Wallace State welding program chair Jim Thompson discusses the NC3 safety procedures his department has instituted. / Wallace State
HANCEVILLE – Wallace State Community College’s administrators and instructors presented to local businesses and industries recently during their annual Strategic Analysis Team meeting.
“This is an important meeting mandated by the federal Carl D. Perkins Act and an important day for us to get together with some of our industry partners. We share with them how we’ve spent our Perkins funding for the previous year and ask them for advice as to how proceed with next year’s funding,” said Jimmy Hodges, Wallace State’s Dean of Applied Technologies. “It also gives our administrators the chance to know the industry leaders better.”
Administrators presenting at the luncheon were Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics, College Dean Dr. Johnny McMoy and Hodges.
Wallace State instructors Dr. Ken Crow (respiratory therapy), Allen Patterson (emergency medical services) and Jim Thompson (welding) discussed their recent department upgrades to those in attendance, and Hodges presented in place of Jeremy Smith (diesel technology) as Smith is currently in Louisville, Kentucky, at the national SkillsUSA competition.
Wallace State’s EMS program is enjoying the fruits of a new state-of-the-art ambulance, giving the students a real-life classroom as they train. Wallace State’s welding department is now equipped with NC3 tool kits, assuring safety throughout the department’s working area.
Students can attain National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) credentials through Wallace State’s Technical Division.
“It’s important for all programs on campus to have the most sophisticated equipment available, while also stressing safety in the workplace,” Hodges said.
Wallace State’s Career Technical Division requests funding each year through the Carl D. Perkins Act. Federal funding is distributed to Wallace State to aid programs such as EMS acquiring the new ambulance trainer.
Doctor Kelley Jones provided an update about the Wallace State-Oneonta campus, discussing the impact the facility has had on the community and the excitement behind the new welding and EMS classes.
Business and industry representatives at the meeting were also allowed to offer suggestions to the Wallace State administrators and instructors and provided updates about their respective goals and plans.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve. We want to be better at what we do and we want our students to be preferred candidates when they enter the workplace,” Hodges said.
For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu.
