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Courier-Journal
September 13, 2003
JCC president has ambitious plans for improving college
Ceremony marks installation of Newberry in post
During his inauguration yesterday as Jefferson Community College's third president,
Anthony Newberry said he wants to increase funding and enrollment, combine colleges
and orchestrate a larger role in Louisville's work-force development.
"It's an ambitious agenda," Newberry said to a crowd of faculty,
staff and local dignitaries in a downtown ceremony that formally installed him
in his post. "We have initiated a time of restoration and renewal."
The former JCC history teacher was named president of the college and chief
executive of the Jefferson Community and Technical College District in July
2002. Before that, he had worked as a chancellor for the state's community and
technical college system.
The college lost its last full president in 2002, when Richard Green, whose
leadership had been criticized by faculty and staff, retired. Several administrators
served as interim presidents, including provost Diane Calhoun-French.
Newberry, 55, came at a time when the college was struggling to rectify dozens
of deficiencies reported by an accreditation inspection team. The school was
placed on warning for problems ranging from failing to assess its students after
they left school to campus upkeep and maintenance.
Also, the technical college's aviation-maintenance program was put on hold
last year after the Federal Aviation Administration found problems that included
record-keeping discrepancies.
Those shortcomings, and the accreditation problems, have been resolved, Newberry
said.
"We have faced some serious difficulties," he said. "But we've
turned things around."
JCC is part of the Jefferson Community and Technical College District, which
includes nearly 9,600 JCC students in downtown Louisville, southwestern Jefferson
County and Carrollton and 3,500 students at Jefferson Technical College. The
2003-04 budget for the district is $35million.
Speakers yesterday said they expected the school to thrive under Newberry,
who has overseen the launch of a new campus in Shelbyville and expanded academic
programs and partnerships with local businesses.
"JCC will be stronger under his stewardship," Louisville Metro Mayor
Jerry Abramson said.
Newberry outlined several key objectives for the coming years.
Jefferson Community College and Jefferson Technical College are consolidating,
he said, a move expected to be complete by 2005. Newberry vowed to ensure that
the cultures of both colleges remained intact but said the schools would benefit
from combining resources.
He wants to expand partnerships such as those with United Parcel Service, Norton
Hospital and the Kentucky Center, and reshape academic and technical programs
to meet the area's changing job market.
Newberry also said he wants enrollment, now about 13,000 at both colleges,
to reach 20,000 by 2014.
He wants to increase public funding by working with lawmakers and start a private
fund-raising campaign next year, officials said.
More money would help increase staff pay and improve the campuses and buildings,
he said.
Business First
August 1, 2003
Study finds that Kentucky is good place for business
Three areas in Kentucky have been named among the best places for companies
to locate by Expansion Management magazine.
In a survey, called the Mayor's Challenge, the magazine ranked 50 U.S. cities
based on six major studies, which looked at quality of education, availability
of quality health care services and the cost to employers, quality of life,
logistics infrastructure, quality and quantity of available workers and the
business climate created by state legislatures.
The survey found that Lexington ranked No. 7 overall, while the Cincinnati/Northern
Kentucky/Southeast Indiana area ranked No. 15, and the Louisville area was ranked
No. 22, according to a news release.
The top five metros in the survey were Des Moines, Iowa; Kansas City, Mo.;
Omaha, Neb.; Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.
"Site selection is all about comparisons," Bill King, chief editor
of Expansion Management, said in the release. "Employers want to know where
they can find the best-educated, or the most reliable, work force, or perhaps
the most inexpensive workers. On the other hand, they might be looking for high-tech,
entrepreneurial scientists and engineers."
Expansion Management is a monthly business magazine for executives of companies
that are actively looking for a place to expand or relocate their facilities
within the next one to three years.
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