November 24, 2008
For Immediate Release

RCCC VP Addresses Alabama Educators Conference
Jeanie Moore shares RCCC's Pillowtex experience

              SALISBURY, N.C. — Jeanie Moore, vice president of continuing education programs at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, will make a presentation this week at the Alabama College Association's 2008 conference in Mobile. Moore will discuss in depth RCCC's experience working with and re-training displaced workers from Pillowtex and other local manufacturers.

           Moore's presentation, "From Looms to Labs," chronicles RCCC's reaction and response to the 2003 closing of Pillowtex and the ensuing mass lay off, leading to the college's involvement in the development of the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis.

           Shortly after the Kannapolis Pillowtex plant closed, RCCC, working in partnership with other local agencies, secured a $2.5 million National Emergency Grant (NEG) to provide education and job training programs for the displaced workers. RCCC's effective use of the grant and its work to re-train former Pillowtex workers earned the college a prestigious Outstanding Workforce Development Provider Award from the Department of Labor in 2005.

           On June 24, Moore testified before a U.S. House panel hearing in Washington. The panel was held by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology, with the hearing titled, "American Decline or Renewal? Part 2 - The Past and Future of Skilled Work." The discussion focused on the impact of job losses to other nations on Americans and their communities and looked at successful models of community redevelopment and programs that serve displaced workers.

           One outgrowth of RCCC's work with former Pillowtex employees is the college's creation of the R3 Center. Located in Kannapolis, the R3 Center is a career development center established to assist workers who are unemployed or under-employed.

           The center's mission is built on three Rs - a refocus on individual skills and interests, retraining and further education, and partnering with other workforce development agencies to secure career-oriented re-employment.

           The R3 Center helps adult workers assess and profile their skills, aptitudes, training and academic credentials, and future career interests to develop a plan for career growth.

           The R3 Center partners with other workforce development agencies, including the Centralina Workforce Development Board, JobLink Career Centers of Cabarrus and Rowan counties, N.C. Employment Security Commission and other area community colleges.

           "The R3 Center bridges the gap many citizens in Rowan and Cabarrus counties have felt as they attempt to re-start or re-direct their careers," Moore explained. "In addition to providing the job-training and education programs needed by displaced and under-employed workers, RCCC, through the R3 Center, is helping local residents better understand today's job market and become more sophisticated in their job-searching skills."

           For more information about the R3 Center and its services and programs, call 704-216-7201, or visit the center's website at http://www.rowancabarrus.edu/r3center/.

           Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is a comprehensive, community-based institution of higher learning, serving the citizens of Rowan and Cabarrus Counties. RCCC offers approximately 40 programs of study in business, health and human services and engineering technologies at multiple campus locations. RCCC annually provides more than 2,000 course offerings, serving an enrollment of approximately 20,000 adult students. RCCC programs include an associate degree in arts and sciences, an associate degree in applied science, and diploma and certificate programs focusing on workforce training, continuing education and basic skills education.

           In addition, RCCC provides the education and job-training programs needed to meet many of the workforce demands of the North Carolina Research Campus, under construction in Kannapolis, N.C.

           For complete details, see the RCCC website at www.rowancabarrus.edu.