New Scholarship Announced

Members of the R.B. Harrison High School Class of 1968 met with ANC President Dr. James Shemwell on Wednesday to present a $500 check to the ANC Foundation for the establishment of the R.B. Harrison High School Class of 1968 Scholarship. (L-R) Dr. Anes Abraham, Linda Frost, ANC President Dr. James Shemwell, and Billy Young.

Members of the R.B. Harrison High School Class of 1968 met with Arkansas Northeastern College President Dr. James Shemwell on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, to present the ANC Foundation with a check for $500 to establish a new scholarship.  The class is preparing for its 50th class reunion this coming May.  Reunion organizers Linda Gamble Frost and Gloria Clay Sewell have helped to spearhead the event and, as a part of this milestone, worked with class members to provide the R.B. Harrison High School Class of 1968 Scholarship.  The scholarship, $250 each fall and spring semester starting this August (2018), will be available to an ANC student from the Blytheville area who plans to major in the field of education.

Students interested in applying for this scholarship, or any ANC Foundation scholarship, can contact the ANC Financial Aid Office for an application or by going online to download one at www.anc.edu/foundation/scholarships.htm.

This is a one time scholarship.

Mississippi County Recognized as ACT Certified Work Ready Community

ACT - Regional Manager/Workforce Initiatives - Work Ready Communities Cheri Tune (left) joins Governor Asa Hutchinson in presenting Mississippi County Judge Dr. Terri Brassfield (center) a plaque of recognition for the county's accomplishment of earning the first ACT Certified Work Ready Community distinction in Arkansas.

Governor Asa Hutchinson was on the campus of the Arkansas Northeastern College, Wednesday, January 31, 2018, to present County Judge Dr. Terri Brassfield with an award recognizing Mississippi County as Arkansas’ first ACT Work Ready Community. The certification, previously announced by the East Arkansas Planning and Development Commission, supports Mississippi County in economic development and industry recruitment, and bolsters existing industry by linking workforce development to education and employers’ needs.

To become certified, a county must achieve benchmarks in three areas of performance: high school graduation rate, number of National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) credentials attained in the county, and number of employers recognizing NCRC. Tenaris, Southworth Products, Viskase Companies Inc., and Big River Steel LLC are just a few of the companies in Mississippi County who supported the CWRC effort.

Governor Hutchinson praised the work taking place in Mississippi County toward workforce development. His remarks were appropriately made inside the Arkansas Northeastern College’s Center for Allied Technologies currently under construction. As a leader in the state for workforce training, ANC and its customized training arm, the Solutions Group, will house its training operation in the new state-of-the-art facility which is expected to open in August of this year.

“Having this certification will allow us to fill gaps in job skills and offer needed and appropriate training throughout our service area. This will promote economic development in the community. The initiative includes workforce goals and provides businesses the training they need to build and grow their operations in Mississippi County,” said Clif Chitwood, President of the Great River Economic Development Foundation.

Mississippi County gave special thanks to Chairman Chris Masingill, of the Delta Regional Authority, for his support and funding of this initiative. EAPDD’s 12-county region-wide certification effort is supported through a grant from the Delta Regional Authority.

"The achievement of the Certified Work Ready Community status for Mississippi County is evidence of the collaborative efforts of local partners, and the ability of our local workforce. The diversity among the certification team to partner education (secondary and post-secondary) with business and industry, economic development, and local Department of Workforce Services has served to further enhance the County’s success.” stated Gene Bennett, Vice President for Workforce Development at Arkansas Northeastern College.

CWRC is a voluntary initiative guided by key community leaders – local elected officials, economic development teams, business leaders, chambers of commerce, educators, and workforce development agencies. At the core of the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative is the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate™ (ACT NCRC®). Since January 2006, more than 2.75 million Americans have earned an ACT NCRC®. This national, portable credential includes three essential workplace skill categories: applied math, reading for information, and locating information. The NCRC credential is administered in Mississippi County by ANC with multiple agencies providing referrals.

"Mississippi County is proud to be certified the first ACT Work Ready County in Arkansas. This can be accredited to a strong local ACT Work Ready Partnership which is spearheaded by Arkansas Northeastern College and Mississippi County Economic Development. Other core team partners include EAPDD, the Blytheville Department of Workforce Services, and two manufacturers, DENSO, and Tenaris. We will continue to work together informing our businesses about the NCRC; and educating students, along with all levels of employees of how the NCRC can assist them in obtaining promotions. A quality workforce will lead to a better quality of life for all, in Mississippi County, Arkansas. This would have not been possible without the DRA and EAPDD bringing this initiative to East Arkansas.” stated Tamika Jenkins, Project Coordinator for Mississippi County Economic Development. 

ANC Partners with SMS Group to Create Arkansas Steelmaking Academy

Photo (L to R):  Arkansas Northeastern College President Dr. James Shemwell joins Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Doug Dunworth, President and CEO of SMS Group United States operations on stage Wednesday, January 31st, at an event to formalize the signing of an agreement between the College and the German SMS Group to create the Arkansas Steelmaking Academy which will allow ANC to become its North American training hub.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2018. Doug Dunworth, President and CEO of SMS Group’s North American operations, met with Arkansas Northeastern College president Dr. James Shemwell and his staff today to finalize an agreement creating the Arkansas Steelmaking Academy (ASA). The partnership announcement was made during a visit to ANC by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.

SMS group prides itself on being a leading partner in the world of metals not only in North America but throughout the world. As a family-owned business headquartered in Germany, quality and innovation are staples of its work through the development of individual and modular solutions – whether it is the design of a new plant, modernizations, digitalization, or life-cycle services. SMS’s largest market is steel production. The company provides world-class new equipment and actively supports operations by devising solutions throughout the process from melting and casting to rolling and finishing. With SMS servicing clients such as Nucor Steel, Big River Steel, Tenaris, and TMK-IPSCO locally as well as many other manufacturers across the country, it made sense for the company to consider a proposal by ANC to offer North American-based training centrally located in Arkansas.

“Heretofore, the state-of-the art steel technology training offered through the SMS TECademy has only been available in Germany,” said Shemwell. “By partnering with SMS, the Arkansas Northeastern College can become a satellite training hub for North America as a cost effective way to gain knowledge of cutting edge techniques in steelmaking and processing.” The agreement between ANC and SMS group will allow companies to save the costs of overseas travel by providing a local option for the renowned TECademy training.

Dunworth echoes Dr. Shemwell’s sentiments “We are both pleased and excited about this partnership between ANC and SMS group.  Not only will this help our customer base in North America but the ASA can be a launching point in training the future generations of steelworkers with knowledge in the latest technology in steelmaking and processing.”  

The Arkansas Steelmaking Academy will be housed in the College’s 90,000 square foot Center for Allied Technologies currently under construction. By utilizing the new facility, the ASA will be located in a world-class complex featuring technologically-equipped seminar classrooms and hands-on training laboratories for steel technology.  The Center for Allied Technology is slated to open in August with ASA offerings anticipated to begin in 2019. Arkansas Northeastern College is currently one of very few colleges in the nation offering Steel Industry Technology programs and the only one in the state.

Shemwell noted, “We were proud to have Governor Hutchinson, a champion for economic development in Arkansas, present for today’s unveiling of ASA. The agreement with our SMS colleagues announced today will advance ANC’s capacity as providers of steel technology training to the next level, a global level.”