Here’s a round-up of education briefs from around Southwest and Southside. Want more education news? There’s no full-time education reporter west of Richmond. You can help change that. Help fund us.
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Roanoke County to hold CTE meetings for business community
Roanoke County Public Schools will hold two meetings for the business community to discuss Career and Technical Education courses for students and business training needs for the new Roanoke County Public Schools CTE Center proposed at 6521 Peters Creek Road. This new CTE Center will replace the existing CTE facility that is housed at the Burton Center for Arts & Technology (BCAT).
The public is invited to attend.
North County
Wednesday, August 17 at 6:00 p.m.
RCPS Central Office Gymnasium
5937 Cove Road, Roanoke
South County
Wednesday, August 24 at 6:00 p.m.
South County Library Auditorium
6303 Merriman Road, Roanoke
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Virginia Humanities announces 19 fellowships
Virginia Humanities, Virginia’s state humanities council, has announced nineteen new fellowships.
The K-12 Educator Fellowship opportunity gives educators, with a wide range of humanities curriculum focuses, the resources “to design new learning experiences that are easily accessible for both physical classroom and remote use by teachers across Virginia.”
That listed included these teachers from the western part of the state:
Catherine Breese – Elementary Lead Technology Resource Teacher in Montgomery County
Lorraine Dresch – High School History Educator in Waynesboro
Tammy Layne – High School Library Media Specialist in Bath County
Lewis Longenecker – Middle School Educator in Cumberland County
Sarah Medukas – Assistant Principal and Gifted Coordinator in Scott County
Public Humanities Fellowships help writers, independent scholars, community historians, and college and university faculty members “share meaningful research, stories, and cultural expressions that are relevant to Virginia’s diverse communities and that connect audiences to wider regional, national, and global contexts.”
That list includes:
Abraham Gibson and William Gibson – San Antonio, TX, and Ferrum, VA
“More than Just Moonshine: Public Education in Franklin County, Virginia, 1900-1950”
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Virgnia Tech Carilion School of Medicine dean named to national diversity group

The Association of American Medical Colleges recently named Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine Dean Lee Learman to its Council of Deans Insight Circle on Leadership Accountability for Diversity. The 11-member group will inform the development of an accountability framework to guide the nation’s medical school leaders in their diversity efforts across the education continuum.
The not-for-profit Association of American Medical Colleges represents 171 accredited U.S. and Canadian medical schools and is dedicated to transforming health through medical education, health care, medical research, and community collaborations. The Council of Deans Insight Circle’s work will contribute to systems change efforts supported by it and National Medical Association Action Collaborative for Black Men in Medicine.
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Sweet named chair of Department of Medicine
Jon Sweet, M.D., has been selected to serve as Chair of the Department of Medicine for Carilion Clinic and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine effective Aug. 1, 2022.
Sweet served as interim chair of the Department of Medicine since December 2021, as he did in 2015-2016.
Sweet graduated from the University of Virginia, later earning his medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He served his residency and subsequent chief residency in Internal Medicine while on active military duty at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center in Ohio. He served as the internal medicine clerkship director for the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and the Uniformed Services University F. Edward Herbert School of Medicine for several years before joining Carilion Clinic.
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