Daily Archives: January 3, 2011

Photos: Job Training Graduation

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Job Training Graduation 12/20/10

On Monday, December 20th as things were winding down on campus, the Job Training program held a graduation ceremony.  Dean of the School of Workforce Development Fiona Hert spoke to a large crowd at the Tassell M-TEC.

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Students graduating covered the gamut of GRCC’s 18-week hands-on training programs including Automotive Technology, Welding, Machine Tool/CNC, Computer Applications, Computer Support Technology, Introduction to Construction, Green Construction Remodeling and Residential Construction.

Congratulations!

GRCC Today – 2010 in Stats

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WordPress, the blogging platform GRCC’s Communications Department uses to publish GRCC Today provides a year-end report for the department to use in managing the blog.  Here are some of the interesting stats we’ll be using to guide the content and approach of the blog for 2011:

  • The GRCC Today blog was viewed 160,000 times in 2010.
  • The Communications Department published 1,486 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 2,134 posts.
  • The blog’s busiest day of the year was December 14th with1,043 views. The most popular post that day was “To all Employees who Participate in the Michigan Public Schools Retirement System (MPSERS)”
  • The top sites that referred traffic to GRCC Today in 2010 were grcc.edu, mail.grcc.edu, en.wordpress.com, netvibes.com, and facebook.com.
  • When visitors searched the site in 2010, the top search terms were grcc football, grcc police academy, cindy kennell, and grand rapids community college football.

Thank You From Bob Partridge

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Bob Partridge Retirement Party

This message of gratitude came from Bob Partridge:

To all my friends and work colleagues, a great big thank you for those who planned, worked on and attended my retirement parties and contributed to my going away gifts! Wow!!

I can’t tell you how thankful I am for all the friends I have made at GRCC over the years. I will miss you all! Happy New Year and best wishes to all. Sincerely Bob

GRCC in the News: 12/23/10-1/3/11

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West Michigan restaurants wrestle with higher prices for key ingredients and crops
Published: Sunday, January 02, 2011, 6:00 AM | Shandra Martinez | The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS — The rising price of food cost Ken Little the steak-and-egg breakfast he once loved.  These days, he orders eggs and potatoes instead at New Beginnings restaurant — hold the coffee. He gave that up, too, partly because the price went up, he said. […]
Sitting at a table near Little was Charles Wells, a Grand Rapids Community College instructor, who said he wonders whether restaurants and grocery stores are taking advantage by raising prices more than their increased costs warrant.  (More)

Online classes are reshaping school systems in Jackson and across the state
Published: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 12:00 PM | Bob Wheaton | Jackson Citizen Patriot

Lauren Jones of Somerset Township has spent only a few days in the classroom this school year.  That’s OK.  Lauren, 15, a sophomore, is enrolled in the Jackson Learning Lab, an online public school that has 18 students. She can visit the lab in downtown Jackson but isn’t required to do so. […] Higher education is looking at dramatic increases in online activity as well. Growing schools such as Jackson Community College and Grand Rapids Community College can add courses and students without adding buildings.  (More)

Power surge: Alternative energy is here; are consumers ready?
Published: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 5:50 AM | Dave Alexander | Muskegon Chronicle

GRAND RAPIDS – Every Wednesday morning, as most of West Michigan commutes to work, a group of believers in alternative energy gathers at a perch in the Bridgewater Place high-rise. […] Goodman has been called the “spiritual” leader of the energy coalition, which includes people from The Right Place, GVSU, the West Michigan Strategic Alliance, BDO Seidman, the city of Grand Rapids, the Holland Board of Public Works, Rockford Construction, Grand Rapids Community College and the Windquest Group – the Dick DeVos company that has expanded into alternative energy.  (More)

Virtual classrooms: Online education is changing school hours, buildings, interactions
Published: Tuesday, December 28, 2010, 5:50 AM | Dave Murray | The Grand Rapids Press

Andrew Topper worked 12 years as a software engineer, and one day his daughter’s second-grade teacher asked for help in her computer lab.  […] Higher education is looking at dramatic increases in online activity as well. Growing schools like Grand Rapids Community College can add courses and students without adding buildings. Colleges also can use Internet-driven courses to reach out to potential students around the state – or even around the world.  (More)

Grand Rapids Author Publishes New Book
Grand Rapids, MI (Vocus/PRWEB) December 25, 2010

Family History, Stories, and Other Lies, a new book by Roger M. Schlosser, has been released by Dorrance Publishing.  In Family History, Stories, and Other Lies, Roger M. Schlosser recalls the most memorable and humorous experiences he had all through his life and commemorates those memoirs of people who have touched and influenced his life. As he imagines most of it, he finds himself smiling to his delight and sharing his stories to his students, friends, and colleagues. These stories are passed on from his ancestors down to the future generations of his family.  (More)

Grand Rapids punk band Cain Marko takes lead from Marvel comics character
Published: Thursday, December 23, 2010, 6:48 AM | John Sinkevics | The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS – Take some lifelong friends in a punk band named after a Marvel Comics character, toss in some classical guitar training, expertise in recording technology and “intellectuality,” and you get Cain Marko.  The three-year-old Grand Rapids group re-fashions its angst about feeling “lost at times” into energetic punk rock driven by literature and an uncompromising attitude.  (More)

Newsmaker Q&A: Raul Alvarez, Director of communications, Grand Rapids Community College – Communicating community revitalization
By STEPHEN KLOOSTERMAN | The Holland Sentinel | Posted Dec 20, 2010 @ 05:30 AM

Holland, MI – Holland native Raul Alvarez started work last week as director of communications for Grand Rapids Community College.  GRCC has seen an increased presence in the Holland area in recent years, even though students here pay nearly double what students in the Grand Rapids area do, because Holland isn’t a part of the college’s tax base.  (More)

Rule #7 – Don’t Speak Ill

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Dr. Forni writes “What makes us speak ill of others? When we are unsure of our own worth we project upon others the less-than-flattering image we have of ourselves.” “…It is cowardly to attack those who are not present…..When we threaten someone else’s reputation we put our own at risk as well.” “Nice” is something we make.

Share your experiences. Click here to post your thoughts or comments on Rule #7: Don’t Speak Ill.