
Gateway has campuses in Covington, Edgewood and Highland Heights.
This year, state cuts limited its budget to $8.7 million, forcing tuition increases
and preventing the opening of a fourth campus in Boone County.
But college officials have managed to find some funding through alternative
sources. Gateway this summer landed a federal grant of $1.7 million over five
years. And St. Elizabeth is giving $1.5 million over the same period to train
nurses.
Hughes is skilled at pulling faculty members into decision-making, said Paula
Kuhnen, a nursing teacher at the college for four years. Twenty teams of staff
people now work together on aspects of Gateway's strategic plan.
"He has brought our school into the public eye, which is what we needed,"
Kuhnen said.
Then there's the personality factor.
Last week at Sixth District Elementary, Hughes moved from room to room, leading
children in chants of, "I know I can go to college!"
Gateway administrators Rebecca Moening, Dale Meyer and Michelle Deeley accompanied
him. They had judged the children's writing. Other Gateway executives are pen
pals with classes.
In one room, Hughes asked the students, "When you graduate from high school,
where are all of you going to go?"
"Gateway!" one student answered.
"Gateway or Duke," said another.
Hughes roared. As a guy who likes to share, he didn't mind that at all.
The Daily News
November 24, 2004
Enrollment at college is impressive
Bowling Green Technical College is obviously doing something right.
Its has had a record enrollment for five straight years, with a student population
exceeding 2,500 students.
Enrollment at the college increased 3 percent from last year and has experienced
an increase in enrollment of 130 percent over the past five years.
“I think it’s a combination of things,” Chief Academic Officer
Iris Dotson said. “More and more jobs are requiring technical skills. The
days are gone when someone can get out of high school and go into a well-paying
job without technical skills, and I think people are realizing that.”
Dotson is correct.
To compete in today’s job market, people must have the necessary technical
skills like those taught at BGTC.
This is obviously why the enrollment has skyrocketed at the college in recent
years.
What is even more impressive about the enrollment at BGTC is that there is
a significant number of students attending who are fresh out of high school,
meaning the school is their first choice for higher education. More non-traditional
students are also attending the college.
A lot of the enrollment growth is due to the technical college’s 2004-2009
strategic plan, which outlines the need for enhancing the image of the college
and ensuring academic success.
BGTC faculty have also been very effective in recruiting students by attending
career fairs and visiting businesses.
This is proof that the faculty is committed to advancing the role of BGTC in
our community.
The college already has two campuses in Bowling Green and two in Glasgow and
another training center will be built at the transpark.
There is also a possibility that BGTC could build another campus in Simpson
County.
It is encouraging to know that we have such a state-of-the-art facility in
our community that is advancing minds for the competitive job market of the
21st century.
The Kentucky Post
November 26, 2004
Adopting a new language
Spanish gains foothold at work
Su licencia de manejar, por favor.
In case you don't know Spanish, Your driver's license, please.
Quien llamo a los bomberos?
Who called the fire department?
Necesito hablar con tus padres.
I need to talk to your parents.
More and more Northern Kentucky police officers, firefighters and teachers
are learning such regularly used Spanish phrases.
As the Hispanic population increases, doctors and nurses and government and
business employees are also boning up on workplace Spanish terms.
"People want to reach out and speak and communicate with each other,"
said Phil Accardi, who teaches Spanish at Gateway Community and Technical College.
"Hispanics are learning English and non-Hispanics are learning Spanish
and they're meeting in the middle," he said.
In a sign of the times, Gateway is offering an array of Spanish classes geared
to help bridge the language gap in the workplace.
Classes include Spanish for firefighters, health care professionals, human
resources professionals, police officers and dispatchers, teachers and school
administrators and the general public.
While Gateway offers traditional Spanish courses that emphasize conversation
and comprehension, the workplace classes concentrate on phrases unique to a
profession.
Students learn to communicate simply, but effectively, with Spanish-speaking
people they may encounter during the course of a work day.
"These classes focus on effective communication, not academic proficiency,"
said Accardi.
"We use bite-size workplace terms and expressions in a simple, easy-to-understand
format. No grammar, conjugation or prior experience necessary."
New classes beginning in January and February reflect a growing need for such
courses, said Accardi.
The Hispanic community has grown substantially in recent years in Northern
Kentucky, just as it has statewide and nationally.
The 2000 Census reported 4,136 Hispanics in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties,
up more than threefold since 1990.
In recent years, Gateway has taught workplace Spanish to Northern Kentucky
police officers, firefighters, teachers, business employees, doctors and nurses.
"I use the Spanish phrases I learned in the class all the time,"
said Michele Halloran, a nurse at St. Elizabeth Medical Center. "I use
phrases like, 'Where is your pain? Do you have any allergies? It's important
to drink lots of fluids.'
"I see at least one Hispanic patient every day. There is such a huge influx
of Hispanics in our area. They will learn English, but it's important for us
to be able to converse now."
Accardi said grade school and high school teachers also tell him they benefit
greatly from workplace Spanish courses.
"Although Latino students are learning English, there's a transition phase
when teachers need to be able to talk to them in their native tongue,"
he said.
"The teachers say the Latino students' eyes light up when they hear a
Spanish phrase. It makes things less stressful."
While some folks may not think English-speaking people should be encouraged
to speak some Spanish in American workplaces, Accardi said he isn't interested
in getting into such a debate.
"Whether they should or shouldn't is irrelevant," he said. "We
don't want to continue building walls between people.
"When you learn another language, you also learn another culture and I
find that very broadening."
Accardi, a first-generation American-born Italian, recalled that he grew up
speaking Italian at home and learning English at school.
"We eventually saw dad try to learn English, but it was broken,"
he said.
"My family was trying to assimilate into a new community and work environment
and I see the same thing happening here with Hispanics."
The Daily Independent
November 27, 2004
ACTC offers continuing education for electricians
COALTON - Most of the students at Ashland Community and Technical College's
three campuses are learning new trades or academic disciplines from the bottom
up.
But a select group of tradesmen who already are tops in their field will spend
some time at ACTC's new EastPark campus about once a year to brush up on their
knowledge.
The Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction has approved
ACTC to provide continuing education for master electricians and electricians.
Under new regulations, license renewals require six hours per year of training,
mainly on changes in the electrical code, said program facilitator Ron McDavid.
Offering the class at EastPark makes it convenient for northeast Kentuckians,
he said. "Currently they're making drives to Lexington and London and all
over the state to get the classes," he said.
The National Electrical Code changes every three years and electricians, no
matter how long they've been in the field, need to keep up with it, said Rick
Collier, who with Harold Henry will be conducting the classes.
Licensing requirements have been tightened, Henry said. "Along with that
comes the requirement to upgrade licenses," he said.
The annual training is mandatory and with thousands of electricians in the
state, there's a leap in demand for the training sessions, Collier said.
There are as many as 200 or 300 contractors in northeast Kentucky, Henry said.
Most contractors want their employees licensed in addition to themselves, he
said.
Collier and Henry will conduct the classes once a month if there's enough demand.
So far they've signed up 25 for the first class in December.
The classes should be helpful in keeping up with the codes, said Earl David,
owner of Ashland Furnace. He's signed up 10 of his employees for the December
class, he said.
His employees aren't all that happy about it because it's costing them $60
for the class, he said. The fee isn't really steep compared to heating and air
conditioning licenses, he said.
David, the only master electrician in his company, is resigned to the training
even though he's been in the business for decades. "I'm an old electrician,
but I guess you call always teach an old dog new tricks," he said.
The Madisonville Messenger
November 28, 2004
Whittinghill appointed to MCC board
A retired Muhlenberg County teacher has been appointed to the Madisonville
Community College Board of Directors.
In announcing the appointment, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said Joyce Hughes Whittinghill
had taught 32 years in the Muhlenberg County School System before retiring.
Whittinghill holds a master-degree in education, with emphasis in reading.
Fletcher said Whittinghill was instrumental in implementing a dyslexia program
based on student needs through appropriate teaching materials.
“I am very honored by this appointment by Governor Fletcher and I look
forward to working with the college and its present board of directors,”
she said. “It is important to me to be a vital part of sustaining the growth
of Madisonville Community College.”
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