Northern Marianas College Month

NORTHERN MARIANAS COLLEGE MONTH

April 2004

A Proclamation

United States President George W. Bush has designated April 2004 as "National Community College Month."

This year, Northern Marianas College (NMC) will celebrate 23 years of service and achievement as a community college in providing educational opportunities for the people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

NMC was established on March 23, 1981 with a mission to provide the best quality and meaningful post-secondary and adult educational opportunities for the purpose of improving the quality of life for individuals and the Commonwealth as a whole.

Today NMC is a comprehensive community college, offering 18 associate degree programs, 21 certificates of achievement options, 11 certificates of completion programs, and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.

More then 20,000 students have enrolled at NMC in regular academic degree and certificate courses since the college was founded; over 1,400 have been awarded certificates and/or degrees in programs offered or coordinated by the college; more than 3,300 have enrolled in Adult Basic Education courses; approximately 8,000 have participated in continuing education classes; and over 12,000 clients are served every year by the college's Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Services (CREES) unit.

The college furthers serves the CNMI community through a variety of outreach programs. The Workforce and Community Development Program offers training to upgrade public and private employee skills, and enrichment courses to the general public; CREES provides research and technical assistance to farmers and homemakers, and develops new varieties of crops for the CNMI; the Extended Programs Department provides opportunities for academic and career education and training in collaboration with the secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, professional organizations, and specific federal programs; the NMC Small Business Development Center provides training and technical assistance to the business sector, thus aiding in the economic development of the Commonwealth; KRNM, the public radio station for the Northern Marianas, provides educational, informative, and entertaining programming that enlightens, broadens, and enriches the community.

Northern Marianas College is the Commonwealth's major provider of higher education.

NOW, THEREFORE, I JUAN N. BABAUTA, Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth, do hereby proclaim April 2004 as Northern Marianas College Month and recognize and commend NMC as it continues to provide educational and training services vital to the social, economic, and development of the CNMI. I urge everyone to support NMC in this observance and to appreciate the value of having a quality post-secondary institution here in the CNMI.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand on this 1st day of April 2004.