Advisory committee for Cape community college announced

Few of the community leaders responsible for bringing Cape Girardeau County's new community college center to inception will continue guiding the project.

Friday, the Cape Girardeau Partnership for Higher Education announced the 16-member advisory committee that will take the torch for the expanding education services in the area.

The group includes representation from the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson, three school districts, the participating colleges and six members of business and industry.

An 11-member coalition of education and community leaders funded a study and put together an agreement to establish community college services in the county. Their plan, a collaboration between schools, colleges and a university, was approved by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education in December.

Of the group, three members will continue working on the project: Rich Payne, director of the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center; Dr. Tonya Buttry, president of the Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences; and Gary Rust, chairman of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian. Kathy Swan, a local businesswoman and member of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, was also heavily involved with the project and will serve on the committee.

The presidents of the three primary institutions, Southeast Missouri State University, Three Rivers Community College and Mineral Area College, were members of the coalition and chose the committee representatives. The composition of the group was outlined by the coalition's agreement. Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins said it was not intentional that many of the coalition members did not end up on the committee.

The new faces will be primarily the business members of the committee. Mineral Area and Three Rivers trustees, members of the board of regents and school superintendents attended some coalition meetings.

Classes will start in the summer with a biology course at Cape Girardeau Central High School. The full slate of courses, more than 40, will be offered in the fall at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center. An enrollment date for fall classes has not been set.

Renovations to the center started last week to create an office and prepare four classrooms, Payne said. Three Rivers and Southeast are investing up to $50,000 each for preparations, Dobbins said.

Payne, who also serves on the new committee, said the group will provide a transition between the work of the coalition and the new leadership. Its primary goal will be to make sure the partnership is working smoothly and serving students, he said.

"That's going to be the trick is to make sure the management of the system we set up is conducive," he said.

Dobbins said the center will not have a director initially. Enrollment, he said, will determine the leadership needs of the project. The partnership already employs an adviser.

The committee will primarily advise the three presidents and governing boards, said Dr. Steven Kurtz, president of Mineral Area College. The group is expected to start meeting in the summer and hold at least two meetings per year, he said.

The respective institutions will handle funding to the partnership. Mineral Area already funds associate of applied science programs. The cost to provide the new courses and associate of art programs will be split between Southeast and Three Rivers.

Kurtz said it was important to include both Cape Girardeau hospitals because the coalition had considered a study on program expansions in allied health. The committee, Kurtz said, will be able to make suggestions about expanding programs, facilities or establishing a taxing district.

"They can explore that, if they like, down the road," he said.

The 16-member committee includes:

* Mike Smythe, KFVS12 vice president and general manager

* Gary Rust, Chairman of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian

* Wayne Smith, vice president of development and administrative services for Saint Francis Medical Center

* Mary Burton-Hitt, executive director of the Southeast Missouri Hospital Foundation

* Kathy Swan, owner of JCS/Tel-Link and Cape Girardeau City Council member

* Linda Greaser, external relations leader for Procter & Gamble's Cape Girardeau facility

* Barbara Lohr, Jackson mayor

* Dr. Loretta Schneider, Cape Girardeau City Council member

* Dr. Jim Welker, superintendent of the Cape Girardeau School District

* Dr. Ron Anderson, superintendent of the Jackson School District

* Nate Crowden, superintendent of the Delta School District

* Rich Payne, director of the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center

* Dr. Tonya Buttry, president of the Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences

* Marion Tibbs, member of the Three Rivers board of trustees

* Gary Romine, member of the Mineral Area board of trustees

* Al Spradling III, vice president of Southeast's Board of Regents

The representatives will serve three-year staggered terms. Smythe and Rust were appointed to three-year terms, Smith and Burton Hitt will serve two-year terms and Swan and Greaser will serve one year. The schools, colleges and cities will have constant representation on the board, Kurtz said. The group is expected to start meeting in the summer and hold at least two meetings per year.

abusch@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1080 S. Silver Springs Road Cape Girardeau, MO