. ■■
•' Meeting the swift,
changing demands of
the economy and of so
ciety will be the col
lege's biggest chal
lenge, according to
Central Piedmont
Community Cn]i«g«'t
newly inaugurated
president.
• "Tomorrow's
'manpower training'
will be increasingly
'brainpower train
ing,’ * Dr. Ruth C.
Shaw told an audience
of more than 1,600 ed
ucators, elected offi
cials, dignitaries and
friends of the college.*
at the inaugural cere
mony recently.
Pointing out that
two-thirds of North
Carolina jobs may be
information and ser
vice related within the
next throe years, iJr.
Shaw said those job*
will demand skilled
employees who can
read and write well,
who can use comput
ers and _who can rea
son. Responsibility
for teaching those
7 skills, she said, lies
with Central Pied
mont and the other 57
community colleges
in die state.
"Every major re
port oa the North Caro
lina economy paints to
education as impera
tive to our economic
growth-some would
say our economic sur
r viral," she said. ,
"Economic papers is
sued by Governor Jim
Martin and Lieuten
ant Bob Jordan call on
the state's community
colleges to lead in
training and retrain
ing our workforce."
Dr. Shaw, 38, be
came the second pres
ident in the 23 year
history of the college
in July 1986, fcUow
- ing the retirement of
Dr. Richard Hage
meyer. She came to
- the college from the
presidency of El Cen
tro Community Col
lege in Dallas, Tex
as. She started her ca
reer in education as'
an English teacher in
the North Carolina
Community College
system 17 years ago.
mands of the future,
Dr. Shaw predicted
the College will look
at ways to expand
role of its learning
copters in taking
- classes into the neigh
borhoods of Charlotte
and ■ ■ Mecklenburg '
County. She also
. called for higher sal
aries for educators in
North Carolina,
/ where teacher salar
ie» are among the
lowest in the nation.
"We must be vigi
lant to assure that we
do not train tomor
row's workers for
yesterday's jobs on
equipment that's
its pnmeJ
adding that a technol
. ogy building planned
at CPCC can
"demonstrate that we
will make good our
promise to deliver
world-class technical
pj training."
Tiw with Charlotte
Mecklenburg Schools
and UNC-Charlotte
also will be streng
thened, she said, to‘
ensure a smooth oath
through the public ed
ucation system. '
An example of that
V; cooperation. Dr. Shaw
said, is a new pro
gram now in the plan
ning stages that
would give high'
school students a bet
tar foundation for tbs
college-level training
needed far jobs in to
day's technology.
NCCU Grows In Sophistication, But Retains Personal TWh
While North Caro
lina Central Univer
sity has grown in site
and sophistication, it
remains small
enough to provide the
^ personal relation
ships and sanse of.
community that so en
hance the educational
process. Nearly two
thirds of the faculty
hold doctoral degrees
■ and nearly all faculty
members are in
volved in teaching
and counseling un
* dergraduates. '
In this climate, ex
ceptional students are
provided the opportu
nity to display their
k; talents broadly and
experience leadership
first hand. Students
who might become lost
or discouraged at
larger universities
receive an education
to meet their specific
needs. , y •> "
The campus com
munity is becoming
mors diverss. Whits
enrollment is now 12
percent in the under
graduate programs;
28 pereent in ths grad
percent in ths proles
sional programs.
Ths enrollment of the
School of Law is
’* lie*-? '■ .1- i t a — . ■■
MWih. or BUSINESS
On*-third at th* (md
ty Is white and many
faculty coma from
othar nations.
Both th* untvarai
ty * oaalamlo pro
grams and its unpoi
facilities continue to
grow. Nearly one
third of the under
graduates are en
rolled in the School of
Business Adminis
tration, which now
admits now student#
Ai-.At- __ a a
directly and hacauaa
of demand accepts
only one oat often who
"PPP* .uf l
The eebool is grad
ually reducing its en
rollment to 1,000 etur
dents to ensure high
quality standards in
cluding a more man
ages bis faculty/
student ratio
A now computer
science major is be
ing put into place in
the mathematics de
partment
The School of Law,
which offers the only
evening degree pro
T- gram in ths state,
moved into its new fa
cility in 1978. New
buildings have re
cently been dedicated
to ■: accommodate
growth of the Crimi
nal Justice, Public
V Administration and
Nursing program s
eaeh having experi
enced significant
growth in numbers
during the last dec
' ads. A new physical
education and recrea
tion complex is also
nearing completion.
The expanded scope
of the university's
programs parallel*
increasing diversity
in educational needs
and goals among
North Carolina Cen
tral University stu
dents.
'■■"•'.rS?• v'
The Academic En
richment Center, for
«mnple is geared to
high school underach
ievers, offering
smaller daeaee, tuto
rial assistance and
individual counsel
ing. A high percent
age of students en
rolled in the center
have gone on to suc
cessfully complete *
their college careers.
Racial minorities
constitute less than 6
percent oThealth care
professionals in the
United States and
North Carolina Cen
tral University's
Health Career pro
gram is designed to
facilitate entry of stu
dents into a broad
spectrum of health
related fields. *