GRCC In the News, 12-22-14

State’s focus on workforce development plays to GRCC’s strengths, president says

Dec. 21, 2014; mibiz.com

As companies across the country and in West Michigan pay close attention to talent issues, they’ve largely looked to community colleges as the go-to source for skilled workers. However, attracting students to technical training programs and sourcing funding for those programs continue to be issues for those schools. During his tenure, Grand Rapids Community College President Steven Ender has worked to grow the college’s programs and curriculum to meet the needs of employers in West Michigan. He spoke with MiBiz about the role community colleges will play in training workers in the coming year.

Change Ups: Volunteer inspires Dégagé patrons

Dec. 19, 2014; Grand Rapids Business Journal

… EDUCATION

… Grand Rapids Community College announced Laurie Chesley will step into the role of provost. She was formerly dean of GRCC’s School of Arts and Sciences. GRCC’s provost-executive vice president for academic and student affairs reports directly to the president and serves as the chief academic officer, with major responsibilities for strategic planning and guiding all aspects of teaching and learning.
Veteran coach David Selmon is interim head coach of Grand Rapids Community College’s men’s basketball team following the departure of T.J. Carnegie, who accepted an out-of-state job opportunity.

Construction Workforce Development Alliance key to developing skilled trades talent, Wickstrom says

Dec. 21, 2014; mibiz.com

As the president of Ada-based Erhardt Construction Co., Ben Wickstrom wants to attract people not only to his firm, but also to the larger construction industry. Wickstrom was one the founding members of the Construction Workforce Development Alliance (CWDA), a group consisting of three local trade associations. He spoke with MiBiz about how the group aims to create a pipeline of workers.

… “We formed this partnership to address the common, shared focus of attracting new people to the construction industry and developing and maintaining a training system to train people currently in the industry and the new people coming in. We formed a partnership with Grand Rapids Community College. They are a supporting member of the CWDA. Michigan Works! is a also a supporting member of the CWDA.”

MSU fan Gus Penning goes from Grand Rapids CC to Baylor TE

Dec. 20, 2014; The Detroit Free Press

Gus Penning contributed to the roar that swept through Spartan Stadium late on the night of Oct. 22, 2011, after Michigan State receiver Keith Nichol grabbed a Hail Mary pass from Kirk Cousins and muscled past the goal line to beat Wisconsin at the buzzer.

… He was a freshman tight end at Grand Rapids Community College at the time, unrecruited out of Jenison High but determined to make a player out of himself. On Jan. 1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, he’ll line up for No. 4 Baylor (11-1) against his former favorite football program, and he’ll try to help the Bears beat the No. 7 Spartans (10-2) in the Cotton Bowl.

Employee Reimbursements – Change to Procedures

Financial Services is converting the payment of employee reimbursements from check to ACH deposit. Financial Services will pay all reimbursements on the employee’s paycheck for any reimbursement submitted after January 5, 2015.   The funds pertaining to the employee reimbursement will be electronically deposited into the same bank account designated for your payroll direct deposit.  The details of this reimbursement will appear on your payroll remittance advice that can be accessed online.

How does this impact you?

• The submission process will be the same for the employee. The employee will continue to scan forms/supporting documents and send information to Financial Services according to current procedures.
• Nontaxable employee reimbursements will have no effect on payroll taxes when paid on the employee’s paycheck.
• Employee will receive an email notification from ImageNow when reimbursement has been approved. Then, the reimbursement will be paid on the next available paycheck.
• If staff would like to view any reimbursements submitted after 1/5/15, you will be able to access them any time on campus via WebNow at https://www.grcc.edu/MyImageNowDocs/ or at https://www.grcc.edu/WebNow/. You must log into WebNow using your GRCC Network UserId and Password to view your reimbursements.