News from the Front: Dr. Mary Kay Kickels weekly newletter to PVCC employees
 
Campus News  |  Faculty & Staff News
 
In This Issue … December 15, 2006
District United Way campaign exceeds goal … Blood drive numbers continue to rise … Dr. Durandet to receive NISOD Faculty Excellence Award … Jesse Munch and Carl Kidwell produce short film … Holiday luncheon Friday
 
Campus News
 
District United Way campaign exceeds goal
I am pleased to announce that the 2006 MCCCD United Way "We Care" Campaign goal of $315,300 was exceeded by $5,222! The total amount raised by Maricopans is $320,522. Thank you to PVCC employees for raising $20,904 to support our community; your efforts and contributions to this campaign are greatly appreciated. Thanks to Dr. Julia Devous and Sue Isackson, whose work on the campus and district campaigns was outstanding. And a special commendation goes to Alexis Thielke for her service in coordinating the contributions from all the MCCCD colleges and district office.

Blood drive numbers continue to rise
Thank you for your support for the annual United Blood Services blood drive. Almost across the district, the number of units collected during 2006 showed measurable increases over 2005. PVCC went from 33 units in 2004 to 83 units in 2005. This year, we collected 119 units! MCCD’s increased contributions are making a positive impact on reducing the shortage of blood supplies in the state of Arizona. Let's make 2007 an even better year for blood donations.

The Hon. Steve Symms visits PVCC
We were delighted to have a campus visit on Tuesday by the Hon. Steve Symms, former U.S. senator from Idaho. Sen. Symms is a partner in the legislative consulting firm of Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Simms, which represents the Maricopa Community College District in Washington, D.C. Thank you for welcoming him to PVCC.

Campus holiday hours
Just a reminder that campus hours will change during the holidays:

December 18-21: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
December 22: 8 a.m.-noon
December 25-January 1: Campus closed
Regular hours resume January 2, 2007

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Faculty & Staff News
 
Dr. Durandet to receive NISOD Faculty Excellence Award
I am very pleased to announce that Physics faculty member Dr. Casey Durandet has been selected by her colleagues from PVCC and the Maricopa Community Colleges to receive the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Faculty Excellence Award. The award will be presented at the NISOD Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence in May 2007 in Austin. Dr. Durandet also will be recognized by the college at our annual Employee Awards and Recognition celebration in late spring.

Dr. Casey Durandet is described by those who nominated her as a "dedicated, caring, and professional science professor.... who provides teaching and support for her students during class, lab, and even late into the evening. She not only teaches her students, she also mentors high school students, and teaches her colleagues. She has a way to make the ordinary extraordinary."

Casey works every summer at the Fermi Lab in Illinois with some of the world's most distinguished scientists, including Nobel Laureate Dr. Leon Lederman. Our campus is honored to have Dr. Casey Durandet, a working scientist, as a distinguished faculty member whose extraordinary talents are recognized by this Faculty Excellence Award. Please join me in congratulating Casey on this award!

IRTS staff members produce short film
IRTS staff members Jesse Munch and Carl Kidwell collaborated on a CGI short film entitled Gehirnzeit, the German word for "brain time." The collaboration took place when Jesse was taking Digital Editing and Media Literacy class in spring 2006 at Arizona State University at the West campus. The video was displayed in a show entitled "Time, Art, and War" at ASU at the West campus alongside works by other students and faculty. 

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 In Closing
 
Continuing Conversations …
Thank you to those of you who took the time out of your busy schedules to join me for the Coffee Conversation with the President on Tuesday afternoon in "M" Bldg. I learned much from your comments, and the information that you shared with me about you and your areas of interest and responsibility. I look forward to continuing our conversations in 2007.

Moving Forward …
The end of the calendar year is a milestone that marks the passing of the old and the anticipation of the new. This time is celebrated in many special ways in our community, which is deepened by rich and diverse cultural traditions. This is a time to remember that the work we all do here is a daily reminder of the transformative power of education and the new hope for better lives that it brings. Together with our friends, families and loved ones, it's a time to stop, take a breath and look forward to the gifts of a new year. Please allow me to offer my sincerest wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

I leave you with this quote from President Lyndon Johnson:

There is a turning toward those things which are true, those things which are profound, and those things which are eternal. We can, we do, live … in new hope and new confidence and new faith in ourselves and in what we can do together through the future.

Lyndon B. Johnson’s Remarks at the Lighting of the Nation’s Christmas Tree, December 22, 1963

I am looking forward to seeing you Friday at the Employee Holiday Luncheon to personally wish you Happy Holidays.

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 news@pvmail.maricopa.edu.

A publication of the Paradise Valley Community College Office of the President
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