The Calhoun Community College Workforce Solutions (CWS) team partnered with Senior Helpers, a local home healthcare company, to offer aspiring Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA’s) paid training opportunities.  

 According to Diane Peck, CWS Project Manager, the college’s 6-week CNA training program provides real-world hands-on teaching. Students work on-site at an assigned long-term healthcare facility and are required to complete 20-hour clinical rotation shifts. They also receive lecture training that equips them with the knowledge and skillset necessary to immediately enter the workforce and provide direct patient care.   

 “CNA’s are very hard to come by, with many senior citizens being directly affected by the shortage,” comments Peck. “Sometimes it’s months until some senior citizens are assigned an at-home CNA, which has only worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic,” she added. In an attempt to assist with retaining and attracting new individuals to the nursing field, Governor Ivey reallocated $12.3M in CARES Act funding to assist with Alabama’s nursing shortage.  

 The $799 Senior Helpers Scholarship covers fees such as training, background check and drug screening, as well as the 2-part TB skin testing. Students who receive the scholarship automatically become employed with Senior Helpers. The only out-of-pocket cost to the students is $75 for the state certification exam fee. 

 Upon successful completion of the program, students will be eligible to sit for the state board exam, become certified, and be listed on the Alabama Nurse Aide Registry. 

 Classes begin April 18, 2022. To learn more about this program or to apply, visit www.calhoun.edu/cna. 

Decatur, AL – Calhoun Community College staff member, David Nemeth, will host a student mentor workshop as well as a screening for his local feature film, Role Model. Both events will be held on Thursday, March 24 at 3:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Building – Recital Hall, Alabama Center for Arts (Downtown Decatur).

According to Nemeth, the workshop and screening will provide invaluable information to Calhoun students who are interested in learning more about filmmaking, as well as how to create one from start to finish. “Creating films has been a long-time passion of mine, and my goal with this workshop is to provide attendees with tips and tricks I wish I had known early on,” said Nemeth.

Role Model follows a self-centered young man who skips town when he learns his wife is pregnant, all the while haunted by his estranged father who tries to help his son see the error of his ways before losing his family forever. It’s a heart-wrenching tale of a man reconnecting with his father to overcome his own faults and fears and face life head-on.

“At its heart, Role Model is a film about passing on the lessons we’ve learned to future generations, even if we have had to learn those lessons the hard way,” says Nemeth. “To have a platform to share my movie and teach students about filmmaking and the film industry is exciting. Passing on the knowledge we learn is a touchstone of our industry, and I can think of no better place than to do that than at the Alabama Center for the Arts,” Nemeth adds.

The Alabama Center for the Arts was created to provide individuals who are interested in an Arts career or hobby such as music, graphic design, performing arts, pottery, or painting with the high-quality training to pursue their dreams. “Our programs are blessed to have instructors who possess industry experience to teach our courses,” commented Dr. Donna Estill, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences. “We have quite a few students who have graduated and are now on television, in popular theatre leagues, as well as in the music industry. We are excited to hear first-hand from David about his film successes over the years,” added Estill.

To learn more about programs at the Alabama Center for the Arts, visit www.alabamacenterforthearts.org. All media inquiries should contact Calhoun’s Public Relations Team at 256-306-2560 or 256-306-2965.

The Calhoun Community College Dental Assisting Program is seeking continuing accreditation through the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). The Program is engaged in a thorough self-study process designed to maintain and improve the quality of the educational program. A team of CODA site reviewers will be visiting to meet with College administration, program faculty, students, and community partners June 14-15th, 2022.

Faculty, students, program graduates, community partners, dental organizations, patients, and/or consumers are encouraged to submit comments about Calhoun’s Dental Assisting Program to the Commission.

Comments must pertain only to CODA standards relative to the program or policies and procedures used in the accreditation process. Signed or unsigned comments will be considered.  Signatures are removed from comments prior to forwarding them to the dental assisting program.   The Commission does not intervene on behalf of individuals or act as a court of appeal for individuals in matters of admission, appointment, promotions or dismissal of faculty, staff, or students. Comments are screened by Commission staff. If comments are not relevant to accreditation, the individual will be notified and referred to the appropriate agency. Deadline for comments: April 13, 2022.

A copy of the current dental assisting accreditation standards and/or the Commission’s policy on third-party comments may be obtained by contacting:

Commission on Dental Accreditation

211 East Chicago Avenue

Chicago, Illinois  60611

1-312-440-4653

The Calhoun College Foundation is excited to announce it has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation and will be presented with a jumbo check. The presentation will take place on Wednesday, March 2, 11:00 a.m., in the Exhibit Hall of the Advanced Technology Center (ATC), on the College’s Decatur Campus, US Hwy 31 North, Tanner, AL.

According to Johnette Davis, Calhoun Foundation Director, the funds were awarded by the Gene Haas Foundation in exchange for naming rights to the college’s Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Lab inside of its Advanced Technology Center on the Decatur campus. The CNC lab, also known as the high bay, is now called The Gene Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing. In conjunction with renaming the college’s lab, the grant will also help fund any expansion plans, as well as create more training opportunities for future manufacturing technology students.

“The Gene Haas Foundation has been a consistent supporter of our advanced manufacturing students through scholarships over the years,” commented John Holley, Calhoun Dean of Technologies. “Calhoun’s technologies programs are recognized across the region as one of the best workforce development training facilities, and by partnering with The Gene Haas Foundation, that has only strengthened our efforts,” added Holley.

Gene Haas is the American founder, president, and sole stockholder of Haas Automation, a CNC machine tool manufacturer. Haas Automation is the largest machine tool manufacturer in the United States. With over 45 state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing learning labs at top-level institutions across the nation, its ultimate goal is to provide the best CNC training and advanced manufacturing education possible. The training is designed to increase the supply of highly skilled graduates available to meet the needs of local and regional industries. “It is an extraordinary honor for Calhoun’s Advanced Manufacturing Center to bear the Gene Haas name, and we are deeply grateful to The Gene Haas Foundation for its partnership and shared vision,” commented Davis.

In 2014, the Gene Haas Foundation established a partnership program with top CNC training facilities in North America to help expand their capacity for training highly qualified manufacturing technology professionals, and meet the growing need for skilled workers in the advanced manufacturing industries. The Foundation expanded this initiative to Europe in 2018 and currently endorses the best CNC training programs worldwide.

The official renaming of the building and ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place later in the year.

To learn more about Calhoun’s Technologies Programs, visit www.calhoun.edu/technologies.

ABOUT GENE HAAS FOUNDATION

The Gene Haas Foundation was established in 1999, by Haas Automation, Inc., Founder and CEO Gene Haas, to support the needs of the local community, through grants to such local charities as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Food Share, Rescue Mission, and others.

Seeing a growing need for skilled manufacturing employees industry-wide, the Foundation expanded its mission to include support for manufacturing training programs throughout North America and beyond. By providing scholarship grants, sponsoring individual and team CNC competitions, and partnering with the very best CNC training programs in the world, the Foundation helps expand the availability of high-quality manufacturing technology training worldwide.

The Gene Haas Foundation donates millions of dollars every year to manufacturing education and the community. In 2020, the Gene Haas Foundation provided more than $17 million in grants, bringing the total since inception to more than $100 million.

Today, Calhoun Community College hosted Dr. Rolundus Rice, aka “The Dapper Dean”, for its Annual Black History Month Program.

From overcoming tough obstacles in his personal life to his current success, Rice has no ordinary story. The Atlanta, GA native had firsthand experiences with hardships as a troubled youth who spent his elementary years in the behavior and learning disorders programs in the Dekalb County School System in Metropolitan Atlanta. Having made it to high school, Rice continued to give school a chance until he received his cumulative GPA, which was 1.42. That is when he immediately became defeated and decided to drop out of school in the 9^th grade.

His story did not end there. Rice became determined to pursue school again and started with obtaining a GED, which he successfully did. Inspired by the power of learning, he enrolled at DeVry University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He also graduated Magna Cum Laude from Alabama State University where he obtained a Master of Arts in History. His collegiate endeavors continued as he obtained the Doctor of Philosophy in History from Auburn University, making him the first GED recipient to earn a Ph.D. in Auburn’s 163-year history.

Rice continued to achieve great milestones in his life, entering into university leadership at the young age of 33. He was appointed Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, and was recognized as one of the youngest academic deans at an accredited four-year institution in the United States. The “Dapper Dean,” as he was affectionately referred to by his students, was responsible for leading the reorganization of the History, English, Music, Mass Media, and Fine Arts curricula. He was also instrumental in securing a $1.25 million implementation cluster grant from the United Negro College Fund’s (UNCF) Career Pathways Initiative to fund projects to increase Talladega College students’ chances of finding meaningful employment upon graduation. Dr. Rice’s subsequent work and experiences at various institutions of higher education include Chief Diversity Officer, Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, and Central Region Director of Adult Education.

A thought leader, orator, professor, and university administrator, Rice has used these platforms to inspire thousands of students to earn high school diplomas, baccalaureate, and advanced degrees by sharing his life experiences. His “Pilgrimage to Purpose” narrative arc, which he has shared with more than 800,000 people, chronicles his life from a GED to a Ph.D. recipient.

Rice is a professionally-trained historian who has taught a variety of lower and upper division undergraduate courses, including World History, United States History, The Civil Rights Movement, and American Religious History. His research and publishing agenda is focused squarely on the Modern Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Rice’s book, Hosea Williams: A Lifetime of Defiance and Protest was recently published by the University of South Carolina Press. This book is the first scholarly biography on one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s closest lieutenants and organizer of the Selma to Montgomery march and subsequent “Bloody Sunday.”

He has also worked in the non-profit sector, where he coordinated many of the strategic initiatives for the Southern Youth Leadership Development Institute in Montgomery, Alabama, under the direction of Ms. Doris Crenshaw. He has also worked at The Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia, where he served as the Special Assistant to Dr. Bernice King, who is the youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King.  After the tragic death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Dr. Rice traveled with Ms. King as part of a team that included civil rights activists and trainers that engaged educators, law enforcement officers, civic leaders, gang members, and business leaders in the philosophy and techniques of her father.

Dr. Rice has also been identified as a subject-matter expert on the Civil Rights Movement and has been interviewed by CNN, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Montgomery Advertiser.

As the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Dapper Dean Education Empowerment Firm, Dr. Rice sees the world as a global classroom and grooming ground for greatness. For additional information, please visit his website at www.thedapperdean.com.

Rice currently serves as the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs at Rust College and is married to the former Dana Lee. They have four children: Madison, Marley, Rolundus II and Remington.

For more information about this event, visit www.calhoun.edu/blackhistory.

Calhoun Community College will host its first-ever etiquette dinner at the Doubletree by Hilton Decatur Riverfront on Thursday, February 24, 2022. The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres and networking, followed by dinner and a presentation.

According to Kelli Morris, Calhoun’s Career Services Director, the training will be conducted by Laura Kerner, President of Kerner Consulting, who will teach dining etiquette. “The goal of this event is to not only provide our students with hands-on training but also to educate them on how to lead or engage in conversations with a future employer, as well as how to answer tough questions. In the world of career training, we understand how vital these skills are, and wanted to ensure we provided our students with an opportunity to learn them before entering the workforce,” added Morris.

Local business representatives such as 3M, Redstone Federal Credit Union, Huntsville Utilities, and many more will network and observe the student’s etiquette style as they enjoy dinner and converse. BASF and H2L Solutions, Inc. will also be in attendance as they are the sponsors for this year’s event.

To learn more about Calhoun’s etiquette dinner training, visit www.calhoun.edu/etiquettedinner  or contact Rachel Reid, Work-Based Learning Coordinator at 256-306-2880.

The Calhoun Community College Administration team has decided to waive all graduation fees for students who plan to participate in the college’s annual commencement ceremony on May 12 at 6:00 p.m.

According to Interim President, Dr. Jimmy Hodges, the fees being waived for students includes their cap and gown purchase, as well as the cost for diploma covers. “It’s been difficult for our students, faculty, and staff to maneuver around the continuous COVID restrictions these past two years,” commented Hodges. “But this year, for 2022, we are planning to celebrate the accomplishments of our students like never before,” he added.

“Every year, the logistics of planning graduation continues to be difficult as the college is always at the mercy of Mother Nature to determine whether or not the ceremony will be held on the front lawn of campus or in the gymnasium where occupancy restrictions are a burden,” said Hodges. In the event of rain, the college is forced to hold the ceremony in the Kelley Gymnasium, which has a maximum capacity of 2,500 people, preventing students who are walking to invite all of their family and friends. “The weather in our region is very hard to predict in May, and has brought too many uncertainties in the past on graduation day. This year, I’ve asked the Calhoun Graduation Committee and the Administration team to work with me to help remove all obstacles that would prevent our students from having their family and friends present as they walk across the graduation stage, and we did just that. Calhoun is excited to announce that for the first time in the college’s history, graduation will be held in the arena at the Von Braun Center (VBC) in Huntsville,” added Hodges.

School officials hope this new decision will not only help increase graduation participation numbers, but also that a record turnout of family and friends will be in attendance to help celebrate the great accomplishments of its students. The VBC arena can seat 6,000 people, and the college felt it was the best solution. During rain, the college would hold graduation in the gym where students were given a limited number of tickets to provide to family and friends to attend. Others who did not have tickets were allowed to sit in a designated overflow section on campus to view the graduation ceremony virtually.

“Our students work so hard throughout their time at Calhoun to earn their certificates/degrees, and we most certainly feel they deserve to not be limited on the number of family and friends to invite on their milestone day,” commented Dr. Patricia Wilson, Calhoun Vice President of Student Services. “We are looking forward to starting a new tradition at the college. We hope this solution not only excites our students but that it also encourages them to allow us to celebrate them as they deserve,” added Wilson.

The college has not announced its graduation speaker. For more information about Calhoun’s graduation, please visit www.calhoun.edu/graduation.