Letter from Vice President

Letter from the V.P. Deborah Wright

Greetings to the Buncombe and Madison Communities. I hope this Fall Schedule finds you safe and healthy and that receiving the A-B Tech schedule from Continuing Education brings some sense of normalcy to your week.

While we have been working remotely these last couple of months, the focus of our efforts has been to look at ways to conduct hands-on learning in new ways and create an environment where you can safely return to take those classes that can’t be offered online. If anything, we have learned just how unpredictable life is and how necessary it is to RISE up to each new challenge.

With that said, I hope you can get excited about everything you discover inside this Fall schedule of classes. There will be some old favorites, and some new ones created to help you navigate this new normal in which we find ourselves. One of the new classes we designed just for you is Introduction to Zoom for video and audio conferencing with teams, friends and colleagues. Many of us have used Zoom to continue our meetings and interactions with each other and we thought you might appreciate the opportunity to learn it as well. Another new course, Pandemic: Issues and Answers, will be taught by Jon Wiener, Dean of Allied Health/ Virology expert; Clint Gorman, Dean of Emergency Services/Paramedic; and Danielle Wiener, Infection control and it is sure to fill up quickly.

And, while many of us were teleworking, Kevin Kimrey, Director of Economic and Workforce Development, and adjuncts Bruce McCurry and Bob McCurry alongside Kevin Mills, Associate Director, Events and Facilities Support, were busy setting up the new Advanced Manufacturing Center which you see on the cover. This renovation was completed during the down time allowing all the new equipment to be assembled and installed, without disruption. It is a beautiful space and we are eager for you to see it and take advantage of the classes and training opportunities provided in this new space.

Lastly, we would not be able to be in as many locations or to serve the community the way that we do without our many partners across Asheville. Check out our new Partnership Page to see how wide-reaching our programs are and the breadth of all we do through the Continuing Education Division at A-B Tech.

Here’s to new adventures, Deborah D. Wright Vice President, Economic & Workforce Development and Continuing Education