North Carolina A&T State University and Guilford Technical Community College recently announced a new joint partnership that will give GTCC students an opportunity to apply for joint admission to N.C. A&T’s College of Engineering, beginning this fall.

Representatives from both institutions formalized the agreement March 26, during an official signing of the documents at GTCC’s Greensboro campus.

The partnership is intended to improve access to undergraduate STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, to provide coordinated services and activities in support of student retention and to increase graduation rates.

“N.C. A&T has long-been committed to the education of STEM professionals and leaders on the local, regional and national levels. This partnership with GTCC will enable the university to better meet our nation’s growing need for qualified STEM professionals,” said Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. “A&T’s vision is to become the institution of choice for some of the world’s best and brightest students and it is only natural for us to form strategic partnerships like the one we're announcing today with GTCC.”

The co-admission agreement is the first of its kind for both institutions and for the state in the field of engineering. Only a few dual-enrolled programs currently exist between North Carolina’s public universities and community colleges. Agreements like this support efforts by the state’s community college and university systems to improve the completion rates of students and to align with the UNC system’s new strategic plan.

“This new and exciting groundbreaking agreement supports several of GTCC’s major initiatives including our Completion by Design initiative we are leading for the state; our increasing focus on STEM programs to support economic development for Guilford County business and industry; and our continued cooperative efforts with the area’s higher education community,” said Randy Parker, president of GTCC. “It also provides a pathway to a bachelor’s degree at a lower cost for Guilford County citizens.”  

The partnership involves two components: a co-admission program agreement and an articulation agreement. Select students will be co-admitted to both GTCC and A&T simultaneously. In addition, a variety of benefits will be offered to co-admitted students including coordinated federal and financial aid disbursement; one application fee for N.C. A&T; special scholarship opportunities for Guilford County Schools’ graduates; coordinated student and academic services; a seamless transition to A&T’s upper-division coursework for students who maintain established academic standards during their first two years at GTCC; access to co-curricular programs (e.g. internships, student clubs), and coordinated degree completion.

The curriculum articulation agreement will allow successful students to apply 65 credits toward bachelor’s degrees in civil or mechanical engineering at A&T, giving students junior standing upon transition.

Five new lower division courses in engineering will be added to GTCC’s curriculum and include: Engineering Graphics, Introduction to Engineering, Engineering Statics, Engineering Dynamics and Engineering Materials.

GTCC hopes to enroll up to 30 students in the co-admission program by fall 2013. Students will be required to satisfy specific admission requirements in order to participate. The details of the application process are currently in development and will be finalized in April. Information about the program will be broadly marketed in Guilford County Schools.

Robin N. Coger, professor and dean of N.C. A&T’s College of Engineering, says that the new agreement will provide a path for the talented minds who live and work in the community and will further grow a well-educated STEM workforce.   

“It is an important step to ensuring that key stakeholders in the city of Greensboro have a pipeline source of talent to fuel the regional and statewide economic growth that is so important to us all,” Coger said.

The North Carolina A&T State University’s Department of Management is collaborating with the North Carolina Chapter of the Product Development Management Association (PDMA) to co-sponsor and host the 2013 Innovate Carolina Conference on Friday, April 12, in Merrick Hall Auditorium. The theme is Bridging the Gap between Idea Generation and Product Development.

In many firms many ideas are generated, but few are actually converted into new products, processes, and business models.  There are many reasons why so few ideas make the leap from concept to solution.  Join over 150 innovators, new product development and product management professionals and executives for an exciting day of learning about best practices, discussing ideas, and networking.

The highlights of the conference will include:  keynote presentations, breakout sessions, sponsors’ display tables, and student innovation competition and awards.

This year’s conference has an impressive list of presenters, including Chris Trimble, faculty member, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science; Dr. Eric Tomlinson, chief innovation officer, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and president, Piedmont Triad Research Park; and Dr. Scott Edgett, chief executive officer and co-founder of the Product Development Institute and Stage-Gate Inc. Among other session presenters are Pam Henderson, co-founder and CEO of New Edge, Inc.; Dennis Potter, vice president of innovation at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company; and Carol Strohecker, director at the Center for Design and Innovation.

To register, click here.

PDMA Carolina Chapter
The goal of the PDMA Carolina Chapter is to help business increase and realize their innovation potential.  The chapter brings its community value by providing opportunities to learn new ideas, approaches, and best practices from world class organizations as well as to network with peers through events and meetings throughout the year.

Department of Management, School of Business and Economics, N.C. A&T
The Department of Management offers three undergraduate programs – Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in management, B.S. in management with a concentration in management information systems and B.S. in management with a concentration in innovation and entrepreneurship. The department also offers a Master of Science in Management (M.S.M.), which includes concentrations in human resource management (HRM), accounting and supply chain systems. The department offers core and specialized courses in the areas of information systems, organizational behavior, strategic management, operations management, human resources management and entrepreneurship.

Performers from two cultures will bring traditional Persian and classical Western music together in a concert at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s Harrison Auditorium on Sunday, April 21. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Drs. Mahour Mellat Parast and Ken Hoppmann have performed together for 11 years in venues around the country. Parast plays the Persian tar, a string instrument similar to the lute and one of the major instruments of Iranian music and also is found in the music of Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Hoppmann is a classical pianist and music educator who performs in a variety of settings, including solo recitals and with symphony orchestras. He has recorded the music of Bach, Liszt and Schumann.

The performance, “Worlds Together,” will include solo and duet pieces. In the first part of the concert, Hoppmann will play several classical piano pieces, and Parast will play an improvisation in the Persian scales (or Dastgah) Esfahan, Abo-ata and Dashti. After an intermission, the musicians will perform duets in two scales, Dastgah Mahour (Introduction) and Dastgah Chahargah (Haft-Zarbi).

Parast was born in Iran. In addition to being an accomplished musician, he is an assistant professor of applied engineering technology at N.C. A&T. He has recorded “Freedom,” a CD of classical Persian music that is available online at CD Baby.

Hoppmann is director of music at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Neb. He has taught piano, piano pedagogy, music history, music theory, world music and rock music.