Wednesday, August 1, 2012

President's Newsburst -- August 2012




PRESIDENT’S NEWS BURST
AUGUST 2012

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Here at Grossmont, we are engaged in a systematic, ongoing planning and evaluation process that integrates strategic planning goals, program review recommendations, student outcomes assessment and budget allocation. Our planning process includes an annual assessment and planning process through which the various college units plan, implement and evaluate activities strategically designed to continuously improve student learning, teaching and support services in support of the college’s mission. Later this month, at the Governing Board meeting, I will report on an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 2011-2012 strategies. Since we are only a few short days away from starting our next planning cycle, I would like to remind you to keep in mind our 2013-2014 planning goals:
*      Respond to evolving community needs
*      Provide an Exceptional Learning Environment to Promote Student Success
*      Promote Institutional Effectiveness
*      Enhance Workforce Preparedness

Please continue to plan and develop strategies, action plans and activities that will help carry the college forward toward 2013-14. More information about our college’s strategic planning priority goals and the process is available at http://www.grossmont.edu/Planning/Grossmont%20College%20Annual%20Planning%20Goals,2013-14%20vers.pdf


GROSSMONT COLLEGE ALUM IS AN OLYMPIAN
At the London Olympics, BMX racer and Grossmont College alum Nic Long was one of five Americans taking to the 400-meter BMX track in London’s Olympic Park for three days of racing. The total of 48 riders started with a seeding round in which each athlete took a single run to determine ranking and position. The men’s quarterfinals on Aug. 9 narrowed the field for the semifinals and the medal ran on Aug. 10.  Long, 22, attended both Grossmont and Cuyamaca in 2007 and 2008. After the Olympics, Long hopes to eventually return to Grossmont to pick up some painting and drawing classes to hone his tattooing skills. Read more about Nic Long at:


FALL 2012 CONVOCATION
We welcomed our faculty back to campus at Fall 2012 Convocation on Monday, Aug. 13. Convocation is our traditional, start-of-semester gathering that marks the start of Professional Development Week, often referred to as Flex Week, when planning and strategy meetings are held for the upcoming semester. Dr. Leeva Chung, professor of Communication Studies at the University of San Diego (USD), was be the keynote speaker. Dr. Chung has developed a unique and innovative style of teaching which has been recognized with numerous awards on campus, most recently the prestigious Davies Award for Teaching Excellence. At USD, she also is an affiliate faculty member in Ethnic Studies, and faculty onsite coordinator for the Winter Intersession in Hong Kong.

The title of the speech was “Live the Way you Teach: How to Keep It Real, Keep It Fresh, Keep It Together.” The speech discussed the following:

1) Teach from the Heart: Understanding the intersection of empathy, compassion, and complexity within ourselves to mentor others whose lives are different from ourselves.
            2) Teach with Purpose: Are you having FUN? Are you Flexible? Do you change it up like a pitcher?! Finding alternative perspectives and challenges to bring to class.
            3) Teach with Flexibility: What is organized chaos? Using methods that are not typically associated with structured teaching.
Description: Description: Description: http://www.yourbalance.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/dream-job-now.jpg
The theme was about career dreams.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdWpud9OVos

More details about Professional Development Week Fall 2012, including the schedule, can be found at: http://www.grossmont.edu/staffdevelop/flex_week_schedules/Fall%202012/Fall12FlexWeekDetails.pdf




WEEK OF WELCOME FALL 2012
Please save the date for “Week of Welcome” (or WoW!) that will coincide with the first week of instruction in the fall, Aug. 20-24. Coordinated by Student Affairs, the mission of WoW! is to provide a unified campus-wide welcome to new students and welcome back to returning students via information and programming. WOW! is a great opportunity to spread the word about your department’s programs and services.

Among the components of WoW!:
·         Description: Description: Description: http://web.sssd.k12.ar.us/highschool/staff/Hotsenpl/images/wow.gifWeek of Welcome Calendar: All departments/programs are invited to host workshops, events, open-houses, information sessions and/or activities which will be compiled, ‘calendared’ and distributed widely throughout campus. To “calendar” your event, please make your necessary reservations and please rsvp here, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dE4zOFJobjZtdFlfYjU3MEdWU3FoNVE6MA by Thursday, Aug. 9.
·         The All-Campus Information and Activity Fair will take place in the Main Quad, Wednesday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Join your colleagues from across the campus through the reservation of a table, hosting an activity/display… whatever your heart desires! To participate in the WOW! Information & Activities Fair, please rsvp here, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFo2NTdSS1dkaFhad0dQYmYxNFoxRWc6MA by Wednesday, Aug. 15.
·         Volunteer at any of the three information booths that will be located around campus on Monday, Aug. 20 and Tuesday, Aug. 21 from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. At each Info Booth, departmental and programmatic information will be on display, along with knowledgeable faculty and staff volunteers available to answer questions. To volunteer, sign-up online, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dElpdzhaSkU5NjRWc3JCOHlaSVBoNUE6MA#gid=0

For more information about WoW!, contact Sara at ext. 7159, or sara.glasgow@gcccd.edu.


ADDITIONAL UPCOMING CAMPUS EVENTS
·         All faculty, staff and administrators are invited to the Fall 2012 Earth Science Flex Trip, Aug. 15 to 17. Visits will be made to the National Weather Service office and the Autry Museum. Departure is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday evening, Aug. 15, followed by dinner in San Juan Capistrano at El Adobe, Richard Nixon’s favorite restaurant. Thursday’s activities will include a morning hike through the fire-evolved chaparral and coastal sage scrub ecosystem and an afternoon trip to the National Weather Service office in Oxnard to visit with former GC Geography student Todd Hall, lead forecaster, as well as NWS hydrologist and Ventura County fire weather/fuel analyst officials. Friday’s activities will include a private tour at the Autry National Center of the American West in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, and lunch at Philippe’s in Los Angeles (www.philippes.com), home to the French dip sandwich. Cost for the trip is $185, which includes van transportation, two nights of hotel accommodations and museum admission. For more information, contact Tim Cliffe, tim.cliffe@gcccd.edu or cell: 619 962-1278, Jeff Lehman, jeff.lehman@gcccd.edu, or Mark Goodman mark.goodman@gcccd.edu.

·         The Nursing Program and the California Nursing Students’ Association will host an open house for all incoming and current nursing students and their family and friends starting at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 16.  All incoming and current students are invited to bring their family and friends to meet our faculty and visit the Health and Science Complex, classrooms and Simulation Labs. Refreshments will be served. For more information and to RSVP, contact Maria Denise Aceves at: mariadenise.aceves@gcccd.edu, or extension 7061.

·         The Grossmont College Adult Reentry Program will host ‘Your Passport to the Future,” a free orientation meeting for adults interested in returning to school to learn a new career, earn a college diploma or upgrade workplace skills for a job promotion, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 7, in the Health and Sciences Complex, Building #34, Room #107. Read more here: http://www.gcccd.edu/events/2012/08/0807adultreentry.html

·         Description: Description: Description: http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs28/i/2008/154/8/e/theater_masks_by_baczo.jpgThe Theatre Arts Dept. has announced its 2012-2013 season of performances at the Stagehouse Theatre: “Mauritius,” Oct. 4, 5, 6, 11,12, 13; “The Grimmers,” Oct. 19, 20; “My Three Angels,” Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 1, 6, 7, 8; “  “Inside Actor’s Process, Drama,” Feb. 8, 9; “The Odyssey,” March 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23; “An Ordinary Day,” May 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18. Read all about the performances at www.grossmont.edu/theatrebrochure, then click, “Plays.” Season tickets with preferred  seating for all six performances are available now for a discounted price of $50 per person (regular price would be $80 per person). To reserve your season tickets, contact Alexis Popko at ext. 7234. Also, Theatre Arts will host a special fundraising event on Sept. 7 and 8, “An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein.” The Grossmont College Theatre Arts Department faculty, staff and special guests will present the Stage Reading performances, which contain adult language and are rated "R." No one under age 18 will be admitted. General admission cost is $20 per person and students (with ID) $10 per person. 


HONORS
·         Good luck to Culinary Arts Chefs Joe Orate and Kris Saradapon and student David Litke who will compete in the American Culinary Federation of Chefs and Culinarians of San Diego’s Culinary Salon, Aug. 18 and 19 at the Art Institute of California – San Diego. They will be taking on the ACF Culinary Olympics Team before competing in the Internationale Kochkunst Austellung (IKA), also known as the “Culinary Olympics,” in Erfurt, Germany, Oct. 5–10.

·         Congratulations to Grossmont College alum Brad Daluiso, who has been named one of five outstanding alumni for 2012 by the Community College League of California. Daluiso will be honored at the League's convention in Los Angeles this November. Click this link for more details: http://grossmontcuyamaca.blogspot.com/2012/07/grossmont-college-grad-brad-daluiso.html
Description: Description: Description: http://www.boekkado.nl/images/covers/9789026129186_front.jpg
·         Our campus’ two newest renovated buildings have received LEED certification from the United States Green Building Council, indicating that the buildings were designed, built and are operating using green strategies that incorporate energy and water efficiency and sustainable building materials. Our Student Services and Administration Building was recognized with a gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification while our Griffin Center earned a silver LEED certification. This is the first time that a building on the Grossmont or Cuyamaca campuses has achieved LEED certification. Read more at: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/10623

·         Thank you to everyone who assisted in the exceptional work in planning, executing and generating excitement about our 50th anniversary celebration over this past year and for making our Open House such a fantabulous success. Your hard work paid off - we set the Guinness Book of World Records!  It's now official. We couldn't have done it without you so give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back and a big hand because you are the best! Here are links to recent news stories about Grossmont setting the world record:











FACILITIES PLAN MAY INVOLVE BOND BALLOT MEASURE
Ten years ago, East County voters approved Proposition R, an immensely successful $207 million bond that, coupled with state bond monies, enabled both Grossmont and Description: Description: Description: http://civicmirror.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/elections1.jpgCuyamaca colleges to construct 13 new and refurbished facilities. The bond program was held up as a state model with its series of unblemished audits and careful monitoring by its citizens oversight committee. A new facilities master plan identifying unmet needs at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges was recently presented at a community forum as GCCCD considers placing a bond measure on the November ballot. Click this link for more information about the community forum and a possible bond measure: http://www.gcccd.edu/governing-board/documents/dockets/2012/august-special/301a.pdf