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THE PRIVILEGE OF PUBLIC LEADERSHIP CARRIES WITH IT GREAT <br />RESPONSIBILITIES. THE CHALLENGES OF THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES <br />HAVE GREATLY INCREASED D~G OUR RECENT LONG AND <br />PAINFUL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN. NORTH CAROLINA HAS SUFFERED <br />TO A GREATER DEGREE THAN MANY OTHER STATES. CABARRUS <br />AND ROWAN COUNTIES, BECAUSE OF OUR UNDO RELIANCE ON <br />TEXTILES, HAVE SUFFERED MORE THAN OTHER COUNTIES IN NORTH <br />CAROLINA. YOUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS OVERWHELMED. WE <br />CURRENTLY ARE EXPERIENCING GREATER STRESS AND PRESSURE <br />THAN ANY OTHER COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN THE STATE (IF NOT THE <br />NATION). <br /> <br />THE PILLOWTEX CATASTROPHE THAT HAS SO GREATLY AFFECTED <br />OUR LOCAL ECONOMY AND OUR CITIZENS IS ONLY ONE PORTION OF <br />THE CHALLENGES FACING US BUT I WANT TO BEGIN WITH THAT <br />TONIGHT BY SHOWING YOU A BRIEF EDITED VERSION OF A VIDEO <br />WE HAVE BEEN ASKED TO PRESENT AT A NATIONAL MEETING OF <br />COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERS. <br /> <br />(SHOW THE VIDEO) <br /> <br />YOUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS "BURSTING AT THE SEAMS." <br />ENROLLMENT ON SOUTH CAMPUS IS AT HISTORIC HIGHS. SO FAR <br />THIS ACADEMIC YEAR, RCCC HAS ENROLLED ON SOUTH CAMPUS <br />6,298 STUDENTS - A NUMBER ABOUT EQUAL TO LAST YEAR'S TOTAL <br />ENROLLMENT AND WE STILL HAVE FOUR MONTHS OF THE <br />ACADEMIC YEAR REMAINING. <br /> <br />THE COLLEGE'S ENROLLMENT FOR FALL SEMESTER 2003 WAS 14 <br />PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE SAME PERIOD IN 2002. FOR THE <br />CURRENT SPRING SEMESTER, ENROLLMENT IS UP 24 PERCENT OVER <br />LAST YEAR. CONTINUING EDUCATION AND BASIC SKILLS <br />ENROLLMENT, AREAS IN SUCH DESPERATE NEED FOLLOWING THE <br />PILLOWTEX CLOSURE, HAVE EXPERIENCED A 41 PERCENT GROWTH <br />OVER LAST YEAR. OUR BEST EFFORT AT ESTIMATING FULL-TIME <br />EQUIVALENT (FTE) ENROLLMENT FOR THE REST OF THE 2003-2004 <br />YEAR RESULTS IN A PROJECTED 20 PERCENT GROWTH. <br /> <br /> <br />