News from the Front: Produced by the Office of Institutional Advancement PVCC
 
Campus News  | Faculty & Staff News  | Student News  | Projects
 
In This Issue … August 14, 2009
President’s Open Door...Union Hills Campus Approved for Nursing Degree Program...Energy Savings Earn District $250,000 Rebate...Blackboard Switches to Official Gmail Addresses for Students...PVCC in the News...Fall CPA season begins...Follow CPA Events on Facebook...Upcoming Theatre Audition...Levy Named Puma Men’s Golf Coach...MLA Format Tip Sheet Updated...Black Mountain Site Opens...

 
Campus News
President's Open Door
Interim President Paul Dale has issued his traditional “Open Door” invitation to drop by his office for informal discussions. No appointment is necessary. The fall schedule is Sept. 2 from 3 to 4:30 p.m.; Sept. 14 from 10:30 a.m. to noon; Oct. 9 from 9 to 10:30 a.m.; and Oct. 22 from 1 to 2 p.m.

Union Hills Campus Approved for Nursing Degree Program
The Arizona State Board of Nursing has approved PVCC’s request to hold classes for its Associate Degree in Nursing Program at the Union Hills campus beginning spring 2010. Since 2003, the college has partnered with the John C. Lincoln Health Network to train nurses at the JCL Cowden Center in Phoenix. The approval gives nursing students the choice of taking their four semesters of coursework either at PVCC or at the Cowden Center.

“It expands our ability to offer nursing courses and allows us to increase our admissions in this high-demand career field,” says Denise Digianfilippo, interim dean of Academic Affairs.

Energy Savings Earn District $250,000 Rebate
MCCCD received a ceremonial $250,000 check from Arizona Public Service for its energy-saving upgrades at the PVCC, Estrella Mountain and Glendale campuses. APS estimates the projects, including PVCC’s new cooling towers, will save the district $2.7 million over the useful life of the equipment. The district uses money received from such rebates to finance other energy-saving projects, according to Arlen Solochek, District director of Facilities Planning and Development.

Blackboard Switches to Official Gmail Addresses for Students
Beginning Aug. 10, official college email addresses switched from SIS to Blackboard, overwriting any email addresses previously in the system. Please inform your students that all official college communications, including those sent from Blackboard, will be sent to their free Maricopa Google Mail account. Students must be responsible for checking this account regularly or they may forward their Gmail to another email address.

The Maricopa Gmail (MEID@maricopa.edu) address will be used for students.  Faculty must use their official Maricopa MEMO email address (firstname.lastname@pvmail.maricopa.edu) for all communications with students. If you have questions, contact Chrystle Hall, coordinator of Technology Development & Training, at 602-787-7784 or Sam Fraulino, instructional programmer, at 602-787-7786. For more information about student email, go to http://www.maricopa.edu/google.

Fall 2009 CPA Season Begins
Musiciphilia: Sight, Shape, Sound, a visual arts exhibition by PVCC Faculty Artist David Bradley, kicks off the 2009-2010 arts season on Aug. 21 in the Center for the Performing Arts Lobby Gallery. The exhibition, inspired by the artist’s passion for music, rhythm and dance, goes through Sept. 20. There will be a closing reception at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 19. Admission is free.

A professional clay artist, Bradley heads the Department of Visual Art at PVCC and teaches ceramics, drawing and figure sculpture. The title of the exhibit refers to the figurative and organic forms of the sculptures, which when manipulated create sound. Gallery viewers are encouraged to interact with his works to make them "sing.”

Follow CPA Events on Facebook
The Center for Performing Arts now has a Facebook page for publicizing events. Box Office Assistant Ben Esh is continually updating the page, PVCC Fine Arts, with details about coming events, ticket information, notices of auditions and photos from past performances. The page already has nearly 100 fans.

“It’s another way for people to get updated in more real time. They can leave feedback, too,” says Esh. To become a CPA fan, go to the PVCC home page and click on the Facebook/Twitter link in the News section bar.

Chris Scinto, chair of the Division of Fine and Performing Arts, continues to update the CPA home page at www.paradisevalley.edu/cpa, which now includes a calendar of the entire 2009-2010 season.

PVCC in the News
Look for mentions of PVCC Continuing Education classes in upcoming Arizona Republic “What About Phoenix” columns. Joann Cohen’s “Flirting 101” class and Sabra House’s “Whose Walking Around In Your Head With Muddy Boots” and “Muddy Boots of Life” courses are being highlighted. Also watch for coverage of PVCC cooking classes offered in collaboration with Classic Cooking Academy.

Two news stories about PVCC recently appeared in the NE Valley Republic about PVCC’s 3+1 transfer degree program with Grand Canyon University and Jim Patterson’s Photowalk project. These articles are online at azcentral.com:
Upcoming Theatre Audition
Auditions will be held Sept 2 to 4 for The Laramie Project, a three-act play directed by Mark Stoddard about the murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard. Playwright Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theatre Project interviewed hundreds of Laramie residents and pulled from journal entries and news reports to write the play. Call 602-787-6595 for more information about audition times.
 
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Faculty & Staff News
Levy Named Puma Men's Golf Coach
Jon Levy has been named the new men’s golf coach at PVCC for the 2009-2010 season. Levy was the director of communications at the Phoenix-based Gateway Tour. He played professional golf for five years before moving to Arizona to become a course instructor. He was the men’s golf coach at Scottsdale Community College from 2003 to 2007 and was named the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Coach of the Year. He led SCC to four consecutive Arizona Community College Athletic Conference titles and top finishes in the NJCAA Division I national championships.

MLA Format Tip Sheet Updated
English Faculty Marianne Botos reminds instructors who require students to use MLA format that are significant changes in the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. The PVCC Library and English divisions have updated the online tip sheet.  Please recycle any old versions of this document and refer students to this resource or print it for distribution in classes. If you have questions, contact Botos at marianne.botos@pvmail.maricopa.edu or 602-787-6558.

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Student News
Com 230 Students Help the Homeless
As part of their summer coursework, students in Denise Enloe’s COM 230 class packaged food boxes for the needy at St. Mary’s Food Bank and read books to homeless children at the UMOM New Day Centers in Phoenix. UMOM provides homeless and low-income families with food, shelter and tools to build a bridge to self-sufficiency and break the cycle of homelessness.

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Projects Update
Black Mountain Site Opens
PVCC at Black Mountain is open and registering students for fall semester. Loretta Mondragon, site supervisor, says many potential students and area residents have stopped by to check out the new facility. Cactus Shadows High School students arrived for placement testing in the computer lab on Thursday afternoon and more are scheduled to test next week.

“People have been really excited that we’re out here,” says Mondragon.

Local media continue to spread the word about Black Mountain. An article about the opening and PVCC’s partnership was splashed on the front page of the Aug. 12 NE Phoenix Republic. See the story online: PVCC to open north campus in partnership with community.

Black Mountain also has launched a Facebook page. Mondragon invites everyone to become a fan and receive periodic updates, advisements and information about student life. The page can be accessed by clicking on the Facebook/Twitter link in the News section bar on the PVCC home page.

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Do you have an interesting program, or outstanding accomplishment or student to highlight?
If so, e-mail the institutional Advancement Office at institutional.advancement@pvmail.maricopa.edu.

A publication of the Paradise Valley Community College Office of Institutional Advancement
2009 © Maricopa County Community College District
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