Durham Tech would gladly take a slice of the $12 billion in funding President Obama is doling out today through a program to increase the number of community college graduates nationwide.

Bill Ingram, Durham Technical Community College's president, said he doesn't yet know the specific mechanics of Obama's plan, but expects funding to come available to community colleges for both infrastructure and academic program needs.

The Obama administration is making the investment hoping to double the number of community college graduates to five million by 2020. That sort of growth is possible at Durham Tech, Ingram said, if resources are available to help retain students who often leave prior to completing whole programs. 

And Ingram sees some symbolic value in Obama's plan as well.

"It's certainly a nice indicator that the administration recognizes the role community colleges play," he said.

A N.C. House budget proposal brokered late this week brought at least a temporary measure of relief to community college officials and local police and fire chiefs alike.

As budget writers in recent weeks have grappled with growing deficits, they had considered axing waivers traditionally given to police, fire, EMS and other service agencies who take continuing education and other training courses at community colleges.

These waivers are valuable: police and fire agencies large and small have long relied on them to keep their officers current and certified. And there's real value to them; this year, Wake Technical Community College provides $2.47 million worth of free - or "waived" - courses to police, fire, EMS workers as well as prison inmates and senior citizens. Durham Technical Community College provides nearly $500,000 this year, and Alamance Community Technical College chips in $677,000.

That's a lot of training.

"The argument has been that these are folks who put their lives on the line," said Bill Ingram, Durham Tech's president. "Many of them must have this training on an ongoing basis."

Each year, the state's community college system honors two students at each of its 58 campuses with awards for academic excellence.

It has a jazzy website with mini-profiles of each of these students.

Check it out here.

Locally, Erin Munise and Randy Cooper are the Durham Tech winners. At Wake Tech,  Andreas Winston and Georgina Consolo were honored.

 Durham Technical Community College is cutting costs this summer by adopting a four-day class schedule.

"Although we realize our employees may experience some hardships changing their schedule to work 10-hour days, they will also see some personal savings by traveling to work only four days a week instead of five," said Will Ingram, Durham Tech's president.

From May 11 to Aug. 6, the college will run day and evening classes on Mondays through Thursdays, with service areas open to the public from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on those days. The four-day, 40-hour a week summer schedule will not affect Friday and weekend instructional activities that do not rely on college facilities, such as clinical instruction in local hospitals, according to a statement issued by the college Wednesday.

The college is seeing cuts to the revenue it receives from both the state and Durham County. In January, county officials asked the college to return $140,000 from its current-year operating budget to help cover a budget deficit.

The four-day schedule is expected to yield significant savings, officials said. The utility cost savings alone are expected to top $30,000.

Traditionally, the college offers few Friday classes, so the move to the four-day schedule is expected to result in the cancellation or rescheduling of fewer than 10 credit courses. Last summer, the college closed at noon on Fridays.

Durham Technical Community College has some new trustees.

Mary Ann Peter remains chair of the board, while Lee Johnson becomes the new vice-chairman. Anne Barnes was reappointed to the board as well.

In addition, the board has four new members. They are David Dodson, Barker French, Valerie Foushee and Willie Covington. 

Peter is the former nursing director at Duke University Medical School. Johnson is the retired president of Mechanics and Farmer's Bank. Barnes is a former state legislator.

Dodson heads MDC, Inc., a research firm. French is a retired investment officer. Foushee is a retired administrator at the Chapel Hill Police Department, and Covington is Durham County's Register of Deeds. 

They'll be printing some new business cards over at Durham Technical Community College.

The college has announced some shuffling of administrators. Here's a breakdown of the new appointments:

Drug manufacturer Merck and Co. has given $30,000 to Durham Technical Community College for faculty development initiatives.

The gift is a result of a partnership between Merck and Durham Tech's Biotechnology/BioWork program.

"As new laboratory techniques and processes become standard in the industry, faculty must possess cutting-edge skills to prepare students," said Ingrid Charles, director of Durham Tech’s BioWork/BioPharma program, said in a news release.

"Merck’s gift will ultimately mean a larger pool of skilled employees for the predicted growth in the biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical manufacturing fields."

Merck recently announced plans for a third phase of expansion of its new vaccine plant in Durham and eventually plans to add 400 new jobs.