See Nancy Wagner at Civic Theater in “Harvey”

Acting and Voice & Movement instructor Nancy Wager will appear in Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s production of Harvey.

Nancy teaches Acting and Voice & Movement at GRCC’s Spectrum Theater. She has been accredited as a Practitioner by the Arthur Lessac Training and Research Institute for Voice, Movement and Acting, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), as well as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

Nancy will play Veta in Civic’s production of Harvey, the classic, American comedy about a man whose closest friend is a 6-foot rabbit…that may or may not be invisible! The Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play by Mary Chase was later made into a film starring Jimmy Stewart. This is an enchanting, modern comedy of errors, perfect for lightening up your winter!

Show dates: Jan 13-29, 2012. Weds – Sat at 7:30pm, Sun at 2pm.  Visit www.grct.org for tickets and additional information

Discount on Griffins Hockey Tickets for 1/20/12 Game

Time is running out …  get your tickets now for the Grand Rapids Griffins game on Friday, January 20th.

Come join your Alumni friends at the Grand Rapids Griffins game – Friday, January 20th @ the Van Andel Arena at 7:00 p.m. The Grand Rapids Griffins and Grand Rapids Community College Alumni Relations are teaming up to offer a fun night of entertainment. That evening the Griffins will take on the Lake Erie Monsters.

Special Ticket Offer: Lower Level Face-Off tickets are only $15 (originally $20).  To Purchase Tickets:

1. Visit www.griffinshockey.com/promocode
2. Enter in Promo code: GRCCA

We hope to see you there!

Raider Salute to Tutor Trainers

This salute came from Brian Daily in the Academic Support Center:

The Academic Support Center would like to send out a Raider Salute to Lynnae Selberg, Jennifer Keessen, Sara Dorer, and Tamber Bustance for presenting at the January Tutor Training which was held last week Thursday at the ATC Building.

Over 100 new and returning tutors participated in presentations on Test Anxiety (Lynnae and Jennifer), Managing Student Behavior Concerns (Sara), and Unintentional Blindness (Tamber).

The feedback from the tutors regarding these presentations was very positive and many tutors expressed that the material covered would easily be applied in their work this semester.

Wellness Classes Starting This Week

Wellness classes are starting this week (except for Yoga for Stress Relief – that starts next week). All employees and student employees are welcome (and encouraged) to take advantage of these! Here is a list of what classes are running.

Mondays (1/9/12-4/30/12)

Gentle Yoga lead by Jami Kok
202 Tassell MTEC
12:15-1:00 pm
(please bring yoga mat)

Zumba with Christina McElwee
103/108 Sneden
4:45-5:30 pm

Tuesdays (1/10/12-5/1/12)

30-15-15 (30 min Kickboxing, 15 min strength, 15 min yoga) with Cheryl Floyd
103 Sneden
5:30-6:30 pm
(please bring yoga mat and hand weights if you have them)

Wednesdays

Yoga for Stress Relief lead by Dana Christian Lee (1/18/12-5/2/12)
12:15-1:00 pm
(please bring yoga mat)

AND

15-15-15 (cardio, strength, toning) lead by Jolanta Lanier (1/11/12-5/2/12)
211 Spectrum Theatre (dance studio)
4:45-5:30 pm
(please bring yoga mat and hand weights if you have them)

Thursdays

(no classes this semester)

Fridays (1/13/12-5/4/12)

Boot Camp (drills, cardio, abs) with Cheryl Floyd
Ford Fieldhouse Gym
6:15 am-7:15 am

AND

Stretch and Tone lead by Jolanta Lanier
211 Spectrum Theatre (dance studio)
12:15-1:00 pm
(please bring yoga mat)

Go here to view all information.

Student Feedback Fair – 1/18/12

Next week Wednesday, Jan. 18th from 11 am – 2 pm inside the Raider Grille (at the same time as Club Day), the Complaint Management Team will host a “Student Feedback Fair”. This event is designed to give students an open opportunity to give us feedback about what is working and how we can improve, based on a few questions similar to those used in Student Conversation Focus groups last year.

Please encourage the students you encounter (student employees, your classes, etc.) to stop by and offer their input. Every voice is important and the more feedback we receive, the better we can be. By offering their feedback, they will be entered in a drawing to win gift cards to the bookstore.

GRCC in the News – 1/11/12

College notebook: Petoskey grad Tracy helps Grand Rapids CC to two wins
By Kurt Grangood | News-Review sports writer | 5:00 a.m. EST, January 11, 2012

Petoskey graduate Grant Tracy scored five points, dished out two assists and grabbed two rebounds in helping the Grand Rapids Community College men’s basketball team to an 84-57 win over Kalamazoo Valley Community College.  (More)

Grand Rapids sacks its powerful football program
Posted: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 12:42 pm | Iowa Nonpareil Online | By Tony Boone

In the three years since Iowa Western joined the league, the Midwest Football Conference has survived the folding of programs at North Iowa Area Community College, Rock Valley (Ill.) and Joliet (Ill.). Losing its reigning champion, however, is sure to hurt a whole lot more.  (More)

Was ending GRCC football program the right move? Readers react
Published: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 11:59 AM | Grand Rapids Press

Grand Rapids Community College’s decision to discontinue the GRCC football program Monday brought out a wide range of emotions from readers. Demar Dorsey, left, participates in a defensive form tackling drill during practice last August at Houseman Field. Some were angry, others were sad, while others, like onelord , spent a little time reminiscing: (More)

After 80 years, Grand Rapids Community College ends football
12:15 PM, Jan. 10, 2012 | Detroit Free Press

GRAND RAPIDS – Grand Rapids Community College has ended its football program after 80 years and an undefeated season. The lack of competition in Michigan and long, costly bus trips as far as Georgia and North Dakota played a large role in the decision. The Grand Rapids Press said some players left during the meeting Monday while others cried. “This is a great loss,” athletic director Charlie Wells acknowledged.  (More)

Why more should have been done to save GRCC football program (commentary)
Published: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 10:30 AM | Grand Rapids Press

It didn’t take long for the unfortunate news concerning the discontinuation of the Grand Rapids Community College football program to spread.  (More)

GRCC Cited in Blackboard Press Release

GRCC was featured as a case study in a recent press release for the educational content management system Blackboard:

Blackboard plans for the solution to provide a complete view of teaching and learning, monitoring usage patterns and data in the learning management system (LMS) along with information from the student information system. The real-time and longitudinal data generated by the system would be used to help better engage students, measure and improve learning outcomes, and assess the adoption and use of online learning tools.

A number of four-year colleges and universities and two-year community colleges are participating in the field trial, including the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Seton Hall University, Grand Rapids Community College and Montgomery County Community College. All of the institutions currently use Blackboard Learn 9.1 for learning management, and will provide feedback on the solution as well as how they use the information it generates to help shape final development of the product.

“For years, we’ve sought ways to understand student performance and course effectiveness in our online learning programs,” said Kevin O’Halla, chief information officer at Grand Rapids Community College. “Blackboard Analytics for Blackboard Learn gives us greater insight, not just in a static semester-by-semester fashion, but over time, and in real time. While still in the trial, we’re already seeing how Grand Rapids can make better decisions about our course delivery to help ensure student success through a tool that is easy for end user analysis.”