National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1090

For Immediate Release
The National Dissemination Center will present a webcast entitled "Business 
Education Partnerships Through Career and Technical Education," May 17, 
2005, 3:00 to 4:30 PM, EDT, as part of the National Dissemination Center's 
2005 webcast series. The webcast can be viewed on any computer with 
Internet access at: http://www.nccte.org.

The webcast will highlight the benefits, outcomes and challenges of future 
business-education partnerships with CTE programs. The purpose of the 
Webcast is to provide information on ways business and industry can partner 
with CTE programs. The panel will discuss what industry partners expect of 
secondary and postsecondary institutions, and what schools expect of 
industry partners.

In the past, schools engaged businesses as a way to build community 
cooperation, to provide incentives for students, and to obtain equipment. 
Today, community goodwill is still important, but businesses increasingly 
are concerned about the quality of the graduates entering the workforce. 
They are concerned about student proficiency in academics, technical 
skills, and employability skills. Global competition and advances in 
technology and business practices have changed the business environment. A 
changing economy means that businesses need to hire people with advanced 
skills who can contribute quickly to their employers. This webcast will 
highlight some of the successful partnerships between education and 
business and how both business and education have addressed each other's needs.

Timothy Lawrence, Executive Director of SkillsUSA, will moderate the panel, 
which includes: Gary L. Hannah, Business Development manager for the 
Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), JOBS+ workforce 
development program; Larry Cummings, President/CEO, Automotive Youth 
Educational Systems (AYES); Patrick Murphy, Vice President, Certifications 
for North American Technician Excellence (NATE); and Noemi Castro, a 
student at Miramar College in San Diego, CA.

Tim Lawrence believes that getting involved in technical education and 
joining SkillsUSA in high school set his course for a successful future. He 
received his teaching credentials from Virginia Tech and his degree in 
administration and training from James Madison University. He achieved 
another life goal when he was named the National Trade and Industrial 
Education Teacher of the Year in 1983.

He then joined the Virginia Department of Education as a vocational student 
specialist and chief executive officer of the state SkillsUSA organization. 
In 1996, Lawrence became the Partnerships Director for national SkillsUSA 
and became CEO in 2001.

Gary L. Hannah is responsible for the CompTIA JOBS+ education-to-careers 
program and the development of partnerships to grow academic involvement. 
In the spring of 2002, his position changed to the Education to Careers 
(E2C) Program Manager, with responsibility for the E2C program worldwide. 
He is a graduate of the University of WisconsinMadison with a bachelor's 
degree in business administration and has received the Certified 
Association Executive designation.

Larry Cummings heads a nonprofit foundation that addresses the nationwide 
scarcity of qualified service technicians at automobile dealerships in the 
United States. AYES, headquartered in Troy, MI, is a partnership of 14 
major automobile manufacturers, the National Automobile Dealers 
Association, 33 state and metro Automotive Trade Association Executives 
(ATAEs), state departments of education, participating dealers, and 410 
selected high schools and tech/prep schools in 45 states. AYES is a 2-year 
school-to-career initiative that includes SkillsUSA employability training, 
job shadowing, and a mentored internship patterned after the automotive 
technician development model in Europe.

Prior to joining NATE, Patrick Murphy was the instructor of heating, 
ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration for 7 years with the Union 
County VocationalTechnical Schools in Scotch Plains, NJ. During that time, 
Murphy also was part of the Teacher Assessment Development Team with the 
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. He also served as a 
representative for the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute where 
he was responsible for reviewing nationally published textbooks. Murphy was 
a participant in the establishment of the Partnership for Air-Conditioning, 
Heating, Refrigeration Accreditation (PAHRA), for which he now serves as 
president. He received his bachelor's degree in accounting and financial 
management from Pace University in New York, NY.

Noemi Castro is enrolled in the College Automotive Program (CAP) for 
DaimlerChrysler. While attending CAP, Castro is an apprentice technician at 
Norm Reeves Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge in Temecula, CA. She has served as a state 
and a national officer for SkillsUSA. Her involvement in SkillsUSA while 
attending Lassen Technical Institute (a partnership academy at Lassen High 
School) in Susanville, CA, guided her towards an automotive career. She is 
a graduate of AYES. Castro has decided to pursue an automotive career in 
order to become a corporate representative in the international or human 
relations areas.
Viewers of the webcast may ask questions by signing up (no charge) for a 
chatroom account at http://www.nccte.org. The chatroom allows you to submit 
questions during the presentation. Please allow one full day for your 
account to be validated by e-mail confirmation.

All previous National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical 
Education webcasts are also available at http://www.nccte.org, and no 
registration is required for free viewing at any time.

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this e-mail list, please visit this web 
page: http://www.nccte.org/ctemail/subscription.asp or send an e-mail to 
nagy.8 at osu.edu or contact Barbara Reardon below.

The work reported herein was supported under the National Dissemination for 
Career and Technical Education, PR/Award (No.V051A990004) and/or under the 
National Research Center PR/Award (No.V51A990006) as administered by the 
Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U. S. Department of Education. 
However the contents do not necessarily represent the positions or policies 
of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education or the U.S. Department of 
Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. 
The National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education and 
the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education are funded 
by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U. S. Department of Education.

For Additional Information Contact:
Barbara Reardon
The Ohio State University
Director of Communications
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1090
Phone: 614-292-2894
Fax: 614-688-3258
Email: reardon.30 at osu.edu
Web site: www.nccte.org