Leaders from Wayne Community College were among more than 300 representatives of community colleges from across the state who gathered last week in Raleigh to advocate for the NC Community College System’s legislative priorities.
From Wayne Community College, Trustees Ven Faulk, Geoff Hulse, and Veda McNair joined President Patty Pfeiffer in participating in the day’s events, which highlighted the importance of community colleges in this state.
Among the speakers at the Community College Day event were NC Senate Pro Tem Phil Berger, NC House Speaker Tim Moore and chairs of powerful education and appropriations committees. All legislators emphasized the critical mission of the community colleges to train and retrain the state’s workforce.
“Businesses know what they need from their workers, and community colleges know how to build a workforce,” Berger said.
Legislators also commended the community college leaders for their work at all 58 campuses. “Community Colleges are 58 strong in North Carolina and are truly the lifeblood of workforce development and education improvement in our state,” Moore said.
The NC Community College System is advocating for a legislative agenda focused on students and employees as community colleges work to support the businesses in their communities. The legislature is currently holding its long session when budget matters are decided for a two-year biennium.
“Meeting with our state legislators and advocating for the local community college priorities, as well as the system-wide priorities, was very important,” said Pfeiffer.
“Wayne Community College is very fortunate to have three state legislators who understand and appreciate the importance of the educational opportunities the college provides our students and the overall impact that it has on the economic propensity of our community, she said. “I am very appreciative of Rep. John Bell, Rep. Jimmy Dixon, and Sen. Buck Newton for sitting down with myself and our trustees to have an open and honest dialogue about the college, our needs, and future opportunities.”
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves 10,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 165 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.
