GRCC In the News, 3-19-13

GRCC faculty contract would freeze base salaries, circumvent right-to-work laws

March 18, 2013; MLive

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The Grand Rapids Community College Board of Trustees is expected to vote tonight on a new five-year faculty contract, an agreement that administrators say would put the college on more sustainable financial footing.

How new GRCC contract aims to curb faculty compensation

March 18, 2013; MLive

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — After more than two years at the negotiating table, the Grand Rapids Community College Faculty Association has a new contract.

West Ottawa math team tops in GRCC challenge

March 18, 2013; The Holland Sentinel

Ottawa County — The West Ottawa High School math team took first place at the Psi Division of the Ninth- and 10th- Grade Math Challenge at Grand Rapids Community College, March 16.

Whitehall’s Chip Will finds a home coaching volleyball for NJCAA champs

March 18, 2013; The White Lake Beacon

GRAND RAPIDS — It’s natural in the coaching profession to always be thinking, at least subconsciously, about the next move, the next job, the next home.
Fortunately for Whitehall High School alum and current Grand Rapids Community College volleyball coach Chip Will, he’s already found the home he wants to keep in coaching.

Smith’s Long Journey Home

March 18, 2013; recruiting.scout.com

The recruitment of former Akron Buchtel wide receiver Corey Smith is certainly not the normal recruiting story. In the summer of 2011, Smith was ruled ineligible by the Ohio High School Association, and not allowed to play his senior season at Buchtel.

For a player with multiple offers, this was not the way Smith envisioned his senior season going, so his road to Division-I football took a slight detour. The 6-foot-1, 187-pound, athlete decided to enroll at Grand Rapids Community College, and he soon realized this wasn’t big-time college football.

Analog shutoff affects some parts of campus

It has come to our attention that Comcast (our cable TV provider) has permanently ceased to broadcast in the analog band.

This means that in areas of the campus that receive cable TV but do not have digital tuners (classrooms and some other areas) there will be no cable TV service other than the two channels listed below. We currently offer two channels in the analog band that we re-broadcast locally:

• Channel 16: CNN
• Channel 17: The Weather Channel

These two channels are unaffected by the analog shutoff and should be available campus-wide.

We will look into adding more channels to the campus analog lineup in the future.

IT Project Requests (2013-2014) Due Monday March 25th

The due date for 2013-2014 project requests is being extended from March 11th to March 25th. As you submit your department plans, please follow up with your IT project requests. www.grcc.edu/pmo/projectrequest

The Project Prioritization Team will be reviewing the 2013-2014 project requests during their April and May discussions.

For more information about the fiscal planning of project requests, read the March edition of ReadIT.

www.grcc.edu/informationtechnology

If you have any questions or concerns, please call: Darcy Swope, Project Management Office,  phone: (616) 234-3455.

3 GRCC Wellness students win state award

Jared Dubay, Jessica Lewis and April Richard, all students in GRCC’s Principles of Physical Education class, will receive the Heart and Soul Award from Michigan Campus Compact in recogition of their time, effort and personal commitment to their communities through service. They will receive the honor during the 17th annual Outstanding Student Service Awards Celebration on  April 13, 2013,  in East Lansing.

Congratulations, Jared, Jessica and April!

President’s Health & Wellness Award accepting nominations!

The President’s Health & Wellness Award is to recognize a GRCC employee who exemplifies ‘Wellness’ through actions and words. For questions call Julie Otte at x3490 To read more or nominate someone click here.

Guitarist Mark Kroos to perform April 9, 2013

The Grand Rapids Community College International Guitar Series presents Mark Kroos, Double Neck Guitar Wizard, on 7:30 p.m. April 9, 2013, in the Recital Hall (room 200) of the GRCC Music Center at Ransom and Lyon.

Admission is $7 for students and seniors, and $10 for everyone else; $1 parking is available in the GRCC student parking ramp with a GRCC guest parking voucher sold at the door.

Call 234-3940 for further information or e-mail: bmorris@grcc.edu.

Mark Kroos plays 2 guitar necks at the same time. Originally from Lansing, MI, but currently based in Williamsburg, VA, he is one of the only people in the world touring his trade. His primarily instrumental style is characterized by open harmonies, polyphonic textures, incredible tapping technique, and is as entertaining to watch as it is to listen to. Live performances burst with energy and magnetism not typical of solo guitar music. Drawing influence from folk, Celtic, indie, and even punk rock artists as well as other great guitarists such as Michael Hedges, Phil Keaggy, Tommy Emmanuel and Leo Kottke, Mark Kroos has developed his own edge to the acoustic guitar.

Mark’s debut solo album, And Grace Will Lead Me Home was released in January, 2010 to rave reviews. The album features Mark on both double and single neck guitars with no overdubbing and also employs his own innovative studio technique of separating the two signals from the double neck for stereo purposes. Tracks from the album have been licensed for multiple productions on CNN.

 

Laurie Chesley to receive Distinguished Leader Award

The state’s leading professional development network for women in higher education will present its top award to two leaders during its annual conference in June.

The Michigan ACE (American Council on Education) Women’s Network will present its Distinguished Leader Award to:

• Laurie Chesley, dean of arts and sciences at Grand Rapids Community College.
• Phyllis Ivory Vroom, deputy president of Wayne State University.

Chesley has worked at GRCC since 2005. Prior to that she served as dean of humanities at Montgomery County (Pa.) Community College, and assistant vice president for academic affairs at Ferris State University.

Chesley is known among her colleagues for her strong leadership and mentoring skills. She has supported faculty-led conferences that have raised awareness of women’s issues on campus and in the community. She is a past recipient of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Faculty Excellence Award.

Before being named deputy president of Wayne State, Vroom served as dean of the university’s School of Social Work until her retirement in 2011. Vroom has written book chapters and articles on women of color in leadership positions; she has also been widely recognized for her mentoring skills. Vroom has received many awards, including the first Wayne State University Michigan ACE Network Woman of Distinction Award in 2011.

Both women will receive their awards at the Michigan ACE Women’s Network conference, set for June 3-4 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing. For more information about the network, visit www.miacenetwork.org.

GRCC’s Alpha Beta Omega World Leaders Society One Book, One City for Kids Civic Engagement – Service-Learning Project

Who:   You (GRCC students, employees, friends)

What: 2013 Literacy Moments Video

When: 1 – 3PM Friday, March 29 – JUST SHOW UP

No appointment is needed

Where: GRCC’s Media Technology department. If you face GRCC’s Library, look to your left for the entrance

Why: Support Grand Rapids Public Library’s One Book, One City for Kids literacy program’s partnership with Grand Rapids Public Schools and GRCC’s Alpha Beta Omega World Leaders Society.

How: Share a moment in life that helped you realize the value of reading or writing. For example, why did you take delight in reading the Bazooka bubble gum comic strip OR work extra hard on writing the birthday thank-you note to your Nana when you were nine? The wonderfully polished video will be available for years to come on YouTube for use by GRPL, GRPS teachers, and the public!

Your moment should be appropriate for children in K – 8^th grade: See the first student version video at www.grcc.edu/muhammad

NOTE: If you are coming from off campus and need a parking pass – let us know!

Questions? Contact: Professor Muhammad, 616.234.4950

About Alpha Beta Omega, Civic Engagement & Website:

• Alpha Beta Omega (ΑBΩ) is a unique and rewarding leadership development program for incoming freshmen. The purpose of ΑBΩ is to provide its members with a positive social network of students who have goals of becoming responsible community leaders.
• Provide GRCC students and employees a chance to help ΑBΩ complete a civic engagement service-learning project that supports an essential community need: LITERACY
• www.grcc.edu/abo

ACT/SAT writing workshops scheduled for March 23, 2013

GRCC’s ACT/SAT writing workshop is designed to help students understand the expectations for taking the essay portions of the ACT and SAT exams. The workshop highlights eight characteristics that graders of the exams are looking for and teaches students strategies for meeting the expectations.

The goal of the workshop is to help students understand the testing expectations and situation in order to give them the confidence to meet this challenge. Students are encouraged to ask questions and to use the skills of the workshop as they practice independently.

Students will:

• analyze sample essays.
• learn to use the prompts to formulate their answers.
• practice writing thesis statements and introductions.
• learn about how to incorporate support in essays.
• write a practice essay.
• receive a critique of their writing with recommendations.

Workshops will be held:

• 9 a.m. to noon March 23, 2013.
• 1-4 p.m. March 23.
• 5:30-8:30 p.m. April 8.
• 9 a.m. to noon May 11.

Each costs $42. You have to be 14 or older to attend the workshops. To register, click here.

Mathematics Seminar features Roger Berry

The Grand Rapids Community College Mathematics Department will host its next Mathematics Seminar on Tuesday, March 19, 3:00 – 4:00 PM in 107 Cook.  Our speaker will be GRCC Adjunct Mathematics Instructor Roger Berry.  The title and abstract for Roger’s talk are at the bottom.

Mathematics plays a crucial role in determining safety standards for all manner of electronics, and is an indispensable tool for analyzing causes and consequences of electrical failure.  Roger brings many years of experience as an electrical engineer and instructor to this month’s seminar.  Knowledge of algebra will be helpful, but of course everyone is welcome to attend.

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

Catastrophic Electrical Damage took place — let’s check the Math to see why!

All protection from damage or injury due to electrical faults begins with determining the amount of potential fault current. Mechanical and thermal energy released in less than 4 milliseconds can produce catastrophic results. Electrical equipment and protective devices must be tested and rated to withstand the potential forces involved.

Electrical designs are evaluated for worst-case conditions to insure that equipment and people are adequately protected. Fault currents on both sides of the decimal point can result in destructive forces. Short circuits can result in destructive currents over 200,000 amps producing a blast that results in equipment damage and potential injury to personnel due to flash burns and sound, while ground faults as low as five milliamps can produce fibrillation resulting in death.  In addition, lower level arcing faults can destroy electrical equipment or start a fire.

How do we do the math?