Learning Opportunities from Staff Development – 1/25/12 – 1/31/12

What’s New in Windows 7?
This is an overview session of the new Windows 7. Mark Dodd will share the significant changes in this new version of Windows. Attendees will receive the Windows Quick Start Card. This is a handy reference tool. All sessions will be in 351 Main.

Wednesday January 25, 2012 9:30 – 10:30 AM
Tuesday January 31, 2012 10 – 11 AM
Wednesday February 8, 2012 10 – 11 AM

Ethics at GRCC
Join Kathy Keating as she reviews the GRCC Ethics policy and what it means for GRCC Employees

Wednesday January 25, 2012 9 – 11 AM 214 Sneden

Search Committee Team Training
Be prepared to participate on a hiring team. This session is facilitated by Jessica Berens, Jim Fox, and Faye Davis

Thursday January 26, 2012 9 – 11 AM 351 Main

Unintentional Blindness
Unintentional Blindness is a powerful workshop, where participants leave with the skills necessary to recognize micro-inequities in delivering inclusive service and tools to mitigate cross cultural miscommunications. The workshop is filled with interactive activities, dialogue, skill building and even some fun.

Thursday January 26, 2012 2 – 3:30 PM Diversity Learning Center 122 LRC

Facilitating Difficult Conversations
Participant discussion in response to short vignettes related to critical teaching moments in classrooms and raises issues of free speech/hate speech, classroom climate, pedagogy, confronting oppressive behavior and a host of other topics related to learning environments.

Tuesday January 31, 2012 1 – 2:30 PM Diversity Learning Center 122 LRC

These sessions are open to all GRCC employees. Go to www.grcc.edu/currentlearning to register or contact Staff Development at employeedevelopment@grcc.edu for additional assistance.

Raider Salute to Raynard Ross

This salute comes from Diane Patrick in the Admissions Office:

Raider Salute to Raynard Ross, Director of Upward Bound, and his Upward Bound Students as they volunteered again this year to assist with the MLK Day events held here at the College. This is an annual event for the group that provides an opportunity for cultural and historical reflection and group discussion afterwards.

Staff Development Learning Opportunity – Unintentional Blindness

On Thursday, January 26, 2012 from 2 – 3:30 PM Staff Development, in partnership with the Diversity Learning Center, will be offering ‘Unintentional Blindness”.  Unintentional Blindness is a powerful workshop, where participants leave with the skills necessary to recognize micro-inequities in delivering inclusive service and tools to mitigate cross cultural miscommunications. The workshop is filled with interactive activities, dialogue, skill building and even some fun.  This has received great reviews from previous sessions. Don’t miss this chance. Enroll today at www.grcc.edu/currentlearning

W-2 Pick-up for GRCC Employees and Student Workers

Attention all Staff and Student Workers:

• 2011 W-2’s will be available for pick up starting Thursday, January 26th through Monday, January 30th at the DeVos Campus Administration building in the 1st floor lobby.
• You will be required to show valid picture ID, which indicates your first and last name information.
• W-2’s will only be released to the employee. You will not be able to pick up W2’s for friends, spouses, etc.
• W-2’s that are not picked up by Monday, January 30th at 5:00 PM will be mailed on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 to the address on file for the employee.
• Lost, misplaced, destroyed, or W2’s mailed to an incorrect address will not be replaced until after March 1, 2012.
• There is a $10.00 service charge for any W-2 replacement copy requested.

GRCC Student Food Pantry Nearing Completion – Still Needs Your Help

The GRCC Student Food Pantry is on its way to completion but we still need your help! Watch this video to see the new space and get an update on our progress.

In the past few weeks, lots of work has been done to ensure that it is up and running for its slated opening by February 17th. During the holiday break, Joe Milito and his staff worked diligently renovating the space from an office to a working food pantry and ensuring that it was up to code. Walls and doors were removed, a new laminate floor was installed, and some touch up’s were done around the space to prepare it for the shelving units. The Secchia Institute for Culinary Education generously gave us a long term loan on the shelving units that are in the space.

The shelves are in the process of being stocked with all the food that has been donated by the GRCC community – students, faculty, and staff, but we are still in need of your help. We have had an amazing response to our food drives, but we still need more food and basic necessity items to help fill the shelves.  Here’s a list of all of the items still needed: GRCC Food Pantry List (.pdf).

Thank you in advance for all of your help and donations!

We would also like to say a huge thank you to Student Congress, Campus Activities, Joe Milito, Oene Pomper, Jim Taylor, Jim Steensma, Neal McGladdery, Martin DeVries, Gary Carpenter, Mike Kidder and his student employees, Vicki Janowiak,  Julie Lenger and the Grand Rapids Community College Foundation for all of your hard work and support in making this food pantry possible!

Raider Salute to Elleena Chrzan

This salute comes from Dan Zehr in Campus Dining:

GRCC Campus Dining would like to salute Elleena Chrzan for her overwhelming support of Campus Dining and her passion for GRCC’s mission and purpose. Elleena has recruited Campus Dining time and time again for events, meeting, & other various functions and we are truly great full for her level of respect, integrity, and excellence in all she does and involves us in.

Condolences to the Family and Colleagues of Harry Bloem

Recently Harry Bloem, a Distinguished Alumni of GRCC, passed away.  From his obituary:

BLOEM – Harry J. Bloem, age 83, of Grand Rapids went to be with his Lord Jesus Christ on January 13, 2012. His life on earth was marked by long-tenured service to the many people and organizations that he loved. He was grateful for the opportunities they afforded him to contribute to the success of both others and himself. His service-to-others and theirs-to-him were broad and deep. […] He also was a recipient of a distinguished alumni award from Grand Rapids Community College. (More)

GRCC in the News – 1/23/12

Grand Rapids Community College trustees expected to vote today on $100 million tax increase
Published: Monday, January 23, 2012, 9:00 AM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS – Grand Rapids Community College trustees are expected to decide today if they will ask voters to raise taxes – and debate how much to ask for and when they should head to the polls.  (More)

Grand Rapids Community College Bids Farewell to Grand Football Tradition
Published January 21, 2012 | Community College Review | Written by Grace Chen

While not every community college boasts a robust sports program, those that do provide an outlet for student athletes to come and compete while getting their post-secondary education. Unfortunately, one Midwestern school has found that despite a long and illustrious history, they can no longer support the football program that has been an integral part of campus life. Grand Rapids Community College has bid a sudden farewell to their football program this year, after enjoying an 80-year tradition and plenty of notoriety through individual athletes and numerous winning seasons.  (More)

Garrett Borns: West Michigan prodigy banking on belief that less is more (videos)
Published: Friday, January 20, 2012, 6:29 AM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND HAVEN — When Garrett Borns was only 10 years old, he was doing magic acts at parties — and getting paid for it. “I was Garrett the Great, back then,” he says. […] After graduating from high school, where he sang in the choir, Borns — who says he’s mostly self-taught on musical instruments — took some classes in classical piano at Grand Rapids Community College.  (More)

Mercantile Bank sweetens the 5×5 Night pot with ‘mini-investment’ crowd option this month
Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 1:38 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS — It’s a new year and time to add another ‘5’ to 5×5 Night. […] Judges this month include: Liz McCormick, director of innovation initiatives at Grand Rapids Community College and the Keller Futures Center.  (More)

State of the State bodes well for Michigan farmers, agriculture director says
Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 9:40 AM | Grand Rapids Press

Michigan farmers are key players in Michigan’s progress in 2012, agriculture officials said today, following Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State address Wednesday night.  (More)

Expert critiques Snyder’s State of the State
10:56 PM, Jan 18, 2012 | WZZM 13

GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) — A longtime communications professor says Gov. Rick Snyder delivered his State of the State address like a businessman, not a politician. […] Billie Sue Berends was a professor in communications, most recently at Grand Rapids Community College. She’s taught classes in communications for more than 40 years.  (More)

Muskegon Community College women’s basketball team defeats rival Grand Rapids CC
Published: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 10:09 PM | Muskegon Chronicle

The Muskegon Community College women’s basketball team evened their Western Conference record at 3-3 with a 64-50 victory over rival Grand Rapids Community College.  (More)

A triple treat!: Trumpeters team-up for solo during Bonita Springs Concert Band concert Sunday
By LAURA GATES | The Naples Banner | Posted January 18, 2012 at 6 a.m.

BONITA SPRINGS — At age 28, Rodolfo Antonio Castillo had reached the pinnacle of professional music in his homeland of Chile, leading the trumpet section in the National Chilean Symphony. […] Like Castillo, [Lynn] Asper is a music educator, having recently retired after more than 40 years of teaching at the high school and collegiate levels. He conducted the Kent Philharmonic Orchestra at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan for 24 years and performed frequently with the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra.  (More)

Condolences to the Family of Kathy Hartigh

Condolences to Kathy Hartigh, a long-time employee and retiree of Grand Rapids Community College, and her family. Kathy lost her son, Todd, last week.  For more information, the obituary is available here.

Jeff Johnson “Everything I’m not made me Everything I am” – 2/15/12

Jeff Johnson – February 15, 2012
Author, Journalist, Social Activist
Everything I’m Not Made Me Everything I Am

Jeff Johnson is renowned both for his conversations with world figures in the political, business and entertainment arenas and his grass-roots work seeking to inspire the next generation of leaders. Johnson is a trailblazing social entrepreneur and authentic voice for change. Sometimes called the “conscience voice” of BET Networks, Johnson looks for ways to merge the worlds of politics and popular culture, through broad-based communication, including as a contributor to the Tom Joyner Morning Show. He is the author of Everything I’m Not Made Me Everything I Am.

• All lectures begin at 7:00 p.m. at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. NE, Grand Rapids, MI
• Free and open to all
• On-campus parking $3.00 (with discount pass)
• ASL Interpreted

Buddha Loves Geometry – At Least According to Japanese? – 1/25/12

The Grand Rapids Community College Mathematics Department will be hosting its next monthly Mathematics Seminar on Wednesday, January 25, 3:00 – 4:00 PM in 111 Cook. Our speaker will be GRCC Adjunct Mathematics Instructor Wayne Hsieh. The title and abstract of Wayne’s talk may be found below.

This talk should accessible to anyone with some knowledge of algebra and geometry. As always, anyone from the greater GRCC community is welcome.

Pop and cookies will be served at 2:45 PM.

Buddha loves geometry… at least according to Japanese?

Sangaku (or San Gaku) are Japanese geometric puzzles carved on wood tablets that are used as offerings at Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples. The puzzles consist of circles and triangles utilizing concepts from Euclidean geometry, and they typically ask the solver to find the relationship between the circles and triangles.  In this particular Sangaku, we will be looking at three circles placed inside a particular right triangle, and will investigate the radii and areas of the circles.