CCBC Strengthens Its Humanities Program

CCBC President Sandra Kurtinitis (left), with major donors, Eleanor and Robert Romadka, at the dedication for F. Scott Black Theatre on the Essex Campus.

Community colleges - These are the two-year programs that grant a degree or certificate, indicating education beyond high school and frequently providing entree into highly skilled fields. They can also give those who attend a boost into a four-year college; some have agreements with four-year colleges that can even place a graduate into the third year of a four-year program.

But many community colleges offer even more, from helping to complete high school, to providing college credits to savvy high school students, to providing educational enrichment to local adults who may be looking to increase their knowledge or learn a hobby. That is the rich and diverse role that many of these colleges fulfill.



All of this and more, are part of Baltimore County's COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF BALTIMORE COUNTY (CCBC), which has campuses in Catonsville, Dundalk, and Essex. Extension locations can be found in Hunt Valley, Owings Mills, and Randallstown. Why so many locations? Baltimore County covers 682 square miles, with more than 831,000 people residing in it. So, the County's only community college has to be accessible to its residents.

So, it's no surprise that CCBC gets its share of recognition. Recognition in the form of a grant is very welcome, especially when it comes from the prestigious Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. A $1.725 million combined grant was awarded by the Foundation to CCBC and Johns Hopkins University (JHU) for their Humanities curriculum. CCBC's portion of the grant totals $980,000 and goes to enriching students' academic experience. The reason that both institutions won the grants is because they have been collaborating on their Humanities For All initiative to provide a more dynamic learning environment and make the transition between the two-year program and the four-year program smoother.

Not only is course content enriched, however, but the funds will also be used to help in recruitment, retention, and transfer. Some other features of the grant's use will be in strengthening the connection between the faculty of both programs and provide more incentives for CCBC students to join CCBC's Honors Program, which boasts higher graduation and transfer rates to four-year programs among its enrollees. A new addition will be a Mellon Scholars Program, which will provide more research opportunities and increase the opportunites to interact with JHU's faculty and graduate students.

According to CCBC's President Sandra Kurtinitis, "Thousands of CCBC students will benefit from Mellon's recognition that the democratization of the Humanities in America does indeed begin with the community college. And, the enthusiasm of the faculty involved in developing this program has been inspiring. They all bring a profound commitment to students."

Some of this year's CCBC graduates.

Johns Hopkins University President Ronald Daniels commented, "This great partnership reflects Johns Hopkins' sustained commitment to building bridges so that all students have access to the transformative power of higher education. Creating academic and experiential opportunities that deepen engagement in the humanities and position students for transfer success - whether at Johns Hopkins or other four-year institutions - is critical to ensuring students can reach their full potential."

You might notice these signs around the various CCBC campuses - in celebration of CCBC's 60 years.

So, starting this fall semester, CCBC Honors program students will be paired with JHU graduate students for deep reading exercises and a Topical Lecture series by a visiting JHU professor.

Thanks for information from this page on CCBC: http://www.ccbcmd.edu/about-ccbc/locations; this page on CCBC: http://www.ccbcmd.edu/About-CCBC/Newsroom/news-articles/2017/06/19/15/25/Mellon-Foundation.aspx; and the above link.

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