SafeZone Training – 4/4/12

The SafeZone program is a diversity education program that includes all individuals in a personal journey toward greater understanding and inclusion (regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, weight, height, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, and disability, as a reflection of the GRCC EEOC statement). The program philosophy provides not only a safe space for all people, but also increases communication and understanding among people. One of the goals of SafeZone is to emphasize that all individuals will be treated and respected as human beings. Further, the program emphasizes that ignorance, bigotry, and harassment will not be tolerated in an environment of learning.

The next session will be held on: Wednesday, April 4, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Diversity Learning Center conference room, please register at dlcregistration@grcc.edu

Wyoming Middle College GRCC Partnership Signing – Photos

These photos were taken at the Wyoming Middle College-GRCC Letter Signing that took place at the Wyoming Public Schools Board meeting on March 26.  Through this program, students can earn their high school diploma and an Associate’s degree simultaneously.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Dr. Ender stated this was one of the most important documents he has signed since coming to the state of Michigan.

Dr. Reeder stated this will open the door to a great opportunity for the students who live here. We are proud to offer this program to our students beginning in the fall of 2012.

Salute to Women 2012 Reception – Photos

Yesterday GRCC’s Woodrick Diversity Learning Center held its annual Salute to Women Awards reception and honored this year’s recipients:

• Employee Award, Ms. Nancy Forrest | Professor, Mathematics Department
• Alumna Award, Ms. Jane Doyle | Former WASP (Women Air Force Service Pilot)
• Former Employee Award, Ms. Julie Johnson | Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids
• Student Award, Ms. Tonja Lofton | Student Congress President

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Catch up on the Race Ethnicity and Identity Conference With Streaming Video

In case you haven’t been able to attend all of the amazing sessions held during the Social Science Department’s Race, Ethnicity and Identity Conference, GRCC’s intrepid Media Technologies Department has already started publishing them to YouTube:

Race and Ethnicity Conference: The Myth of the Post-Racial Society

Race and Ethnicity Conference: Beyond the 11th

Race and Ethnicity: Field Studies in Geography

Reflecting the Community and Student Body – GRCC’s Efforts to Diversify Staff – Photos

The Race, Ethnicity and Identity Conference continued Tuesday with a panel discussion featuring Professor Steve Abid; GRCC; Dr. Gilda Gely, Provost; Cathy Wilson, Executive Director of Human Resources; Dr. Laurie Chesley, Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences; Eric Williams, Executive Director for Equity, Community & Legislative Affairs and Fiona Hert, Dean of the School of Workforce Development; Chris Arnold, Director of Diversity Learning Center.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Student Employee Appreciation Week – 4/9/12-4/13/12

Get your Lei on – Student Employee Appreciation Week will take place April 9-13, 2012 – on tap is a great slate of offerings:

• Monday April 9 | Dessert Day 12-2 p.m. Multi-Purpose Room 234 Student Center
• Tuesday April 10 | FREE Bag of Chips 12-2 p.m. GRCC Bookstore 1 Student Center
• Wednesday April 11 | Free Ice Cream Sundae 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Art & Bev’s 202 ATC
• Thursday April 12 | Student Employee Breakfast 8-10 a.m. Multi-Purpose Room 234 Student Center
• Friday April 13 | Student Employee Luau 1-3 p.m. ATC Atrium First Floor Student ID required to enter Food Music Contests Prizes!

In addition, student employees also get:

• FREE parking for one day
• FREE cookie with purchase of 6” sub from Subway
• FREE 16 oz. fountain pop at The Raider Grill
• FREE regular soda or cof fee with purchase from Patatas

GRCC in the News – 3/28/12

Grand Rapids Community College looking to make improvements at Belknap Park
Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 5:46 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Grand Rapids Community College wants to spruce up the baseball fields at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids – a move that administrators say would benefit students and residents.  (More)

Grand Rapids job cuts to push library back in time, critic says
Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 8:19 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – While Grand Rapids Public Library leaders preferred staff cuts to closing branches or reducing hours of operation, a unanimous vote tonight to ax 14 jobs including the Web branch manager will shut the city system’s “virtual front door,” said a college librarian who criticized the $494,000 budget cut. […] Library Director Marcia Warner plans to turn responsibility of grpl.org over to her communications staff, but that “is not going to work,” said Lisa M. Rabey, systems and Web librarian at Grand Rapids Community College.  (More)

‘Failure Is Not An Option’ summit seeks to empower Grand Rapids’ female students
Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 8:00 AM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Grand Rapids schools is partnering with Helping Important People Succeed (H.I.P.S.) to present the fourth annual “Failure Is Not An Option” conference for female students Thursday at St. Cecilia Music Center. […] The other speakers are: Laura B. Moody,a nursing professor at Grand Rapids Community College, Healthy Moms Healthy Babies.  (More)

Mott Community College baseball team wins first two MCCAA league games of season over Grand Rapids CC
Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 4:12 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The Mott Community College baseball team opened its MCCAA season Sunday with a sweep over Grand Rapids Community College, winning the doubleheader by scores of 6-3 and 2-1, respectively.  (More)

Bill Goff, who founded Cannonsburg Ski Area in 1960s, dies
Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 3:18 PM Updated: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 6:54 PM

CANNON TOWNSHIP, MI – A half-century ago, Bill Goff returned home from a long weekend of skiing with his young family up north with an idea: Why not create a ski area closer to Grand Rapids area residents like himself? […] He played basketball at Grand Rapids Junior College before heading to the University of Michigan to study business.  (More)

Youth Engagement Zone Student Showcase

The Department of Experiential Learning (DEL) is pleased to welcome students and teachers from Godfrey-Lee and Kelloggsville Public Schools to participate in the Learn and Serve Youth Engagement Zone grant “Student Showcase”. Please visit the Showcase today in the Applied Technology Center from 10:30-12:00pm. Students and teachers will present their service learning projects focused on sustainability and economic revitalization.

Additionally, a number of community organizations will be on hand to showcase their service learning partnerships as well as representatives from Kent County College Access Network informing students about going to college.

More information about the Youth Engagement Zone grant, and the projects students participated in can be found at the Kent-ISD YEZ website.

More information about Academic Service Learning initiatives at GRCC, can be found at the website of the Department of Experiential Learning. Also, be sure to like the Facebook page.

Formation Retreats are Back

For the eleventh year GRCC’s Staff Development office is pleased to offer a unique form of professional development for GRCC employees. For three days, GRCC faculty and staff are invited to step away from their daily work activities to consider the personal and professional questions of working at the college. The themes and questions to consider include:

• Why were you called to this work?
• What is the intention of your work?
• How do you stay renewed in your role?

Rooted in the Formation work of Dr. Parker J. Palmer, these retreats offer a safe space to pose questions, seek answers, examine motives, and explore new ideas about the most important work we do at the college. The goal is to help those who work at GRCC sustain and renew their passion, enthusiasm, and commitment to the students, their colleagues, the college, and the communities they serve.

In this retreat, skilled facilitators help create a quiet, focused, and disciplined space in which participants can pause and reflect on their own beliefs about working at the college. In large group, small group, and solitary settings, we will explore the intersection of our personal and professional lives, making use of stories from our own journeys, and insights from poets, storytellers, and various wisdom traditions. These retreats strive to develop a deeper understanding of how your role at the college intersects with who you are as a person.

This year two retreat opportunities are available. For those of you who are new to the formation retreats, an Introduction to Formation retreat will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9th and end with lunch on Friday, May 11th. For seasoned former participants looking to revisit the experience, a Continuing Formation Retreat will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 6th and end with lunch on Tuesday, May 8th. Both retreats will be held at the Gilchrist Retreat Center near Three Rivers, MI. You can see info on Gilchrist here.

You can register at www.grcc.edu/currentlearning or call Staff Development at 616.234.3848. If you have questions about the retreat, feel free to email Frank Conner at fconner@grcc.edu, call him at 616.234.3612, or contact Judy Jankowski at jjankows@grcc.edu or 616.234.4409. The cost of this event is covered by Staff Development.

Race Ethnicity and Identity Conference Events for 3/28/12

Wednesday, March 28th

Race, Ethnicity, and the Hispanic Vote in American Politics
1:00-2:30 p.m. | Assistant Professor Heather Forrest, GRCC

“I am a Woman’s Rights”: Color, Class and Feminism in the Early Twentieth Century
3:00-4:30 p.m. | Assistant Professor Susan Williams, GRCC

Race Ethnicity and Identity Conference Welcomes Susan Retik – Photos

Last night at GRCC’s Spectrum Theater, the Race Ethnicity and Identity Conference hosted Susan Retik, one of the founders of “Beyond the 11th,” is a non-profit organization that provides support to widows in Afghanistan who have been affl icted by war, terrorism & oppression.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

GRCC Preschool Students Visit McCabe Marlowe House to Learn About Home Building

Children from the GRCC Preschool Laboratory recently visited the McCabe-Marlowe House and the Architectural Design Department to help them learn more about their current study on homes. The children had the opportunity to visit the McCabe-Marlowe House on March 15th where they were given an inside and outside tour of the house, as well as a brief historical perspective of the house.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

On March 16th, the children also took another field trip to the Mechanical and Architectural Design department to gain further knowledge into how homes are designed and built. They were able to look at a variety of blueprints and house models which were displayed to further enhance their understanding of homes. We wanted to offer a special thanks to both Ann Marie Birr from the Foundation and College Advancement Office and Charlotte Pease from the Mechanical and Architectural Design for their efforts for making both of these field trips possible for the children.

Facts About the GRCC Facilities Millage Request – Video

GRCC President Dr. Steven C. Ender explains the basic facts of the facilities millage request that will appear on the ballot for voters in the Kent Intermediate School District on May 8, 2012.

GRCC in the News – 3/17/12

MI vets find tough job market
7:44 PM, Mar 26, 2012 | WZZM

GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM)- The people that fought for our freedom are having a tough time finding work. The government says the jobless rate among veterans who served since the September 11th attacks is 12 percent. […] Michigan veterans have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. The veterans office at Grand Rapids Community College says for Michigan’s vets it’s a staggering 29 percent.  (More)

GRCC and Wyoming schools sign deal allowing students to earn diploma and degree
Published: Monday, March 26, 2012, 6:30 PM | Grand Rapids Press

WYOMING, MI – In four years, Wyoming Public Schools expects to graduate its first group of students earning both a high school diploma and an associate of arts degree. Tonight, the school board voted unanimously to create a middle college program with Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC). Superintendent Tom Reeder and GRCC President Steve Ender signed a letter of intent.  (More)

GRCC, WPS Partner for ‘Middle College’ Program
Paul Cicchini, WOOD Radio News Team | Monday, March 26, 2012

Grand Rapids Community College and Wyoming Public Schools are partnering to offer students the opportunity to earn a diploma and an associate’s degree. GRCC and WPS are expected to sign a letter of intent duing tonight’s school board meeting, which would begin the creation process of a middle college program for the fall of 2012.  (More)

GRCC and Wyoming schools partnering so students can earn degree and diploma simultaneously
Published: Monday, March 26, 2012, 4:00 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Grand Rapids Community College and Wyoming Public Schools leaders plan to sign a letter of intent tonight to begin a middle college program this fall, providing students the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and an associate of arts degree in five years.  (More)

Top 5 Cities with Growing Manufacturing
March 26, 2012 | Composites Manufacturing Online

5. Grand Rapids, Michigan | Manufacturing contributed to 90.2 percent of the export growth in the Grand Rapids, Mich.,metropolitan area during 2010. Grand Rapids boasted one of the fastest growing export rates in the country from 2009-2010. […] Also in the area is Grand Rapids Community College, which hosts an 80-hour job training program to become a composite technician.  (More)

Race Ethnicity and Identity Conference Events for 3/27/12

Tuesday, March 27th

Reflecting the Community and Student Body: GRCC’s Efforts to Diversify Staff
9:30-11:00 a.m. | Panel Discussion: Professor Steve Abid; GRCC; Dr. Gilda Gely, Provost; Cathy Wilson, Executive Director of Human Resources; Dr. Laurie Chesley, Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences; Eric Williams, Executive Director for Equity, Community & Legislative Affairs and Fiona Hert, Dean of the School of Workforce Development; Chris Arnold, Director of Diversity Learning Center.

Field Studies in Geography at GRCC Special Topics: Ethnicity and Food in Western Michigan and Searching for Understanding South Africa
2:00-3:30 p.m. | Facilitator: Professor Mike DeVivo, GRCC and GRCC Geography Students: Brian Woodin, Adrienna Ozinga, Kara Apodaca, Sarah Nusbaum and Lindsey Harris

Race and Politics in Modern Brazil
6:15-7:45 p.m. | Professor Keith St. Clair, GRCC

Grand Rapids and the People Without History: The Historical Landscape of the City of Grand Rapids
8:00-9:30 p.m. | Assistant Professor Dillon Carr, Ph.D, GRCC