Dr. John R. Dempsey, president of Sandhills Community College (SCC), addressed the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills at its weekly luncheon, on Aug. 30.

The luncheon was held at the Clement Dining Room of the college and prepared by students in the Culinary Arts program, a two-year course of study leading to an associate degree in applied science and culinary technology. Several faculty members attended the luncheon as well.

In his presentation, Dempsey reviewed the school's recent accomplishments and future objectives.

In opening, he expressed his deep appreciation for his faculty and the citizens of Moore County, noting that SCC raised more private money per student last year than any other community college in America.

Dempsey also expressed his appreciation to Bill and Melinda Gates, whose foundation provided Sandhills Community College with a five-year grant of $500,000 annually to fund the newly-established "SandHoke Early College High School," a school created in partnership between the Hoke County School System and SCC.

According to Dempsey, the program's aim is to carry the current freshman class of 60 students through four years of high school and two years of community college in five years, via a rigorous and challenging curriculum.

Dempsey noted that the establishment of SandHoke Early College High School and other initiatives are designed to strengthen the academic competitiveness and performance of North Carolina's students.

He warned that the United States is in a crisis situation, given the relatively low number of college graduates in the areas of science and mathematics: 15,000 American graduates last year versus 40,000 in India and 30,000 in China.

Dempsey is doing his part to help reverse this trend by placing more resources in engineering and mathematics departments and offering more scholarships to its engineering students.

Dempsey also added that SCC's curriculum is geared to serve the wider community and cater to the uniqueness of Moore County, with degrees offered in the health and medical fields, landscape gardening, and hospitality and culinary services. He added that SCC currently has about 3,500 full-time students and 10,000 students taking continuing education courses.

The programs for The Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills will return to National Golf Club in September where a buffet luncheon will be provided by National Golf Club every Wednesday with each being followed by a guest speaker as follows:

Sept. 6 -- Dr. William Johnstone will be providing an updated overview of the Pinehurst Surgical Clinic and its new facility opposite the hospital in Pinehurst.

Sept. 13 -- Dr. Michael Soboeiro, a board certified specialist in internal medicine, will discuss "The Epidemic of Diabetes in America, its Treatment and Intervention."

Sept. 20 -- David Woronoff of The Pilot will introduce Ryan Tuck, the online news coordinator for The Pilot. His talk will be about all of the new things The Pilot will be providing on its Web site, including breaking news, photo galleries, pod casts, blogs, and audio capabilities. Also, progress on the new Wireless Fidelity Internet initiative will be revealed.

Sept. 27-- Sandhills Kiwanis President Scott Dawson will conclude his year in office by recognizing outstanding Kiwanians who have given exemplary service to the club for the year and will announce the Kiwanian of the Year for the 2005-06 Kiwanis year. Then Ginny Thomasson, Division 10 Lt. Governor for the Carolina Kiwanis District, will install the new officers and directors for the 2006-07 year that begins Oct. 1.