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Mlli ltat11nt IIBWl/ll/lBr ... PratlUIIBd Far 6tud1nt1, ,, ltudsnt,. The End of an Era and A New Beginning Dr. Donald Newport. COREY DALESKI Sports Editor Dr. Donald L. Newport is retiring after serving a total of 33 years as college president for a total of five different community Photo Courtsey Jay Walterreit · colleges. Sixteen of those years have been at ACC. Dr. Newport graduated from the University of Michigan where he earned his Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. degrees. He received his first appointment as a college president at Platte College in Columbus, Nebraska, in 1967, distinguishing him as the nation's youngest community college president at the age of 2 7. In 1987 Dr. Newport replaced, then president, Dr. Charles R. Donnelly. Newport's position as ACC's fifth college president became official December 3, 1987. Dr. Newport's 16 years as president have seen many changes for ACC. During this time ACC has developed a strong transfer program. It has also seen the addition of the new Park Arena, which enabled ACC to host a National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament. This process landed the 1998 Region XII Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. The completion of Harris Hall in August 2000 and formalizing the World Center for Concrete Technology (named in recognition of a $400,000 gift from William P. Harris II) were also realized. The development of programs for updating and retaining employees of area industries was also instituted. These are just a few of the accomplishments that were finalized under Dr. Newport's presidency. "All I've tried to do is build on the birthing process, doing all things a comprehensive community colleg~ should be doing," Dr. Newport said. "I've completed my 'plan of work' here at ACC. Plus, it will give me the opportunity, after I retire, to spend more time with my resses ACC up for the Holidays. family," Dr. Newport said. "Being here at ACC has certainly been the highlight of my career," Dr. Newport confided. "If I have any legacy, 'it would be that we have become the community's college," said Dr. Newport. Dr. Newport's legacy has been engraved in the ACC landscape. Photostory .... page 6 Michigan's Community Colle With Heavy Budget Cuts CONNIE IRLAND Features Editor Alpena Community College is facing the loss of approximately $325,000 in state funds for the 2003- 2004 school year. This is based on the 6.5% cut Governor Granholm proposed in the November 3 rd Town Hall Meeting in Alpena. ACC's Board of Trustees is facing the reality of more cuts in funding, effective for the current school year. The political phase for these cuts is currently underway. There is a lot of conjecture as to what will hap pen, and what the fina l amount will actually b e; however, cuts are inevitable. ACC Pr esident, Dr. Donald Newport and others from community colleges in Michigan have been working with the state with the hope of influencing their decision on where cuts should be made. During the first stage of cuts made for the projected state budget for this fiscal year community colleges received a heavier percentage of cuts than did universities, according to Newport. They are hoping that this time the universities will receive a higher percentage of cuts. It is influencing how the Board is responding now. They will hold off some decisions until the actual amount is final. A decision is expected from the state in early December. Newport said the Board is considering a variety of possible cuts. The college will slow the employment process for the six to eight vacancies currently available, as well as other vacancies that might come up. The college would not want to hire new personnel only to lay someone off in a few weeks or so due to lack of funds. "We certainly will be looking hard at travel and all the activities where we have discretion and the ability to make decisions about where we go and how we go about it," said Newport. Another area being given a second look is j the spring class schedule and upcoming schedules. They will be focusing on class size. New sections for courses will not be added unless those ava ilable are already filled, said Newport. ACC will also be looking at the Rainy Day Fund. ACC has learned from the mistakes the state made and will not rely on this fund too hea vily as it may be needed to help deal with futu re budget crunches. The Board has reserved the right to raise tuition for spring semester ; however, Newport does not believe this will happen. This assumption is due in part to the fact that the governor is offering inc en ti ves to colleges News ...................... .......................... pages 2 & 3 Features ................ .. .......................... page 4 & 5 Photostory ............... .. ..... ........ ........... page 6 Sports ............................ ....... ............ pages 7 & 8 Point ofView ................... .................. page 9 Entertainment... .................................. pages 10 & 11 Showcase .......................................... page 12 who do not raise tuition. Another factor that was Though students will feel the effects of the considered is the fact cutbacks, most of the that many students have changes will not directly already registered. affect ACC students. MWSudgn ,,,~,r~ ' ,,,,_ ~