Piedmont Technical College fall 2024 convocation marks ‘start of something new’

Days before classes resumed, nearly 300 Piedmont Technical College (PTC) faculty and staff members gathered Aug. 13 for the fall 2024 convocation in the James Medford Family Center on the Greenwood campus.

“This is the start of something new, something that is refreshing,” PTC President Dr. Hope E. Rivers said during her State of the College address. “I hope that you can feel the momentum that Piedmont Technical College has. I hope that you can see the progress that we have made so far, and we’re just scratching the surface.”

In addition to discussing a career communities initiative, enrollment growth and employee engagement efforts, Rivers highlighted recent renovations to the James C. Self Conference Center.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of where we want to go,” said Rivers, who spoke about plans to improve the Medford Center, renovate the library and build a new Health Sciences building on the Greenwood campus and establish advanced manufacturing centers in Edgefield and Saluda counties.

“It is important because we want to attract talent,” Rivers said. “We want to retain talent, and we know that our faculty and staff enjoy working in the best spaces, and that’s the same for our students. We also know that our parents feel more comfortable when they are a part of something that’s growing and developing.”

Rivers said PTC’s past accomplishments and future plans are part of the vision “for Piedmont Tech to become a premier community college.”

“I’m going to say it over and over again so that we all are on the same page in terms of what our goal is,” she said.

“We are well on our way to becoming a premier community college,” Rivers said. “We have to make sure that our eyes remain open and our willingness to dream remains true. So Piedmont, I ask you to join me in sharing the vision of becoming the premier community college.”

Award-winning faculty and staff recognized

Dr. Keli Fewox, vice president for academic affairs at PTC, recognized seven faculty and staff members during convocation who received awards. They included:

• National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Visionary Award: Lakeya Jenkins
• National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Staff Excellence Award: Kendra LaGreca
• South Carolina Technical Education Association Administrator of the Year: Dr. Donna Foster
• South Carolina Technical Education Association Faculty of the Year: Phillip Calhoun
• South Carolina Technical Education Association Staff of the Year: Nicole Fuller
• Wade Martin Award: MODELS Academy – Steve Coleman and Courtney Smith

 Speakers discuss artificial intelligence and motivation

The event also included speeches by Dr. Emma Zone, senior director of academic affairs for D2L, and motivational speaker Jean Briese.

Appearing via Zoom, Zone presented an overview of artificial intelligence and how instructors can use it as a useful tool for crafting quiz questions and other tasks. Briese offered advice on how people can increase their personal happiness and professional productivity.

“The most important words you hear every day are the words you say to yourself because we believe what we tell ourselves,” Briese said. “We need to talk to ourselves like we’re talking to our own best friend, because our friends don’t let us put ourselves down.”