NRCC History Book

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enhanced services to Giles County as well as other parts of the service region, including the college’s Christiansburg site. In 2009 the college implemented “NRCC Alerts” to communicate key details about college closings and emergencies. Alerts are provided to students, faculty, and staff through email, cell phones, pagers, and other handheld devices. Buildings and Grounds Changes In the early 2000s, refurbishing efforts continued in Godbey Hall with the construction of an information desk/ reception area and a new office for campus security. Other improvements in Godbey Hall included new paint in the hallways; replacement of ceiling and floor tiles; the refurbishment of faculty offices, including the installation of computer compatible furniture; and the renovation of the administrative wing, including the Griggs Board Room. Renovations in Godbey continued with improvements made in three science labs and the Early Learning Center (ELC). In 2005 major upgrades occurred in the Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) lab located in Godbey Hall. The lab was equipped with a variety of printers and 21 new drafting and design workstations with custom-built computers and 20-inch flat panel digital monitors. At the end of the decade, a new state of-the-art RN nursing classroom and lab facilities, including a nurse’s station and programmable mannequins for checking vital signs, were added to Godbey Hall. Next door to the nursing classroom, a new art complex emerged which served as a gallery for artwork produced by students and community members. The art space also

included a classroom, studio, darkroom, and faculty offices. In addition, Martin Hall received upgrades to faculty offices, classrooms, the stolen. The banquet speaker had finished, and our colleagues were leaving the room. They all wanted to know where we had been. We responded that we had been here all along; we didn’t tell them we had been in the parking lot. About that time, it occurred to me that I had not heard or seen any traffic on I-581 during our search. We had walked out the wrong door and had been searching the parking lot at the rear of the hotel instead of in front where the car was parked. We were so embarrassed! DEBBIE BOND NRCC Graduate Dean of Business and Technologies Employment at NRCC: Full-time 1978-2023 Part-time 2023-present B ecky Ridpath and I taught administrative support technology at NRCC for over 30 years. We enjoyed traveling to professional development events, such as peer group meetings, computer workshops, New Horizons, etc. Early in my teaching career, Becky and I left the New River Valley around 7 a.m. to attend the second day of a three-day VCCS event. A banquet with a speaker was planned for that evening. After attending meetings all day, Becky and I were tired and decided not to stay for the speaker. When we finished eating, we pretended to go to the ladies’ room one at a time so we could head home. The meeting was held at a Roanoke hotel located on the right side of I-581 soon after exiting I-81. The design of the hotel was symmetrical with identical structures and doors on the front and back. Becky always insisted on me driving her vehicle to and from meetings. That year she owned a large, bright red Buick. We quietly exited the hotel and headed for the parking lot, hoping none of our peers or our dean would see us leaving early. We had been in Roanoke for over 12 hours at this point, and neither of us remembered where the car was parked. We walked down each row of vehicles several times searching the entire lot for the shiny, red Buick. After 30 minutes of looking and laughing hysterically at our predicament, we went inside the hotel to report the car as

Chapter 1