There are hundreds of northern Virginia firefighters who owe Cammy White a hug.
In the original Northern Virginia Community College plan, the Alexandria campus was focused on vocational and technical training. The first fire science courses were held in the warehouses on Carlyn Spring Road in 1968, the same year Harriet Camden “Cammy” White arrived.
Her obituary in The Washington Post (HERE) summarizes forty years of academic service:
“She was a wonderful listener,” said Monica Sasscer, associate vice president for instructional technology at the community college and a longtime friend and colleague. Sasscer said countless students came to Mrs. White with no idea about what they wanted to do with their lives, and, through her counseling and guidance, she was able to help them find purpose and direction. A number went on to become students at some of the country’s most prestigious universities.
Over the years, she played a role in the college’s winning accreditation and served on the steering committees of every self-study the college conducted during the past 40 years. She also chaired the most recent self-study effort, in 1999 to 2002.
She served for many years on the college’s curriculum committee and provided special assistance to students in the college’s training partnerships with General Motors and Ford. In the late 1990s, she coordinated the General Motors/NVCC Automotive Service Educational Program. “She could talk to automotive students just as easily as she could talk to English majors,” Sasscer said.
Innovations she introduced include study skills courses and college rep days. She also originated a program that allows students to earn college credits for their life experiences.
PRIOR LEARNING ACTIVITY FOR CREDIT EVALUATION (STD 298 PLACE)
I spent two tours as the fire science program head; 1984-85 and 2000-05. I met Cammy in 1984 as some of my students were obtaining general education credits by “writing their life story.”
When I met Cammy in her Alexandria campus office in 2000, piles of PLACE portfolios were awaiting review. She loved firefighters and was helpful in providing information. Because of that encouragement, the Annandale campus bookstore was always running out of the STD 298 workbook (SYLLABUS).
IT IS THE SAME COURSE … FAST-TRACKING DEPARTMENT OF FIRE PROGRAM CERTIFICATION COURSES
Years before the Department of Fire Programs and the Virginia Community College System got together (HERE), Cammy assisted in creating a master list of fire training courses that we could fast-track through PLACE without making the students write a portfolio to get academic credit for Haz Mat Technician or Fire Officer I. Because of her workload, she delegated the processing of those applications to the fire science program head.
I am pretty sure this opportunity evaporated when the state-wide fire science curricula and rookie-to-officer program was adopted by the Commonwealth in 2006. Her death closes a chapter of experimental and innovative efforts in fire-based academia.
Mike “FossilMedic” Ward
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