PRESIDENT’S NEWSBURST

JUNE 2012

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The highlight of the year is the College Commencement which was held Wednesday May 31, 2012.  I wanted to share a few photos and highlights from that event because my reflections sum up an important theme. Our student speaker, Danny McKay, gave a moving account of his path to Grossmont College and his plans for the future based upon how Grossmont had changed his life. Danny’s story will seem familiar to you because every one of you has been a part of a story similar to Danny’s.  The story involves you etching your own name and memory on the heart of one of our students that has literally changed the life trajectory of that student.  Whether you are a faculty member sharing your knowledge, passion and concern, a staff member assisting a student inside or outside of class, an administrator who helps a student find a resource or solve a problem, you have made a significant contribution and one that may long be remembered.

Danny shared that he was nearly homeless, addicted to drugs and alcohol and estranged from his family, had lost his hope of a promising career opportunity and suffered from severe depression.  He came to Grossmont College to turn his life around and to begin his college education in spring 2010.  He became an Honors Student, became active in student clubs and followed his passion in psychology.  He specifically mentioned people like Nancy Davis (Career Center), John Oakes (Honors Coordinator), Mary Rider (Transfer Center), Peg Marcus (student leader) and Teresa Jacob (Psychology Professor).  His story is one of the many success stories that you help make possible.  Not only did Danny complete his educational journey with us, he has now been sober for 3 years and attributes his growth, maturity and leadership to his experiences at the college.  He will enter Stanford University this fall to continue his studies in Psychology.   Click here for Danny’s entire speech. http://santee.patch.com/articles/photos-grossmont-college-2012-graduation-ceremony#video-10138083

Danny’s legacy to Grossmont College is an effort aimed at helping future Grossmont students through a student to student peer counseling club which he helped to establish with Professor Jacob.  Many thanks to Danny for enriching our lives by his presence and contributions.  And my deepest gratitude to each of you for the significant impact you make on the hearts and minds of our students!

ADDITIONAL GRADUATIONS

My congratulations are extended to other graduations:

·         The pinning ceremony held May 29 for our School of Nursing Class of 2012 honored 35 graduates who earned a two-year associate degree in nursing. The pinning ceremony is a tradition for graduations of new nurses. Also honored at the ceremony were faculty who are leaving, including Linda London, Joy Zozuk and Laurel Vanlandingham. 

·         The Grossmont College Police Academy celebrated on May 11 the graduation of 12 cadets who comprised the 32nd Academy Graduating Class. The 415 hours of training lasted about eight months, from September 10 to May 11. Individual award winners included: Academic, Daniel Welte; Esprit de Corps, Tony Sanchez; Top Gun, Robert Hays; PT Overall, Tony Sanchez;  PT Most improved, Andrea Yeager; Honor Recruit, Andrime "Joe" Quero.

·         The Grossmont College Corrections Academy held its graduation on Friday, May 18. Sixty-eight cadets were certified. The graduation marked the 10th year for the Corrections Academy and the 20th graduating class. Academy classes this year were held from Feb. 7 to May 18. Individual award winners included: Defensive Tactics award, Manuel Real; Most Inspirational Cadet, Roxana Zapien-Salgado; Servant Leader award, Quentin Jennings; Honor Graduate, Maeshia Dixon, a single mom with three young children. A recent audit revealed that nearly 800 graduates from our first 19 corrections academies are currently working within the County of San Diego at the local, state and federal corrections levels.  Over 85 percent of our cadets find employment in San Diego. In terms of employment, our Grossmont College Corrections Academy is recognized as one of the nation’s leaders in getting people employed.

·         Our Office Professional Training (OPT) program will be held today (Friday, June 1), with 23 graduates in the Class of Spring 2012. The graduates will be awarded more than $2,000 in scholarships, which they can use for further education and/or job search expenses. Two students, Patricia Gallagher and Vivian Horn, received national Insurance Vocational Education Student Training (InVEST) scholarships for $500 each. The OPT program has been training students at Grossmont College for 27 years since 1985. With the newest class of 23 graduates, we now have graduated 2,224 students from the program. Graduates have up-to-date skills for working in professional office settings in the insurance, accounting, and financial services fields.

·         Grossmont Middle College High School will graduate 40 seniors on Monday, June 11, at 5:30 p.m. in the Main Quad. The high school is a collaborative effort between the Grossmont Union High School District and Grossmont College. High school students concurrently take classes for both high school credit and college credits for admission to a four-year degree. By the time they graduate from high school, most students have approximately 30 units of college credit. This year’s graduating class has earned approximately $295,000 in scholarships.

VOTE FOR GC AS SAN DIEGO’S BEST

Every member of the Grossmont College family is encouraged and requested to vote online for Grossmont College as the Best Local College in this year’s 16th annual San Diego’s Best Readers’ Poll from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Let’s not miss this opportunity. The competition is always stiff. Voting takes place this year from June 17 to July 3. You will need to be logged in to vote for GC. You can register to vote at www.utsandiego.com/bestof. If you try to vote and you are not logged in, you will be automatically sent to a login/registration page to login or create a new account. After you are logged in, you will be able to vote once per day per category. User registration is defined as one account per person. If it is determined that a user has created multiple accounts for the purpose of gaining votes, all of that user’s votes from all areas of Best of San Diego will be disqualified. Look for Grossmont College under the “San Diego Life” category. Grossmont was selected as “San Diego’s Best” in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2010. Winners will be announced on Sept. 2.

RECENT HONORS

·         Dr. Evan C. Wirig of the Media Communications Department has joined the College Media Association (CMA). The College Media Association represents the people who advise the nation’s collegiate media newspapers, yearbooks, magazines, radio/TV stations and other electronic media. The association serves thousands of students and advisers across the U.S. and Canada. Endorsed by state, regional professional, college media associations and departments of mass communication, CMA communicates and works with professional media organizations and education associations on the local, state, and national levels. CMA members maintain strong lines of communication through electronic media. CMA also publishes College Media Review, the leading academic journal on advising collegiate media, available both in print and electronic. The CMA discussion list on the Internet also gives members the opportunity to gain quick advice from colleagues.

·         Don’t miss reading a terrific profile of Fred Benedetti, Music Department co-chair, in the May 2012 issue of San Diego Troubadour. The article is titled “Turning Points in the Odyssey of a Working Musician.” The article includes a 1973 photo of Fred. Here is a link: http://sandiegotroubadour.com/2012/05/2673/.

·         Congratulations to the newly elected members of the 2012-2013 Associated Students of Grossmont College, Inc. They include: Peg Marcus, President; Blake Davidson, Vice President; Andrew Schauf-Anderson, Comptroller; Laila Hamzai, Executive Secretary of Student Legislation; William C. Higuera-Burgos, Director of Publicity; Kimberly M. Paul, Director of Campus Activities; Board of Directors include Alexander M. Neofitidis, Andrew Schauf-Anderson, Christopher Foskett, Danielle Ramirez, Jimmy Smith, Michelle Jones, Sicarra Devers, Troy Goss and William C. Higuera-Burgos; Samantha Elliot, Student Trustee.

·         The American Chemical Society (ACS) has selected Grossmont College’s Chemistry Department as one of eight two-year community colleges in the U.S. to implement a self-evaluation study tool. More than 200 schools applied to the ACS for the opportunity to participate in the pilot program. The information gleaned from the self-evaluation process is expected to assist in program review and help identify a program’s strong and weak points.

UPCOMING CAMPUS EVENTS

·         To follow up on the extraordinary success of the 2011-2012 Henrietta Lacks Project, Grossmont College will participate in a parallel effort for 2012-2013 which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson's landmark book, Silent Spring. Published 50 years ago this year, Silent Spring by biologist Rachel Carson is often credited with starting the environmental awareness we now take for granted. Many of her messages continue to resonate today. Similar to the Lacks project, the Silent Spring project will involve an unprecedented regional alliance among Grossmont College, five regional universities, the Ethics Center, the Reuben H. Fleet Center, and CONNECT.  It will address themes relevant to diverse academic disciplines, including but not limited to arts and humanities, social sciences, writing and journalism, economics, law, gender studies, ethnic and minority studies, urban studies and planning, environmental and biological sciences, public health and medicine, chemistry and biochemistry.  In addition to the variety of projects on our campus, Grossmont College will also be participating in a regional essay contest and a monthly series, “Exploring Ethics,” hosted at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and open to the public

·         Denise Schulmeyer, Professional Development Coordinator, wants to remind everyone about two sessions on “Stay Fit While You Sit.” The sessions will be held on Monday, June 4, and Thursday, June 14. Both sessions will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in Room #220. Speaking will be Dr. Mario A. Mancini, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Qualified Medical Evaluator, and Board Certified Nutrition Specialist. You will learn how to avoid repetitive motion injuries, sit properly to avoid problems, improve your posture, reduce twisting and slouching, and break the pain and stress cycle. If you would like to have more energy throughout the day, be more productive and efficient and get more enjoyment out of work, then please join us. No RSVP is necessary.

Also, “Non-Defensive Communication for Front Line Staff,” a Professional Development workshop, will be held from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 7 in Building #21, Room #235. If you ever had a student or co-worker who seemed to overreact to what you just said, or who is difficult to speak to or have a conversation with, then consider attending this workshop. This workshop is ideal for anyone who works directly with students. Contact Denise at extension 7769 or via email at denise.schulmeyer@gcccd.edu if you need additional information.

NEWS AROUND CAMPUS

·         Be sure to read “CRITICAL Changes Affecting all Grossmont College Students” on the college website, www.grossmont.edu.

·         For upcoming campus activities, events and performances, visit the Campus Events page at www.grossmont.edu/events/.

·         For recent print news clips collected by the Office of College & Community Relations, visit www.grossmont.edu/newsclips/.