COVID-19 shots and boosters (all three vaccines), Benefits and Wellness Fair, and Flu Shot Clinic all on October 27 from 11 AM to 3PM

COVID vaccine booster shots available for GRCC students, employees, and community members at Oct. 27 clinic

Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center auditorium, 151 Fountain St. NE.

Grand Rapids Community College is planning a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for students, employees and community members that includes booster shots for all three vaccines for those who are eligible.

…. It is recommended that people bring their vaccine card if they are getting a second vaccine dose or a booster vaccine.

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Benefits Fair and Wellness Fair

ATC Rooms 122 and 124

Employees are encouraged to stop by the Benefits Fair to get answers to your health care questions direct from the vendors. Human Resources/Benefit Representatives will be also be available to assist employees with their online open enrollment.

• BC/BS Representative will be available to assist with questions on coverage.
• Flex Administrators will be there to help you answer questions on Flexible Spending Accounts: Health Care and Dependent Care.
• Annuity Vendors will be available to answer your 403b questions and/or get you set up to save for your future.
• LMCU will be there with information on the many services offered from the credit union.
• Group Aflac will be there to discuss various voluntary benefit options
• Meet with Aflac Agent to enroll or obtain information on short term disability voluntary benefit cost.

We will have many more vendors in addition to these listed

 …. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Debra Davis at (616) 234-4175 or Maria Belmares Herrera at (616) 234-4052.

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Flu Shot Clinic for GRCC Staff & Faculty

Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center auditorium

This flu season, don’t get caught without your flu vaccine. Protect yourself by getting vaccinated. It is even more critical to get a flu shot this particular flu season because of the added complexities brought on by COVID-19.

Flu Shot Clinic for GRCC Staff and Faculty (no students or community members)

Walk-ins welcomed! If you prefer you can schedule an appointment for flu shot by selecting link below:

ATC AUDITORIUM-Schedule Flu Shot Appointment

Influenza Vaccine Consent Form

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GRCC, city of Grand Rapids, and Bay College partnering to prepare people for careers in water industry

Grand Rapids Community College, the city of Grand Rapids and Bay College in Escanaba are teaming up for a project aimed at building a pipeline to careers in the water and wastewater industry.

The project is supported by a national $3.8 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant. GRCC, Grand Rapids and Bay College will use a $500,000 award to introduce middle and high school students and neighborhoods with high unemployment to opportunities in fresh water and wastewater utilities.

In announcing the grants, the EPA notes that the water industry faces shortages of qualified workers because of retirements and new investments in infrastructure.

“Workers at water and wastewater treatment utilities provide a service that is absolutely essential to public health, the environment and economic prosperity in their communities,” said Radhika Fox, EPA assistant administrator for water. “The water sector is facing significant workforce challenges, and it is critical that EPA and its federal, state and local partners invest in the next generation of water professionals.”

Julie Parks, interim dean of GRCC’s School for Workforce Development, said the college will work with the partners to create hands-on opportunities for learning about the industry.

GRCC and its partners will launch “Water Weekend” events for families and work with schools and organizations to share career information with students. Those interested in water and wastewater careers will be able to learn more about them through boot camp-style workshops, internships and job-shadowing opportunities with the city of Grand Rapids.

“We are grateful to the EPA for partnering with us to provide this essential training, which will provide up-close looks at family-sustaining careers that keep our communities safer,” Parks said. “This program is another example of the value GRCC provides through working with community and education partners. Bay College has one of the nation’s best water programs in the nation, and we’re proud to work with the team there.”

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Raider Salute from the Admissions Team

The Admissions team would like to give a Raider Salute to James Hanafin who works at the Lakeshore campus. We had an Open House on Saturday at their beautiful new location and James worked tirelessly helping us setup, troubleshoot during the event, and tear down afterwards. Nice work James! We appreciate you!

Secondary thank you to all the faculty and staff who worked the open house! We had a wonderful turnout and it was wonderful to see so many guests visit the new space.

Tech Tip: Make desktop icons bigger

Are the icons on your desktop too small? There is an easy way to make the icons bigger. On your keyboard, hold down the CTRL key and use the scroll ball on your mouse to make it bigger or smaller. Psst…. This also works with making web pages bigger and smaller!

For more information and helpful tips, please visit the IT Customer Support Portal or contact the IT Customer Support Desk at x4357.

If you have a suggestion or a Technology Tip you think can be useful, you can submit them by emailing techtips@grcc.edu 

Smash your stress

Free event on Dr. Juan Olivarez Plaza Nov. 2 from 11 AM to 1 PM.

PTK will be providing pumpkins and other small items to smash. Chance to win prizes, food, and other small stress relievers.

Earn your Doctorate in Community College Leadership (DCCL)

Join an informational session on Wednesday, October 27.

To learn more about our program, drop in anytime between 3:30 – 5 PM in the Student Center, room 234. A formal Presentation will be held at 4:00 PM.

Register by emailing ccleadership@ferris.edu.

Presentation by:

Sandra J Balkema, PhD
Professor of English, Department of English, Literature, and World Languages
Dissertation Director, Doctorate in Community College Leadership (DCCL), EdD program

Fall treats for employees

Stop by to pick up some tasty autumn eats – carmel apples, flavored popcorn, doughnuts, cider, PSL anyone? – when you visit the Benefits Fair on Wednesday, October 27, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. just outside the ATC banquet rooms (first floor). The Benefits Fair runs from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. inside 122 & 124 ATC. 

A huge thank you to our friends at Lake Michigan Credit Union for partnering with HR on this employee engagement opportunity. Be sure to stop by LMCU’s table at the Benefits Fair to get more information on perks for GRCC employees!

We look forward to seeing you!

ODEI honors PRIDE OUTside the Box – Da’Shaun Harrison

Event is at Noon (EST) and virtual
RSVP: tinyurl.com/GRCCequity

𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟳
The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness

𝗗𝗮’𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘂𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻, a fat, Black, disabled, and nonbinary trans writer, abolitionist, and community organizer, facilitates workshops on Blackness, queerness, gender, fatness, disabilities, and the intersection at which they all meet.

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PRIDE OUTside the Box illuminates scholar-practitioners, artists, and initiatives that critically examine socio-political, economic, and identity issues from an intersectional framework (Crenshaw, 1989).

GRCC In the News 10/26/2021

$500K will help Grand Rapids, GRCC find water treatment workers

October 25, 2021; WOOD TV

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Grand Rapids Community College and the city of Grand Rapids are getting a big chunk of federal money to address a labor shortage within the water treatment sector.

GRCC looking to share decades of awards with former student-athletes

October 25, 2021; secondwavemedia.com

Grand Rapids Community College baseball player Troy Moratti earned a golden bat as the 2004 NJCAA Player of the Year.

SH voters to decide city council races, narcotics millage

October 26, 2021; South Haven Tribune

South Haven city voters will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 2 to decide who will be the next mayor and new city council member for Ward 2. Voters will also be asked whether to approve a five-year millage renewal to reduce narcotics-related crimes occurring in and around the City of South Haven. Polls are open at city hall, 539 Phoenix St. from 7 a.m.-8 p.m.

… (Ahmmad) Goodwin served on the South Haven Housing Commission for 4 years. He is employed at Vibrocoustic’s test lab engineering facility in South Haven. He graduated from South Haven High School, and obtained an associate’s degree from Grand Rapids Community College and a certification in personal and physical conditioning from Blue Heron Academy.