Projects  |  Campus News  |  Faculty & Staff News  |  Student News   In This Issue … October 5, 2007 SIS system and Blackboard updates… Congratulatons to Phi Theta Kappa at PVCC… The artists' life… PVCC Institutional Advancement takes the Gold… Empty Bowls… Career Week... Enrollment numbers... Learning Connections... Conference opportunity... Men's Cross-Country takes ACCAC championship... Women's Soccer win... Men's Soccer comeback   Campus News   SIS system and Blackboard updates I would like to extend an invitation to all PVCC Faculty and Staff to attend a demonstration of faculty and student access to the new Student Information System (SIS), which is to be implemented in Spring 2008. This is an opportunity to see a preview of my.maricopa.edu, the online Student and Faculty Self Serve Center. You have two opportunities to attend: 9:30 to 11:15 Friday, October 12; or 2:30 to 3:45 Wednesday, November 28. Both demonstrations take place in KSC 208. Refreshments will be served, and there will be ample opportunity to ask questions. For further information, contact Chrystle Hall, Coordinator Technology Development/Training, at (602) 787-7784. We very much appreciate Chrystle’s and others’ contributions to these training sessions. Congratulations to Phi Theta Kappa at PVCC PVCC’s Alpha Omicron Chi chapter of the international honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, has received special commendation as a “5-Star Chapter.” This means that they have successfully attained the goals as presented in the PTK Five Star Chapter Development Program. Our Alpha Omicron Chi chapter will be recognized on the Society’s Web site: www.ptk.org, and in the Phi Theta Kappa Chapter Progress Report. Participating chapters are also recognized at the Society’s International Convention. PVCC’s Honors Program and our PTK chapter are certainly points of pride for our college. Congratulations! And thanks to faculty members Steve Nicoloff and Sherry Adams for their special support for our PTK and Honors students. The artists’ life We are all looking forward to Your Life as an Artist: Secrets and Strategies, an interdisciplinary panel discussion on the artists’ life 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, October 15, in the Studio theatre (M Building). This thought-provoking dialogue includes fine arts professionals Peggy Shumaker, creative writing; Lisa Chow, dance/choreography; PVCC’s Christopher Scinto, music; Chaz Mena, theatre; and Randy Slack, visual arts. What do these disciplines have in common? Where do they differ? The answers are certain to be illuminating, and we encourage you to attend. Admission is free. PVCC Institutional Advancement takes the Gold! It is with great pride that I announce a wonderful honor for the College and the Office of Institutional Advancement. Last week, at the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District 6 Conference in Reno, Nevada, PVCC was honored with five Medallion Awards -- four Gold Medallions and one Bronze Medallion.  We won Medallions for the following category entries: •    College Annual Report (Division B) category – two tied Gold Medallions for the 2005 and 2006 Report to the Community •    Successful Recruitment/Marketing Program category – a Gold Medallion for our new strategies and materials •    Nifty and Thrifty – a Gold Medallion for our Imagine a College brochure •    Brochure/Flyer 3 (Division B) category – a Bronze Medallion for our Imagine a College brochure These represent the first Medallion Awards ever to be awarded to PVCC. Separately, the college has won an additional award—this time from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). This national recognition is for PVCC’s 2006 College Annual Report.  We will not know what level (gold, silver or bronze) until CASE’s national conference in December.  The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education is for all higher education organizations -- we are competing against private and public graduate level and four-year universities, as well as two-year colleges and private schools. Congratulations to all of the staff in the Institutional Advancement office who have contributed their talent, creativity and artistry to our award-winning publications. Empty Bowls This is your chance to help local food banks and to liven up your cupboard at the same time. The annual PVCC Empty Bowl Event takes place 10 a.m. to 1 p .m. Tuesday and Wednesday, October 9 and 10 in the KSC hallway. Each handcrafted bowl is $5 each, regardless of size or design, all are beautiful, and the proceeds go to local food banks. Our thanks go out to ceramics instructor David Bradley and the PVCC ceramics students. This event is offered in collaboration with the Partners in Art Club and Student Life. Career Week, October 8-12 Fall Career Week begins on campus 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, October 8, with a Find Your Career Passion workshop; 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the workshop will be Honing Your Resume Writing Skills; 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Interviewing Skills. These workshops all take place in KSC212. At 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the workshop will be Using Maricopa Career Network online job board, in E-146. The largest event, however, and the one most anticipated event will be the Wednesday, October 10, Job Fair,  which takes place 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., outdoors between KSC and E-Building, in which more than 50 employers, offering jobs that pay from $8 to $15 per hour, will be talking to students and taking applications. For more information, call Norma Chandler, coordinator, Career Services, at (602) 787-7073. Thank you to Norma and those who helped to organize this event.  Be sure to invite your students. Enrollment numbers We would like to thank Stella Napoles and all who worked tirelessly to welcome our students to the Fall, 2008 semester and to help them "start smart" and persist in their learning goals. Our 45th day was Monday, October 1, 2007. As explained in an earlier News from the Front, this means that while headcount was down slightly (-2.09%), our students are taking more credits (FTSE +0.38%). Learning Connections This year, the Learning Connections consortium celebrates its 14th Anniversary. Consortium member institutions are: Arizona State University West, Cave Creek Unified School District, Deer Valley Unified School District, Northern Arizona University, Paradise Valley Unified School District, Rio Salado College, and PVCC. On Thursday, October 4, executive team members and representatives from the member institutions met at PVCC to develop action plans for these focus areas: Curriculum; Careers in Education; English Language Learners; Professional Development; Counseling/Advisement, and Data. The Mathematics Vertical Articulation and Science Vertical Articulation are also focus areas for this year. The Learning Connections consortium identifies shared interests and explores opportunities to integrate and coordinate plans, resources, and activities to support student learning at all levels of education. Faculty & Staff News   Conference opportunity I wanted to alert all of you to an outstanding conference opportunity. On Nov. 8th and 9th, the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education will be presenting Developing Arizona’s Human Capital: Addressing Today’s Postsecondary Education Challenges. On the agenda are:  Dr. Tom Mortenson, from The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education; a preview of the 2008 Arizona Legislative Agenda with the Senate and House Higher Education Chairs; the Arizona Higher Education Demand and Feasibility Study; and Next Steps for the Governor’s P-20 Council. From the conference literature — Why attend? A myriad of challenges face Arizona’s postsecondary education sector including explosive growth of the college-aged population, a lack of student college readiness, a high proportion of adults without a college degree, institutional capacity limitations, and lack of student access and success.  This sounds much like the conversations we’ve been having across our own campus and at the district. I encourage those of you who have the time to attend this conference. Check with your representative Policy Groups for professional growth funding. The conference is nearby, at the Orange Tree Resort in Scottsdale.  For more information, the Web site is:  www.azchallenges.com Student News   Mens’s Cross-Country takes ACCAC Championship Last Friday, the Puma cross-country team captured the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Championship at Scottsdale’s Pavilion Lakes Golf Club. The men’s team finished the 8K race with 35 points, edging out Central Arizona by two points. Furthermore, the Pumas placed seven runners in the top 15, and the gap between their first runner and the fifth was only 45 seconds! That’s some great running. The Pumas’ Jeremy Sudbury placed fourth, and was named First Team All-ACCAC. Joining him on First Team was Matt Rowell, who placed sixth, and Scott Mayberry, who finished seventh. Earning second team honors were Eric Harasyn, Geoff Olson, and Angel Sanchez. Juan Quintero earned third team honors. We are very proud of our Pumas and will be rooting for them when they head to Edwardsville, Illinois on Saturday, for the Border Wars Invitational. Women’s Soccer win Congratulations also go out to the PVCC Women’s Soccer team, which cruised to an 4-0 victory over Mesa Community College Wednesday. “I was really pleased with our performance,” said coach Bingham. “I feel like we played solid for an entire 90 minutes.” Sophomore Sam Smith, who has been leading the Pumas with her defensive and offensive ability in the midfield, had a game high of 8 shots against MCC.” On Saturday, the Pumas defeated rival Cisco College in Douglas, AZ. Simone Marshall started the scoring, and Sam Smith scored the next goal. The win puts the Pumas 8-1-1 for the season. Tomorrow they will take on Scottsdale Community College so let’s all root for them. Men’s Soccer comeback The Men’s Soccer team came from behind at the end of Wednesday’s game against Mesa Community College to draw 1-1, after Mesa took the lead early in the second half. Cesar Mexia tied the game when Roberto DeLima passed a ball to him and he shot it in one motion past MCC’s diving keeper. Great teamwork! 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