Message From the President
If you look up the word "college" in the American Heritage Dictionary, the one I use, you will see the authors have listed five definitions for the word. I am sure you know what they say and what the word means. American Heritage says a college is: a school of higher learning that grants degrees, a division of a university, a technical school or the building or buildings associated with these schools. But I like the fifth definition the best: a body of persons having a common purpose.
A body of persons having a common purpose is a wonderful way to describe the faculty and staff who work at Stanly Community College. So as you select a college for your future, I hope you will keep that important definition in mind. Our faculty and staff are dedicated to helping make our students successful and that will make all the difference in the world as you enroll in college and begin work on completing your educational goals. Whether you are seeking courses to transfer to a four-year college or university, an associate degree (two-years), or some of the shorter variations of programs of study we offer, the main purpose of the people who work at SCC is to help make you succeed.
If you live in this area, then you have many different options when it comes to pursuing studies in higher education. First, there are eight community colleges within about an hour’s drive of Albemarle. Next, you have another six public and private colleges and universities to choose from, not to mention several private professional schools. Then, of course, there are limitless options over the Internet. So, quite literally, the entire world of higher education is available to you as you consider your next college. It is all those choices that make us at Stanly Community College look so carefully at that fifth definition of a college that I cited above—the one about a group of people with a common purpose. With all the choices you can select from, we definitely need to have something that sets SCC apart from all the rest; and we think we have just that in an outstanding faculty and staff that is dedicated to your success. That is the one common purpose that drives us all.
And that one purpose has been the driving force behind our efforts since the college was chartered in 1971. SCC offered its first courses in 1972 and for the last 3.5 decades or so we have striven to make sure that all of our students were as successful as they worked to be.
And since 1972 over 6,000 graduates have left our institution of higher learning to continue to pursue their dreams. That includes almost 600 registered nurses, hundreds of law enforcement officers, nursing assistants, future teachers, day care workers, technologists, and countless other professions. But all those numbers really don’t add up too much for a potential student. They are the only student they really want to know about in regards to SCC. How will our college help you—just one student—achieve your educational dreams? We do that very well with that last definition of a college: a group of caring people with a common purpose . . . and our purpose is your success.
Dr. Michael R. Taylor
President