CATALYST v24n1 - Editor's Page
Editor's Page
Darrel A. Clowes
This volume begins our twenty-fourth year of publication. Appropriately our articles represent the issues that have been with us for all those years but also represent the new thinking our authors bring to the issues. Patricia McIlvain and Joe St. George return us to our roots in community service and continuing education as they remind us of the special needs of those over fifty and describe a unique program to meet those needs. After fifty we all need to reflect on our lives and our place within our family constellations. Pat and Joe urge involvement with current technologies and interests as a vehicle to allow individuals to , in their term, "actualize" by using a computer and a guided writing program to share memories with family members. This is a special program and a special activity that has had meaning for many adults. It has been a useful addition to the adult education offerings of several community colleges. They present it to us in these pages.
As Pat and Joe's article "Sharing Memories" represents the community service dimension of our work, Steve Katsinas' continuation of his exploration of workforce development represents a competing dimension. Economic development represents the ties to the economy now dominant in community colleges; it also represents the revenue generating aspect of continuing education. In this continuation of his discussion, Steve explores traditional and non-traditional aspects of community college involvement in economic development. He then goes on to explore the public policy issues underlying economic development and in particular the possible role of community colleges in the Clinton Administration's economic development policies.
Leitzel and Clowes write about the reactions within the community college field to a book, The Diverted Dream, many saw as critical of community colleges. It is offered here to provide perspective on the ongoing debate about the mission and role of the community college.
The Opinion Piece this issue is provided by Philip Vendetti who looks to merge an old idea, professional development training, with a newer idea, the community college as clearinghouse. We conclude this issue with David Deckelbaum's selection from the ERIC data base of recent writings on non credit course offerings in the community college and the Index for Volume XXIII.