Foundation of WCC recognizes two instructors
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 22, 2016 9:57 AM
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News-Argus/PHYLLIS MOORE
Wayne Community College Foundation presented two Distinguished Chair Awards on Wednesday afternoon, to Duane Everhart, criminal justice instructor, second from right, and Paul Compton, department chair of industrial technologies, far right. Also pictured, from left, Dr. Thomas Walker Jr., WCC president, Bill Hunter, chairman, WCC Foundation board, and Adrienne Northington, Foundation executive director.
The Foundation of Wayne Community College presented Distinguished Chair awards to two instructors Wednesday afternoon during its annual campus fund drive kick-off.
Each fall, the assembly is an opportunity for faculty and staff to gather and generate interest supporting the Foundation financially. It is also an opportunity to recognize two full-time faculty members with at least five years of service at the college.
The Foundation, which provides scholarships to students and oversees an arts and humanities program that features educational and cultural events, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, said Executive Director Adrienne Northington. It was established in 1986.
Mrs. Northington became the third executive director when she took over the reins in February.
"The Foundation is the college's safety net, for students coming to the college," she said.
The program in Moffatt Auditorium also featured the college's new president, Dr. Thomas Walker Jr., who officially came on board Sept. 1.
He announced the Distinguished Chair recipients, while praising the dedicated staff who serve students in the surrounding community.
"You transform people's lives every day in the smallest interactions you have," he said.
The two honorees were Duane Everhart and Paul Compton.
Everhart, criminal justice instructor, had served in the Coast Guard before being hired by WCC in 2000. He was touted as being an outstanding faculty member, mentor, leader and servant to the community.
"He exemplifies the model of student engagement and passion for student success by serving as a club advisor for the Criminal Justice Club," Walker said. "Through his leadership and the assistance from staff and students in his academic division, the Criminal Justice Club has been recognized as the SGA Presidential Award winner as the most outstanding student club for the past five years.
"If there is a recruiting activity for WCC, (he) is present, with students, to help inform the community about our college and to also improve our community."
Everhart is also chair of the WCC Disciplinary Review Committee and part of the Cultural Diversity/Global Education Committee, on the board of directors for the N.C. Criminal Justice Association and is a lifetime member of the Southern Criminal Justice Association and the National Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Over 30 years ago, Compton, department chair of industrial technologies, began his career at "Bypass University," the former WCC campus on U.S. 70 West, Walker said.
"Some refer to him as the campus historian and he will gladly spend as much time as you have reflecting on the last 32 years of WCC's evolution and his career," the new president said.
Rattling off a list of Compton's accomplishment was no easy feat, he admitted -- from designing, machining and building items that included putters for the annual Foundation Invitational Tournament and recognition medallions for many organizations, to ornamental clocks for the college board retreats, plus 32-pound cannon parts for Fort Macon. He is also a member of the Wood Turning Club and a nationally recognized renowned knife maker.
"One item he designed and built many years ago that will follow his legacy is the WCC Ceremonial Mace," Walker said. "The mace is used at graduation to lead in our current graduating class and has historically been carried by the most senior faculty member on campus.
"This year's Distinguished Chair award winner will carry the mace in our 2016-2017 graduation ceremony and eventually hand over this symbolic item that will be part of many graduations in the future."
Recipients of the award will each receive a travel stipend for $5,500 and the opportunity to share a presentation on the experience with faculty, staff and students in the future.