VGCC presents Glen Raven Awards to outstanding employees
At Vance-Granville Community College’s convocation in August, outgoing President Randy Parker presented the college’s annual awards to several outstanding VGCC employees. Collectively, the honors are known as the Glen Raven Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Awards. Glen Raven, Inc., the manufacturer with a site in Norlina, is a longtime VGCC partner and the largest corporate donor in the history of the college’s Endowment Fund. The company’s support includes sponsoring the annual stipends to recognize excellence among VGCC instructors and staff members, as well as endowing many college scholarships.
Deanna Stegall of Oxford, administrative assistant to the Dean of Arts & Sciences, was named Staff Member of the Year for 2011, while Radiography program head/instructor Angela Thomas of Hillsborough was chosen as the Faculty Member of the Year. Thomas and Stegall are now eligible to be considered for the N.C. Community College System’s statewide RJ Reynolds Excellence in Teaching and BB&T Staff Person of the Year awards, respectively. Parker also presented President’s Leadership Awards to Brian Clemmons of Durham, VGCC’s assistant director of financial aid, and April Perkinson of Warrenton, executive assistant to the president.
Deanna Stegall:
Deanna Stegall has been an administrative assistant at VGCC since 2001 and has held her current position in the Division of Arts and Sciences since 2008. Faculty members in Arts and Sciences, the largest academic division at VGCC, praised “her unwavering commitment to doing all she can to support us and our students in the work of teaching and learning.” Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences Angela Gardner-Ragland called Stegall “professional and personable,” a “problem-solver” and “the backbone” of the division. Stegall is also a VGCC graduate. She earned two Associate in Applied Science degrees, first in Office Systems Technology/Legal and later in Office Systems Technology/Executive. Stegall is active in numerous college-wide efforts beyond her division. She has served on the Social Committee, co-chaired the Food Committee for VGCC’s 40th anniversary celebration in 2009, and often donates her own home-baked items to be sold to raise funds for student groups. She has been secretary of both the VGCC Professional Advisory Committee and the Global Awareness Committee. Stegall was a member of the Vance County Association of Educational Office Professionals and served for two years as secretary of that organization. Active in her community, she currently serves as an elder and Clerk of Session at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Henderson.
Angela Thomas:
Angela M. Thomas started her association with the VGCC Radiography program as a part-time instructor in 1997 and became the program’s full-time clinical coordinator in 2000. In 2007, she was promoted to become head of the program. Meanwhile, Thomas continues to work part-time as a radiologic technologist at UNC Hospitals to stay abreast of changing technologies and updated modalities. Cecilia Wheeler, the dean of the college’s South Campus (where the Radiography program is located), described Thomas as “a very energetic instructor” who holds her students to high standards and is focused on students’ “successful development as whole persons.” Thomas has encouraged students to give back to their community, which earned them a spotlight in a national radiography profession magazine in 2009. “The commitment by Ms. Thomas and her faculty to their students is one of the reasons that two of the last three years, VGCC Radiography graduates HAD 100 % passing rates on their registry exams,” Wheeler said. Thomas also oversaw the program’s successful renewed national accreditation in 2010. At VGCC, she has served on the Academic Affairs Committee, Institutional Planning Committee and Advising Task Force. Dr. Ray Goldberg, VGCC’s Dean of Health Sciences, called Thomas “an incredibly hard-working, efficient leader and mentor.” Thomas completed a Master of Science degree in Health Care Management from Ashworth College in 2009. Thomas previously graduated with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Radiologic Technology from Pitt Community College and a bachelor of arts in Forensic Science from Guilford College. She is also a graduate of the North Carolina Community College Leadership Program.
Brian Clemmons:
Brian Clemmons has served as assistant director of financial aid at VGCC since 2007. He earned a bachelor’s in Public Policy Studies at Duke University and then worked in the financial services sector, first for Durham-based Self-Help and later as a branch manager/assistant vice president for Mutual Community Savings Bank. Clemmons earned a master’s in Public Administration at North Carolina Central University in 2008. During the past year, he has been one of a handful of financial aid administrators from across the state who served as advisors to the developers of the new financial literacy/planning tool for community college students, “Advanced Money Management.” This resource was developed by the N.C. Community College System, N.C. Department of State Treasurer, State Education Assistance Authority and College Foundation of North Carolina. At VGCC, Clemmons has also been a co-advisor for the Male Mentoring Program and has chaired the Financial Resources and Physical Resources Subcommittee as part of the college’s preparation for reaccreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He is a member of the North Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and serves on the association’s Legislative Advisory Committee.
April Perkinson:
April A. Perkinson graduated from VGCC in 1996 with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Medical Office Technology and has been a full-time college staff member ever since. She worked for several years in various administrative support positions, always providing assistance to the college president’s executive assistant, Patricia Graham. In 2005, Perkinson succeeded Graham as President Parker’s executive assistant. She provides support to the VGCC Board of Trustees , and in 2011 has served as the board’s presidential search liaison since Dr. Parker announced that he would resign to become president of Guilford Technical Community College. Perkinson currently assists VGCC’s interim president, Dr. Angela Ballentine. “April is very efficient, conscientious, detail oriented and sharp,” Ballentine said. “She has a strong work ethic and is committed to excellence. She is a talented young lady, a pleasure to work with, and deserving of this award.”
Above: VGCC’s 2011 award winners included, from left, Staff Member of the Year Deanna Stegall, Faculty Member of the Year Angela Thomas, and President’s Leadership Award winners Brian Clemmons and April Perkinson. (VGCC photo)
