The Newsletter for Faculty and Staff at COD May 03, 2004 Volume 15 Number 24

Transcription

1 Home Students Faculty & Staff Visitors Home > FacultyStaff > PublicRelations > Insider Newsletter BELOW/INSIDE Tennis Team Heads Into State Playoffs, To Be Hosted By COD The Newsletter for Faculty and Staff at COD May 03, 2004 Volume 15 Number 24 Performing Arts Eyes Big Month In May: Gypsy, Opera, Concert Student Success Not Just a Catch Phrase at COD Trustee Chairman Jim Gray Named To STRS Board Dr. Rick Post Will Be Honored With Palm Award At Founder's Day ASCOD Elections Under Way Bloodmobile On Campus This Wednesday Summer Registration Opens With Bang Fencing Team In Vegas For Pacific Coast Finals, Host Match Here May 15 COD Scholarship Dinner Benefit Is Next Tuesday COD Student, 44, Wins Women's Singles Title At Conference COD Hosts State Community College Tennis Tournament This Weekend Softball Women Play In So Cal Regionals May 5 Golfers Close To Going All The Way At State WebAdvisor Training Ready For Faculty Little Lamb: Holding a live prop for the upcoming COD Performing Arts production of Gypsy is Cheryl McGuire, division secretary. Little Lamb is one of the songs in Gypsy, along with old favorites Small World, Everything's Coming UP Roses, and Let Me Entertain You. Michele Gaines directs the classic musical, created by Arthur Laurent, Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim. Gypsy has enjoyed three Broadway revivals since its debut in 1959 with legendary singing star Ethyl Merman. COD will bring it to the McCallum Theatre May See story below

2 President's Corner by Dr. Diane Ramirez Vice President, Student Services Student Success Not Just An Expression: In today's column, Dr. Ramirez walks us through a long list of accomplishments and activities we can reflect on, all designed to show that "student success" is something COD takes seriously. Click here to read column, below Campus News Tennis Team Eyes Playoffs : It's a big week for COD's men's tennis team, which must get past a regional playoff tomorrow night at 7 on their home court against Ventura to participate in the state finals team competition this weekend at Monterey Country Club. COD will host the state finals Friday and Saturday. Whether the team wins tomorrow or not, several individual and team contestants will have a berth in the finals. See story below. From left: Carl Schroeder, head coach, Sasha Boskovic, Sergio Sanchez, Nicolas Ortega, Simon Haeder, Matt Jordahl (redshirt), Cesar Villares- Filho, and Craig Robinson. Student Art Sale, Reception Is Tonight: This evening at the Hilb Student Center, a student art exhibition and reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. On display are paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures and ceramics, all by COD art students. Much of the work will be for sale, with 20% of the proceeds going to benefit the Walter N. Marks Center for the Arts. The balance goes to the student artist. The works will remain on display through May 20.

3 Jim Gray Appointed by Governor to STRS Board: Jim Gray, Chairman of the DCCD Board of Trustees, has been appointed to a four year term on the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) Board of Directors. Gray was one of five new members appointed to the STRS board by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month. Each of these individuals has shown a commitment to public service and a dedication to improving California, said the Governor, in appointing Gray, along with Mark Battey, Gloria Horn, Miguel Pulido and Kathleen Smalley. Their varied experiences in business, education and government illustrate that they are uniquely suited to assume this important responsibility. Gray was appointed a DCCD member four years ago, won election to a full term in 2001 and is in his second year as chairman of the COD governing board. Gray served as chairman of Generation Trust Bank from 1999 to 2002 and was previously senior consultant at City National Bank. He was chairman and CEO of Harbor Bank from 1976 to 1998 and chairman and CEO of Jim Gray Volvo from 1965 to He served on the California State University Board of Trustees from 1990 to 1999, having been appointed by governors Deukmejian and Wilson. Gray was also on the Commission of the California s Advisory Council under Deukmejian and served on Gov. Reagan s Educational Management and Evaluation Commission. Gray, 66, lives in Indian Wells and is a registered Republican. STRS is the largest teacher s retirement system in the U.S. Its primary responsibility is to provide retirement benefits and services to teachers in public schools from kindergarten to community college. The board has exclusive control over the investment and administration of the STRS retirement fund and has the power and authority to hear and determine all facts pertaining to application for benefits under the system. The board has 12 members, five of whom are appointed by the governor. Terms are four years, appointments require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $100 per diem. ASCOD Elections Under Way: Associated Students at COD (ASCOD) elections are May 3 through 5. The deadline for student candidates to file was April 20. Blood Drive On Campus Wednesday: The Community Blood Bank Bloodmobile will be in the front staff parking lot (Monterey Avenue side) from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Those who wish to donated blood can sign up in the Student Activities Office or make an appointment by calling Student Activities at Ext Performing Arts Readies Gypsy For McCallum: Another spectacular musical production will open May 14 for four shows. COD's Performing Arts and P.E. Division will stage Gypsy, one of the most popular musicals of all time. There are four performances May 14-16, including Friday and Saturday evening performances and a matinee on Saturday and Sunday. The production reunites Michele Gaines as director and Scott Smith as musical director. Together, they're responsible for a long list of acclaimed COD performances at the McCallum in recent years, including South Pacific and Damn Yankees. Show times are 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 and $20 and $25. For tickets, call the McCallum Box Office at 340-ARTS. For more information, contact Performing Arts at Ext Based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, a famous burlesque stripper, Gypsy tells the story of Rose, an overbearing stage mother who is determined to break into the big time by pushing the vaudeville career of her younger daughter June. However, unwilling to tolerate her mother's manipulations, June elopes with a dancer. Rose then turns all of her attention on her older and less talented daughter Louise. Eventually Rose's dreams come to fruition when she successfully transforms Louise into a famous burlesque stripper known as Gypsy Rose Lee.

4 No sooner has she succeeded, however, than Rose suffers a mental breakdown, realizing that she is no longer needed in her daughter's career. Directed by the legendary Jerome Robbins, the original production featured Ethel Merman who gave the performance of a lifetime as Rose. It was the last stage role Miss Merman would create, and many of the songs from the show ("Some People" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses") have come to be counted among her biggest hits. Gypsy opened at the Broadway Theatre on May 21, 1959 and closed on March 25, 1961 after 702 performances. It was made into a motion picture starring Natalie Wood and Rosalind Russell in 1963 and a TV movie starring Bette Midler in A Broadway revival was staged in 1974 with Angela Lansbury and again in 1989 with Tyne Daley. More recently, Bernadette Peters starred in a new version on Broadway. Big Month For Performing Arts: Along with Gypsy (see story, above), COD Performing Arts has a full plate this month. On May 21-23, COD's Opera Workshop holds forth with Rossini's Cenerentola. That's Cinderella to those who are Italian-challenged. There are four performances scheduled at the Pollock Theatre. For tickets, at $10 and $12, call the box office at On May 25, a free Chamber Concert takes place at 8 p.m. at the Pollock, conducted by COD Music Instructor Steven Schmidt. For more info: Performing Arts, Ext COD Hosts Editor: The special guest at the spring luncheon of the COD Foundation Auxiliary was Stephen Silberman, Executive Editor of the Desert Sun. Silberman lauded the work the volunteers did on behalf of COD, raising $180,000 for classroom equipment needs last year. He also answered questions about the role of his newspaper in the community. Posing with the editor are, from left, Diane Robertson, Auxiliary President; Dr. Maria Sheehan, COD Superintendent/President; and Linda Thibault, Auxiliary Board Member. President's Games Set For May 13: The annual year-end President s Games will be held on Thursday, May 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Desert Rancher s Park. If you wish to serve as a team captain for the games, please notify Pam Buchheit. There are no restrictions on composition of COD team members this year, but the number of players will be the same as last year. Summer Semester Enrollments Running Ahead of Previous Highs: With the start of summer semester just a month away, COD's decision to expand offerings and schedule a record number of classes appears to be paying off with increased enrollments. Budget cuts caused severe curtailing of class offerings a year ago, but compared to summer 2002,

5 enrollments are up. Matthew Breindel, Coordinator of Institutional Research, said 2,920 seats are filled as of this morning. "We are running 207 classes this summer, and the last comparable summer was 2003 when we had 170 classes. Summer 2002 had a total of 6,260 seats taken. We are heading towards 7,000 enrollments this summer, and a headcount of about 4,000 students. We're about half way to meeting those figures, with a month to go." Summer classes are offered in four phases, according to Suzann Pell, Director of Educational Support Services: Three-week intensive classes and six- and eight-week classes all start June 7. A second set of six-week summer classes begins June 21. Class schedules are available at Admissions and Records and at chambers of commerce, public libraries and city halls across the Coachella Valley. Students can also download a printed class schedule on the COD website, which also has a "real time class schedule" which contains the most up-to-date information on the status of classes, including how many seats are available. Rick Post To Be Honored With First 'Palm' Award: A COD division dean will be among those honored when the City of Palm Desert and the Palm Desert Historical Society holds the "first annual" Palm Awards on May 14. Dr. Rick Post is being recognized for "using time and effort to make substantial contributions to the Palm Desert community." Post and one other recipient, Winton Znerold, are the inaugural winners of the award. A ceremony will be held in conjunction with a Founders' Day program, at which another COD fixture will be honored -- S. Roy Wilson, Riverside County Supervisor. Wilson, a professor emeritus, taught Journalism at COD before retiring in He has served on the local school board and city council and was mayor of Palm Desert. Znerold is a retiree who volunteers his time to read to school children at Abraham Lincoln E.S. Dr. Post is a former director of the PD Chamber of Commerce and active in community affairs. He received recognition from COD for the key role he played in helping pass Measure B on the March ballot. Post took leave time from his position as Dean of Business and Applied Sciences at COD to secure dozens of endorsements of the bond measure from politicians, civic groups and service clubs throughout the valley. The bond issue passed with nearly 69% of the vote. NACE Will Host COD Scholarship Dinner : The heat is on and temperatures are rising as the Desert Resorts Chapter of NACE holds its10th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser, The Battle of the Pans, on Tuesday, May 11 at the Indian Wells CC. The evening begins at 5:30 and includes fine dining, competition among chefs, scholarship awards, silent and live auctions, opportunity drawings and entertainment. Proceeds will benefit The College of the Desert Culinary Arts Program, with the awarding of scholarships to students to assist them in furthering their culinary education. Cost is $65 per person or a table of ten $600. For reservations, call Myrna Belcher, at (760) Reservations must be made no later than May 7. The COD Fencing Team will be competing in the Pacific Coast Championships in Las Vegas May 8 and 9. COD will be hosting of the upcoming USF San Bernardino end of the season fencing tournament. The tournament will be held Saturday, May 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Wright Gymnasium. Hats Were The Theme at the spring luncheon of the COD Foundation Auxiliary last week. Supporters

6 showed up in their finest haberdashery, including life member Kay Hanson, left, and Linda Starr- Rivin. Among the awards given out for "best hat" was one with a COD theme designed and worn by the Auxiliary's Vera Handley. It was made up of a series of tiny "billboards" on which were printed the names of every single COD program and division. Copper Mountain's Jim Pulliam To Retire: COD has received word of a retirement dinner scheduled for Jim Pulliam, President of Copper Mountain College, and a former COD administrator. The event is May 22 at 6 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Community Center. For more information: (760) , ext Tickets are $75. WebAdvisor Training Offered: Instructors who wish to keep up with the new WebAdvisor online program are invited to contact IS at Ext Training sessions are currently being held in the Technology Learning Center in the Hilb basement -- which has been completely remodeled after last winter's flooding and looks terrific, by the way. Sessions offered right now are: WebAdvisor Registration and WebAdvisor For Faculty. COD Golfers Hopeful On Eve Of State Finals: Coach Tony Manzoni's men's golf team, a perennial powerhouse in the Foothill Conference, is in the middle of a drought. Oh, he's had good teams every year; very good teams. But he hasn't won the state championship since 1998, even though his golfers have come close, coming in second the past two seasons. This could be the year, however. The Roadrunners are one of seven teams at the Southern California Regionals today; if they are one of the three teams that finish on top, they go on to the state finals May 10. Manzoni is counting on his two top players, Brandon Petelski and Brian Mahoney, to go all the way. "I'm cautiously optimistic," Manzoni told reporters. "If the guys can just stay calm and focused, they have what it takes." COD Woman Is Foothill Tennis Champ: She's 44 a sophomore at COD, and today she's in Fullerton for the regional championships, having won the Foothill Conference singles title last week by beating her 26-year-old teammate, Maggie Stutze, 6-0, 6-2. She then teamed with Lindsey Newlin to win the conference doubles title, too. If all goes well, this weekend she'll compete in the state championship finals, which will be hosted by COD at adjacent Monterey CC. Rebecca Vineyard says she's able to keep up with competitors half her age because she's got age and experience on them. She picked up a tennis racket at age 32. She's also studying piano at COD. And she was just

7 named Foothill Conference MVP. Pretty good year, so far. College to Host CCC State Tennis Tournament: COD will host the California Community College State Tennis Championships this weekend. The action takes place at Monterey Country Club, adjacent to and north of the campus, which is the Roadrunners' home court during the season. "It's been several years since we last hosted this tournament," said Terry Schukart, Athletic Director and Dean of Physical Education and Performing Arts. "This particular tournament is especially important since the men's team is the six-time defending state champion; however, whether our men's team will be in the state tournament depends on whether they win tomorrow (Tuesday, May 4) when they play Ventura here at home for the regional championship. The winning team goes on to play this weekend against the Northern California champion." Whether the team wins or not at tomorrow's regional playoff, COD will be represented in individual and doubles competition this weekend. It should be a terrific weekend for tennis fans. Admission is free to all matches. There's plenty of free parking. And a snack bar is on site. High temperatures are forecast for the upper 80's both days. The action starts Friday, May 7 at 11 a.m. with singles rounds. Doubles rounds will begin at about 4 p.m. On Saturday, the doubles quarterfinals start at 8 a.m., followed by singles semifinals at about 9:30, and singles finals at around 11. At 2 p.m., doubles semi-finals should begin; doubles finals will take place at about 4. Admission is free, and there is plenty of free parking. A snack bar will be open on site. Softball Team Heads For Santa Ana, Regionals: Coach Shel Wellins' winning softball team, Foothill Conference champs for the second straight season, is on its way to Santa Ana for regional playoffs May 5-9. COD plays Santa Ana Wednesday, and if successful goes to Cypress for the weekend. The Roadrunners must win three games this week to advance to the state finals scheduled for Riverside on May 15 and 16. Last year, COD was stopped in the regionals after a phenomenal season in which the team won 43 games. "If the softball gods smile on us," Wellins said, "we could go all the way." President's Corner by Dr. Diane Ramirez Vice President, Student Services Student Success Is Something We Take Seriously: The month of May winds down an academic year and also celebrates a commencement. As we are reflecting and preparing our end of year reports in Student Services, I thought we might share with you some of the accomplishments and activities that we have been pursuing on behalf of increasing student success. In the Counseling Center, we applied for and received the Annenberg Grant. This has enabled us to: implement a Case Load model for counseling for more individualized and personal student development; pilot an electronic scheduler, SARS-GRID, that will be available for any office who desires it next year; installed electronic SARS-CALL program which reminds students of their appointments and activities on campus; revised student Orientation which will have an on-line edition Spring 2005; and to provide first generation, first year experience students with book stipends for completing a variety of elements that are components of the a developing first year experience program. These activities have provided us a pilot from which to study as we further develop the COD First Year Experience. Additionally, next month, a team composed of teaching faculty, counseling faculty, student

8 activities coordinator, an administrator and the Academic Senate president will join together to attend the 17th Annual International Conference on First Year Experience which will have a focus on community college needs.this team approach signifies the recognition of what a first year experience in college truly takes for students to become successful: a comprehensive college approach. The team is composed of: Doug McIntyre, Jose Simo, Bill Bailey, Adrian Gonzales, and Chris Nelson. In Student Activities, Bill Bailey, the Student Activities Coordinator, was given the assignment to coordinate Student Workers. This has added a lot of activity in the Hilb Center in addition to the student activity that burgeoned with the closing of the Dining Hall while under retrofitting. The Hilb Student Center, indeed, has served as the only place on the pad where students could congregate, eat, study and work with other students and be indoors. It was a new definition of student life! A&R has arguably undergone the most change: both physical and professional! Interim Dean Carlene Gibson led a massive house-and-file cleaning event and reorganized the physical lay-out for more efficient service and work. She has redesigned the admissions information in the Schedule of Classes to be more student friendly and also added the BOG waiver form to the Schedule for the convenience and awareness of students. Dean Gibson has also streamlined as many forms and practices as she could efficiently handle in the A&R and FA offices, always with the student in mind. In Financial Aid, the group practiced teamwork very effectively as they have grappled with how to function without a Financial Aid Director. We re happy to report that interviews are this week to fill this very important position. However, FA received help this year in another way through the increased funds the state allocated to BFAP that allowed us to increase our temporary staffing to assist students with Financial Aid. Did you know that 40% of our student body receives some form of Financial Aid? And this is expected to continue to rise. Helping to increase these numbers staff developed multiple ways to get the word out and to assist students in need of financial aid. Included this year was a developed Power Point presentation for FA workshops that has been taken to all district high schools and provided student workshops on campus. Thanks to Matteo Monica, Greg Chesterman and Gloria Hernandez. Also, Financial Aid and A& R information were updated on our website, leading the students step-by-step through these essential processes. Please give it a look and refer students to the website. Our Scholarship Committee was very active under the leadership of Matt Monica, our Financial Aid Counselor. Other members of the Scholarship Committee are: Eve-Marie Andrews, Bill Bailey, Ellen Hardy, Jose Simo, and Elise King. Matteo has helped to streamline the wishes of our scholarship donors in concert with the COD Foundation. We are seeing increased scholarship donations and have every reason to believe this will continue to increase, thanks to Sam Hook and his staff, and the wonderful donors of our Valley who truly believe in our College and students. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Student Services in a variety of roles accomplished the tasks of helping students while balancing responsibilities of converting to a live Datatel system. Special leaders have emerged in this conversion process and while the teams, the CORE, and the Tri-Chair committees have all worked diligently to contain and minimize traumas and problems in this conversion process, they will occur nonetheless. It is not the problems that emerge, as that is part of the process. It is, as with all things, how we problemsolve that makes the difference in our abilities to serve, learn and grow and to this point, the IS staff and the CORE and its committees have been able to solve each technical problem as it occurs. That is not without uncounted hours, efforts, teamwork and financial constraints. But it is the teamwork and dedication to succeed that is pre-eminent.

9 Come to think of it, that is what we are ALL about: succeeding, problem-solving, learning and moving forward. Happy May to all of you as we come closer to the end of this academic year and the commencing of a promise for the future to our students. Openings Human Resources announces the following status changes: Classified Appointments: Lorraine Hawking, Mail Technician, effective March 29. Ubaldo Hermosillo, Custodian, effective March 31. Geofrey Imeson, Security Officer, effective March 11. Nancy Keller, Senior Office Assistant/Physical Ed/Perf. Arts, effective March 22. Classified Resignations: Sheila Alcantar, Secretary, Eastern Valley Center, April 1. Bonnie Brock, Training & Development Assistant, effective April 13. Faculty Appointment: Anthony Tesch, Instructor, Biology, Human Anatomy, Physiology, effective August 26. Faculty Retirement: Joy Wentz, Professor, English, effective May 28. Faculty Resignation: Rachelle McCoy, Counselor, CARE/EOPS, effective March 11. Management Appointment: Jerry Patton, Vice President, Administrative Services, effective July 1. Faculty Development Workshops For information on Faculty Development, Flex Days, and Online Faculty Development, contact Wendy Flint, Chair Faculty Development Committee at ext. 122 or her at flint@collegeofthedesert.edu or go to Classified Staff Development Workshops Contact Joyce Moore, Chair Classified Staff Development Committee, to find out about upcoming staff development workshops at ext. 148 or her at jmoore@collegeofthedesert.edu or go to 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, May 3 Tuesday, May 4 ASCOD Elections ASCOD Elections Wednesday, May 5 8 a.m. Bloodmobile On Campus Thursday, May 6 Friday, May 7 3:30 p.m. Career Center: Strong Interpretation plus Values Clarification ASCOD Elections Saturday, May 8 7 a.m. Alumni Association Street Fair Sunday, May 9 7 a.m. Alumni Association Street Fair Monday, May 10

10 Tuesday, May 11 Wednesday, May 12 Thursday, May 13 11:30 a.m. President's Games Friday, May 14 8 p.m. Gypsy Saturday, May 15 7 a.m. Alumni Association Street Fair 8 p.m. Gypsy Sunday, May 16 7 a.m. Alumni Association Street Fair 2 & 7 p.m. Gypsy 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 twixon@collegeofthedesert.edu. College of the Desert Monterey Ave Palm Desert, CA Acceptable Use Guidelines Disclaimer