Programs
- Associate in Arts
- Associate in Science
- Associate in General Ed.
- Bioprocess Technology
- Early Childhood Degree
- Early Childhood Diploma
- Early Childhood Certificate
- Infant/Toddler Care Certificate
- Lateral Entry
- School-Age Education Degree
- School-Age Education Diploma
- School-Age Care & Administration Certificate
Division of Arts & Sciences > Dean's Message
Dean's Message
Thank you for visiting our web site. My name is
Dr. Mike Ellis and I am the Dean of Arts & Sciences. Let me take a moment to brag on
our division. 
The Arts and Sciences Division has flourished in recent years. Enrollment in the department's degree programs has grown: approximately 650 students enrolled in the College Transfer Program in the Fall of 2007. Each year dozens of students transfer to senior institutions; most performing better that students who started as freshman at those Universities! The Education Program, with the addition of Early Childhood classes at the new Franklin County satellite campus and the rising enrollment in the daycare licensure classes, climbed to nearly 300. Over the last seven years, twenty new faculty have been hired in the department to serve this growing student population. The department now has a full-time faculty of forty-four and an adjunct faculty of over sixty.
Growing enrollment is not the only or even the main story about the department, however. The caliber of the department's educational offering is. Faculty in the department have been working very diligently to ensure that students at the college receive a quality education, one that prepares them for careers and the demands of four-year colleges and universities. Quality education requires a well-prepared faculty who must, therefore, be students too; faculty members are continually taking courses, attending workshops and conferences and reading journals and books to keep abreast of the latest developments in their fields, new approaches to teaching, and the latest in technology. Helping students acquire essential skills--communication skills and computing skills especially--is a priority in the department. Writing requirements do not end in English classes: there are writing requirements in most of the courses in the department. The use of the computer is also a top priority in the department; computers are a pervasive technology in our society, and our students must be competent in the use of this technology if they are to move on to rewarding careers and success at four-year colleges and universities. Vance-Granville students write papers on computers, use a variety of computer programs in mathematics and science classes, and increasingly employ computers for research. With the growth of the World Wide Web, more and more classes are employing Web materials and assignments. The college's "distance program" is expanding and more and more courses are being offered that students can take at home via the Web. The department now offers the A.A. degree via the Web.
The college experience is more than simply taking classes, and members of the department have worked hard to provide students and citizens in the local community with other learning and cultural opportunities. Jacquelin Heath is the advisor of the only community college chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators, and this chapter is one of the most active in the state. Steve McGrady, Brady, Lydia Powell, and Margaret Chaves-Smith sponsors a trip abroad program that takes students to Costa Rica for a month of study and travel. The department regularly brings speakers to the campus. Faculty members have helped an elementary school with a storytelling contest, adopted a local elementary school, served as quiz bowl judges, and spoken to community groups. The Education Program is also performing an important community service by offering education courses on the latest childcare practices to area daycare teachers. The department has a long relationship with the North Carolina Central University and the NC Model Teacher Education Consortium. NCCU, with the assistance of the Consortium, brings undergraduate and graduate education classes to the Vance-Granville campus so area teachers can upgrade their skills and school system teacher assistants can acquire the education to become teachers.The Consortium contributes to a special scholarship at Vance-Granville that provides financial assistance to teacher assistants (and other public school employees) to take classes in the College Transfer Program.
We are especially proud of our alumni. Many of our graduates have gone on to successful careers and academic success at four-year college and universities. The success of our students is why we are here and nothing is more important than that.
Arts and Sciences Division
Phone: 252-492-2061
The Arts and Sciences Division has flourished in recent years. Enrollment in the department's degree programs has grown: approximately 650 students enrolled in the College Transfer Program in the Fall of 2007. Each year dozens of students transfer to senior institutions; most performing better that students who started as freshman at those Universities! The Education Program, with the addition of Early Childhood classes at the new Franklin County satellite campus and the rising enrollment in the daycare licensure classes, climbed to nearly 300. Over the last seven years, twenty new faculty have been hired in the department to serve this growing student population. The department now has a full-time faculty of forty-four and an adjunct faculty of over sixty.
Growing enrollment is not the only or even the main story about the department, however. The caliber of the department's educational offering is. Faculty in the department have been working very diligently to ensure that students at the college receive a quality education, one that prepares them for careers and the demands of four-year colleges and universities. Quality education requires a well-prepared faculty who must, therefore, be students too; faculty members are continually taking courses, attending workshops and conferences and reading journals and books to keep abreast of the latest developments in their fields, new approaches to teaching, and the latest in technology. Helping students acquire essential skills--communication skills and computing skills especially--is a priority in the department. Writing requirements do not end in English classes: there are writing requirements in most of the courses in the department. The use of the computer is also a top priority in the department; computers are a pervasive technology in our society, and our students must be competent in the use of this technology if they are to move on to rewarding careers and success at four-year colleges and universities. Vance-Granville students write papers on computers, use a variety of computer programs in mathematics and science classes, and increasingly employ computers for research. With the growth of the World Wide Web, more and more classes are employing Web materials and assignments. The college's "distance program" is expanding and more and more courses are being offered that students can take at home via the Web. The department now offers the A.A. degree via the Web.
The college experience is more than simply taking classes, and members of the department have worked hard to provide students and citizens in the local community with other learning and cultural opportunities. Jacquelin Heath is the advisor of the only community college chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators, and this chapter is one of the most active in the state. Steve McGrady, Brady, Lydia Powell, and Margaret Chaves-Smith sponsors a trip abroad program that takes students to Costa Rica for a month of study and travel. The department regularly brings speakers to the campus. Faculty members have helped an elementary school with a storytelling contest, adopted a local elementary school, served as quiz bowl judges, and spoken to community groups. The Education Program is also performing an important community service by offering education courses on the latest childcare practices to area daycare teachers. The department has a long relationship with the North Carolina Central University and the NC Model Teacher Education Consortium. NCCU, with the assistance of the Consortium, brings undergraduate and graduate education classes to the Vance-Granville campus so area teachers can upgrade their skills and school system teacher assistants can acquire the education to become teachers.The Consortium contributes to a special scholarship at Vance-Granville that provides financial assistance to teacher assistants (and other public school employees) to take classes in the College Transfer Program.
We are especially proud of our alumni. Many of our graduates have gone on to successful careers and academic success at four-year college and universities. The success of our students is why we are here and nothing is more important than that.
Arts and Sciences Division
Phone: 252-492-2061
Arts & Science News
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