Campus News   |  Faculty& Staff News  |  Student News  |  Projects Update   In This Issue … February 8, 2008 Black History Month Kick-Off Celebration ... Desert Dance Theatre at the CPA ... Higher Learning Commission Progress Report ... President's Circle Meeting ... Governing Board Strategic Conversation ... Student Survey for the Strategic Planning Committee ... Film Festival at PVCC ... NJCAA Indoor Nationals - Track and Field ... PVCC Lady Puma Soccer Team Nominated for Academic Team of the Year ... PVCC Lady Pumas Golf ... Men's Tennis ... Phoenix Experimental Arts Festival ... Who Lives in Arizona, a PVCC Worldview Series Event ... PVCC Professor on National Television ... Dr. Gina Kranitz Memorial Scholarship ... College Goal Sunday - Student Financial Aid ... Student Leadership Council ... Early College Program ... SIS Update ... PVCC Announcements E-mail List ...   Campus News   Black History Month Kick-Off Celebration Each year, I look forward to this wonderful event. And while we all can agree that the lunch buffet is always a delicious reminder of African-American culinary traditions, this annual celebration is about so much more than food.  It is really about ideas.  We have been fortunate over the last years to have both performance artists and speakers who help give meaning to the experience of blacks in America and the poignancy of the African diaspora. This year was no different.  I extend a special thank you to PVCC creative dance student Zona Mekary for her poetry in motion, and to Tony de Shay and Professor Umar Sharif for their both intellectual and thought-provoking dialogue. Please take advantage of the Black History Month events scheduled throughout the month of February. Desert Dance Theatre at the CPA In celebration of Black History Month, PVCC will host Desert Dance Theatre’s Sister Moses: The Story of Harriet Tubman. A shortened version for the entire PVCC family will be presented free of charge in the Student Union on Monday, February 11, from 12-1 pm.  The full-length presentation, with live musical accompaniment will be performed on February 16 at 7:30pm in PVCC’s Center for the Performing Arts. Ticket prices are $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and students. Mark your calendars for one, or both, performances. Higher Learning Commission Progress Report In direct response to the HLC recommendation made to our college on March 1, 2005, we were asked to prepare a progress report on the topic of assessment.  Dr. Laurie Pemberton, Director of Institutional Effectiveness; Paul Marsh, Director of Research; Dr. Rick Vaughn, and Vice President Bob Bendotti have worked closely with our chairpersons, faculty and staff for over three years to produce a comprehensive report, which documents our progress on assessment activities. The completed report will be submitted to the Higher Learning Commission in late February, 2008.      President's Circle Meeting On Monday, February 4, our President’s Circle, composed of community and business leaders in our service area, welcomed Dr. Steve Helfgot to his new role as President and CEO of the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation. Circle members enjoyed a brief presentation by Dr. Helfgot on his vision for the foundation, its relationship to the colleges, and opportunities to engage in volunteer leadership.  Circle members considered and affirmed a new committee structure for the organization and are enthusiastically moving forward with the planning process under the guidance of Dr. Julia Devous, Director of Institutional Advancement.  The next President’s Circle meeting will be the ‘College Showcase’ in April, when members will enjoy an interactive ‘iStartSmart experience’ under the direction of Vice Presidents Bendotti and Dale. Governing Board Strategic Conversation The MCCCD Governing Board held a ‘Strategic Conversation’ on Tuesday, February 5,  at Rio Salado College. The agenda topic was Where Have All the Teachers Gone & How Can We Get Them Back? Joining me at this thought-provoking meeting were our PVCC education faculty Debbie Voll, Harriet Betts from our Teacher Development Center, and Dean Mary Lou Mosley. Student Survey for the Strategic Planning Committee Please encourage your students to take part in the Strategic Planning Committee’s online student survey. The link to this short (four questions) survey is available through the PVCC main Web site, the LSC Web site, the Computer Commons Web site, and the Library Web site. Film Festival at PVCC The 1988 Oscar winning Danish film, Babette’s Feast, directed by Gabriel Axel, will be presented in the Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, February 13, at 6:30 p.m.  We were amused to see a mention of PVCC’s “Food-centric Film Fest” in the New Times Chow Bella written by Michele Laudig. The film festival is sponsored by PVCC’s Center for International Studies. Admission is free of charge. NJCAA Indoor Nationals - Track and Field Freshman Marissa Maki qualified for her second NJCAA indoor nationals event last Saturday at the NAU Mountain T Invitational, winning the 400m open with a time of 58.83. On the men’s side sophomore Kevin Potter came in second in the open weight throw with a 14.46 meter toss. Congratulations to all our student athletes who participated. PVCC will compete in the Gaucho Indoor Invitational Saturday, February 9, at Glendale Community College. Let’s cheer them on to a PVCC win on Saturday! PVCC Lady Puma Soccer Team Nominated for Academic Team of the Year Our Pumas have been nominated for NJCAA Academic Team of the Year for their cumulative grade point average of 3.07. This is the fourth year that they have been recognized for this honor. We are proud of our women who have demonstrated their successes both on the playing field and in the classroom. PVCC Lady Pumas Golf We want to congratulate our Lady Pumas who tied for second place in the Arizona Community College Athletic Association standings and then went on to finish seventh in the nation at the Plantation Halifax course in Daytona Beach, Florida. In addition, our own Kass McGrath earned the first individual NJCAA All-American spot in the history of PVCC women’s golf.  Please join me in congratulating Kass and her coaches on this major achievement. Men's Tennis The 2007 season ended with the Pumas securing a trip to the nationals in their last doubles match, then earning a 12th place team finish at the nationals in Plano, Texas. This was the highest placement for our team since the men’s tennis program began at PVCC . Phoenix Experimental Arts Festival A reminder that the Phoenix Experimental Arts Festival, co-sponsored by the Phoenix New Times, will be held Friday, February 8, and Saturday, February 9, at the CPA. This multi-media event will include both lobby/gallery performances at 6:30pm and mainstage performances at 7:30pm. Regional dance troupes, music ensembles, performance art collectives, theatre companies and visual artists are all represented in this exciting arts festival Who Lives in Arizona, a PVCC Worldview Series Event The inaugural event of the PVCC Worldview series, a collaboration between PVCC's Student Leadership Council  and the Center for International Studies will take place on Thursday, February 14, from 10:30am – 11:45am at the KSC 208. Speaking on the topic Who Lives in Arizona? Arizona’s Changing Demography will be Dr. Larson-Keagy from the Arizona Humanities Council, and 2002 winner of the Distinguished Public Scholar award. If you are interested in bringing your students to this lecture please contact michele.marion@pvmail.maricopa.edu to arrange for seating. Faculty & Staff News   PVCC Professor on National Television Our own Dr. John Douglass, geography faculty member, was filmed last summer ( in  108 degree weather ) as part of a National Geographic Television show exploring the Grand Canyon.  The London-based Pioneer Productions created the episode as part of  National Geographic’s Naked Science series (no…we promise John will appear clothed!). This will initially air next Monday, February 11 at 6 and 9 pm, local Phoenix time, and on Sunday, February 17 at 2pm. Further rebroadcasts will be seen on February 21 and February 22. Dr. Douglass, in case you didn’t know, is a leading expert on Arizona’s natural treasure, the Grand Canyon. For the show--and for his classes—a model stream table was built under his direction. It now resides outside, just to the south of the Learning Support Center. PVCC even gets a ‘Special Thanks’ program credit online and on the show. The times and dates quoted are for Cox Communications Digital HDTV in Phoenix. Please check your local listings. Dr. Gina Kranitz Memorial Scholorship The Woman’s Leadership Group has announced the Dr. Gina Kranitz Memorial Scholarship for WLG members pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. For information and an application consult www.maricopa.edu/wlf/GKScholarship.php. Deadline for applications is 4pm on February 29. Student News   College Goal Sunday - Student Financial Aid Kenneth Clarke, assistant director of PVCC’s Financial Aid office will be hosting PVCC’s College Goal Sunday, February 10, between 2-5pm at the Studio Theater, M Building, to help guide students through the financial aid process. This statewide effort, coordinated by the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education (ACPE) is now an annual event. For further information call Ken Clarke 7-7100 or go to www.collegegoalsunday.com.   Student Leadership Council The Student Leadership Council has had all three of its proposals accepted for presentation at the National Collegiate Leadership Conference the weekend of February 15.  We are proud of their service and accomplishments. Projects Update   Early College Program I am pleased to announce that, after much discussion and planning, we have now launched PVCC’s Early College Program with our first student enrollments scheduled for fall, 2008 semester. This is a strategic collaboration between PVCC and the Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD).  The project has been developed by co-chairs Dean of Students Dr. Shirley Green and Vice President Bob Bendotti, in collaboration with administrators from PVUSD, including Superintendent Dr. John Kreikard, and Assistant Superintendent Dr. John Weimer. Involvement of Maggie Cullop, the Early College Committee, PVCC’s Division Chairs, principals Carol Pollack of North Canyon HS, Cara Herkamp of PVHS and Tony Maldonado, Director of PVUSD’s Star Tech Program has been invaluable. We anticipate a similar partnership will be realized in the coming months with Cave Creek Unified School District, Dr. Tacy Ashby, Superintendent; and with Deer Valley Unified School District, Dr. Virginia McElyea, Superintendent.  At this time PV High School and North Canyon High School are selecting 50 students (total) for the inaugural class. Our program will begin in the afternoon, after students have finished their morning high school classes. Participants will be able to complete 35 college credits to earn the AGEC Certificate while still attending high school. We hope these students will return to PVCC to complete the remaining 25 to 29 credits for their Associate's Degree and then enter the university of their choice anywhere in the country as juniors. In addition to all mentioned we thank the many others who contributed to this new program for students in our partner high schools. SIS Update System Integration Testing is now being conducted on the new SIS system, and is a critical part of any new system. After the integration testing has been completed we will begin a go-live checklist, along with the other members of the MCCCD family, to take us through conversion to the February 19 go-live date.  During the conversion from the current (legacy) SIS to the new SIS: * Legacy SIS will not be available after 5:00pm on Tuesday, February 12 for the rest of the evening * Legacy SIS will be available in read only mode (i.e. no updates) from February 13 -  February 18 (President's Day) * New SIS will be live by 8:00am Tuesday, February 19 PVCC Announcements E-mail List Please remind your students of the importance of signing up for our e-mail distribution list. Through this list we can all communicate efficiently and effectively, sharing campus-wide messages as well as official business, services and activities related to PVCC and MCCCD. To join the list go to: www.paradisevalley.edu/emailme.  Cordially, Mary Kay Kickels President Do you have an interesting program, or outstanding accomplishment or student to highlight? If so, e-mail the News Desk at pvcc.news@pvmail.maricopa.edu A publication of the Paradise Valley Community College Office of the President 2007 © Maricopa County Community College District