Contact:  Melissa Potter
September 29, 2006

26th Annual Forum on Education at MECC

On Monday, October 16, Mountain Empire Community College will play host to the 26th Annual Forum on Education. The event is sponsored by MECC, the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Wise County Public Schools, and Norton City Public Schools. The forum will be held in the Goodloe Center of Phillips-Taylor Hall on the MECC campus. The program begins at 4:30 p.m. with dinner to follow.

This year’s featured speaker will be Mary Beth Susman, the distance education consultant to the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. She works to bring their e-learning systems to the next level of technology and delivery systems.

Originally from Denver, Susman most recently served as the Director of Business Development for Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting System, a regional affiliate of PBS, where she developed business using emerging technologies in broadcast and the web. She was the founding president of Colorado Community Colleges Online (CCCO), the Colorado virtual community college, and was also the founding Chief Executive Officer of Kentucky Virtual University (KVU).

Susman was chosen as a Smithsonian Institution Laureate for her work with KVU, which had its archives placed in the permanent Smithsonian American History collection. She also received a Bellwether Futures Award from the League for Innovation for her planning, finance, and implementation of the CCCO. In October 2004, she was inducted into the United States Distance Learning Association’s Hall of Fame.

Her topic of focus at the Forum on Education is entitled The Digital Natives are Restless. She will speak of ways to create a relevant educational experience that keeps up with the complex activities and understanding of “digital natives” or individuals who have always known cyberspace. She will explain how to create this educational experience using emerging technologies skillfully and encouraging learner engagement. Susman will also talk about what new technologies mean for future environments and educational endeavors.

Space is limited, so reservations are required. Registration for the program begins at 4 p.m. on the day of the event and will be held in the Slemp Commons area in Phillips-Taylor Hall. For more information, call (276) 523-7469.

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