GRCC Poets Conference Kicks Off – Photos and Video

GRCC is hosting the historic first Grand Rapids Poets’ Conference, featuring poets from GRCC, Grand Valley State University, Aquinas College and Calvin College, all four Grand Rapids Poets Laureate, as well as those poets who have made livings and published extensively beyond academe, activist poets, and those who have developed quietly over decades of work.

The 4-day event will take place April 2-5, with panels and sessions in 108 Sneden Hall by day and readings on the 2nd floor of the library by night. In addition, there will be readings by local prize winners as well as open mic readings.

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All events are free to the public and supported by GRCC, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and the Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids.

Learning Opportunities From Staff Development Thursday 4/5/12

Staff Development would like to put forth a challenge to all GRCC staff to fill both sessions taking place this Thursday. The sessions detailed below have met the number of minimum participants to keep the session alive. However, there are still seats available and we’d be thrilled to have you join one or both. Register today at http://cms.grcc.edu/currentlearning

Defusing Rude Behavior
Thursday April 5, 2012 | 2-4:00 PM | 129 Main

Sara Dorer understands it can be difficult to know how to react when you are confronted with rude behavior. In this course, she will facilitate the examination of a number of cases of rude behavior and will provide participants with effective tactics to responding in these situations.

Project Management 101
Thursday April 5, 2012 | 9-11:00 AM | 129 Main

Joan Epperson leads a hands-on session that will examine basic processes for project management including assembling a team, defining project objectives and scope, identifying and communicating with stakeholders, creating a timeline, delegating responsibilities, monitoring progress, and examining indicators of process effectiveness and accomplishment of objectives. Tools for project management are provided.

Reminder – Tornado Drills Scheduled for This Week

Given the unseasonably warm – and unpredictable – weather we’ve been experiencing, the emergency response is planning a series of tornado drills in preparation for inclement spring weather.  For a list of evacuation locations in the event of a tornado, visit www.grcc.edu/tornado

These will take place April 4-5; below is the schedule for your review and for your planning purposes:

Tentative Tornado Drill Schedule:

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

• Spectrum Theater 8:15 AM
• ATC 8:45 AM
• LRC 9:15 AM
• Music Building 9:45 AM

Thursday, April 5

• Calkins Science Center 8:45 AM
• Ford Field House 9:15 AM
• Student Center 9:45 AM
• Cook & College Park Plaza 10:15 AM
• Main 10:45 AM
• DeVos Campus | Sneden, White Hall & Admin Building 11:30 AM
• Tassell MTEC 2:00 PM

Thank you in advance for your participation. Please contact theCommunications Department with your questions.

Communications Team Comes Home With Silver

GRCC’s Communications Dept. team received a second place at the NCMPR national conference this year in the banners and outdoor advertising category.

NCMPR, the National Council of Marketing and Public Relations, is comprised of communications, marketing and promotion professionals from community colleges across the U.S. This year NCMPR received 1,786 entries from 276 two-year institutions.

GRCC in the News – 4/3/12

Readers debate whether GRCC’s payouts for unused sick and vacation days is good practice (with poll)
Published: Tuesday, April 03, 2012, 8:30 AM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Readers had a lot to say about a story that appeared on MLive.com Sunday detailing how much recent retirees from Grand Rapids Community College received for unused sick and vacation days.  (More)

Trayvon killing triggers race relation debate (Video Segment)
WZZM TV | April 3, 2012

[Features GRCC Professor Keith St. Clair]  (More)

Poets conference comes to GRCC
9:49 PM, Apr 2, 2012 | WZZM TV | By Chris Zoladz

GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM)- Creative writers from Grand Rapids gathered this afternoon for a first of its kind event. Grand Rapids Community College hosted a poets’ conference.  (More)

Grand Valley State University says it OK’d student keeping guinea pig for emotional support
Published: Monday, April 02, 2012, 5:52 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Grand Valley State University student who sued the university after it denied her request to keep an emotional support animal on campus has kept a guinea pig in her room with university permission, GVSU said this afternoon. GVSU said Kendra Velzen has had approval to keep a guinea pig in her university-owned apartment since late last year. […] Velzen had taken courses for several years at Grand Rapids Community College. Her health issues, including implanting a pacemaker in 2009, kept her from enrolling at GVSU earlier.  (More)

GRCC students raise money to educate African girls
Published: Monday, April 02, 2012, 4:57 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A group of students at Grand Rapids Community College plan on donating about $1,700 to a nonprofit organization that helps impoverished girls in Africa get an education.  (More)

Edith Blodgett, longtime supporter of the Grand Rapids Symphony, dies at 95
Published: Monday, April 02, 2012, 2:05 PM | Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Edith Blodgett, a longtime supporter of the Grand Rapids Symphony and last of the storied Blodgett family to have lived in the Brookby Estate, has died in Grand Rapids at 95. […] She graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School and attended Grand Rapids Junior College, now GRCC.  (More)

Culinary Student Eric Purple Wins Scholarship From Kent County Lodging Association

The hard work of Secchia Institute for Culinary Education student Eric Purple has paid off as he’s been awarded $500 from the Scholarship Committee of the Kent County Lodging Association (KCLA) and a membership in the professional organization.

From the award letter:

“[Eric’s] extra-curricular involvement, passion for service, and experience in [his] field of study will serve as an enormous asset to the Hospitality Industry. As an organization, we look forward to working with [him] as a colleague in the future.”

Trayvon Martin Silent Hoodie March And CRY 4 Justice Rally

On Wednesday April 4th at 3:15 PM GRCC’s Black Student Union invites Faculty, Staff, Students and Community Members to participate in a Silent Hoodie March that will begin at 3:15 pm sharp. The March will begin in the Bostwick Commons on the corner of Lyon & Bostwick and proceed to Rosa Parks Circle and back to campus.   Remember to wear your hoodies.

City and County Testing Warning Sirens on First of Month

Beginning April 6, 2012 and continuing through October 5, 2012, the Kent County Sheriff Department and the City of Grand Rapids will be activating their emergency outdoor warning sirens at noon, on the first Friday of every month.