The music may be mellow, however the mood will be anything but on Saturday, September 22, when Big Bend Community College hosts Fall Fest – “a jammin’ good time!”
This year's fundraiser will feature the musical talents of Avocet, a band whose members are all current or retired BBCC faculty and administrators. Last year’s performers included Steve Close, Jim Hamm, Joe Rogers, Wayne Freeman and Roger Glaese.
The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the ATEC Plaza, Building 1800 on the BBCC campus. In addition to serving up a good dose of music set against a campus background, guests will enjoy a fantastic Caribbean barbecue and the chance to meet fellow supporters of the college.
Proceeds from the fundraiser go toward the Exceptional Faculty Award Fund. The BBCC Foundation started this fund in 1992 with a donation of $25,000. More than 35 faculty members have utilized the funding since 2000.
Recently English Instructor Matthew Sullivan and History Instructor Chris Riley utilized awards.
Sullivan attended a four-week residency program at the Vermont Studio Center. This was an opportunity for Sullivan to focus on his own writing and discuss student issues and curriculum development with other professional educators.
Riley used his award to attend a week-long workshop offered in Boston by the National Endowment for the Humanities on John Adams. He spent the week working with political scientists. His purpose for attending was to expand the history curriculum offered at BBCC.
“It is important for a small, rural college like BBCC to have faculty development funding that will always be available, regardless of state funding,” said BBCC Foundation Executive Director Doug Sly.
While the BBCC Foundation raises and invests the funds, it has no role in making the awards. The awards are approved by college faculty, administrators and trustees.
The fund is designed to assist full-time and adjunct faculty members fund development projects. The BBCC Foundation makes $13,000 available for faculty development each year. Awards vary based on individual requests, but most are about $2,000.
Reservations are $45 each, attendees must be 21 years of age. For more information about the fundraiser, contact Nancy Cook at the BBCC Foundation, at nancyc@bigbend.edu or (509)793-2006. Visit http://bigbend.edu/aboutbigbend/BBCCFoundation/Pages/default.aspx for more information about Fall Fest.
Posted Aug. 27, 2007.