First and foremost, I want to express my sincere appreciation to all faculty and staff. Once again, we eclipsed last year’s enrollment numbers by serving more students than we have ever served. We also have witnessed our Adult Education grow exponentially with an increase of over 115%. Within our non-credit workforce training, we are among the leading institutes in total registrations and industries served. The overall increase in enrollment is credited to everyone’s dedication and ability to create a positive learning environment. We continue to offer additional opportunities for our students to get involved in campus life and expand our footprint within all communities of our service area. Nonetheless, our commitment can’t be stifled by our achievement. There continues to be people in our community that need our help, and I believe it is up to us to innovate our processes and procedures regarding recruitment, retention, and enrollment to better serve our constituents.
This semester we embarked on a journey to add Men's and Women's Golf and Cross-Country teams. Both teams continue to improve and represent our institute at the highest level. All teams have mandated each athlete to participate in a number of service hours within the community and around our campuses. As we continue to look for ways to serve our community, extra-curricular activities will play an integral part in providing opportunity and excitement for our prospective students.
We are in the process of capital updates to many areas around each location and are working with architects to design several renovation projects poised to bring LBW into the 21st century of campus development. Our academic classrooms and career and technical programs continue to need updates, and we hope that with support from Chancellor Baker and the Board of Trustees, we will see these projects come to fruition within the next few years. In January, we will begin our first phase of construction and will continue to do minor renovations in the coming months and years.
It is an exciting time to be a part of the Alabama Community College System because we are poised to make a lasting impact across the state. It is hard to quantify the impact we are having but people are taking notice of the work we are doing. I challenge you to never lose sight of the impact your class, your hello, or your smile may have on someone. I love this school, and I love your commitment. LBW is alive in our communities. Let’s continue to be difference-makers in the lives of our constituents. We are in this together, dedicated to our mission, and committed to moving LBW forward.
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