Leaders Note Progress and Next Steps at Vision 2025

Edgecombe Community College representatives pictured left to right are President, Dr. Gregory McLeod; Executive Director of Public Information and Institutional Advancement, Tameka Kenan-Norman; and Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Bruce Panneton.

Representatives of Edgecombe Community College were among the more than 400 attendees of the Vision 2025 Conference hosted by the NCEast Alliance. The conference was held Friday, Jan. 31 at the Greenville Convention Center and focused on the theme, “Celebrating Success and Envisioning Tomorrow.”

According to their website, the NCEast Alliance is a regional economic development organization that identifies regional challenges and works with various partners to create solutions. A total of 29 counties in rural Eastern NC are represented by the alliance, including Edgecombe County.

ECC President, Dr. Greg McLeod; vice president of Instruction, Dr. Bruce Panneton; and Tameka Kenan- Norman, director of Public Information and Institutional Advancement, attended the third annual event. Participants were treated to a workforce development panel highlighting how some NC community colleges are meeting the needs of industry in their area. Instructors on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) East Industry in Schools panel discussed ways of engaging students and enhancing learning in the STEM fields.

Listening to what your community needs and finding the gaps; putting professionals in the classroom; and determining how to get an interest in programs like surgical technology and respiratory therapy into high schools that are primarily focused on nursing were some of the comments shared during Vision 2025. The conference closed with an economic update from Laura Ullrich, senior regional economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

For more information about the NCEast Alliance, visit nceast.org.