News from the Front: Produced by the Office of Institutional Advancement PVCC
 
Campus News  | Faculty & Staff News  | Student News  | Projects
 
In This Issue … September 25, 2009
Job Club Offers Workers Support...Scaring up Volunteers for PVCC Day of Service...2009 United Way Campaign Kicks Off...Update Contact Info to Receive MEMS Alerts...Tickets on Sale for The Laramie Project...Dr. Peter Whybrow Speaks at Honors Program...PVCC Student Athlete Named First NJCAA Leader for Life...ACCAC Recognizes Two Puma Women for Soccer... Black Mountain Grand Opening Oct. 17...PVCC in the News...

 
Campus News
 
Job Club Offers Support
Job seekers are invited to attend a meeting of the Job Club at PVCC Oct. 7 in KSC 212. The Job Club meets from 10 to 11:30 a.m. every other Wednesday.

The club, facilitated by Counseling Faculty Kamela Craig and Career Services Manager Norma Chandler, is open to students, alumni and community members to help those struggling to find work in this challenging economy. The members discuss job-hunting strategies such as goal setting; writing cover letters and resumés; communication and attitude; networking and community resources; time management; and coping skills. For more information, contact Chandler at 602-787-7073.

Scaring Up Volunteers for PVCC Day of Service
The Service Learning Office is looking for volunteers to help with the Phoenix Zoo’s new Howl-O-Ween event Oct. 30 and 31. In the spirit of the college's philosophy of service learning, Interim President Paul Dale encourages PVCC students, faculty and staff to participate in a day of service each month.

The night of fright at the Phoenix Zoo includes a hunt for the mysterious creature haunting the zoo, the Halls of Horror Monster Arcade, wagon rides to the darkest and scariest corners of the zoo, the legend of Kitty Calhoun, “The Butcher of Muldoon,” Pirates of the “Scare”ibbean, DJ music and more. There are several positions and shifts available for:
  • Greeters: Welcome guests, pass out programs and answer questions.
  • Spooky Train Actors: Wear costumes and play the part of classic Halloween characters along the train route.
  • Trick or Treat Pathway Assistants: Supervise treat stations and help to pass out candy.
  • Movie Area Assistant: Supervise outdoor movie area and assist with equipment.
  • Dare to be Scared Activity Assistant: Oversee fun and harmless interactive activities that are meant to “gross” out guests.
  • Security Assistants: Monitor activity areas and help to answer questions.
  • Floater: Help fill in where needed and give breaks to volunteers.
Volunteers must be 18 years or older. Contact Chris Hunt, 602-787-7245 or e-mail her at chris.hunt@pvmail.maricopa.edu to sign up.

2009 MCCCD United Way Campaign Kicks Off
The MCCCD United Way Campaign kicks off Oct. 14 and runs through Dec. 1. Dr. Velvie Green, President of Glendale Community College, is this year's District campaign chairperson. MCCCD is going green this year by using e-forms, which will arrive in your e-mail soon. The committee is coming up with new fundraising ideas, and this year’s goal is to improve PVCC’s participation in the campaign by 2 percent.
 
PVCC kicks off its campaign with a fundraiser from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, at Catch 22 Grill, 32nd Street and Union Hills Drive. Mention the PVCC campaign and Catch 22 will donate a portion of your bill to United Way. For more information, contact Sue Isackson at 602-787-6617.

Update Contact Info to Receive MEMS Alerts
Employees and students should update their contact information in www.my.maricopa.edu to receive notifications sent through the MEMS (Maricopa Emergency Management System) Alert system.
MEMS sends text messages, e-mails and digital messages to the device of your choice. In addition, the Current Issues page of emergency preparedness Web site, www.maricopa.edu/mems, warns of  variety of hazards.

Tickets on Sale for The Laramie Project
Tickets are on sale for the Center for Performing Arts' production
of "The Laramie Project," a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project. Directed by PVCC Faculty Mark Stoddard, the play is based on hundreds of interviews with the citizens of Laramie, Wyo., to create this portrait of a town struggling with the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay young man who became a national symbol of the struggle against intolerance.

The Laramie Project contains adult language and themes, which may not be suitable for young audiences. Tickets may be purchased at the CPA Box Office noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and one hour prior to curtain; online at www.paradisevalley.edu/cpa; or call 602-787-7738.

Show Times:  7:30 p.m. Oct. 9, 10, 16, 17
                        2 p.m. October 11 and 18

        Tickets:   $12 adults
                        $10 seniors & staff
                        $8 students
                        $5 children

Dr. Peter Whybrow Speaks at Honors Program
The Honors Program is hosting Peter Whybrow, M.D., on Oct. 21, speaking about "Finding Balance with the Challenge of Affluence." Whybrow is an international authority on depression and manic-depressive disease and the effects of thyroid hormone on brain and human behavior. His seminar reflects this year's Honors topic, "The Paradox of Affluence: Choices, Challenges, & Consequences."

Whybrow is director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University
of California in Los Angeles. He is also the Judson Braun Distinguished Professor and Executive Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine, and CEO of the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA. For additional information, contact the Honors Office at 602-787-7888.

Creative Reflections/Ineffable Expressions
The artworks of retired PVCC and Phoenix College Faculty Artist Joan M. Ritsch are on display in the Center for the Performing Arts Sept. 30 to Oct. 29.

The exhibit features Ritsch's abstract mixed–media assemblages and drawings.  It covers several phases of her work, including when she suffered an injured her right arm and hand and was forced to work with her left. In the series “Ineffable Expressions,” she uses the right and left hands together.

A reception is at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 30 in the Lobby/Gallery. Admission is
free and open to the public. Refreshments are served. The gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment.

Filmmaker Visits PVCC for CPA Documentary Screening
Check out the award-winning, one-man documentary about filmmaker Gaurav Jani's solo motorcycle journey from Mumbai to the remote Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. The film will be shown in the Center for the Performing Arts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13. Admission is free.

After the screening, meet the director who captures the landscape, the
people and moments of beauty, pain, love, hardship, self doubt and spiritual triumphs. The film was named Best Documentary at the National Film Festival. This screening in sponsored by PVCC's Center for International Studies, the Division of Fine & Performing Arts and the Center for the Performing Arts.

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Student News
 
Track and Field Student-Athlete Kresta Rogers
Named NJCAA's First Female Leader for Life

PVCC student-athlete Kresta Rogers is recognized by the National Junior College Athletic Association as its first female Leaders for Life Student-Athlete of the Week. She is featured in the first episode of NJCAA 360, a new online video magazine.

"Kresta is the perfect example of what we believe a student athlete should be and we are proud that she is a Puma," says Athletic Director Greg Silcox. "Bigger and better things are expected of her as a sophomore and leader among her peers."

In addition to having multiple top 10 finishes in both the indoor outdoor National Track and Field Championships last season (placing 4th in the heptathlon and 8th in the high jump), Rogers is president of PVCC’s Ignite program, a student tobacco prevention and education program.
She carries a 3.06 GPA.

NJCAA recognizes two student-athletes from across the country each weed based on their leadership, community service, academic excellence, sportsmanship, athletic ability and achievement and other activities within the college and community. Maricopa student-athletes really shine in the debut of this national award, as the first male recognized was Chandler-Gilbert soccer player, Andy Hoffman.

ACCAC Recognizes Two Puma Women for Soccer
PVCC Women's Soccer players Alyssa Flores and Mimi Salazar are the ACCAC Women's "Player of the Week" and "Keeper of the Week" for their solid performances against Scottsdale Community College and Phoenix College last week. The Pumas shut out Phoenix College 2-0 and defeated Scottsdale’s Fighting Artichokes 5-1.

Flores, a freshman forward, took four shots on goal and scored one against Phoenix College on Wednesday. She then scored two of seven shots on goal and had one assist against Scottsdale. Sophomore Goalkeeper Salazar's defensive play against PC included three saves that resulted in the shutout.

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Projects Update
 
Black Mountain Campus Grand Opening
Students, faculty, staff and the public are invited to attend the Grand Opening of the new Black Mountain Campus, located on 60th Street just south of Carefree Highway. The Black Mountain Campus is a community partnership of PVCC, the Foothills Community Foundation and the Desert Foothills Family YMCA.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. followed by an Open House showcasing the college's programs, services and state-of-the-art computers from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Black Mountain Campus provides the northeast Valley communities of Carefree, Cave Creek, northeast Phoenix and north Scottsdale with education options, social services and wellness programs in one location. Stay tuned for more detailed information about the event.

PVCC in the News
After some relentless media relations, Phoenix Business Journal reporter Angela Gonzalez wrote a full-page story about PVCC titled "Community college debuts $17.4M life-sciences facility."
The print article in the Sept. 18 issue includes photos of the building exterior and bioscience lab. The Flinn Foundation followed up with a Web article at www.flinn.org.

An article by Arizona Republic reporter Connie Cone Sexton, "PVCC searches for a president," appeared in the NE Phoenix Republic Wednesday, Sept. 23, with a front-page teaser. The article recognizes the search committee tri-chairs, division chairs and committee members who are conducting interviews for a permanent college president.

The NE Phoenix Republic also printed an article and photo on Sept. 18 highlighting Visual Arts Faculty David Bradley's "Musiciphilia: Sight, Shape, Sound" ceramic sculpture show reception in the Center for Performing Arts.

PVCC's non-credit cooking classes through Continuing Education also were featured in a Sept. 5 article by Sexton about the increased demand for cooking classes in the economic downturn.
The article is titled "People turn to cooking classes in downturn."
 
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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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