Monthly Archives: February 2012

Sixth Annual Teaching Learning and Technology Showcase – 3/22/12

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Attention faculty, be sure to save-the-date and plan to attend the 6th Annual Teaching, Learning, and Technology Showcase on March 22, 2012 to see… the next generation of Blackboard, code name: “OCHO.”

The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Showcase is a unique event for sharing, learning, experiencing, and connecting with your colleagues around the topic of teaching, learning, and technology.  It all happens on the First Floor of Cook Hall from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

No registration is required and the event is free.  For more information, visit grcc.edu/showcase

GRCC Receives $20,000 Check for Scholarships Thanks to Restaurant Week GR

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restaurant week gr 2011 check presentation

Thanks to the community-wide efforts of Restaurant Week 2011 (last fall), including our Heritage Restaurant, the GRCC Foundation was the beneficiary of the proceeds from the week-long event. The $20,393 check will go towards the Restaurant Week Scholarship.

The check was presented at the annual meeting for Experience Grand Rapids. The lunch featured the culinary talents of four local chefs- Jenna Arcidiacono (Amore Trattoria Italiana- and GRCC Art alum), Justin Dalenberg (six.one.six), Matthew Millar (Reserve), and Patrick Wise (Grove). The theme focused on fresh, local ingredients. C’est fantastique!

Cathy Wilson’s husband (Ed) is the board chairman. Thanks, Ed.

GRCC in the News – 2/29/12

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Redefining fashion: Students at Grand Rapids Community College look to draw new customers to the Salvation Army
Published: Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 4:49 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS — Students at Grand Rapids Community College want to reinvent how people think about the Salvation Army. Seven GRCC students are hosting a fashion show on Thursday night at The Salvation Army Thrift Store, 1491 S. Division Ave. Their goal: Show the public that the thrift store has the clothing that fits the taste of everyone from cash-strapped college students to fashion enthusiasts.  (More)

Restaurant Week in Grand Rapids moving from November to August for third annual event
Published: Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 2:26 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS — Convention and visitors bureau organizers announced today that Restaurant Week in Grand Rapids will move from late fall to late summer for its third incarnation. […] Small made the announcement at the J.W. Marriott hotel this afternoon, where a check for $20,393 was presented to Grand Rapids Community College’s Secchia Institute for Culinary Education, part of Restaurant Week proceeds last November.  (More)

Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team feels like ‘America’s Team’
February 28, 2012 | By Tim Hipps, nstallation Management Command Public Affairs | USArmy.mil

[…] Saul Bosquez played high school, American Legion and two seasons of junior college baseball at Grand Rapids Community College before joining the Army. He soon deployed as a specialist from Fort Benning, Ga., to Iraq. On Aug. 1, 2007, Bosquez had completed a convoy of Iraqi police checkpoints and was returning to base when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device that broke his left leg in 11 places and collected two of his right toes. Eventually, he became a below-the-knee amputee.  (More)

Diversity Lecture Series Presents Naomi Wolf – 3/14/12

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GRCC Diversity Lecture Series Presents Naomi WolfNaomi Wolf – March 14, 2012 | Author, Social Critic, Political Activist

Beyond Victimization: The Beauty Myth Revisited

Author of seven books, including the New York Times best-seller The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf focuses on gender equality, pervasive inequities in society and politics, the defense of liberty in America and internationally, and body image. She is the cofounder of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, which teaches ethics and empowerment to young women leaders.

In Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries, Wolf argues that breathtaking changes take place when ordinary citizens engage in the democratic system the way the founders intended, through civic engagement.

  • Lecture begins 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

More: NaomiWolf.org | Twitter: @NaomiRWolf

Help Choose our Campus Clicker Standard

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AGC will be voting on a classroom response system (“clicker”) standard for GRCC this spring so that all faculty have the option to use this technology in their classes. The committee that has been evaluating vendors would love your feedback on our top two options: Turning Point and i>clicker.

The vendors have created videos for GRCC if you would like detailed information about how each system works.

You can learn about the Turning Point clicker here.

You can learn about the i>clicker here.

If you would like to see the clickers in person or just provide feedback about what you would like us to prioritize in our decision-making please feel free to contact either Meegan Willi (x2395 ) or Lisa Gloege (x4781)

GRCC Student Food Pantry and Food Drive Team Challenge Update 2/28/12

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GRCC Food Pantry Update 2/28/12

The GRCC Student Food Pantry has been up and running for a week and a half and has had a wonderful impact on the students its served. We currently have 23 students signed up to participate in the pantry program and 10 students have used it so far this month.

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We have had a great turnout for food donations lately with approximately 455 pounds donated just last week from our Food Drive Team Challenge. The standings for the Food Drive Team Challenge are as follows:

  • Almighty ISIS: 177.6
  • Awesome: 0
  • Biology Learning Center: 0
  • Counseling Cares: 103.8
  • Food Busters: 0
  • Food Fighters: 183.2
  • The FIVE-O: 228.2
  • The Incr”edibles”: 95.4

GRCC in the News – 2/28/12

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Grand Rapids Community College: Students would benefit under President Obama’s proposed $8 billion funding boost for community colleges
Published: Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 7:53 AM | Grand Rapids Press

Job training is a crucial part of Grand Rapids Community College’s mission, administrators say. So GRCC President Steven Ender is pleased that President Barack Obama is proposing an $8 billion injection for community colleges to train up to 2 million people for jobs in high-growth fields.  (More)

Michigan factories humming with wind power
february 28, 2012 | Reve

The story of recent wind turbines supply-chain entrant Energetx Composites of Holland, Mich., and how wind energy providing new economic opportunities is the subject of the latest segment of WindTV. […] Just one example: in need of workers for the company’s new growth area, it partnered with Grand Rapids Community College on a composite technician training course. Energetx has already hired 20 people from the course. “Jobs are needed in Michigan,” says Slikkers. “This is a way we’ve been able to create jobs, through this diversification.”  (More)

Grand Rapids has paid three trip-and-fall personal injury claims made in 2011
Published: Monday, February 27, 2012, 1:56 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS – Of 12 roadway trip-and-fall claims filed with the city in 2011, three so far have been settled with public compensation, according to a city report. […] Among the outstanding claims: a September 2011 trip and fall on uneven pavement on Crescent Street NE near the entrance to Grand Rapids Community College’s Calkins Science Center, resulting in injury that required surgeries; and a June 2011 bicycle crash allegedly caused by poor road conditions on State Street SE near Grand Rapids Pizza & Delivery.  (More)

Congratulations to Latest Cohort of Online and Hybrid Certified Faculty

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Online learning continues to grow at GRCC with over 5,100 student enrollments this Winter semester in online courses. This represents a 20% increase in one year. Furthermore, according to the 2011 Survey of Online Learning, the number of students taking at least one online course has now surpassed 6 million with nearly 1/3 of all students in higher education are taking at least one online course. This trend, along with GRCC’s Distance Learning College Action Project’s purpose which is to expand the college’s online learning program so that 25% of the courses at GRCC are offered in the online and hybrid format demonstrates the commitment to distance learning.

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The Department of Distance Learning and Instructional Technologies would like to recognize the following faculty in their recent Online & Hybrid Certification! They join over 300 of their colleagues in advancing the next generation of teaching and learning through online courses.

  1. Brent Alles – Business Department
  2. Dave Beighley – Psychology
  3. Jocelyn Bunce – Wellness
  4. Kymberli Flanagan – Culinary Arts
  5. Neal Getz – Social Sciences
  6. Mary Godfrey – Dental
  7. Michael Halprin – Computer Applications
  8. Daniel Jesse – Language and Thought
  9. Nicholas Johnson – English
  10. Katherine Leeuwenburg – Computer Applications
  11. Victoria McCarthy – Performing Arts
  12. Karen Niemchick – Biology
  13. Tammy Scott – English
  14. Michaelene White – Psychology
  15. Nefertiti Williams – Mathematics
  16. Mary Jo Zygmond – Social Sciences

The Online & Hybrid Certification Course is a 5 week certification course that provides faculty with skills, techniques, and strategies to prepare, design, and teach online courses. Thanks to Garry Brand (Business Department Professor and DLIT Lead Faculty Facilitator), Meegan Willi (DLIT Instructional Technologist/Designer), and Tim Koets and Luann Keizer (Computer Applications Department and DLIT Faculty Facilitators) for being the facilitators of the OHCC course. And to the Center for Teaching Excellence for providing the registration and logistics that makes this training a success.

Interested in joining your peers and becoming certified to teach online at GRCC? Check out the Teaching Online web page at DLIT here, the OHCC syllabus here and consult the CTE webpage for upcoming trainings.

PACE and SOS Survey Results Available

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Staff Opinion Survey (SOS) and Personal Assessment of the College Environment (PACE) survey results for 2011 are now available to employees.  Two different PACE reports are available – the first is a breakdown of the results by Personnel Classification (Report 1) and the second breaks down the results by Division, Employee Group, and Ethnicity (Report 2).  There is also an Executive Summary that highlights the key areas of each survey.

Human Resources will offer focus group opportunities for employees to come and review the data and offer input around ‘what improvement looks like’. This year, we plan to hold combined sessions including both PACE and Staff Opinion Survey results. The results from these sessions will be shared with cabinet and all BCO’s so that specific department action plans can be developed to address opportunities for improvement.

Four sessions, “Putting Input Into Action”, have been scheduled for March:

  • Tuesday,March 6 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
  • Thursday, March 15 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
  • Wednesday, March 21 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
  • Monday, March 26 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

If you are interested in learning more about the SOS and PACE survey results and/or providing suggestions for improvement opportunities, please go to Staff Development’s web page to register for one of these focus group sessions.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Jessica Berens X3179 or Cathy Wilson X3971.