Board of trustees tours new education center
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on May 25, 2016 12:14 PM
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News-Argus/PHYLLIS MOORE
Don Magoon, center, Wayne Community College chief of administrative services, leads the board of trustees on a tour of the proposed Wayne Advanced Manufacturing Center on Tuesday evening. The former Bussmann plant building on Dixie Trail will house such programs as welding and heating and air conditioning, funded through NC Connect Bonds over the next three years. Also pictured from left, board member Joanne Roberts and Chairman Chris Martin, WCC associate vice president Dr. Gene Smith and Phil Baddour, board attorney.
The Wayne Community College board of trustees moved its meeting venue to the Advanced Manufacturing Center or Wayne WORKS Tuesday night, taking a tour of the site where several programs will move and getting an update on the presidential search.
Ever since the announcement that the former Cooper Bussmann building would be converted into a hub for specialized training, preparing students for employment in the advanced manufacturing sector -- paid in large part by an N.C. Connect Bond -- officials have been abuzz about the potential to enhance local business and industry.
Don Magoon, chief of administrative services, led the board on a 45-minute tour of the 78,0000-square-foot plant that was built in the mid-1970s and where he had spent 13 1/2 years of his career.
"It's a beautiful space," he said, as he painted a picture of what the completed project would look like over the next three years.
In addition to office space, a conference room, student lounge and classrooms, it will house the college's Small Business Center, WORKS (Wayne Occupational Readiness Keys for Success) and military business center. It will also become home to such programs as welding, industrial systems, mechatronics and heating and air conditioning.
The welding area alone, he pointed out, will reflect a large expansion.
"It's about 10,0000 square feet," he said of the wide open space that will be repurposed into classrooms, a lab and office area. "Our welding area now is just under 5,000 square feet, so it's almost double."
Board Chairman Chris Martin asked about the site's name, which has vacillated between the Advanced Manufacturing Center and Wayne WORKS. A sign in front of the gray and white building on Dixie Trail bears both names.
"We wanted to put a sign out (front) many months ago," Magoon said of the three entities putting money into the project, Wayne County Development Alliance, the county of Wayne and WCC. "We really wanted it to be something unique."
"And also, with the WORKS initiative, this is where Wayne Community works," WCC President Dr. Kay Albertson, said of the play on words. "It's about putting people to work."
"It suggests jobs," chimed in board member Veda McNair.
Mrs. Martin also updated the board on the presidential search, as Mrs. Albertson's Aug. 1 retirement draws closer.
"Our search is right on time," Mrs. Martin said. "We're down to six candidates."
She said interviews have been set up for June, with each visiting the campus over a two-week period.
She said board members, as well as the News-Argus, will be provided with a bio of each of the candidates in the running.
"We're very pleased with the applicant pool that we have," she said. "The committee has spent a lot of hours pouring over them.
"We're getting it down to the final group. Then, we'll choose probably our top two or three. We have to send those to the state for one more level of background checks and then we'll pick who we want."
The chairman cautioned the board about the importance of giving due consideration to every candidate in making an informed and fair decision about the next leader.
Mrs. Albertson, who noted that she has chosen to "remain quiet" throughout the board's process, weighed in on her own experience interviewing at both WCC and other places.
"I did three interviews, Wayne being one of them, and the worst interview for me was the one in which, of the 12 board members only six showed up," she said. "Now that said something to me as a potential candidate."
She encouraged the board to attend the interviews and pay attention -- to how candidates respond, their body language, and to take advantage of being able to ask spontaneous questions.
Board member Keith Stewart apologized in advance, announcing a pre-planned trip that will prevent his attending any of the interviews.
"I take that part of the job seriously and I hate to be gone," he said.
While the search process has gone well and is producing the desired results, Mrs. Martin acknowledged the trade-off of saying good-bye to the college's esteemed leader for the past nine years.
"Finding somebody to replace Dr. Kay Albertson is a tough job," she said.
"We're just getting somebody else. We're not replacing her," Mrs. McNair said.
Since the next meeting, in July, will be Mrs. Albertson's last in her official capacity, the board presented her with a painting of the college clock by one of the president's favorite local artists, Brenda Behr.