THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 26, 1994 TAG: 9409260080
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
The Dare County Campus of the College of the Albemarle celebrated its 10th anniversary Sunday of providing educational ``second chances'' to young people and adults in Northeastern North Carolina.
Nobody knows more about those second chances than Rocky Midgette, now a Manteo town commissioner.
``I went from being a garbage man to an Oxford man because of this place,'' Midgette said. ``I was picking up garbage when I decided to enroll here. I finished here, and went on to Amherst College. I got my B.A. there, and went on to Duke, where I was studying law and politics. I ran out of money. But I got accepted at Oxford to study literature. Then the Gulf war started, the bottom fell out of the dollar, and I lost about 20 percent of my money. So I came home and got involved in politics.''
Midgette gazed down the hall of the main building of the Dare campus. ``I love this place,'' he said.
There are countless stories of those who took advantage of a second chance later in life to better themselves educationally and economically through courses at the Dare campus.
As the campus prepared to open its doors in 1984, administrators expected 75 students. About 250 students enrolled for that first session. the campus now serves an average of 450 students quarterly.
J. Parker Chesson, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the North Carolina Department of Community Colleges, was president of COA when the Dare campus opened. He recalled the first time he saw the building that would become COA's home in Dare County. It was an abandoned roller rink, filled with old soda and beer bottles and trash. The only remnant of the building's glory days was a mirrored glass ball hanging from the ceiling.
``I remember looking at that building, and thinking, `Oh my gosh,'' he said. ``But the commissioners told us, `You tell us what you need, and we'll get it for you.' ``And they did, right down to the last light socket.''
Chesson said, ``One of the things I will always remember is the tremendous sense of pride that the people of Dare County had about the center. I remember one of the students coming to us and saying that we needed to change the name from Dare County Center to Dare County Campus, because she said the word `campus' implied so much more than the word `center.' It's evident that the students here are proud of this place.''
Winnie Wood, a member of the state Board of Community Colleges, said the greatest strength of the Dare County Campus, and the entire community college system is accessibility. The median age of students enrolled in the system is 31. Most have families, jobs, and other responsibilities.
``Ninety-five percent of the people in North Carolina live within 30 miles of a community college campus,'' she said. ``Many of these people have told us the difficult stories of working full time and returning to school, or learning to read as adults, or parents who juggle the responsibility of home and jobs with an education in an effort to better themselves. Because of that, this is an important day,'' she said.
North Carolina state Rep. Vernon James called the development of the community college system, ``the greatest thing that has happened to the state of North Carolina.'' James was a member of the commission established by former North Carolina Gov. Terry Sanford to study the creation of a community college system.
``What made America great was the establishment of land grant colleges,'' he said. ``The next great thing was the GI Bill. But the thing that has picked people up out of a mediocre life has been the community college.''
Rep. Bill Culpepper pointed out that the state appropriation for community colleges in the 1965-66 fiscal year was $11.6 million. the most recent budget included $425 million for the system.
``The amount of money is not important,'' said Culpepper. ``Everything costs more. But the percentage of appropriations to the system has increased from 2.16 percent in 1965-66 to 5 percent in the most recent budget.''
But according to state and local officials, the best is yet to come. Last November, voters approved a bond issue for expansion of the community college system, including the Dare COA campus.
Dare County Commission Chairman R.V. ``Bobby'' Owens Jr., pledged that the county would help in that effort. Under the bond issue, the county must provide some matching funds for the expansion.
``We're going to look at what the needs are,'' he said. ``We're going to help with the expansion, because this is important to the people of our county.''
While school and government officials had their eyes on the future Sunday, many looked back, and were moved by the memory of the college that began in a abandoned roller rink.
Virginia Tillett was there when the doors opened a decade ago.
``When I think of all the people my age who have come back to this school to get an education, it's something special,'' said Tillett, chairwoman of the Dare County Board of Education. She is the continuing-education coordinator and registrar at the Dare campus.
``To see this place transformed from a skating rink to a place of opportunity is something you'll never forget. This is a special place.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Donations
The College of the Albemarle's Dare County Campus has begun a
fund-raising effort to help supplement state and county
appropriations. Contributions can be sent to:
The College of the Albemarle Foundation
P.O. Box 2327
Elizabeth City, N.C. 27906-2327
by CNB