VGCC Trustees Meet in New Franklin Building, Approve Five-Year Strategic Plan for College

The Vance-Granville Board of Trustees traveled to Louisburg on Jan. 30 to hold their bi-monthly meeting in the new classroom building at the Franklin County Campus. This 17,000 square-foot building was completed near the end of last year, and the college began holding classes in it when Spring Semester began Jan. 5.

State Representative Lucy Allen, Franklin County commissioners and other county officials joined the trustees to get a look at the new facility. President Randy Parker gave the visitors a briefing on the state of the college and its accomplishments in the past year.

During the board meeting, the trustees approved a strategic plan for the college. The plan, which has been developed by the staff and faculty over recent months, includes a vision statement, the college’s mission, nine aims and goals of the college, and a list of desired accomplishments by June 30, 2011. Having received the trustees’ approval, President Parker said the faculty and staff will now begin working to implement programs and activities to achieve the plan’s goals.

The trustees met in the V-Net room at the new Franklin Campus building. They were given a demonstration of how a class taught at one of the college’s campuses can be beamed via fiber optic cable to classrooms at one or more of the other campuses. The rooms contain plasma TV’s, microphones to make the classes interactive, video cameras and overhead projectors. Use of these V-net classrooms will allow the college to offer more courses at each satellite with fewer instructors, and persons can take classes in their home communities without having to travel to campuses in other counties. The classrooms also provide Vance-Granville with global access to worldwide instruction.

Currently, the V-Net classrooms are at the main campus, the Franklin Campus and the Warren County Campus. There will also be a V-Net classroom in the addition under construction at the South Campus in Granville County. Trustees were told that construction on the 20,000 square-foot addition at South Campus is on schedule and should be completed by the end of this year. Foundations are being poured at the site between Creedmoor and Butner, and structural steel is being fabricated for the two-story facility.

Vice President Marsha Nelson reported from the V-Net classroom at the main campus that 3,971 students enrolled in Spring Semester curriculum classes. This is about 100 fewer than Spring 2005 enrollment, but mini-semester classes that will be held later should bring the total up to about the same as last year.

Vice President Vanessa Jones was in the Warren Campus V-Net classroom, and she reported on enrollment in Spring Semester for continuing education and basic skills classes and in Workforce Investment Act training.