Five Students Complete Welding Certificate Program

Five students became the first to fulfill the requirements for the Welding Certificate Program at Randolph Community College last week. William "Cody" Garner, Rodney Mallard, Andrew Oakerson, James Combs, and Attiquar Raja completed Basic Welding, MIG and TIG Welding, Advanced MIG and TIG Welding, and Basic Pipe Fitting through RCC's Continuing Education Division.

The Pipe Fitting class was made possible by the generous donation of pipe, fittings, and related tools by Marvin Caviness, director emeritus of the RCC Foundation and former Board of Trustees member.

Because of a continuing industry demand for trained welders, RCC will introduce a new 120-hour Welding Precertification class this fall, which will aid students planning to take a welding certification test. Top-paying welding jobs require certification, which is available through the American Welding Society.

In addition, RCC will be offering a Basic Welding class in the Archdale area at Trinity High School beginning Sept. 1. Michael Harmon will be the instructor for this class, which will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 6-9 p.m., Sept. 1-Oct. 8. Interested students should call the Archdale Center at (336) 862-7980 to register for this course.

CUTLINE: James Combs (from left), Cody Garner, Andy Oakerson, Rodney Mallard, and Attiquar Raja (not pictured) completed a 120-hour Basic Pipefitting class at Randolph Community College last week. This was the final in a series of four classes required for the College’s Welding Certificate Program.

RCC Photography Graduate Wins Gold in Canada

Greensboro photographer Stacey Haines, a 2003 graduate of Randolph Community College's Photographic Technology program, was the winner of a gold award for the Home & Gardens category at the National Magazine Awards held in Toronto recently. Haines was one of the most nominated photographers with four nominations.

Based in North Carolina, New York and Nova Scotia, Haines is known for her advertising and editorial work. She specializes in natural, light infused lifestyle, food, interiors and travel images. On a recent trip to France she photographed a quaint cooking school and the bucolic Normandy countryside.

Haines has traveled extensively in the United States, Canada, and Europe with images appearing in magazines such as Gourmet, Canadian Home & Country, Westchester Cottages & Gardens, Canadian Gardening, Style At Home, Signature NC and Our State of North Carolina.

The National Magazine Awards Foundation is a nonprofit organization that promotes excellence in Canadian magazine journalism through the judging and awarding of over 2,000 nominee submissions from across the country.

University Center/Salem Information Sessions Aug. 5 & 11

Information sessions on the Salem College program at the University Center of Randolph County will be held on Randolph Community College's Asheboro Campus on Wednesday, Aug. 5 from 12-2 p.m. and on Tuesday, Aug. 11 from 7-8:30 p.m., in the Student Services Center conference room. Under the program, students have the opportunity to complete a 4-year degree (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration) from Salem College without having to leave Randolph County.

Applications can be submitted up until the day classes begin. Students may enroll in the fall or spring semester. Classes will begin on Thursday, August 27 at 5:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Two courses, Principles of Management and Principles of Marketing, will be taught back to back on Thursday nights and one course, Introduction to Microeconomics, will be taught on Tuesday nights from 5:15-7:15.

For more information, visit www.randolph.edu and click on University Center under the QuickLinks menu, contact Ed Hartgrove, at (336) 917-5855 or ed.hartgrove@salem.edu, or contact Clark Adams, RCC's Salem College liaison for the Business Administration program, at (336) 633-0328 or wcadams@randolph.edu.

RCC Expecting Record Enrollment; Students Should Register Early

Randolph Community College is expecting record numbers of new students this fall and is encouraging all new students to apply and register early.

The number of new applications received by the college so far this summer has exceeded last year's number by over 1,000 applicants, according to RCC President Robert Shackleford. "We are doing everything we can to serve our students," said Shackleford. He noted that meant "innovating rapidly to meet the needs of students who are looking to RCC for hope and help."

One of those innovations is the creation of an advising cadre, made up of 16 faculty advisors and one Student Services counselor who will be in one central location for advising. Students who have already completed their application process, including placement testing, are encouraged to sign up for an early advising session the weeks of July 27-31 and Aug. 3-7. Students should go to the RCC Web site at www.randolph.edu and click on the New Student Orientation and Advising banner to view the orientation and make an appointment. During these half hour sessions, students will meet with an advisor who will help them complete their class registrations. They will then be able to pay their tuition and fees, buy their books, and obtain their student IDs and parking passes.

Students who have not completed their admissions process yet are encouraged to do so by Aug. 3 in order to make an advising appointment during the second week of the advising cadre.

Regular registration on Aug. 11 and 12 is expected to be very crowded and course availability may be very limited by that time. Registration hours on those days will be from 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

ManufacturingWorks Career Fair Set for July 30 at Randolph Community College

Randolph County JobLink Career Center is partnering with Randolph Community College to host ManufacturingWorks on Thursday, July 30, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Learning Resources Center parking lot at RCC's Asheboro Campus. The event will feature the award-winning Lenoir Community College Mobile Industrial Training Lab, which will provide tours, demonstrations, and information.

This is a chance for the local workforce to learn about training and career opportunities in advanced manufacturing. These are high-skill, high-wage positions in such industries as biotech, industrial machining, aviation/aerospace, and electronics.

The Asheboro Campus is located at 629 Industrial Park Avenue. Take the McDowell Road exit off of Highway 220 Bypass and follow the signs.

For more information, call the JobLink Career Center at 336-633-0304.

RCC Opens Richard Petty Education Center

Randolph Community College opened its $1,750,000 Richard Petty Education Center today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and guests including Richard Petty; his wife Lynda; one of his daughters, Sharon; members of the RCC Board of Trustees; Randolph County and Asheboro City officials; and other dignitaries. The building houses the College's Automotive Systems Technology and Autobody Repair programs. It more than doubles the space the programs had in the old buildings.

Platform speakers included Dr. Bob Shackleford, RCC president; Jim Campbell, chair of the RCC Board of Trustees; Harold Holmes, chair of the Randolph County Board of Commissioners; North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco; Bonnie Renfro, president of the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation, Jon Steindorf, project architect with SchenkelSchultz Architecture; and Brandin Wrisley, president of the Sterling Building Group, the building contractor.

Over 100 community members, student, faculty, and staff gathered for the 9:30 a.m. ceremony held in the automotive shop in the heart of the new building. In introducing the guest of honor, Dr. Shackleford said, "We are pleased to honor our friend, Randolph County's favorite son, with this facility named after him. We pledge to offer in this building an education that is marked by the same drive for excellence and commitment to quality that made Richard Petty 'The King' of his sport."

Petty was given a standing ovation by the crowd and made a few remarks, noting how the automotive industry has grown and the real need for training for automotive and autobody technicians. He downplayed his role in the new building saying, "It took the community to do it… I'm real honored to be able to stand here, not only for me, but to give these students this opportunity."

After the short ceremony, the crowd was invited to tour the facility, and when Petty made himself available for autographs in the lobby, a line quickly formed.

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Basic Electricity Class Begins July 28 at RCC

There is still time to enroll in the Basic Electricity course that begins at Randolph Community College's Asheboro Campus on July 28.

Basic Electricity, which will meet from 6:30-9:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 28-Sept. 17, provides an introduction to industrial electrical maintenance and is the beginning class for both the electrical and HVAC noncredit programs at RCC.

This course introduces students to electricity by discussing, defining, and showing the relationships between Ohm's law, volts, amperes, and resistance. Students will solve problems in Direct Current series, parallel, and series parallel circuits. Alternating Current will be discussed including basic terms and three phase AC systems. Students will learn to read electrical schematics and solve various problems associated with electrical flow and troubleshooting using mathematical calculations and test equipment.

Registration is $61.30 plus the cost of a textbook.

For additional information and to register for this course, contact RCC's Continuing Education Information Center at 336-633-0268.

Randolph Community College One of 11 N.C. Community Colleges to Meet "Exceptional" Standards

Randolph Community College was one of 11 community colleges in North Carolina that met "Exceptional Institutional Performance" standards in the annual accountability measures for North Carolina's 58 community colleges, according to a report released yesterday. In addition to meeting or exceeding all eight system standards, these 11 schools met additional performance goals. Those goals were achieving the college performance rates of students who began in, rather than transferred into, the UNC System and attaining at least a 70 percent passing rate for students who sit for a licensure or certification exam for the first time. The accountability measures are based on 2007-08 academic year data.

"I am so proud of our RCC team. Meeting and surpassing these standards says that RCC provides the very highest quality of education and service to our students, as well as to our local businesses and industries," said RCC President Robert S. Shackleford Jr. "The North Carolina legislature and community college system give us these measures that require us to demonstrate how well we are serving our students and community, and we are one of the very few community colleges in the state that made straight As. I am very proud of our faculty and staff who give their dedicated best each day to each student and to our community."

For more details, read the story on RCC's Web page.