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Dr. Jenny Bruce and Dr. Lauren Bell spoke to CRLA members during a campus tour. |
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Professor Gayla Mills, right, and Heang Sok '10 spoke with a CRLA member. |
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Hosting the conference "gave us the opportunity to focus national attention on the college," said Bruce. |
Randolph-Macon College recently hosted the annual conference of the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA), a professional organization of educators who are involved with learning assistance. The national conference attracts hundreds of CRLA members to a central location for presentations, forums, keynotes, and other events. This year, the city of Richmond and Randolph-Macon College were chosen in a competitive process to host the conference, which took place at the Marriott Hotel in Richmond, Virginia.
R-MC Professors Jack Trammell, Ph.D., and Jenny Bruce, Ph.D., served as conference site chairs, working for the incoming president from Texas A & M, Dr. Karon Mathews. Trammell is the director of R-MC’s disability support services and an assistant professor, and Bruce is the director of instruction for the Higgins Academic Center (HAC) and an associate professor.
Keynote speakers included R-MC President Robert R. Lindgren, Dr. Constance Staley from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and Dr. Daniel LaVista, executive director of the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia. R-MC professor Gayla Mills and several of her students were also among the presenters. In addition, the R-MC choir, under the direction of Professor Chris Ryder, shared a stirring performance on the opening night of the conference.
The mission of the CRLA is to help all students learn more effectively and thus improve retention and graduation rates. Attendees included college English and math professors, center administrators, student mentors and tutors, and researchers. Bruce and Trammell have been involved professionally in the organization for 10 years.
“The CRLA is the professional organization of learning center professionals that certifies R-MC’s peer tutoring and mentoring programs,” said Bruce. “We currently have a staff of 67 R-MC students. International certification through CRLA ensures that our staff has been trained according to high standards. This lends credibility to our program and offers the tutors and mentors a unique opportunity to gain experience that will serve them well whether they go on to graduate school or into the work force.”
As part of the conference, CRLA members toured the R-MC campus, met faculty and students, and were officially greeted by R-MC Provost William Franz, Ph.D., and Associate Dean Lauren Bell, Ph.D. Biology Professor Jim Foster, Ph.D., represented the Higgins Fellows, and all five Higgins Academic Center directors participated in the tour.
Hosting the conference “gave us the opportunity to focus national attention on the college,” said Bruce. “Professionals from all over the United States, Canada and as far away as South Africa heard about R-MC from the speakers, presentations and campus tour.”
“As site chairs, Jenny and I helped coordinate the master schedule, which included hundreds of sessions and events, arranged tours of the college and the area, and acted as liaisons with local officials including the visitor’s board,” said Trammell. “In working with Karon, we essentially were in charge of everything from identifying speakers to making sure there was coffee in the right places. It was a wonderful experience, and the feedback about R-MC was fantastic. Since most of CRLA’s members hail from the west coast and the Midwest, this was truly a unique opportunity to showcase who we are and what we do at the college.”