GRCC In the News, 11-26-13

Eight teams will compete for GRCC service learning award

Nov. 25, 2013; News International

Nov. 25, 2013 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The eight service learning projects that will compete for Grand Rapids Community College’s Armen Awards this year cover a range of disciplines, from automotive training and child psychology to nursing.

Abby Aiken named GLIAC player of the year, Deanne Scanlon earns coach of the year honors

Nov. 25, 2013; The Holland Sentinel

Bay City — The No. 13 Grand Valley State volleyball team put together a tremendous regular season, going 17-1 in league play and winning the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship, and the Lakers were represented well in the postseason awards.

… (Kaitlyn) Wolters has been tremendous in her first season in Allendale, as the Lakers are 26-2 with her as the team’s starting setter. She has dished out 1,021 assists this year, while her 10.11 assists per set are the sixth-most in the league. Wolters has been equally good defensively – ranking third on the team in digs (293) and fifth in total blocks (44) – as she has been on offense. The junior has recorded 105 kills and a .310 hitting percentage, while serving up 20 aces, tied for fourth-most on the team. Wolters, a transfer from Grand Rapids Community College, is a first-time All-GLIAC honoree.

International Student Organization celebrates Thanksgiving

The International Student Organization celebrated Thanksgiving during its regular meeting on November 25 with a potluck. We have previously talked about Thanksgiving in past meetings and shared the history behind the holiday and also shared what we have in our lives that we are thankful for. At the potluck, we tried to give students a bit of a flavor of a traditional meal by providing a turkey and stuffing, wonderfully cooked by Creative Dining, and our members supplied the rest: mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, desserts, etc. For several students, this was their first experience with a potluck! We had more than 27 students attend!

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Staff Development launches Hold it for the Holidays challenge

Did you know that the average American gains 1-2 pounds during the holidays and they never lose it? With all the good food to eat at the holidays, it can be easy to over-eat and gain unwanted weight. Join the challenge today to prevent those unwanted pounds!

Staff Development is pleased to announce a Hold it for the Holidays challenge! If you would like to participate see the Staff Development Hold it for the Holidays page: http://www.grcc.edu/staffdevelopment/employeewellnessenrichment/holditfortheholidays20132014

Brewery owner leads SICE seminars

Fred Bueltmann, co-owner of New Holland Brewing, worked with SICE students in four 90-minute seminars on November 25, training them in five varieties of beer with five courses of cuisine.

Bueltmann, author of The Beervangelist’s Guide to the Galaxy, has been in the beer business for more than two decades. He is a certified cicerone and has a great philosophy about beer and food pairings.

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TRiO/SSS program collects toothbrushes, cash for Haitian students

Each year, the TRiO/SSS program at Grand Rapids Community College organizes an International Fundraiser. For the third year in a row, TRiO/SSS has partnered with The Power of Education Foundation. This non-profit organization is incorporated in Michigan and they focus on the educational opportunities and well-being of impoverished children in Port au Prince, Haiti. The organization has developed a primary school that houses first through sixth graders. It is at this school that students, parents, teachers and community members can get an education, medical and nutritional support while working as a center for the community to connect and grow.

The Power of Education Foundation is expected to go on a mission this winter in an effort to further the progress of oral health. Practicing good oral hygiene has a host of health benefits. It wards off harmful bacteria that may cause tooth decay, bleeding gums, and oral infections which could affect a student’s ability to focus. TRiO/SSS is supporting this mission campus wide, by collecting new toothbrushes, toothpaste and money donations. All around campus there are donation containers, flyers and even students advertising for the fundraiser! All of the proceeds and donations go directly to students in Haiti.

If you would like to participate in the efforts of the TRiO/SSS program, their office is located on the 3rd floor of the Student Center just behind the Counseling Center.  Our campaign will run through Friday, December 6, 2013 and all donations will be turned in to the Foundation to be sent directly to Haiti with their team.   Come, join us, and donate!!!!!!  Thank-you!!!

Raider Salute to Mark Jasonowicz, accounting students

Mark Jasonowicz (Business Faculty) and his students in his Accounting courses collected approximately 100 lbs. of food and $300.00 worth of Meijer Gift Cards for the Student Food Pantry. The donations will definitely help during the next few weeks as we approach the holiday season.

For all of those who are attending the Employee Breakfast on Friday, December 13th, please don’t forget that the Student Life Office will be collecting any non-perishable food items at the entrance. Any donation is greatly appreciated! For a list of the high need items, please visit the following webpage http://www.grcc.edu/studentlife/studentfoodpantry

A big THANK YOU to Mark and his students!

Experiential Blog December and January Highlights

First, the Experiential Learning Department wants to wish every one a Happy Holiday Season.

Second, please check out the new information posted in the Experiential Learning Blog: http://grccdel.wordpress.com/

December and January Experiential Learning/Service Learning AWESOMENESS includes:

• Interview with Leigh Kleinert who is doing amazing academic service learning projects in her class.
• Check out the Chemistry in the Mall and also Stem Girls projects (Thank you Jennifer Batten for providing this great information and helping make these programs a success)
• Serve our community during the holidays: Salvation Army opportunities
• Armen Awards has 8 finalists. Congratulations to these awesome instructors and students participating.

Check out the Experiential Learning Blog at: http://grccdel.wordpress.com/

The latest from GRCC TV on YouTube: Saladin Ahmed, poem reading, butterfly lecture

“Writing Muslim American Fantasy: Saladin Ahmed”

“Spark: A Poem Reading by Barbara Saunier”

“Costa Rica Butterfly Lecture by Matthew Douglas”

GRCC In the News, 11-25-13

Colleges partner with GR Community Foundation on scholarship packages

Nov. 24, 2013; mibiz.com

Incentives offered by four West Michigan colleges are helping make a college degree more of a reality for students attending Westwood Middle School and Harrison Park School.

Earlier this month, officials with Aquinas College, Ferris State University, Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Valley State University announced the creation of scholarship packages at their respective schools to support the Grand Rapids Community Foundations Challenge Scholars program.

Editorial: New scholarship a game-changer for Grand Rapids students

Nov. 22, 2013; MLive

Four institutions of higher learning are making an important investment in one of our community’s greatest assets, as their four presidents announced Nov. 8.

… Joining the Grand Rapids Community Foundations multi-million dollar initiative focusing upon students at three West Side elementary schools are four local institutions of higher learning: Aquinas College, Grand Valley State University, Ferris State University and Grand Rapids Community College.

Marine surprises family at Ford Field

Nov. 24, 2013; WOOD TV

DETROIT (WOOD) – A family of Lions fans got the best present possible for Thanksgiving: a family member, serving overseas, returning home.

… Marine Captain Josh Munsee and Michelle Munsee are from the Grand Rapids area and are lifelong Detroit Lions fans. Josh Munsee attended classes at GRCC and GVSU. The Munsees have three children; Becca (age 5), Henry (age 3), and Anna Grace (10 months).

GRCC volleyball can’t defend national title, finishes 6th at NJCAA tournament

Nov. 23, 2013; MLive

TOLEDO, OHIO — Grand Rapids Community College volleyball coach Chip Will acknowledged it would have been great to win back-to-back titles, but he is extremely pleased with how his young team played in a sixth-place finish at this week’s national tournament

Email to get upgrade

The GRCC staff and faculty email (GroupWise) will be upgrading to a new version on Thursday, November 28th 2013. The GroupWise email will not be available from 10 P.M. on Thursday, November 28th until Saturday, November 30th at 12 P.M.

What this means to you:

• All existing emails (including archived messages, calendar items, reminder notes, etc.) will be saved. You will not lose messages during this transition.

What you need to be aware of after the transition:

• The Web version of GroupWise (mail.grcc.edu) will have a new look and contain more features.
• If you’re currently utilizing GWMC to sync email with your phone, you should not have to change any of your phone settings.
• Automatic forwarding from GRCC GroupWise email to other email accounts ( Global forwarding) will be available in the new version of GroupWise.
• Your GroupWise email client (the one installed on your GRCC computer) will need to be upgraded. You will be able to update your software beginning December 1st 2013 by going to Application Explorer and running the update while on campus. (The existing version on your computer will still work until you update.)
• Mac users do not need to upgrade to a new version of GroupWise; they are already up to date.

We appreciate your patience during this upgrade. If you have any questions regarding this, please call the IT Customer Support Help Desk at 234-HELP (4357).

Thank you for your understanding.

Shut down computers, electronics for Thanksgiving break

Our faculty and staff members are pitching in to save energy, and for that, we’re thankful! As you prepare for the holiday, take a few minutes to ready your area for the long shutdown. To make sure that we do not waste any energy over this holiday weekend please remember to do the following:

• Remember to shut off all computers and monitors in your classroom when classes are done
• Before you close that door for the long weekend, LOOK AROUND, is there anything still powered ON that doesn’t need to be?
  • Turn off your computer, monitor, speakers, and local printers
  • Unplug chargers for cell phone, camera, and other electronics
  • If possible, empty and unplug any refrigerators and other small appliances
• Close curtains and blinds to help retain building heat
• Remember that personal portable space heaters are not permitted in college buildings unless provided by the Facilities office. If you have a space heater, please be sure to take it home during the break

For energy inquiries or troubleshooting heating/cooling issues please contact Dorothy Sadony at 4700 or dsadony@grcc.edu

SCREENING COMMITTEE CLASS ADDED ON MONDAY DEC. 2

Mon Dec 2, 2013 from 3:00 – 5:00 PM in Room 122 LRC (Diversity Learning Center multi-purpose room)

This learning session is designed to brief all screening committee team members regarding their roles and responsibilities in the search process. Topics that will be covered include:

A.  Overview of Search Process

B.  Position Approval Process

C.  Recruitment/ SAAR Notebook Review Including:

1. Screening Committee & Leadership Roles
2. Candidate Screening/ Recruitment Solutions Training
3. Interview Questions, Presentations/Demonstrations
4. Diversity Considerations and Goals
5. Effective Evaluation Tools and Consensus Decision-Making
6. Human Resources Responsibilities.

Learning Objectives: Participants will understand their role in the selection of excellent candidates for staff and faculty positions and the hiring objectives, and legal parameters for assessing and recommending future staff and faculty members.

Workshop facilitated by employees in the Diversity Learning Center and Human Resources Department.

Staff and Faculty, please register online at http://www.grcc.edu/staffdevelopment/currentlearningopportunitiesregistration or call Staff Development at ext. 4285.

Fieldhouse to open at 5:30 a.m. on November 26

Due to an immediate need for a brief power shutdown to the Ford Fieldhouse and Natatorium by Consumers Energy, scheduled at 4:00a.m. tomorrow, the Ford Fieldhouse and Natatorium will not open until 5:30a.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2013.

Honors biology students discuss book over breakfast

Biology professor Laurie Foster recently hosted an Honors Biology breakfast, where they discussed Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

The book explores the history of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer known to scientists as HeLa. Her cells — taken without her knowledge in 1951 — became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization and more. While her cells have been bought and sold by the billions, she remains virtually unknown, and her family still lives in poverty.

Students engaged in a rich discourse about the collision of ethics, race and medicine. This is a story that is forever connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, and the birth of bioethics.

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CIS faculty, staff donate $750 in gift cards to needy students

The faculty and staff in the CIS department collected $750 to donate Thanksgiving Meal Gift Cards to 25 CIS students and their families. This is the 7th annual collection of funds to help our students during Thanksgiving. At other times of the year, we have a collection box for non-perishable items we donate to the the Student Food Pantry.

Some of the comments received from recipients include:

• “This is so kind of the faculty to offer this to students in need. My Mom is divorced and provides for me and my sister. Last winter she was very stressed about bills and I tried to help her out when I could. She doesn’t not have a college education and works a full time job along with a part time job. I would love to give her a gift card to help her out. My mother and I would be beyond thankful for anything you could do!”
• “I just want to say thank you to all that are involved with these gift cards and raising money to help out students. A very generous gesture and it is very much appreciated.”
• “Thank you very much! This will really help our family this Thanksgiving money’s really tight this year.”
• “Thank you so much! Please express my gratitude to the other faculty members as well. It’s a great help this time of year and it is very much appreciated. Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving!”
• “Thank you and your coworkers for taking up a collection for us students. Sometimes it seems that the staff doesn’t care, but this proves that statement wrong. Thanks again, Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas.”