July 6, 2009
For Immediate Release

Celeste Gruner to Direct RCCC Foundation

                 SALISBURY, N.C. — Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has selected Celeste Gruner as director of the RCCC Foundation. Gruner comes to RCCC with seven years of community college foundation experience.

                  Gruner, a resident of Charlotte, N.C., is currently the chief development officer for Countryside Montessori Schools in Charlotte. Previously, she worked as the executive director of the Kellogg Community College Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich. Prior to that, she served as the foundation annual fund and special events coordinator at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Mich.

                  Gruner, a certified fund raising executive (CFRE), earned a bachelor's degree in public relations/communication studies from North Central College in Naperville, Ill., and a master's degree in public administration from Walden University in Minneapolis.

                  The Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization established to generate, receive and manage charitable contributions to the college. Since 1991, the RCCC Foundation has provided a much needed source of additional funding to the college. These funds have enabled RCCC to provide services and achieve a level of excellence which would not be possible through state and local public funding alone.

                  The foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors, composed of area business and community leaders. The board oversees all foundation projects and manages the allocation of gifts and contributions.

                  The RCCC Foundation has announced plans for its annual Golf Classic, which raises unrestricted funds for RCCC programs and services in the two-county area. This year's Golf Classic will return to The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, on Monday, Oct. 12. Play will begin with a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. Anyone interested in sponsoring or playing in the event should call the college at 704-216-3453 for more details.

               RCCC is a comprehensive, community-based institution of higher learning, serving the citizens of Rowan and Cabarrus counties in North Carolina. RCCC is one of 58 colleges in the state-supported North Carolina Community College System.

                RCCC offers fully-accredited associate-degree programs in more than 40 areas of study, including arts and sciences, business, information technology, health and public services, and engineering technologies. RCCC also offers accredited diploma and certificate programs focused on career training, continuing education and basic skills education. RCCC provides a strong foundation and transferable credits for students moving on to four-year colleges and universities and helps adults get the additional training they need to start new careers.

               RCCC annually provides more than 2,000 course offerings, serving an overall enrollment of approximately 20,000 students. In addition, RCCC provides the education and job-training programs needed to meet many of the workforce demands of the North Carolina Research Campus being developed in Kannapolis. For complete details, see the RCCC website at www.rowancabarrus.edu.