Founded in 1958 as one of the Industrial Education Centers around the state, The Wilmington Industrial Education Center (WEIC) offered courses for high school students during the day and classes for adults at night. The 32,000-square-foot facility included shops areas, classrooms, chemistry labs, physics labs, a library, and a small administrative office.
In May of 1963, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted into law North Carolina General Statute 115A, which established a Department of Community Colleges under the State Board of Education and for the administration of institutions in the Community College System.[1] This legislation transformed WEIC into Cape Fear Technical Institute (CFTI). With the strong support of local industry, as well as the Chamber of Commerce of 100 and the Merchants Association, a $575,000 bond issue was proposed to match federal funds for building new facilities to be used exclusively by CFTI. The new facilities provided CFTI with the ability to expand offerings to include new programs of study and enroll more students in high-demand programs.
To more clearly reflect its expanded role and mission, the Board of Trustees later recommended that the school change its name. On January 1, 1988, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners concurred with the board of trustees and officially became Cape Fear Community College (CFCC). It opened a new campus in northern New Hanover County in 2002.
In recent years, in spite of accolades recognizing exceptional faculty, staff, and degree programs,[2] the college has dealt with multiple scandals associated with the Board of Trustees, past college president Ted Spring, and current president Jim Morton. In recent years, nearly all of the scandals are associated with Jim Morton, including the issues surrounding his lack of credentials and allegations that he has created a toxic work environment.
Ted Spring was hired in July, 2014. He was asked by the board of trustees to resign in 2015 after coming under fire for misuse of public funds.[3] He reportedly attempted to get free housing, free airline upgrades, to get public funds to pay for his wife's travel, engaged in nepotism, and blackmailed subordinates,[4] in spite of making a salary of $268,356 a year.[5]
Although there was evidence uncovered by the NC State Auditor of Spring engaging in inappropriate behavior, he was successful in a lawsuit against the CFCC Board of Trustees due to their process in asking him to resign, which Spring successfully argued violated his "due process rights".[6]
Shortly after Spring's resignation, the Board of Trustees hired interim president Amanda Lee, PhD, as college president. She was forced to resign shortly afterwards. Following her resignation, and without an exhaustive search, the Board of Trustees installed interim president Jim Morton as college president. Jim Morton was given the top job in spite of the fact that he had no higher-education experience prior to his hiring to CFCC in 2015. The Board voted in 2018 not to conduct a search for a new college president, with all members of the Board of Trustees voting for Mr. Morton with the exception of Jonathan Barfield, William Turner, and John Melia.[7]
In spite of his lack of higher-education experience, and the fact that he is the only community college president in North Carolina who only holds a bachelor's degree, Morton was given a raise over his predecessor and was given control of the college. Immediately after his appointment in 2018, and in the years since, Morton's installment has been contested by faculty, staff, and members of the community.[8]
After Mr. Morton took control of the college, he has been criticized for ignoring transfer programs in favor of vocational programs,[9] creating a toxic work environment,[8] engaging in retaliation against employees,[8] having an inappropriate relationship with his executive assistant,[8] paying his executive assistant significantly more than average, hiring friends and loyalists,[8] and engaging in gross mismanagement.[8]
Morton was quoted by a high-level employee as saying that "Faculty are like line workers in a factory. When one drops dead, you just easily replace them with another.".[8] Under Morton's leadership, there has been exceptionally high turnover for experienced faculty and staff.[8] In his response to WECT, President Morton claimed that he had "positive relationships with staff and faculty". However, two days after the WECT expose about Mr. Morton's mismanagement aired on January 13, reporter Ann McAdams announced on the 6:00p.m. news that she had been contacted by no less than 26 current and former employees of CFCC, all of whom corroborated events listed in her first report.
In early 2020, the issues at CFCC relating to President Jim Morton were covered by national news outlets.[10] National Review Reporter, George Leef, argued that Morton's administration of CFCC was an example of an“abuse of power”, and that “...[T]he root of the problem seems to be that the Board of Trustees, rather than exerting independent oversight of the president, is in league with him."[10]
Investigative Reporter Ann McAdams uncovered a dramatic increase in the fees paid by CFCC to their law firm. When requested by WECT, they repeatedly refused to explain the increase, provide requested itemized bills, or explain why they have started paying their law firm nearly 10 times more than they did before local reporters began investigating multiple allegations against Jim Morton and the board of trustees.[11] This lack of transparency has led to speculation that Morton may be using state funds for public relations purposes, which has been found to be an inappropriate use of funds in past court decisions.[11]
In response to the scandals, then President of the North Carolina Community Colleges System, Peter Hans, released a statement about CFCC stating the following: "I have advised the college to undertake a climate survey of faculty and staff confidentially administered by an independent third-party."[12] In spite of additional concerns, CFCC administration has confirmed that they will not be following the state requests, and will not complete the faculty climate survey recommended by the state in order to identify problems relating to the toxic work environment.[11]
Accreditation
In 1969 the college was granted status as a Special Purpose Institute by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The following year the Commission on Colleges granted membership to the college contingent upon the successful completion of a self-study within the next five years. This was accomplished, and at the Association's meeting in 1975, the college was granted membership status. In December of 1986, 1996, and 2007, the SACSCOC reaffirmed its accreditation of CFCC.[13]
SACSCOC has issued an warning in December 2023 citing significant non-compliance with the core requirements of accreditation.[14]
Academics
Cape Fear Community College has over 240 programs of study, offering every student an opportunity to seek a credential, degree, certificate, or short-term job training to find a pathway to a career.[15]
Athletics
The Cape Fear Community College athletics teams for both men and women are known as the Sea Devils. The school is a member of the Carolinas Junior College Conference for athletics under the aegis of the National Junior College Athletic Association. The college offers men and women's basketball, men and women's soccer, and women's volleyball. CFCC also has a cheerleading team and offers a variety of intramural activities.
Columbus County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina, on its southeastern border. Its county seat is Whiteville. As of the 2020 census, the population is 50,623. The 2020 census showed a loss of 12.9% of the population from that of 2010. This included an inmate prison population of approximately 2,500.
Brunswick County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the southernmost county in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,693. Its population was only 73,143 in 2000, making it one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. With a nominal growth rate of approximately 47% in ten years, much of the growth is centered in the eastern section of the county in the suburbs of Wilmington such as Leland, Belville and Southport. The county seat is Bolivia, which at a population of around 150 people is among the least populous county seats in the state.
Leland is the most populous town in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 23,504 at the 2020 census, up from 13,527 in 2010. As of 2020, it is considered to be one of the fastest growing towns in North Carolina. It is part of the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. and the Cape Fear Council of Governments. The town of Leland is in the northeastern part of Brunswick County, with the town of Navassa to the north, Belville to east, and Boiling Spring Lakes to the south. It is part of the Town Creek township, and Cape Fear region of North Carolina, a short distance north of the South Carolina state line. Leland is located five miles (8.0 km) west of Wilmington, 71 miles (114 km) north of Myrtle Beach, 84 miles (135 km) southeast of Fayetteville, and 135 miles (217 km) southeast of Raleigh.
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth-most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the principal city of the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender counties. Its metropolitan statistical area had an estimated population of 467,337 in 2023.
Dallas College is a public community college with seven campuses in Dallas County, Texas. It serves more than 70,000 students annually in degree-granting, continuing education, and adult education programs.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and private educational institutions ranging from preschool to college level in the Southern United States. Its headquarters are in North Druid Hills, Georgia, near Decatur, in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
WWAY is a television station in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with ABC, CBS, and The CW Plus. Owned by Morris Multimedia, the station has studios on Magnolia Village Way in Leland, and its transmitter is located west of Winnabow in Town Creek Township.
Interstate 140 (I-140) and North Carolina Highway 140 (NC 140) is a 25.4-mile (40.9 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway and state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Officially designated the John Jay Burney Jr. Freeway, it serves as a bypass of Wilmington. The western terminus of the highway is at U.S. Route 17 (US 17) near Winnabow. It heads north in western Leland before turning to the east north of an interchange with U.S. Route 74 (US 74)/U.S. Route 76 (US 76). I-140 crosses the Cape Fear River north of Navassa and the Northeast Cape Fear River northwest of Wrightsboro. I-140 ends at Interstate 40 (I-40), and the route number changes to NC 140. NC 140 continues to the east, ending at US 17 in Kirkland.
St. Andrews University is a private Presbyterian university in Laurinburg, North Carolina. It was established in 1958 as a result of a merger of Flora MacDonald College in Red Springs and Presbyterian Junior College; it was named St. Andrews Presbyterian College from 1960 until 2011 when the college changed its name to St. Andrews University. That same year, it merged with Webber International University of Babson Park, Florida. It is also home to the St. Andrews Press. In 2013, St. Andrews added its first graduate program, an MBA in business administration.
Cape Fear Academy is a private, coeducational PK3–12 school in Wilmington, North Carolina, that was established on September 11, 1967, as a segregation academy. It was named for Cape Fear Military Academy, an independent school for boys in Wilmington that operated from 1868 until 1916. The present school's first class graduated in 1971.
Eugene Ashley High School is a high school just outside Wilmington, North Carolina, located in the New Hanover County School District. The facility was opened in the New Hanover County Veteran's Park in 2001. The school was named after Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Eugene Ashley, Jr., a native of Wilmington who died at age 37 in the battle of Lang Vei during the Vietnam War.
U.S. Route 421 (US 421) is part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Fort Fisher, North Carolina to Michigan City, Indiana. In the U.S. state of North Carolina, US 421 travels 328 miles (528 km) from its southern terminus at Fort Fisher to the Tennessee state line near the community of Zionville, North Carolina. US 421 traverses the state from east to west travelling from the coastal plains to Appalachian Mountains. It provides an important connection between the cities of Wilmington, Sanford, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Boone. Despite being signed as north–south, much of the routing of US 421 in North Carolina runs in an east–west direction, particularly between Greensboro and the Tennessee state line. Portions of US 421 have been upgraded to freeway standards including the majority of its routing between Sanford and North Wilkesboro.
CFCC may refer to:
Miller-Motte College, formerly Miller-Motte Technical College, is a system of private for-profit technical colleges throughout the southeastern United States. Its parent company is Ancora Education.
The George Davis Monument is a monument to attorney and Confederate politician George Davis that was erected in Wilmington, North Carolina by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was removed by the City of Wilmington in August 2021.
The Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority, operating as Wave Transit, is the public transportation operator for the metro area of Wilmington, North Carolina. Sixteen regular routes are provided, with all but one running seven days per week. A free downtown shuttle also runs using road trolleys.
Joseph Florence Leitner was an American architect whose work includes several rail stations. In Columbia, South Carolina he worked for Charles Coker Wilson for five years. Later he partnered with William J. Wilkins (architect), first in Florence, South Carolina and then in an office in Wilmington, North Carolina, where Leitner practiced for a decade. to form Leitner & Wilkins. His work included commercial, educational, fraternal religious, industrial, residential, and transportation buildings in colonial revival architecture, Flemish architecture (especially gables, Italianate architecture and Romanesque revival architecture styles. He ended his career in Florida.
Michael Scott Adams was an American conservative political columnist, writer and professor of criminology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He became known for his outspoken opinions, frequently attracting controversy. When he did not receive a promotion to full professor, he filed a lawsuit against the university and eventually won. After many conflicts with students and national coverage of his controversial social media and blog posts, public pressure to have him removed grew and he was eventually asked to retire. Twenty-one days after reaching a retirement settlement with the university, he was found dead in his home with a gunshot wound to the head.
Nathanael Torbett is an American soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Port City FC of the United Premier Soccer League.
Lethia Sherman Hankins was an educator, civic leader, and politician who was active in Wilmington, North Carolina. In 2005 she received national award from the YWCA, the Dorothy I. Height Racial Justice Award, and in 2020 her portrait was one of five commissioned to hang in Bellamy Mansion in honor of North Carolinian women who impacted women, as part of the centennial celebrations of the League of Women Voters for the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
References
↑ admin-2 (2013-10-09). "Mission & History". NC Community Colleges. Retrieved 2023-01-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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