Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 15, 1993 TAG: 9305150185
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Southwest bureau
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
A huge transformation in manufacturing advances has happened in the last decade and can only accelerate in the next one, Arnold R. Oliver said in an interview Friday before giving the commencement speech at Wytheville Community College's graduation.
By the year 2000, he said, 75 percent of the work force will have to be retrained, and most of that training will be carried out by the schools such as the 23 community colleges on their 35 campuses.
He said the pattern of more older students coming to community colleges for new studies and training "is just the tip of the iceberg, and therein lies a whole new set of challenges."
It will take a big investment in infrastructure, he said, but he felt state government and the General Assembly were committed to funding it.
The community-college system has seen its total enrollment rise by as much as Virginia's largest student increase at a university, and he said the system is on the brink of establishing forms of communication they have never been able to participate in before.
He said it is not easy to visualize 35 campuses and 2,000 faculty members interlocked in a single communications system, but that is coming.
There will be advanced medical training available by telecommunications, he said. Libraries all across Virginia will be linked so any student anywhere in the state can check out a book from any library.
As their computer databases grow, he said, students will not even use printed materials but get their information directly on screens and print out only the hard copy they need to keep.
Oliver was concerned about the rising costs of community college tuition. "The increased tuition, particularly of these last three years, is in many ways an appalling turn of events," he said. "We're very, very concerned about pricing ourselves out of the market."
The state used to fund 80 percent of each student's tuition, he said. That has dropped to 63 percent, but the General Assembly has allowed community colleges to participate fully in available financial aid programs for the last two years. It is important for community colleges to stay accessible, he said.
Wytheville Community College had 262 graduates at its outdoor commencement.
Oliver was president of Danville Community College for five years before becoming chancellor in 1992. He said being familiar with a community college before becoming chancellor probably has helped him do his job.
"I think that it has. We'll see what the other presidents say in another year or so," he said.
He addressed graduates of Southwest Virginia Community College at their campus near Richlands on Thursday.
Today, he and his wife are attending another graduation ceremony at the University of Akron, Ohio, where their son will receive a master's degree in urban planning. Oliver said he was glad to be going to a graduation ceremony where he would not have to say anything.
by CNB