Sherrie Chapman, dean of the Northeastern Technical College’s continuing education division, received the A. Wade Martin “Innovator of the Year” award because of her achievements in creating partnerships between the college and employers.

March 9, 2011
NETC Employee Wins Prestigious Award
for Growing Workforce Partnerships

Sherrie Chapman is not a teacher, but she has provided thousands of people who have passed through the doors of Northeastern Technical College with an education.

Chapman is dean of the College’s continuing education division, which has been instrumental in meeting the educational needs of businesses, industries and individuals within its three-county service area.

The South Carolina Technical College System recently presented Chapman with the prestigious A. Wade Martin “Innovator of the Year” award because of her innovative ideas to establish partnerships between the college and employers.

“This year’s winner has been instrumental in helping meet the challenges and changing needs of her college and the region served,” said Dr. Darrel Staat, president of the South Carolina Technical College System, as he introduced Chapman as the A. Wade Martin Award winner during the S.C. Technical Education Association Conference held Feb. 17-19 in Myrtle Beach. “She constantly assesses the needs of businesses and industry, the college, and other agency needs for training and upgrading of skills.  She has well established contacts with all the major employers in the region.”

Chapman is the first faculty or staff member of NETC to win the award since it was established in 1980.

“Words like ‘we are not able’ or ‘we’re not sure how’ are simply not a part of her persona,” Dr. Ron Bartley, president of NETC, said. “She has created and managed new programs and charted new territory that have positioned our college as a leader in developing partnerships for workforce development and training in the Pee Dee, the State of South Carolina and beyond.”

Chapman is no stranger to the communities she serves nor to the technical education system. A born-and-raised Chesterfield County resident, she graduated from Florence-Darlington Technical College and began working for Chesterfield-Marlboro Technical College in 1981 as an assistant in the President’s Office. In 1989, she became the program manager for the continuing education division.

“I saw early on that a small college needs to hold hands and cross the street with a partner. In other words, we need to form partnerships to achieve the economic goals of our area,” Chapman said.

She helped establish the REWARD program in Marlboro County, which has been designated as a model in the state of South Carolina that exemplifies how workforce preparation programs should be administered. 

Chapman has helped grow both the CDL Truck Driver Training and the Heavy Equipment Operator programs at NETC and is assisting a number of other colleges in establishing this training for their students.

She works closely with the economic development boards and governing bodies in the counties NETC serves, but she also maximizes resources by working closely with other technical colleges.

“By sharing instructors and curriculum, as well as grant opportunities such as the PowerUp – Pee Dee program that provides training for the electric power industry, we can bring resources to the forefront with technical colleges,” Chapman said.

From cake decorating to phlebotomy, the continuing education division’s course offerings have grown along with student enrollment under Chapman’s leadership. But Chapman knows a ship does not sail without a good crew.

“You can have all the ideas and creativity in the world, but you will go nowhere if you don’t have the support system in place to make it all happen,” she said. “I have a good team in the continuing education division. They have that energy that is needed to fuel the fire rather than snuff it out.”

Chapman’s energy to serve her community goes beyond the walls of the College. She has served on the First Steps Board and is a volunteer with the Merchants Association and the Red Cross. She is a member of the Rotary Club and an active member of her church. She has been a speaker for leadership groups and chamber of commerce programs.

At home, she can be found in her garden or in her kitchen canning and freezing food. She describes herself as the “Mother Earth type” who still grows her own food. She and her husband, Jerry, have been married for 40 years, and they have two daughters and four grandchildren.

As for her work, Chapman said she has a passion for education.

“It is rewarding to see how education impacts people’s lives,” she said. “When you watch someone go through the nursing assistant program, and then the licensed practical nursing program and on to an associate degree in nursing, you see them build confidence in themselves and realize, ‘I can do.’”

Chapman will have to make room on her office walls for another award recognizing her education achievements and community involvement.

“I just hope my efforts at Northeastern Technical College will help put plaques on other people’s walls,” she said.

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