ACTION PRESENTS

AN

INFORMATIONAL PUBLIC FORUM ON

EASTERN GATEWAY COMMUNITY COLLEGE:

TITLED

WHERE WE ARE, WHERE WE ARE GOING, HOW WE GET THERE

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

CONGRESSMAN TIM RYAN (D) 17^TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

DR. LAURA MEEKS, EASTERN GATEWAY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

A public forum on a proposed Warren campus for Eastern Gateway Community College (EGCC) will be held on March 1, at 6 p.m., at Liberty High School.  Congressman Tim Ryan (D) 17^th Congressional District will the keynote speaker, the Congressman recently announced plans for the new campus to be located on the Square in downtown Warren, OH; ACTION (Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods), a grassroots activist organization has been promoting the creation of a central campus for EGCC to be located in the Greater Mahoning Valley for some time now.   

In conjunction with our public forum Eastern Gateway Community College will be conducting a college fair in an effort to enroll new students, inform the public what classes are being offered and what classes will be offered in the future. ACTION is spearheading this college fair, contacting our Youth Pastors in an effort to get as many potential students to the event as possible. Also we are reaching out to High School principals, Board of Education members and School Superintendents, Union members and Union Presidents to encourage their members to attend. 

Last November, ACTION launched a petition drive to support the establishment of centralized campus for EGCC.  After collecting almost 4,000 signatures, the group delivered the petition to Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut.  In December 2009, Congressman Ryan announced that a major campus for the community college would be located in downtown Warren.  Congressman Ryan indicated that the creation of the campus will coincide with other planned projects to facilitate downtown Warren’s emergence as the city’s center of commerce, education, and entertainment.     

ACTION representatives urged Congressman Ryan and Ohio Governor Ted Strickland to invite community organizations as well as local elected officials and business leaders to participate in the ongoing dialogue concerning the establishment of a campus in downtown Warren.  Earlier this month, the group met with Congressman Ryan to discuss issues including potential sources of funding for the campus, the role to be played by elected officials, and the composition of EGCC’s board of trustees.

“The public forum is to facilitate an open discussion about the implications of the proposed central campus, and to provide those with a vested interest in ECCG with a voice regarding its development,” said James E. Walker, co-chair of the ACTION committee dedicated to the community college issue. 

For further information on the press conference, please call James E. Walker Co-Chair ACTION 's Comprehensive Community College Committee, at 330-989-2203 or 330-646-4649 email: jwalker1689@yahoo.com.