COMMENTS FROM JOE D. MAY

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1 TO: FROM: DCCCD BOARD MEMBERS JOE D. MAY DATE: APRIL 17, 2015 RE: WEEKEND MEMO #51 COMMENTS FROM JOE D. MAY Good afternoon! The last several weeks have been filled with activities and honors that reflect on the efforts that all of us are engaged in to support student success. Today, I would like to share some of the good news that these activities have generated, plus a brief update on the Texas Legislature. Just a quick reminder, too The DCCCD family and members of the community are invited to attend our tribute to Dr. Bill J. Priest on Wednesday, April 22, at Eastfield College from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Performance Hall. Enjoy your weekend! Joe May (Note: For the best viewing experience, please use the latest version of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, or Apple Safari.) El Centro College Six El Centro College radiology students and their instructor, Janeen Johnson, attended the Texas Society of Radiologic Technologists 2015 Annual Meeting and Educational Symposium in Galveston, April The Symposium is attended by technologists and students from across the state who come to compete and also to earn continuing education credits. Two El Centro College radiography second-year students, Mike Wollenman and Jimmy Crow, were awarded first place in the Scientific Display competition. Wollenman also earned second place in the Student Bee Registry Review Competition in which 167 students competed.

2 El Centro College professors Kambiz Mansour and Mike Panahi (level I director, Mathematical Association of America) attended the 95th Annual Texas Section meeting of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), April 9-11, in San Antonio. Accompanying them were five students who presented paper sessions at the meeting. Koryn Pitts (El Centro College) presented Improvements upon Euler s Method: An Optimization Approach ; Brandon Christy (El Centro College) presented How to Visualize the Damping Factor in Undergraduate Differential Equations ; and Colin Harrington (former El Centro College student) and Soufiane Abbadi (Richland College) presented The Approximation of the nth Prime and took third place overall. Deseree Harrington (El Centro College) also participated in the conference. Mansour and Panahi were successful in getting the 2018 Texas Section MAA meeting brought to Dallas, with El Centro College as the host school. The Bits and Bites Committee of the Food and Hospitality Institute of El Centro College recently hosted its annual culinary event, Bits and Bites, featuring food and beverage vendors from across the city. Many of the vendors were alumni of the Food and Hospitality Institute. There were 20 food tables and 10 beverage tables, and more than 250 guests. Proceeds raised from the event will benefit the Food and Hospitality program. Jessie Yearwood, instructor at the Institute, was the chair of this very successful event. The El Centro College Food and Hospitality Institute is proud to be a partner of Anthony Bourdain s Live Show, which will take place at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas on July 10. (See attached flyer.) The bestselling author and television host is bringing his Close to the Bone show featuring an unyielding, brutally honest monologue reflecting on diverse culture, street cuisine, and his travels to lesser-known locations around the world, followed by an open question and answer session. Brookhaven College Student Success Two Brookhaven College art students have work in the juried exhibit, Freaks and the Human Ideal an International Student Works on Paper Exhibition at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Christina Ramirez and Kenneth Rajpis each had a work selected by juror Yuji Hiratsuka, professor of printmaking at Oregon State University. The Exhibition, open to undergraduate and graduate students internationally, is on display at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, April 13 - May 8. Institutional Effectiveness Brookhaven College has earned 2014 Tree Campus USA recognition. Tree Campus USA, a national program launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota, honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. The college is required to meet five core standards for sustainable campus forestry set by Tree Campus USA, including establishment of a tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and the sponsorship of student service-learning projects related to trees. Community Engagement The Financial Aid Office at Brookhaven College continues to serve Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD high schools with financial aid information sessions. John Wells, financial aid director, and his team have recently presented workshops to students and parents at both R.L. Turner High School and the Early College High School at Brookhaven College. The team assisted students and parents in completing their federal financial aid applications, answered general questions, and offered information and assistance. Presentations were made in both English and Spanish. Employee Success Terri Edrich, executive director of human resources at Brookhaven College, attended a Graduate Student Career Fair on March 28 at the University of North Texas (UNT) to recruit applicants for adjunct and full-time faculty positions. She was part of a small team from the District who spoke with master s degree and doctoral students from UNT who were there to learn more about 2

3 preparing for academic positions at two- and four-year institutions. Representatives from Texas Woman s University and Texas A&M University-Commerce also participated in the Career Fair. The event was sponsored by the North Texas Community College Consortium. North Lake College Our Students On February 21, North Lake College TRiO Upward Bound students and staff traveled to Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway in Fort Worth for Technology Awareness Day, in celebration of National TRiO Day. The students also learned about various companies that provide technology and how to prepare themselves for those jobs. North Lake College TRiO student, Nilisha Gajera, was awarded first place in the BNSF Technology Awareness Day Essay Competition in which 80 students competed. The North Lake College chapter of Psi Beta, the national honor society in psychology for community and junior colleges, held its Spring Induction Ceremony on March 21 in the Student Life Center. Attending the celebration was North Lake College President Christa Slejko. A reception and lunch followed the Induction Ceremony. Our Students and Our Employees On April 13, North Lake College Sustainability Project Manager Brandon Morton announced that Pin Man (RecycleMania waste minimization trophy) is coming home to the college! North Lake College Blazers led the nation working toward zero waste and are a five-time National Champion in the Waste Minimization category (for years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2015). In his message to the campus, Morton recognized the efforts of the North Lake College community and the campus culture of environmental stewardship. To view the official RecycleMania press release recognizing North Lake College, go to Our Employees Metrocrest Services held its 10th annual Keyholder Breakfast on March 19, at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum hotel. Arthur James, executive dean of North Lake College North and South campuses, attended the event. Metrocrest Services provides programs that lead to selfsufficiency and that foster independence for individuals, families, and seniors living in Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Addison, and Coppell. Eastfield College Advance Student Success Congratulations to Eastfield College student Rameez Sohail, who was elected to serve as president of the Texas Junior College Student Government Association (TJCSGA) for at the annual TJCSGA State Conference held in Dallas, April Eastfield College also received the Most Professional award, while Student Government Association (SGA) member, Nicole Ceron, was elected to serve as the Region II public relations officer, and SGA Advisor/Director of Student Life Judy Schwartz was elected to serve a second term as president of the Advisors Association. Attending the Conference with Schwartz, Sohail, and Ceron were students, Danny Garcia, DeeDee Herrera, L.T. Nelson, Danny Lam, Charles Ratcliff II, Aaron Sustaita, Andrea Carrizales, Benitta Philomon, Vanessa Trevino, Ever Rodriguez, Agustin Enriquez, and Alejandra Salcedo as well as club coordinator, Unswella Ankton. The students participated in general assemblies and attended leadership workshops. A campus-wide celebration of the SGA students will be held on May 1. Eastfield College s student media team from The Et Cetera, The Alternative, and eastfieldnews.com won 35 awards at the 2015 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Convention, which was held in San Antonio, April During the three-day convention, students attended workshops on writing, photography, design, and digital media strategies and also competed in live, on-site contests. Caitlin Piper, Braulio Tellez, and Parker Ward won live contest awards, competing against students from twoand four-year colleges across the state. Seventeen Eastfield College students also received individual 3

4 awards, including 11 1st-place honors for previously published material in Jonathan Wences led the way with seven awards, while Braulio Tellez took home six. Other individual award winners were Kevin Cushingberry Jr., Caitlin Piper, Karina Dunn, Courtney Schwing, Robert Burns, Clay Gibson, Alex Hernandez, Brad Watkins, Gereneicia Foster, Aki Ohashi, Antonio Audiffred, Jeff Flores, Justin David Tate, and Rebecca Moore. Representing Eastfield College at the Convention were Parker Ward, Braulio Tellez, James Hartley, Caitlin Piper, Ana Gallegos, Darnisha Cornelius, and Chandler Claxton. Meet Community Educational Needs On April 15-17, the Eastfield College Criminal Justice Programs partnered with Sexual Assault Family Violence Training Programs and the North Texas Crime Commission in hosting a three-day class to train law enforcement officers in the proper investigation of sexual assault and family violence. Topics covered included proper interviewing of victims, interrogation of the offender, collection of evidence, current laws, and preparing a case for prosecution. At the completion of the class, participants were certified as Sexual Assault and Family Violence investigators by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Thirty attendees representing 20 law enforcement agencies took part in the training. Eastfield College was well represented at the Garland Chamber of Commerce 6th Annual Business Expo, held at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland on April 16. Faculty members and administrators representing many of the school s technical programs were on hand to discuss opportunities at Eastfield College. Attending the Expo were Elias Alba (Automotive Technology), Eges Egedigwe and Yvonne Robinson (Computer Information Technology), Rosanna Martinez (Continuing Education), David Danforth (Digital Media Technology), Danny Burris (Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology), Carlos Ojeda (Auto Body), and Kathy Harris (Technical Programs). Richland College Sustainable Community Building Through Richland College s partnership with the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF) and the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) Program, 23 Richland College students have received more than $70,000 in scholarships to date. On April 8, 12 of the 13 current scholarship recipients were honored during a networking reception at Richland College where $40,000 in scholarship funds were awarded to them to attend Richland College to pursue their college degrees and career dreams. Corporate donors making these APIASF Scholarship funds available include USA Funds, Walmart, and Wells Fargo. Student Success The Richland College TRiO Upward Bound and Student Support Services National TRiO Day celebration on March 18, was attended by 150 area ISD students who were presented program information outlining the various components of the Upward Bound program. Upward Bound prepares 9-12-grade students for success in college through enrichment sessions, tutoring, the Summer Bridge Program, cultural awareness activities, field trips, college tours, and career exploration sessions. On March 28, 35 Richland College Upward Bound students from North Garland and Richardson high schools attended Senior Day, hosted by Texas A&M University (TAMU)-Commerce, where they participated in presentations by TAMU department representatives from Admissions, Financial Aid/Scholarships, Greek Life, Residential Living, and Student Life and Special Programs. Employee Success Congratulations to Penelope Bisbee, Richland College adjunct art professor, who has been named a finalist in the 2015 Hunting Art Prize competition. The Hunting Art Prize, sponsored by Hunting PLC (an international oil services company), is a prestigious annual competition open to Texas artists 18 years of age or older. Its $50,000 award is historically the most generous annual award in North America for painting and drawing, and has helped to build the reputations, raise the profiles, and support the careers of distinguished artists. 4

5 Institutional Effectiveness Richland College Career and Technical Education (CTE) faculty and program coordinators attended assessment and scoring calibration training conducted by members of the Richland College Office of Planning, Research, Effectiveness, and Development staff on March 25, to review sample student instructional work against scoring rubrics. The session helped to prepare the faculty in advance of their work to score student artifacts demonstrating attainment of program objectives. Calibration helps to ensure scorers apply the rubrics consistently across all CTE programs. LeCroy Center LeCroy Center Provost Dr. Pamela Quinn was awarded the Texas Distance Learning Association s (TxDLA) 2015 Hall of Fame Award on April 9. She and other honorees were recognized during the 2015 TxDLA Annual Conference A Concert of Collaboration held at the Dallas Sheraton Hotel, April An honor of high distinction, the TxDLA Hall of Fame Award recognizes long-term distance-learning practitioners or advocates whose careers are characterized by exceptional commitment, outstanding achievements, and enduring impact in the field of distance learning. Quinn credited this achievement to the quality of work produced by the employees of the LeCroy Center. TxDLA is a nonprofit association promoting the development and application of distance learning and implementing effective distancelearning strategies for Texans and other distance-learning practitioners of the global community. Rick Walker, director of STARLINK (the State of Texas Academic Resource Link), presented at the 2015 TxDLA Annual Conference on April 9, in Dallas. The session, Great Teachers + Remarkable Courses = Transform Students, focused on what great teachers do and how remarkable courses support great teachers, ultimately leading to student success. Nichole Vance and Pamela Daggon of the LeCroy Center exhibited at the STARLINK booth during the Conference. Rick Walker presented at the Network of Illinois Learning Resources in Community Colleges (NILRC) Learning Innovations Conference, April 16-17, in East Peoria, IL. Walker introduced the new STARLINK website and branding materials. This new site was designed to increase ease of access to the STARLINK library of courses, information, resources, and publications. It also produces on-demand analytical reports for institutional members. NILRC is one of the oldest community college learning resources cooperatives in the nation. Cedar Valley College Our College On April 13, Cedar Valley College Alumni Department hosted the public at a special recognition and fundraising event in the Performance Hall in honor of the Cedar Valley College Alpha Zeta Omicron chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Alpha Zeta Omicron is the current top international chapter in the world and has a long and distinguished tradition of excellence at Cedar Valley College. For membership in PTK, students must have achieved a 3.5 grade point average or higher and completed 12 hours of college credit courses. The mission of PTK is to uphold the Hallmarks of the Society, which include scholarship, leadership, service, and fellowship. For more information about Alpha Zeta Omicron and PTK, please contact Valerie Banks at vbanks@dcccd.edu or Our Community Outreach On April 11, Cedar Valley College co-sponsored the monthly community Male Initiative, Project MALE Mentoring Program, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Inspiring Body of Christ Church in Dallas, with the theme, STEM - Connecting Black History to Successful Leaders Today and Careers of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (Entrepreneurs), etc. The program included mentoring sessions, guest panelist speakers, and activities for kindergarten through sixth-grade minority male students from the Dallas and Lancaster ISDs, Inspiring Body of Christ Christian schools, and other neighboring southern sector private and charter schools. Cedar Valley College s Dr. Jennifer Wimbish, president; Jarlene DeCay, dean of student success; and Dr. Ryan Thornton, marketing and public 5

6 relations coordinator, along with several other Cedar Valley College staff volunteers, commit monthly to mentoring and empowering young males at this community outreach initiative. Our Career Services Cedar Valley College Career Services hosted the Spring Career/Job Fair event on April 2 in the B and C buildings. Numerous local agencies participated and many conducted on-site interviews. The event was sponsored by Cedar Valley College s Lathera Addison, career services coordinator, and Susan Gordon, career planning specialist. District Office DCCCD brought home three Accolades Awards from the 2015 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District IV Conference held in Austin, April The annual competition highlights work done by institutional advancement professionals in higher education. The District Office of Public and Governmental Affairs received the Gold Accolades Award in the Crisis Communication Program category for its entry, Ebola Hits Home, as well as the Bronze Award in the Newswriting category for an entry titled Wind Farm Generates Savings. The DCCCD Foundation and Development Office brought home a Silver Accolades Award for its donor e-newsletter entry. Award winners were announced during the CASE District IV Conference at a luncheon ceremony held at the Hilton Austin hotel. This year s Accolades Award competition was extremely competitive; more than 1,300 entries were submitted by colleges, universities, and preparatory schools from the five states of District IV Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. Congratulations to DCCCD Chancellor Dr. Joe May who led the Ebola response both internally and externally; Ann Hatch and Justin Lonon from the District Office of Public and Governmental Affairs, as well as the District Internet Publishing team; and Brigham Wilcoxson from the Office of Risk Management at the District Service Center. Congratulations, also, to Eddie Miranda, Dr. Mary Brumbach, Dr. Pyeper Wilkins, Carmen Hernandez, and the rest of the Foundation and Development Office staff for their recognition. Mountain View College Mountain View College held a Meet and Greet event for its new president, Dr. Robert Garza, on April 15 in the Treetop Lounge. He was welcomed in a grand way by students, professional support staff, faculty, and administrators. Garza, who served as vice president for student success at Palo Alto College (part of the Alamo Colleges system), has 19 years experience in higher education, distance education, and student services. In the April edition of MVC Connections (newsletter), Garza stated, thank you for your dedication to our community and success of our students. I am truly excited to work with the Mountain View College family and look forward to continuing the tradition of empowering people and transforming communities. Student Success The Mountain View College Dance Department will showcase its talent at the annual Spring Dance Performance, Keep em Dancing! Performances are scheduled for April at 7:30 p.m. in the college Performance Hall. Guest artists will be Dallas Black Dance Theatre II, featuring Mountain View College dance students. A reception will be held immediately after the April 24 performance. For more information, please call Employee Success Mountain View College Continuing Education and Workforce Development presents The Daring Way... Show Up, Be Seen, Live Brave. At this unique workshop, attendees will explore topics, such as vulnerability, courage, shame, and worthiness. Participants will be invited to examine the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that are holding them back, and identify the new choices and practices that will move them toward more authentic and wholehearted living, transforming the way they live, love, parent, and lead. The event is scheduled for May 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mountain View College in Room B149. The cost of the workshop is $160, which includes breakfast, 6

7 lunch and materials. (Get your tickets here.) For more information, please contact Shaniqua Rischer at Mountain View College at Sustainable Communities Save the date for the exciting event, Discover Nature. Live Healthy. It will combine Mountain View College annual student festivities, a community wellness fair, and tours of the new Living Labs at Mountain View College. The event will take place April 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the college in the Student Courtyard and the main hallway of the W Building. 7