Projects  |  Campus News  |  Faculty & Staff News  |  Student News   In This Issue … August 10, 2007 All-Employee Convocation … Welcome Week … Blood Drive... Diversity News …SIS Update... Phi Beta Lambda …and more   Campus News   All-Employee Convocation On Monday, August 13, we will hold the PVCC All-Employee Convocation. Our theme is “Celebrating Twenty Years of Learning,” because on May 2,1987, PVCC was dedicated, and three months later began holding its first full semester of classes. I look forward to welcoming you at this convocation and will be joined by Dr. James Rubin, MCCCD  Governing Board member Linda Rosenthal, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Maria Harper-Marinick, and Bob Bendotti. We will also be introducing the newest members of our staff. Closing the event will be a composition of music by composer Kenneth Froelich, performed by Beth Ilana Schneider and Dr. Matt Gould. Learning Week sessions, which begin Monday afternoon, will include an overview of PVCC’s new instructional technology, such as Blackboard, Softchalk, Elluminate and iTunesU; various aspects of learning conversations with students; an overview of new SIS faculty and student centers; iStart-Smart; the PEAK Leadership Institute, and creative methods of coping with stress and disruptive students. We hope to see you at the Convocation to celebrate our twenty years of excellence and to begin the start of our twenty-first year. Welcome Week Information Tents Student Life is once again coordinating the Welcome Week Information Tents on campus. We appreciate their efforts, as well as the efforts of the volunteer staff and students who plan to work those booths from August 18 through 23. Your efforts will make the first week of class much more pleasant for our incoming students. PVCC is justifiably known for its warm hospitality. Blood Drive United Blood Services will be on campus 8 a.m. through 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29; and 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30. To sign up, go to www.bloodhero.com or sign up at the Blood Drive Table, in front of the Student Life office. Those who donate between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. August 29 will receive free lunch at the Paradise BBQ. Give blood, be a hero. Campus Projects   SIS project nearing completion As you know, in mid-October, the Maricopa County Community College District will be implementing a new Student Information System. This new system will provide students, faculty, and staff with increased access to information and has many user-friendly features. Students will be able to conduct advanced searches for classes (by title, time offered, instructor), print unofficial transcripts, and much more. Faculty will be able to print class rosters, enter grades on-line, and view historical data. Our PVCC staff has been very busy participating in testing and training to ensure that we are prepared to assist current and future students in utilizing this exciting system. For more information about the system and project, visit http://www.pvc.maricopa.edu/nss. Our thanks go out to everyone involved in preparing PVCC for SIS.  This is an extraordinary project and we appreciate all the time and talent that is dedicated to SIS. Recruitment/Enrollment efforts I would like to share with you a number of recruiting activities that have been completed in preparation for our Fall 2007 semester: 1. 9,500 “reminder-to-register” post cards were sent to students enrolled at PVCC fall 2006 or     spring 2007 and not enrolled in fall 2007. 2. Over 5,000 post cards were sent to PVCC feeder high school students inviting participation      in iStartSmart. 3. Of the 990 students in our HS senior prospective database - 495 have been contacted via       telephone (264 have registered, 87 are in SIS or pending with orientation).  The remaining     students are being contacted. 4. The two new Saturday registration days (8/11 and 8/18) have been advertised district-wide as     well as on the PVCC postcard mail outs. 5. The PVCC North schedule will be bulk mailed to targeted neighborhoods in the north valley. 6. The New Students Start Here Web site was redesigned. 7. Students who were fee deleted have been contacted and encouraged to re-enroll. 8. A detailed recruiting plan and budget for all of the scheduled recruiting  activities has been     developed. Thanks to the many people who have contributed to these recruitment efforts. Faculty & Staff News   New Chair of Continuing Education Council Congratulations go out to Bob Duke, acting director of Continuing Education at PVCC. The MCCCD Continuing Education Council has elected him to serve as Chair of the Council. The Chair provides leadership for the Council and serves as the point person for issues affecting the majority of noncredit and workforce development programs within the District. New Professional Staff Association officers Please join me in welcoming the newly elected officers of PSA (Professional Staff Association) for 2007-2008. They are: Lori Espinoza, president; Alison Livingston, president-elect; Jerice Eckels, treasurer; Sandee Czech, representative; and Elizabeth Buckton, PSD/PSI. Congratulations to them all. PVCC volunteers help Seattle school Our appreciation to Rosemary Hooper, supervisor of PVCC’s Child Development Center, and volunteers Kara Cossel, Melanie Akins, Christie Colunga, Nancy McNeill, and Geri Martinez. As part of an Early Childhood Service Project, the group traveled to Seattle, Wash., to help renovate, refinish and paint furniture for the Hilltop Children’s Center. The school, which is moving to a new location, provides quality day care for families of Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. We are justly proud of these selfless PVCC volunteers. Diversity & Inclusion This coming year, the college will begin to consolidate its efforts in regards to diversity and inclusion.  Many of you might already know that Ken Clarke is our Campus Diversity Coordinator.  One of his responsibilities is to be a resource to me as I communicate to you my vision and expectation along with the District’s expectations regarding this important matter.  Through one of my scheduled meetings with Ken, I discovered that this year he is the Chair of the Maricopa Community College District’s Diversity Coordinators.  This is a natural outgrowth of Ken’s leadership in this area for the past five years.  This year, there is greater emphasis from the District Office for each campus to track and report their diversity efforts.  In addition, we now have a District Diversity calendar.  One of Ken’s responsibilities is to make sure that the calendar is kept current. I am asking each of you to let Ken know, in advance, as you plan your activities this year that focus on diversity.  To assist you, Ken now has an additional email address, Diversity.Coordinator@pvmail.maricopa.edu. Student News   Phi Beta Lambda honors Our congratulations go out to PVCC student Robert Roshau for his outstanding accomplishment at June’s Phi Beta Lambda national conference, held in Chicago. His Business Plan Presentation earned sixth place, out of sixteen teams presenting, beating teams from Virginia Tech and Miami Dade College. This means that PVCC, through its Phi Beta Lambda Club, has been recognized for the third consecutive year. Thank you, Robert, for your achievement and hard work!  And thanks to business professor Bahman Maneshni for his coaching of our students.  New Veterans’ Orientation PVCC will welcome new veterans to campus in a special orientation 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, August 16, in the lobby of the Center for Performing Arts. These are veterans who are transitioning from the U.S. Armed Forces into college, and many are combat veterans. We are pleased and honored to have these brave men and women as new students.   PVCC Band rocks Desert Ridge On Friday, August 17, the PVCC Student Rock Band, under the direction of Dr. Christopher Scinto, PVCC’s Fine Arts Chair, will perform at Desert Ridge Marketplace. The band will play three 45-minute sets, at 7, 8 and 9 p.m., consisting of music by such widely-divergent talents as Jimi Henrix, The Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Green Day, and Incubus. The seven-member group is made up of Dr. Scinto, five PVCC students (Rebecca Rartos, vocals; Destinee Bond, vocals; Jason Winkler, rhythm guitar; Andrew Molever, bass guitar; Andrew Butler, drums and vocals), and a guest guitarist from Glendale Community College. The concert is free and open to the public. Be there to help the band rock on! Cordially, Mary Kay 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