Germanna, VDOT partnering to improve Virginia's roads

Secretary of the Commonwealth Levar Stoney announced the establishment of the Virginia Education Center for Asphalt Technology (VECAT) during a press conference on Monday, Oct. 5 at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond.

Germanna's Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper
 will be at the center of the new VECAT training  program.

The statewide effort involves a partnership of The Virginia Asphalt Association, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the Virginia Community College System, led by Germanna Community College's Center for Workforce in Culpeper.

“Whether you’re in Abingdon or Arlington, students will now have the ability to further their careers in one of Virginia’s key industries,” Stoney said. “The efforts of this partnership will send a signal to all our competitors that we know what it takes to continue building the new Virginia economy."

VDOT, the VAA and Germanna are partnering on changes to the asphalt-related materials certification classes, the initiation of an asphalt technologist apprenticeship program and eventually an asphalt technologist associate’s degree. 

Germanna will offer training at its Joseph R. Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper beginning in 2017. Much of the training will be available via online classes, but students will be required to take part in labs on site. Several other VCCS schools will be involved in offering labs in order to make the training more accessible. The other VCCS sites have not been set yet.

VDOT's Charlie Kilpatrick with Germanna's Jeanne Wesley,

Martha Okeefe and Ben Sherman

   

The effort will be focused at Germanna with changes to the asphalt-related materials certification classes, the initiation of an asphalt technologist apprenticeship program and eventually asphalt technologist associate’s degree.

Germanna will offer training at its Joseph R. Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper beginning in 2017. Much of the training will be available via online classes, but students will be required to take part in labs on site. Several other VCCS schools will be involved in offering labs in order to make the training more accessible. The other VCCS sites have not been set yet.

The asphalt business is a key industry in Virginia.

•   Virginia has the third largest state maintained highway system in the United States
•    The Commonwealth spends billions of dollars each year on its highways
•     Virginia’s asphalt industry has 50 different companies with more than 130 plants, employing over 10,000 people throughout the Commonwealth
•    The industry contributes nearly $2 billion to the Virginia economy each year

Germanna President David A. Sam, (center) at VECAT launch.

The partnership will support business growth and jobs creation, increased competitiveness for Virginia’s asphalt industry, continuing education for changing materials and practices and create a supply chain to replace retiring workers. This will be accomplished through entry level to advanced training, stackable credentials, an apprenticeship program and the development of a pathway to an associate degree.

Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick said: “each year VDOT invests over $500 million in asphalt paving through new construction and maintenance. With this large investment, it is imperative the individuals involved with the design, production, placement and acceptance of asphalt materials are effectively trained to perform the monumental task of constructing and maintaining Virginia’s roads.” 

“New technologies, innovations in construction practices and changing materials usage are leading to increased sustainability and cost savings,” Richard Schreck, Executive Vice President of the Virginia Asphalt Association said. “But putting these innovations into practice requires the sort of focused training and education that VECAT will provide, deploying research, innovation and best practices to the benefit of taxpayers and the driving public.”

Amy Martin, National Director for the Asphalt Pavement Alliance, recognizes the pressing need for skilled labor in the road construction industry, both today and in the future. “With over 100,000 lane miles in the Commonwealth, having quality labor to support construction, maintenance and inspection of the roadway system is of vital importance. We hope this sets a precedent other states will follow.”

 “Germanna is pleased to partner with the Virginia Asphalt Association in developing these vital certifications and apprenticeships,” GCC President David A. Sam said. “The Commonwealth needs people with the skills to pave, inspect and repair our roadways. And citizens of Virginia need well-paid jobs that make a difference. Our work together in developing these programs helps to close that skills gap and make for a better Virginia.”

Training will be available for:

•  Asphalt production facilities occupations: plant operators, plant technicians, laboratory technicians and asphalt mix designers
•  Asphalt placement site occupations: asphalt paving foreman, asphalt paving crew, asphalt paving superintendent, and density technician
•  Transportation agencies occupations: project manager, project engineer, project inspector, plant inspector, asphalt lab technician, asphalt mix designer/certifier
•  Consulting industry occupations: project engineer, project inspector, asphalt lab technician, and asphalt mix designer/certifier.

Germanna launching drone training for commercial applications

Michael Zitz

Director of Media & Community Relations

Germanna Community College

540/846-5163

mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Ben Sherman

Business & Career Coordinator

Germanna Community College

540/937-2901 (office)

540/661-8291 (cell)

bsherman@germanna.edu

GERMANNA CENTER FOR WORKFORCE  LAUNCHING COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS DRONE TRAINING AT GCC DANIEL TECH CENTER IN CULPEPER

Business drone use is a trend that isn’t likely to fade away. Current commercial uses for unmanned aerial vehicles include the monitoring of agricultural crops, photographing real estate and managing wildlife. Among those in the works are Amazon’s plans to use drones for deliveries. There has also been discussion of using solar-powered drones capable of remaining aloft indefinitely to beam WiFi signals to the ground to provide sparsely populated areas with Internet access.

A drone in flight during a demonstration outside
 Germanna's Daniel Technology Center in  Culpeper.

According to Fortune magazine, by July of 2015, there were over 500 businesses in the U.S. cleared by the FAA to operate drones for commercial purposes.

An industry study recently predicted that by the year 2025, the commercial use of drones could add $82 billion and 100,000 jobs to the U.S. economy.

Locally, Germanna Community College will begin using drone flyovers to help Cedar Mountain Stone monitor progress at its Mitchells Quarry. The first flyover, on a date yet to be determined in late October, will take place during a blast at the quarry.

According to Ben Sherman, a Germanna Center for Workforce Business & Career Coordinator based at the GCC Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper, the drones will be doing aerial photography for photogrammetry and using two-dimensional photos to make a 3D point cloud to model progress at the quarry. The goal will be to determine the amount of stone removed. This will allow Cedar Mountain Corporation to more closely monitor the amount of material being extracted from and ultimately sold by the quarry.

This will be part of a new Germanna Community College Center for Workforce program at the Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper focusing on drone training for commercial applications.

Students will learn how to maintain drones and how the actual programming works—how to download information and process it, as well as the necessary flying skills, Sherman said.

The FAA is expected to require increasing levels of training and certification for those who fly drones for commercial use to earn certification, due to safety concerns.

Germanna had already been providing classes primarily for drone hobbyists, including basic flight training and even teaching middle school children to build their own drones using a 3D printer.

“Now we’re going into business and construction applications,” Sherman said.

He said Germanna’s Center for Workforce is prepared to help local businesses navigate evolving  federal and state drone regulations.

###

GCC accepting applications for All-USA Academic Team

Dear Students,

Germanna Community College is seeking outstanding student leaders from our college to apply for the All-USA Community College Academic Team and the Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Programs sponsored by USA TODAY, Follett Higher Education Group, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation, AACC and Phi Theta Kappa. Recipients will be awarded nearly $400,000 in scholarships, will be featured in USA TODAY, and will be recognized at AACC’s Convention in Chicago, IL in April. We have the opportunity to nominate up to two students per campus to participate in this competition, and our college has the opportunity to receive national press recognition should one of our nominees be identified as a scholar.
In addition to recognition by USA TODAY, Follett, and Coca-Cola, nominees to these programs are recognized in All-State Academic Team programs held in 38 states. All-State Team programs may offer students academic scholarships, stipends, newspaper coverage, medallions and/or certificates. By nominating students to the All-USA Community College Academic Team national program, we are able to provide additional scholarship opportunities for nominees to which they would otherwise not have access.
At this time, we are seeking qualified applications. In selecting nominees to represent our institution, we ask you to consider the eligibility criteria to determine if you might be a good fit for the scholarship. The scholarships look to award students with outstanding academic rigor and grade point averages; participation in honors programs; awards, honors, and recognition for academic achievement, and service to the college and community.
In addition, the focal point of the application is the essay. This should center around one endeavor undertaken by the student that utilized their community college education to improve their respective community or college. Judges look for innovative, creative, original and lasting achievements or undertakings.
For more information about the scholarships available, or to apply, please visit https://www.ptk.org/Scholarships/BachelorsDegreeScholarships/All-USACommunityCollegeAcademicTeam.aspx.
Preliminary applications (with at least the first 6 tabs completed) must be submitted no later than Monday, November 2, 2015. After all applications have been received, applicants selected as one of the four Germanna nominees will be notified.
Completed final applications (all tabs completed including Essays and Recommender Assessments) by the selected nominees must be completed and submitted to PTK by Monday November 30, 2015.

Sincerely,


Rebecca Morris
rmorris@germanna.edu

GCC Lyceum Series brings "The Hunting Ground," campus sexual abuse discussion, to Sealy Auditorium

Germanna Community College will host one of three free screenings of “The Hunting Ground” at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16 in Sealy Auditorium on the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania. The GCC Lyceum Series event is open to the public.

The documentary delves into the problem of sexual assault at colleges and universities.

There will also be a panel discussion about preventing campus sexual assault and dealing with incidents correctly.

Filmmakers concluded that some institutions try to persuade victims not to go to off-campus authorities in order to protect the schools’ name.

Director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering say they hope the film will "ignite conversation, raise awareness, and drive change." 

University of Mary Washington psychology Prof. Christopher Kilmartin will be part of the panel at the Germanna event. He is the author of “The Masculine Self.” He also co-authored “Men’s Violence Against Women: Theory, Research, and Activism” and “Sexual Assault in Context: Teaching College Men about Gender.”

• .From 16 to 20 percent of undergraduate women are sexually assaulted in college.
• 88 percent of women raped on campus do not report.
• In 2012, 45 percent of colleges reported zero sexual assaults.
• Only 2 to 8 percent of sexual assault claims are found to be false.
• Less than 8 percent of men in college commit more than 90 percent of sexual assaults.

Local screenings, all open to the public, free:

Tuesday, Sept. 15
--7 p.m. in the University of Mary Washington Information and Technology Convergence Center Digital Auditorium
1301 College Ave.

Wednesday, Sept. 16
--12:30 p.m. in Germanna’s Sealy Auditorium
at 10000 Germanna Point Dr., off U.S. 17 near Cosner’s Corner in Spotsylvania County.

Saturday, Sept. 19--9:30 a.m. at Paragon Village, 1251 Towne Centre Blvd. in Spotsylvania.

National Sexual Assault Hotline: (800) 656-HOPE (4673) or at http://ohl.rainn.org/online

New Career and Transfer Center making sure students on right path

The counselors in Germanna’s new Career and Transfer Center have a question for GCC students:

“Do you know what you want to study and do you know where you want to transfer?”

Marie Hawley and Sheryl Williamson want to make sure students are on the right path--that there are as few missteps as possible. Missteps can be costly both in terms of time and money, they say, slowing students on their way to degrees and costing thousands of dollars in extra tuition and lost earnings. 

Career Counselor Hawley says of the new Center:

“This is an opportunity for students to really put together their career interests, things they’d like to study and make sure the pieces fit together to transfer for a bachelor’s degree.”

 Hawley said that when it comes to certain programs at universities where Germanna has a guaranteed transfer agreement, “we have to inform [students] that you cannot just do general studies and transfer--you need a degree focus.”

For example, she said, Germanna may have a guaranteed transfer agreement with a university, but not guaranteed entry into its business school without certain prerequisites.

Transfer Counselor Sheryl Williamson said: “We try to encourage students to look ahead. … What sometimes happens is that student graduates with that mentality transfer, they are then faced with taking additional math classes.”

“Or not admitted to the program,” Hawley said. “But if you prepare properly, you can align yourself.”

 “If you start at a four-year school, you have to declare a major by your junior year,” Williamson pointed out, adding that Germanna students should be thinking about that major before they transfer.

“The sooner you know where you want to go and what you want to do, the sooner you can match up your course work so it transfers more seamlessly,” Hawley said.

The Career and Transfer Center also offers assessments through the Virginia Education Wizard, counseling and information sessions and workshops in resume writing and mock job interviews. It also brings representatives from over 40 colleges and universities on campus as part of an annual College Fair. This year’s event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Daniel Center in Culpeper and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania.

The Center also offers resources “to help identify career paths students may not even know exist,” Hawley said.

It also helps connect students and employers for internships.

Williamson and Hawley have over 50 years of combined experience in education.

The Career and Transfer Center is located in room 228 of the Dickinson Building at the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania.

The Center phone number is 540/834-1841.

Email addresses for the Center:

Career Counselor Marie Hawley mhawley@germanna.edu

Transfer Counselor Sheryl Williamson swilliamson@germanna.edu

Sabrina Dunaway sdunaway@germanna.edu

Career and Transfer Center's Sheryl Williamson and Marie Hawley

Germanna announces faculty Learning Environment Award winners

Germanna Community College has announced its Spring 2015 faculty Learning Environment Award winners.

The awards recognize extraordinary and exemplary contributions to the learning environment by fulltime teaching faculty in one or more of the following areas: Teaching, Scholarly and Creative Engagement, Institutional Responsibility, and Service to the college or the community.

Winners of Learning Environment Awards for Spring 2015

Vanessa Sekinger

Kelley Lloyd

April Morgan

Leigh Hancock

Patricia Parker

Mike Read

Carolyn Pevey

Carrie Lowry

Brenda Robinson

Jean Lauzon

Eric Vanover

David Marsich

Brent Wilson

Wen Maier

Angela Sheaffer

Camille Mustachio

Jerry Miller

Diane Merkel

Brenda Dixon

Marie Messier

Jamie Lennahan

John Stroffolino

Gayle Wolfe

Monique Lewis

Kellie Bradshaw

Gretchen Warren

Julie Fasano

Jessica Matheson

Maury Wrightson

Shawn Shields-Maxwell

Germanna helping vets through mentorships and credit for life experience

Bill Anderson

GRANT HELPING GERMANNA HELP VET STUDENTS THROUGH MENTORSHIPS AND EVALUATING LIFE EXPERIENCE TO BE TURNED INTO COLLEGE CREDIT

Germanna Community College is one of five Virginia Community College System schools at which veteran students will benefit from a U.S. Department of Labor grant.

Click here to listen as Allie Dudley, Bill Anderson and Nicole Geisenhof talk about veterans and Germanna.

GCC has received $150,000 earmarked to provide veterans with community college credits for past military service and training and to establish a mentoring program for vets that will help pair them up with business leaders in the area.

Bob Dixon, who heads the veterans program at Germanna, said the move answers the question, “When am I gonna get more credit for all this good stuff I did in the service?”

He said said the grant has allowed Germanna to hire two part time employees to assist in this effort.

“These people will provide increased capacity to serve our veteran students,” Dixon said. “I’m excited about the mentoring in particular.”

He said this is a pilot program, but he hopes it becomes “a sustained effort.”

 Virginia’s veteran population is growing. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the commonwealth will be home to nearly 850,000 veterans by the year 2017.

Dixon says over 500 Germanna students have declared themselves as veterans as G.I. Bill users and that “the actual number is always higher than that.” He said the number is growing steadily from semester to semester.

Allie Dudley

Allie Dudley, GCC's Advanced Standing Counselor, will help veteran students get the academic credits earned through experience, and William T. Anderson, veterans mentor supervisor, will enlist

“I’m excited about the mentoring piece in particular,” Dixon said. “Our plan is to help student vets early in their academic careers to engage people in the community who will remove barriers and give real world advice on what to study and how to break into careers.”

William T. Anderson, a retired Marine Corps colonel, will work for Dr. Sarah Somerville, head of counseling at the Locust Grove Campus, but will be based in Dickinson Building room 108A at the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania. He will also work with Marie Hawley of the GCC new Career & Transfer Center.

Anderson spent 33 years with the Marine Corps and Department of Defense as a lawyer and 18 years working for NATO in Europe. Since 2010, he has been an adjunct faculty member at the Command and Staff College Distance Education Program of the Marine Corps University.

Students in the program will meet with their mentors twice a month and attend related events and social gatherings.  The program runs for one academic year, from August to May.  Students may withdraw from the program at anytime. 

Anderson is an expert and published author on the Marine Corps in World War I.

Dudley, Germanna’s Advanced Standing Counselor, will be able to help more veterans thanks to the grant.

She’s a U.S. Army spouse who has worked at an American military installation in Italy advising vets and their families.

She said military experience, other past work experience and certifications can translate into college credit. Combined with College Level Examination Program credit and the option of taking courses online, vets should find the idea of going back to school less daunting.

To learn more, contact Anderson at wanderson@germanna.edu or 540/891-3023 and Allie Dudley at adudley@germanna.edu or 540/834-1057.