The Logan County Chamber of Commerce, Northeastern Junior College School of Agriculture, Logan County 4-H Extension, and LOCAL (Logan County Arts League) partners are teaming up to host Ag Day at The Depot.

Phil Ruch, NJC Associate Student Government President, spoke briefly about the event at the NJC Advisory Board on Thursday. It will be held in front of the Chamber of Commerce on Front Street.

Ruch explained that by that date the NJC will celebrate Ag Week by planning several special events on campus and will hold a gala at the Chamber of Commerce on Saturday. Those attending Ag Day explore the products, services, and careers associated with the greater Stirling region while celebrating the agricultural industry. There will be food, information booths, and demonstrations. His NJC organizations planning to join there include the Farm Bureau Collegiate Club, the Aggies Club, the Livestock Examination Team, and possibly the Ranch Horse Team.

Wade Tyrrell, a member of the Stirling Council and a board member of the Stirling Chamber of Commerce, thanked Lucci and his classmates for helping put the event together.

“I think it highlights a lot for the community that some of us don’t even know is happening in agriculture,” he said.

Lucy also mentioned two new clubs on campus. The Source is a student-led ministry that invites a local pastor to come to campus each week to speak and lead worship services. And the Fire Science Club is a service-oriented club. These he two groups and Phi Beta Kappa are looking for community events to help organize to meet community service requirements. If you have suggestions, please email Ruch at pruch@student.cccs.edu.

“If you have an idea that can bring together a large group of students, there are clubs interested in making a real impact on the community this spring semester,” he said.

In addition, Ruch shared that ASG is seeking to increase student activity fees from $3 to $4.75. They’ve been asking students for approval for an increase for several years, and they managed to get majority approval last year, but they need two-thirds to get the bill passed. decided to ask for a price increase.

Other projects have informed the Council that enrollment numbers have improved for the Spring 2023 semester. Vice Chancellor for Student Services, Steve Smith, who has stood in for President Mike White, reported enrollments were down about 2% from last year, which is a sign that the college said last fall It’s improved since it was down 6%.

In a statement read by Smith, White said, “This is a campus-wide effort that includes teaching several online courses, increasing concurrent enrollment, and recruiting at every opportunity.

Northeastern hopes to continue improving its enrollment numbers by adding trap shooting and esports to its fall athletics. White hopes to host some internal esports to test the equipment this spring, and hopes the Logan County Shooting Sports Complex will be used for competitions for trap shooting. There is

According to the NJC’s Fall 2022 academic calendar, the university enrolled 1,446 students in Fall 2022. Of these, 666, or 45%, were full-time and 780, or 54%, were part-time. The report notes a decline in transfer programs (Fellowship in Arts, Sciences and General Studies) and an increase in career/technical programs from fall 2018 to fall 2020. will increase and career/technical degrees will decline, with similar trends expected to continue in the fall of 2022.

The number of students with no educational background or undecided has increased over the past two years, partly because of the concentration of efforts aimed at reducing the number of students enrolled in the recertification course to no educational background.

White’s report also included a note about the successful completion of the first class of NJC’s new Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program, which began in Yuma earlier this month. Attended by 10 students, this three-day intensive class of his is a tractor commonly used in the agricultural industry where he is accustomed to driving trailers and is looking to obtain another driver’s license.

The course was completed under a Memorandum of Understanding with Yuma County, and the university rented a Yuma vehicle to run the course at the Yuma County Fairgrounds Driver Training Area.

In the near future, we plan to offer more courses in Yuma and eventually a full CDL course on our campus in Sterling.

Advisory board member Kendra Anderson, principal of Akron Elementary School, noted the strong need for the program, saying there is no doubt that there is a shortage of bus drivers in all areas and that this is a potential pointed out that it can help.

White also noted new signage around campus. This includes welcome signs in different languages ​​on the exterior doors and bilingual signs in each building. The bilingual signage focuses on 41 international students this semester, using their native language to increase cultural awareness.

The university will further explore different cultures at the annual Food and Culture Fair on March 8th.

Later in the conference, Tyrrell asked about the RE-1 Valley School District’s desire for concurrent students to stay on the high school campus instead of going to the NJC campus for classes. RE-1 doesn’t necessarily want students to take college courses, but they feel seniors are missing out on leadership opportunities because they spend a lot of time off-campus.Lisa LeFevre He said President White sent a letter to RE-1 Interim Superintendent Dr. Martin Foster informing the school district that “there are ways things can be a win-win” for both NJC and RE-1. .

Under Student Success, Athletic Director Mercy Henry honored two NJC athletes on the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee: baseball player Clay Sanger and men’s basketball player Ryan Payne . They represent not just his NJC, but Region IX as a whole.

Additionally, wrestlers Canyon Palmer and Braden Mogul and women’s soccer players Emma Osborne and Anna van den Beitel were recognized for their academic success, volunteerism and athletic achievements. Moguls finished 7th in last year’s national competition, and is currently 9th overall.

The conference also included Employee of the Year recognition, including Employee of the Year Andrea Wasson. Kade Roelle, Professional/Technical Employee of the Year; JoAnn Gilliland, Instructor of the Year; This year’s rising star performer, Amanda Morgan. and Mike Anderson, Faculty of the Year.