The Right Moves...

The first issue of Moves Magazine, a publication from the Louisiana Community and Technical College System Foundation, arrived recently.

Donna M. Mayeux, the Foundation's President, says that the System has moved from a "best-kept secret" to a "valued and essential stakeholder in the state's higher education and economic development processes. The Foundation and the publication intend to build a case for private sector investment in the state's community and technical colleges.

The System's President, Joe May, says  "Public funding won't be enough to meet the needs of the students and employers who rely on our colleges." He notes that enrollment in these schools has passed all expectations during the past decade. In fact, he says, "Demand has been so overwhelming we often can't build or expand facilities fast enough to accomodate need."

Those of us in Central Louisiana are keenly aware of the latter point, since we are the only region in Louisiana without a comprehensive community and technical college.

The magazine profiles some of the inspiring stories that have been occurring in the schools around the state. For example, AT&T recently gave $98,700 to the System to fund a Community College Global Leadership program. Students from SOWELA Technical Community College in Lake Charles and Louisiana Delta Community College in Monroe traveled to Austria for the Salzburg Global Seminar as part of the grant's funded activities. Or to put it another way, students from the community college in the region southwest of Cenla and students from the community college northeast of Cenla went to Austria courtesy of AT&T.

Raymond Peters, Vice President of Human Resources for Roy O. Martin Lumber Company, is a member of the Foundation board. He says, "Louisiana's Community and Technical Colleges are uniquely situated to provide effective workforce staffing solutions for businesses throughout the state."

Here's hoping that the legislature agrees with that statement enough to locate a comprehensive community and technical college in Central Louisiana sooner rather than later.

For a copy of the magazine, contact Leah Goss at 225.922.0721 or lgoss@lctcs.edu.