Guilford Technical Community College has joined North Carolina Campus Compact, expanding the network to 36 colleges, universities, and community colleges. These member institutions are committed to educating engaged citizens and strengthening local communities.
GTCC joins five other community colleges in the NC Campus Compact network: Central Piedmont Community College, Davidson County Community College, Durham Technical Community College, Wake Technical Community College, and Western Piedmont Community College.
As a member campus, Guilford Tech can access resources and professional development for faculty, staff, and students who are leading community engagement programs. Such programs seek to connect student learning, faculty expertise, and other campus resources to address community challenges like hunger, poverty, and educational disparities.
As the third largest of 58 community colleges in the North Carolina Community College System, GTCC serves more than 40,000 students annually from its five campuses and its Small Business Center. GTCC is recognized nationally for its work in student success and economic and work force development.
In September, Guilford Tech became one of eight NC community colleges selected to participate in the North Carolina Roadmap to Excellence Project, an initiative which seeks to identify best practices that boost student success, including degree completion rates. The Aspen Institute (which also conceived the Franklin Project) will work with the schools using tools developed for through its College Excellence Program. Funding for the Roadmap project is provided by the John M. Belk Endowment.
North Carolina Campus Compact is one of 34 state and regional affiliates of the national Campus Compact network, headquartered in Boston and comprising nearly 1,100 schools. The national group was founded in 1985 by the presidents of Brown, Georgetown, and Stanford universities and the president of the Education Commission of the States. The founding leaders sought to “challenge higher education to re-examine its public purposes and its commitments to the democratic ideal.”
Each year more than 500 individuals participate in North Carolina Campus Compact events and trainings, and nearly 2,000 subscribers access the monthly e-newsletters and an online, peer-reviewed journal. The Compact also provides grants to member campuses to support community volunteerism, civic engagement, and community partnerships.
Campus Compact is a “presidential membership organization” – a school’s president or chancellor joins on behalf of the campus; and all faculty, staff, and students can take advantage of network resources and events. Schools renew their membership annually.
Guilford Technical Community College is led by President Randy Parker, who came to the school in 2011 after serving eight years as president of Vance-Granville Community College. Dr. Parker began his career in the community college system as a General Engineering Instructor at Lenoir Community College.