Baltimore City Community

Dr. Jim Tschechtelin was the center of attention at the U.S. Custom House -- just as planned. Almost 450 friends and supporters gathered to wish him well as he retires after serving 12 years as president of Baltimore City Community College. "It's nice to hear good things about someone you love," remarked Susan Tschechtelin, as she watched her husband greet many of the guests. Among those adding warmth to the room: Dr. Ellestine J. Grant, BCCC board chair; James E. Harris Sr., Dr. Francine Schaffer and Winston Smith, BCCC board members; Gino J. Gemignani Jr., BCCC Foundation board chair; Katrina R. Riddick, Deborah Knight-Kerr, Larry Bur, Dr. Bonnie S. Copeland, John Pipitone, Keith Vander Kolk, J.C. Weiss and Gary Konetzni, BCCC Foundation board members; Mark Tschechtelin, Becky and Perry Dillon, Carol and Mark Halstead, Tschechtelin family members; Charles Simmons, Sojourner-Douglass College president; Dr. Stuart Steiner, Genesee Community College president; Marion Pines, Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies senior fellow; Terry Laster, Educational Technology Inc. president; Elayne Hettleman, Leadership Baltimore County executive director; Alice Smith, Greater Baltimore Committee member services director; Michele Whelley, Downtown Partnership president; and Vernon Thompson, Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development assistant secretary.

Carolane Williams does not flinch when confronted with the particulars of her difficult year, which included an employee uprising and unwanted scrutiny from the leader of the state. "I knew I was going to have to tough it out," says the woman who has led Baltimore City Community College for the past five years. She regards the backlash as a natural byproduct of bold leadership, though others have accused her of pressing ahead on questionable decisions without regard for useful input.

ONE OF THE first buildings constructed in downtown Baltimore after the Great Fire of 1904 was, logically enough, a firehouse.Nearly 100 years later, that building is about to become a pioneer of another sort.Baltimore City Community College has leased the former city firehouse at 10 S. Gay St. for use as its Business and Continuing Education Center starting this month.Situated two blocks from the Market Place Metro stop, it will be a new setting for many of the college's noncredit courses in literacy, computer training and business management.

At a time when increasing numbers of Baltimore City high school graduates are choosing to attend community colleges instead of traditional four-year institutions, Gov. Martin O'Malley was right to try to shake up the leadership of the faltering Baltimore City Community College. BCCC desperately needs an infusion of new ideas and leadership if it is to fulfill its mission of preparing students for the academic rigors of a traditional college or university, or of giving them the skills they need to succeed in the work world.

IT WAS great to see the excitement on the face of Sylvester E. McKay as he met staff and surveyed part of his kingdom Thursday as the new president of Baltimore City Community College. McKay, 48, starts Aug. 5. He comes from the presidency of the College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, N.C., a school of about half the enrollment of BCCC but one that draws students from 1,800 square miles of northeastern North Carolina - from the rural poor to the wealthy owners of Atlantic beach homes.

Howard William Hammond, a Baltimore City Community College financial administrator who served as the school's interim president in the 1970s, died of congestive heart failure Dec. 14 at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Towson resident was 81. Born in Nashua, N.H., he began studies at Tufts University. But his studies were interrupted by his service in the Army. He was assigned to the Galapagos Islands during World War II and attained the rank of sergeant. After the war, he completed his undergraduate studies at Tufts and also received a master's degree in education at the New England college.

BCCC and CCBC. That's the lamentable alphabetical hodgepodge by which Baltimore City and Baltimore County community colleges, respectively, are divided. If it confuses you, rest assured that it also confuses headline writers and Bell Atlantic information operators.Never mind the thinking, or lack of it, that went into the naming of the two entities.It is enough to know that the two-campus Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) is celebrating its golden anniversary, while the three-campus Community Colleges of Baltimore County (CCBC)

WHEN THE old Baltimore Junior College opened in the late 1940s, 53 of its first 57 students were World War II veterans honing their job skills so they could re-enter the local work force.In 1959, when the college moved from 33rd Street to its West Baltimore campus at 2901 Liberty Heights Ave., most of its students were liberal arts and business majors.Today, the institution is known as Baltimore City Community College, and nearly half of its students are taking courses that will prepare them for careers in the life sciences, including nursing, dental hygiene, physical therapy, biology and biotechnology.

When James D. Tschechtelin became president of Baltimore City Community College in 1990, then-Gov. William Donald Schaefer told him it would be for a couple of years, until the dust cleared from the state's takeover of Baltimore's largest public college.Two years later, Dr. Tschechtelin signed a four-year contract, and the school's trustees recently renewed the pact until July 2000. "When you took the job," a friend told Dr. Tschechtelin, "we thought you'd have the life expectancy of a first lieutenant on the beach at Guadalcanal."

William James Cunningham walked onto the Baltimore Arena's stage yesterday before several thousand people, accepted his diploma and then leapt into his father's arms.After six years and two majors at Loyola College, Mr. Cunningham had finally graduated with the help of his father, Francis, a philosophy professor and assistant provost at the school."It's been a long time coming," said the senior, who hopes to teach math or work in the Peace Corps.Mr. Cunningham joined more than 2,400 men and women around Maryland yesterday in celebrating years of work on their final day as college undergraduate or graduate students.

Concerned about the academic achievement of students at Baltimore City Community College, Gov. Martin O'Malley has overhauled its board of trustees, replacing the majority of its members. "The governor has been monitoring the overall situation at BCCC, particularly student achievement and the relationships between faculty, students and administration," said Raquel Guillory, a spokeswoman for the governor. "The governor has been disappointed with the lack of progress, and he believes now is the time to infuse the board with new leadership.

Over objections from most of the faculty, the Baltimore City Community College Board of Trustees unanimously voted Tuesday night to eliminate 14 degree programs in an effort to streamline courses. BCCC President Carolane G. Williams said following the meeting that the plan — which will also cut nine faculty positions — was an effort to promote "student success. " By eliminating some programs and consolidating others, she said, the school can use the money to expand high-demand degrees, such as cyber technology and nursing.

Henrietta E. Hestick, a practicing clinical psychologist specializing in developmental childhood and family issues who was also an associate professor at Baltimore City Community College, died Thursday of a stroke at Sinai Hospital. The longtime Windsor Mill resident was 66. Henrietta Eversley, whose parents were both African Methodist Episcopal ministers, was born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana. After graduating from high school in Georgetown, she taught elementary school from 1959 to 1970 in her hometown.

Charles Pennington LaMont, a day care assistant who volunteered with several AIDS organizations, died of a seizure Aug. 13 at his Saratoga Street apartment. He was 22. Mr. LaMont was born and raised in Northwest Baltimore and Hagerstown. Mr. LaMont, who had suffered from Asperger's syndrome, a neurological disorder that produces autisticlike behavior, had spent his teenage years at a group home in Hagerstown, where he graduated from Washington County High School. "Charles had recently started the process of enrollment at Baltimore City Community College and had hoped to pursue a career as a social worker," said his father, Alonzo D. LaMont Jr. of Northwest Baltimore.

Kathy Lilley sees her academic counseling office at the Community College of Baltimore County as almost like the front desk in a hospital emergency room. A middle-age truck driver looking to become an apprentice electrician might be followed by a 20-year-old unsure how to translate academic skills into a paying career. No matter what the problem, Lilley's staff tries to find a solution within the college's catalog of courses and job-training programs. With the recession wiping out thousands of careers, their advice has never been more in demand.

Recently, I was honored as a member of the board of the American Association of Community Colleges to be one of six community college presidents invited to join President Obama for the unveiling of his "American Graduation Initiative." This unprecedented federal commitment will spur new and innovative work force training programs, offer options for free online learning and provide capital funding for renovation and/or new construction. The goal is to assist community colleges to do what they do best - and what they have always done - educate and train people today for tomorrow's careers.

Shondray Burnham and Tessa Nelson (Walbrook) each scored 16 points as visiting Baltimore City Community College (3-1) defeated Harford CC (1-4), 57-33, yesterday in a Maryland JUCO League game.

Shonda Burnham scored a game-high 11 points and Laveairia Reed added 10, leading Baltimore City Community College (2-1) to a 60-23 victory over visiting Dundalk Community College last night.

Irona Pope, a street-savvy community activist who defended East Baltimore schoolchildren, died of a blood infection Tuesday at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The Lakeside resident was 69. Born Irona Elizabeth Lee in Baltimore, she was raised in the old Fort Holabird and Lafayette Court public housing developments and was a 1958 Dunbar High School graduate. She earned an associate's degree from Baltimore City Community College and a bachelor's degree from Sojourner-Douglass College. When her children were attending public school in the 1960s, she volunteered as a cafeteria aide.