Four Blue Ridge Community College Workforce Services and Continuing Education instructors and service providers were honored recently for their outstanding contributions. The Virginia Community College System Workforce Development Services Chancellor’s Award was presented to Dr. Steve Gardner, Tim Nicely, Mary Sullivan, and Phill Ungar. The award recognizes outstanding efforts in program development and support of the college in serving Virginia’s workforce and community. BRCC’s award winners, and their areas of expertise, are:
Dr. Steve Gardner – Occupation Specific Instruction and Services. Since 2001, Dr. Gardner has taught a Dental Radiation Safety Certification course. Approved by the Virginia State Board of Dentistry, this course meets requirements for certification of dental assistants to use x-ray equipment. Gardner teaches the classroom portion at BRCC and then opens his dental practice office to provide the clinical and testing portion of the course.
Tim Nicely – Employer Services. Director of Human Resources at BRCC, Nicely has taught human resources-related customized courses to employers in healthcare, manufacturing, and other industries over the past two years. In addition to developing and delivering corporate training courses and programs, Nicely has developed basic and advanced open enrollment programs in Human Resources for the Non-Human Resource Manager. One of his open enrollment students has since had her company contract with BRCC to provide the program “in-house” to all its supervisors and managers.
Mary Sullivan – Career Paths. BRCC Workforce Development Coordinator Mary Sullivan has been a licensed WorkKeys Job Profiler since 1998, conducting approximately 100 job profiles and administering thousands of WorkKeys assessments. During Governor Mark Warner’s administration, Ms. Sullivan served on the statewide task force to develop the Commonwealth of Virginia Career Readiness Certificate (CRC). Ms. Sullivan has also been involved in outreach to business and industry, coordinating customized training programs, open enrollment workforce programs, and providing resume and career consulting services to career changers and the incumbent workforce. She also oversees BRCC’s Commercial Driving School, and served on the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Investment Board for six years.
Phill Ungar – Community Services. Ungar was instrumental in creating and promoting BRCC’s non-credit pottery personal enrichment courses, working closely with the Workforce Services & Continuing Education program manager and credit ceramics faculty. Mr. Ungar consistently receives excellent course evaluations. Students enroll in his Pottery Creations courses time after time, knowing they can continue to build their knowledge and skills. In just one year, Ungar’s commitment to establishing a non-credit pottery program at BRCC has produced positive results. He has taught multiple sections each semester, using his extensive network of community and professional contacts to promote courses, attracting new students. In addition, the level of interaction between beginning students and more seasoned artists, as well as the incorporation of high school art teachers into Mr. Ungar’s studio, provide a solid foundation for both non-credit and credit programs.
BRCC’s Workforce Services and Continuing Education Division offers a wide range of open enrollment workforce and personal enrichment courses, as well as customized training for business and industry, computer training, online courses, a Commercial Driving School, and Learning Can Be Fun summer youth program. For more information, please visit www.brcc.edu/wsce or call 540/453-2215.