The Newsletter for Faculty and Staff at College of the Desert Week of Feb. 27, 2006 Volume 17 Number 15

Transcription

1 Home Students Faculty & Staff Visitors Home > FacultyStaff > PublicRelations > Insider Newsletter BELOW/INSIDE Vice President Patton Offers Update On Construction Timeline The Newsletter for Faculty and Staff at College of the Desert Week of Feb. 27, 2006 Volume 17 Number 15 Board Meets March 8 At Eastern Valley COD Picks New Head Football Coach From Ranks of Alumni Hall of Fame Awards Recipients Named Campus Wraps Up Busy Black History Month Schedule Monterey Ave. Landscaping Plan Unveiled Performing Arts Readies Musical Presentations For Spring Big Annual Library Book Sale Coming March 18 Golf, Tennis Teams Set The Pace In Foothill Conference Artist's Vision of New Health Sciences Complex: What's happening with all the proposed construction funded by COD's bond issue? Read Jerry Patton's column in today's Insider for an update on planning, design and construction and you'll be in the know. Above, an artist's rendering of the new Health Sciences complex shows new architecture designed to blend with the old. Patton also reveals that the Business building has been scheduled for a complete makeover this fall. Classes and offices now occupying that building will move to a new temporary site. See

2 details below Campus News Men's Baseball Team '06: COD hosts Antelope Valley Thursday in a 2 p.m. home game at Ted Hamilton Field. It's the Foothill Conference opener for the Roadrunners, who have struggled in preconference play this season and will open league play with a 4-12 overall record. Coach David Buttles is back at the helm after a sabbatical last year. Following Thursday's game, COD will travel to Antelope Valley on Saturday for a doubleheader at noon. This week marks the start of four weeks of Thursday/Saturday games, all featuring doubleheaders on Saturday. The team has three tournament games scheduled in Glendale and Pasadena during Spring Break in April, then returns to conference play for two weeks. State playoffs begin May 12. This year's players, from left: (standing) Derek Kennedy, Chris Young, Mike Eisenhauer, Ken Dobbs, Austin Bellanich, Ian Walters, Mario Guilin, Steve Oviedo, Shawn Smith, Lou Cauterucci, Israel Ibarra, Cody Wise; (kneeling) Jason Carrizosa, Bob Spraker, Wes Golden, Wes McCollum, Mike Zarlengo, Jeff Brignola, Brian Shea; (sitting) Tyler Cross, Shaune Jimenez, Cody Forrester, Kurt Mertins. Board Moves Up Mar. 8 Meeting to 5:30: The DCCD Board of Trustees has changed the start time to 5:30 p.m. for next week's regularly scheduled meeting, to be held at the Eastern Valley Center in Indio. Watch the portal for an agenda to be posted. Minutes from the last meeting on Feb. 16 can be found on COD's web page at this address: New Head Coach Named: COD has a new head football coach. The successful candidate for the position, Dean Dowty, is no stranger to COD or the community. He played football here in the late 1980's, transferred on a full

3 scholarship to Utah State University, and came back to coach Roadrunner football from Dowty, 37, was also an adjunct faculty member and an assessment specialist during his years at the college, working with students in counseling, academic skills testing and tutoring. "Mr. Dowty will be a tremendous asset to our newly revitalized football program," said Dr. Maria Sheehan, Superintendent/President of COD. His background in working with and supporting students academically fits in perfectly with our overall goal of producing student athletes who go on to further their education at four year institutions." She lauded retiring coach Ken Swearingen for the two years he spent turning the program around and predicted Dowty would build on that success. Dean Dowty Dowty said he was "unbelievably excited" to get the full time coaching job. "I'm a Roadrunner," he said on learning his hiring had been approved by the Board of Trustees at its last meeting. "I played at COD, coached here for seven years, and enjoyed working in the academic skills and tutoring areas. That's where I think I can make a difference. I love working with kids." Athletic Director Terry Schukart said Dowty started immediately to prepare for the fall season. He s a terrific choice for this position, Schukart said. We were pleased to have so much interest in the opening. The search committee looked long and hard at the various candidates. It was a difficult decision, but we re confident we ve got the right man for the job. Dowty left COD in 2000, after serving as offensive coordinator and assistant coach, and went to Bethel College in Newton, KS where he was the offensive coordinator. The team went 8-2 and finished 20th in the nation, the best performance in the school's history, he said. Dowty also worked as an admissions counselor at Bethel. He spent the 2002 season as assistant coach of the Los Angeles Avengers, an American Football League team. As coach of the arena football team whose games are played indoors at the Staples Center, Dowty coached the offensive line, the defensive line, the running backs and the linebackers. "I coached half the guys on the team," he said. "It was a great experience. We had the team's first winning season and made it to the playoffs." While coaching the AFL team, Dowty also worked in the private sector as regional sales manager for Automated Telecom, which has offices in Palm Desert and San Diego. He lives in Mountain Center, up Highway 74, with his wife, Jeannell and three daughters, two of whom are in Palm Desert schools. They also have a 15-month-old infant. Coach Dowty holds a BS in Journalism/Communication from Utah State and an AA in Liberal Studies from COD.

4 Latina Leadership Network: A new networking group has been formed on campus. It's the Latina Leadership Network, designed to help Latina women help each other with career and community service options. Pictured here, left to right, are some of the members of the fledgling group: (front row) Patricia Reyes (Advisor), Dr. Maria Sheehan (Sponsor/Advisor), Ana Magaña, Abril Avila, Viviana Villarreal, Esmeralda Chavez; (second row) Maria De Santiago (Advisor), Blanca Montenegro (Advisor), Rosa Leyva, Lillian Avila, Susan Cabeje; (back row) Yadira Salazar, Karina Arrieta (VP), Liliana Cardenas (President), Laura Ruvalcaba, Sonia Pimentel, Barbara Barrera, Jessica Cabeje and Gabriela Barrera. Not pictured: Rosa Limon (Advisor), Maria Salcedo (Secretary), Luisa Gonzalez (Treasurer), Claudia Duarte, Stephanie Gonzalez, Yancee Lacsina, Marisol Reyes, Carmen Rubio and Guadalupe Vargas. Solstice Deadline Has Arrived: The Mar. 1 deadline for artwork, photography, graphic design, poetry, fiction, essays and other forms of dramatic writing for the 2006 Solstice is here! The book is designed to showcase students' literary and visual accomplishments during their time at COD and is produced each spring by the Journalism 10/Literary Magazine class. This year, the students have decided to include faculty/staff/administrator work. For more information, contact Ruth Nolan, Solstice Faculty Advisor and Instructor, at ext The Alumni Association Announces 2006 Hall of Fame Awards Recipients: Twelve people will be recognized by the COD Alumni Association later this spring at a gala dinner. The winners of the Hall of Fame Awards were announced recently. They are: Outstanding Faculty, Eileen Hackett; Outstanding Adjunct Faculty, Cheryl Houston; Outstanding Classified Staff, Florante Roa and Blanca Montenegro; Outstanding Alumni, Anndee Laskoe, Dave Ison, Nancy Svoboda and Antonio Tony Arredondo; Outstanding Institutional Commitment To College of the Desert, Carol Benford and Pat Ross; Outstanding Community Leader, Lisa and Jim Houston. This year's Hall of Fame Dinner will be at the Marriott Rancho Las Palmas on Saturday, May 13 at 5:30 p.m. Newly Tenured Faculty Approved by Board: Seven members of the COD faculty were awarded tenure by the Board of Trustees on Feb. 16, following the completion of four years of service to the district. They are: Bert Bitanga, Assistant Professor, Architecture; Ellen Hardy, Assistant Professor, Antrhopology; Thang Le, Assistant

5 Professor, Mathematics; Valerie Loew, Assistant Professor, Ornamental Horticulture; Doug MacIntire, Associate Professor, Physics; Nancy Moll, Assistant Professor, Geology; and Clayton Mayes, Associate Professor, Administration of Justice. Performing Arts Readies Spring Shows: COD's Division of Social Sciences and Arts has a busy line up of performances scheduled for the spring semester, beginning with a faculty recital in April and ending with the annual musical production at the McCallum Theatre in May. Steven Schmidt and Rong-Huey Liu kick off a series of three faculty recitals on Apr. 5 at 8 p.m. at Theatre Too. Anthony Arizaga has a similar recital on May 14 at 7 p.m. at the Pollock Theatre. Mark Almy and Vanessa Sheldon will perform on May 15 at the Pollock. All recitals are open to the public and free. April 30 is the date for this spring's Opera Workshop. Instructor Mark Almy's students will present selections from three popular operas at the Pollock at both 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Guys and Dolls opens May 19 at the McCallum. Directed by Michele Gaines, the Broadway musical features four performances from May For more information, contact the Division at Ext Black History Month Comes to Campus: A series of events commemorating Black History will conclude this week with a film on Thursday about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Posing in front of one of several Black History displays around campus -- this one in the Hilb Student Center -- are, from left: McKinley Givens and Marion Wheeler, both students, and Elise King, COD Counselor. COD's Student Activities Director, Bill Bailey, stopped to observe and his reflection is seen in the mirror behind the display. See story below for more details. Black History Month Closes with MLK Film on Thursday: The Diversity Council and a sub-committee comprised of various faculty and staff members has been encouraging faculty and students to participate in the various activities and visit the exhibits set up for Black History Month.

6 The Hilb Student Center, under the guidance of Bill Bailey and with the participation of others, set up a display recognizing leaders of the black community. This has been on angoing tradition for the past several years. The students created a montage of individuals who played significant roles in Black History. A film about Martin Luther King, Jr and will be shown Thursday at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. in the Hilb Student Center. Chris Nelson distributed an African American History bibliography. Terri Fleck provided classroom packs that faculty could use in their classes, including a video presentation and Teacher s Guide. You can contact her at Ext Various departments on the campus (Counseling is one) have set up bulletin board displays. The Diversity Council is also supporting activities for Women s History month in March. If you would like to be part of the planning, please contact Adell Bynum, Susan Kitagawa or Dr. Reynaldo F. Ortiz. Monterey Avenue Landscape Theme Is Revealed: Posing with an artist's rendering of a proposed plan to landscape Monterey Avenue on the west side of the COD campus are Tim White of Pinnacle One, the college's master planning consultant on the bond issue construction projects, and Kevin Slawson, landscape architect, from the firm SWA. The meeting was the second on campus in recent weeks, designed to present the Landscape Committee plan and gather input. It's already been reviewed by the Facilities Master Planning Committee. See story below, along with a link to more info online. New Landscaping Will Give Monterey Side of Campus a Signature Look: A plan unveiled Tuesday shows a unique combination of ornamental iron fencing, portions of wall elements and extensive landscaping with trees, shrubs and agaves running the entire length of Monterey Avenue from Fred Waring to Magnesia Falls Lane. The new construction, which could start this summer, will give the west side of the college a "signature" look and announce COD's presence to passersby, according to consultants on the project. In addition,

7 the landscaping will create a barrier between the street and the three parking lots that but Monterey Avenue. The larger of the lots houses the Alumni Association Street Fair on weekends. Steve Renew, Director of Maintenance and Operations, said the wall elements are closer together at the north end of the street and gradually the space between will increase from 25 feet to 50 feet to 75 feet. The wall "elements," designed to create a barrier without adding another long eight-foot wall along yet another Palm Desert boulevard, will reduce in height along the perimeter of the pathway. This will create a visual barrier made up of a combination of fencing, stone and greenery, including tall trees. Renew said there are some loose ends to tied up but he's hoping construction will be in full swing by June or July. To see more artist's renderings of the project, including a look at the "wall elements," fencing and other design features, users of on-campus computers can visit the college intranet at this link: 'Twice Sold Tales' Opens Mar 18: Friends of College of the Desert Library (FOTL) will hold its 36th annual book sales Mar The five-day event at the Multi-Agency Library on campus will feature thousands of books from private collections, including special books from private donors that are rare and scarce books on California, Desert & West and an eclectic collection of books and ephemera from the late 1800's through 1900's. The itinerary for the book sale: Saturday and Sunday, Mar : A sidewalk sale only, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., open to the public, featuring hardbacks, paperbacks, magazines, records, videos and cassettes. Sunday, Mar. 19: The sale moves inside the Library into the Community Room and is for members only -- memberships to the FOTL will be on sale at the door for $15, or $25 for a family. The full collection of books will be available for members to purchase; hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Mar : The sale is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Mar. 22: Last day bargains will be offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The sale is open to everyone. There is a special sale on Desert books. For more information, call the FOTL at or International Day is Just Around the Corner: The annual celebration of COD's international students and the cultural heritage they represent is scheduled for Wednesday, Apr. 19. The International Education Program is looking for volunteers from COD's faculty and staff to join in this celebration. They need volunteers to provide cultural entertainment, carry the flag of a home country, and/or set up a booth in the Museum of Culture. If you would like to participate, please contact the International Student Office at Ext to sign up. President's Corner by Mr. Jerry Patton V.P. Administrative Services Community Colleges received a very favorable and positive funding proposal that Governor Schwarzenegger put forth his January budget proposal. Even though there will be much legislative and political activity before a final budget bill is

8 signed, the Governor's proposal includes: 3% enrollment growth for the entire system 5.18% cost of living adjustment 1.74% enrollment growth for specified categorical programs $130 million for equalization $30 million increase for expanded initiative to improve career technical education programs $9.6 million for DSPS $500,000 increase for CalPASS program $100,000 for two pilot baccalaureate-degree courses at community colleges that are distant from four-year campuses The $130 million for equalization tentatively targets COD for $420,839 additional on-going funds, but there are concerns over the methodology of how the Chancellor s Office is calculating the distribution of these equalization funds. If the equalization funding stays in the final budget bill, the total system amount for equalization would be $240 million. COD already receives $676,670 from prior years equalization; the Governor s proposed budget would bring the total to $1,097,095. Enrollment: The enrollment growth rate for College of the Desert for FY06-07 is 6.39% (reduced from 8.62%). For FY05-06 our enrollment growth rate was 5.13 (reduced from 6.92%). As of the fall semester census period we were at about 2% growth but at spring semester census period we were about 2% below our base. Bookstore Operations: The college entered into an agreement this spring with Follett College Stores. They will begin minor renovations to the existing bookstore this summer and will complete all the inside and furnish the new bookstore in the new Learning Commons building. Even though there currently isn t much visible activity for our Measure B Bond Projects, there is considerable work happening by the design teams and architects Infrastructure: A design consultant is completing design and construction documents with the goal to start construction sometime late this coming fall semester. This construction activity will be disruptive to the campus particularly the ring road as the new utilities will be placed in the street. Our program manager, Pinnacle One, will soon be informing us of where the construction will start and a plan to minimize the disruption New Buildings: Design teams of faculty, staff and architects have now completed their programming and Nursing, Public Safety and Alumni now have floor plans and elevations of their buildings. They are working hard to have construction documents to submit to the State Architect for approval by this fall.

9 Business Building Renovation: This design team has now started work on renovating the Business Building. This will be the first renovation of an existing building and will be the precedent for future renovations. All classes, labs and offices will move out of this building this summer. Interim Space: In order to do building renovations, we will construct temporary classrooms and offices where the old Center for Training & Development modular buildings were located. These will be in place this summer. Landscaping: Monterey Avenue landscape plans have been developed by the Landscape Master Plan Committee and are available for view on the portal. Open meetings were held for the campus community to view the plans February 23 and 28. Construction is expected to start by summer. COD Sports Men End Hoop Season: With a brand new head coach facing a rebuilding year, it figured to be a difficult season for the Roadrunners. But they surprised some teams in the Foothill Conference and posted a 6-8 conference record on the year, overall. Coach Henry Viveros was especially proud that two players, Nick Quick and D'Andre James, made the All-Conference Team. Quick led the team by averaging 16 points this season, followed by James who had 11 points per game. Players posed for a team photo, along with their coaches, from left, front row: Marcus Edwards, Daniel Cruz, Kyle Adams, Johnny Huerta, Assistant Coach Gene Stillman; back row: Assistant Coach Steve McGihon, Kyle Adams, Rodney King, Chris Fleming, Nathan Sims, D'Andre James, Head Coach Henry Viveros. COD Golf, Tennis Teams Head Into March Undefeated: Two of COD's sports teams ended February with a perfect record. The men's tennis team swept their singles matches to win handily over Scottsdale (AZ) Community College Monday. The Roadrunners went to 5-0 on the season and were scheduled to host Irvine Valley College Tuesday at Monterey

10 Country Club, just north of the COD campus. Also on Monday, COD's men's golf team stayed undefeated with a six-stroke victory at the California Club in Whittier. The team, now 2-0, travels to Antelope Valley next Monday. Schedules, photos, and more information about COD teams are online at Faculty Development Workshops For information on Faculty Development, Flex Days, and Online Faculty Development, contact Carl Farmer, Chair Faculty Development Committee at ext. 455 or him at cfarmer@collegeofthedesert.edu. Calendar of Events The Insider lists home games for all athletic events on the weekly calendar. For more details, contact the Athletics Department at Ext. 591 or visit the Athletics Division website at Monday, Feb 27 Tuesday, Feb 28 2 p.m. Men's Tennis vs Irvine Valley Wednesday, Mar 1 Thursday, Mar 2 2 p.m. Women's Tennis vs Rio Hondo Friday, Mar 3 2 p.m. Baseball vs Victor Valley 2 p.m. Men's Tennis vs Cypress Saturday, Mar 4 7 a.m. Alumni Association Street Fair Sunday, Mar 5 7 a.m. Alumni Association Street Fair Monday, Mar 6 Tuesday, Mar 7 2 p.m. Women's Tennis vs Antelope Valley 3 p.m. Classified Forum Wednesday, Mar 8 5:30 p.m. Board of Trustees Meeting - EVC Thursday, Mar 9 Friday, Mar 10 9 a.m. Transfer Center: UC Riverside Outreach 2 p.m. Women's Tennis vs Victor Valley Saturday, Mar 11 7 a.m. Alumni Association Street Fair 11 a.m. Men's Tennis vs Ventura Noon Baseball vs Mt. San Jacinto Sunday, Mar 12 7 a.m. Alumni Association Street Fair

11 The Insider is the newsletter for Faculty and Staff at College of the Desert, Monterey Ave., Palm Desert, CA Published weekly during the school year, except during holidays. Send submissions via or interoffice campus mail. Information: Tom Wixon, Director, Public Relations, ext From off-campus: (760) or College of the Desert Monterey Ave Palm Desert, CA Acceptable Use Guidelines Disclaimer