• Kathryn Byrne is Innovation of the Year Award Recipient
Kathryn Byrne, JCCC Writing Center Director, and Libby Corriston, of the Math Resource Center, have been named recipients of the 2014 Innovation of the Year Award sponsored by the League for Innovation.
Their winning innovation, the Supplemental Instruction Embedded Tutors (SIET) program, is a means to embed peer mentor/tutors in developmental and gateway courses such as ENGL 106 (Introduction to Writing) and MATH 171 (College Algebra). These tutors model effective student behavior in class sessions, mentor students who have questions about the material being covered, and give students another venue for getting assistance in- and outside the classroom.
SIET tutors also host unique study sessions outside regular class meeting times, which focus on real-world problem solving, and a more thorough exploration of topics that are most challenging to students. The SIET tutors are a low-cost option for the college to enhance the student experience at JCCC—they create another layer of support for students in the formative stages of their college career, and have helped realize 15-20 percent gains in retention and persistence in target sections.
Others nominated for the award are:
Mobile Device Pilot, Brenda Edmonds, Ron Palcic, Stu Shafer, Eve Blobaum, Donnie Byers, Dan Eberle, Barbara Millard, Jim Hillen, Alicia Bredehoeft, Nancy West
National Higher Education Benchmarking Institute, and their project titled “Maximizing Resources for Student Success,” Darcy McGrath and Patrick Rossol-Allison
One Billion Rising Event, Gina Egan and Diane Kappen
Early Alert assisted by Student Engagement Ambassadors, student ambassadors, Rick Moehring and Keith Davenport
Peer Response Model, Kathryn Byrne and Amy Pace
Congratulations to Kathryn and also to Amy Pace!
Established more than 25 years ago, the League’s Innovation of the Year competition was devised as a way to recognize significant innovations at alliance member colleges. These innovations reflect capstone achievements and the continuing renewal of the spirit of innovation and experimentation upon which the League was founded.
• Model UN Team: News of Successful Writers at the College
Brian Wright, Faculty Sponsor for our Model UN Team, gives the following report.
Below is the link for the awards received by JCCC at the conference. When you see all the schools who received awards and in particular the paper awards, it is quite an impressive achievement to see JCCC name listed. This experience is not just an achievement for the students participating but for JCCC overall. See following link for photos and copy of awards: http://blogs.jccc.edu/mun/2013/03/21/jccc-model-un-team-receives-awards-at-the-national-model-united-nations-conference-new-york-city
Look at the other schools which received paper awards for ECOSOC Plenary (Brigham Young, Univ. of Montreal, Univ. of Paderborn, Ludwing-Maxilians, Yousei and then JCCC) or position paper awards for the Economic Commission for Africa (California State, Santa Fe College, Pace University NYC and then JCCC). http://www.nmun.org/ny13_downloads/2013_Award_Posting_ConfA.pdf
Position Paper Awards in recognition of outstanding pre-conference preparation. The following criteria are used by the conference staff to evaluate Position Papers: Overall quality of writing, proper style, grammar, etc., Citation of relevant resolutions/documents, General consistency with bloc/geopolitical constraints, Consistency with the constraints of the United Nations, and Analysis of issues, rather than reiteration of the Committee Background Guide.
Here are links to the two papers that received awards in New York:
http://blogs.jccc.edu/mun/preperation/position-papers/nmun-2013-outstanding-position-paper-ecosoc/
http://blogs.jccc.edu/mun/preperation/position-papers/nmun-2013-zambia-outstanding-position-paper-award/
• Faculty Senate Minutes
The Faculty Senate met for a second time on Thursday, March 29.
Mission Statement: The draft of the mission statement was presented. Several members felt the section which outlined the responsibilities of the senate needed to be more specific. It was returned to committee for further work. Click here to read the complete minutes from the meeting
The Minutes include a discussion of AQIP, By-Laws, an Adjunct Affairs Committee, and future issues.
Dave Davis, Maureen Fitzpatrick and Lorie Paldino are the E/J Division Representatives to the Faculty Senate, and Lorie wrote up the minutes for this meeting for us. Thanks Lorie!
Next meeting: April 11, 3:15 – 4:15, Virginia Krebs Room.
• JCCC Night at the Nelson, April 19
The 16th annual JCCC Night at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art begins at 6 p.m. Friday, April 19, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Mo. All humanities, art history, fine arts, photography, interior design, graphic design, architecture and theatre students are invited to attend.
This event brings approximately 800 students and their guests to the museum for presentations by JCCC faculty members on various artworks. If you teach in one of these departments and need tickets for your students, contact Julie Hutchison at jhutchison01@jccc.edu, or go to OCB 264 to pick them up.
Faculty and staff from all departments are encouraged to attend as well, and they may visit the check-in table in the Nelson’s Bloch building on the evening of the event for free tickets, or pick them up in OCB 264 in advance.
This year’s presenters are Bernard Norcott-Mahany, Denis Arjo, Jan Cummings, Jim Lane, Larry Thomas, Karen Gerety Folk, Katherine Morse, Kathleen Mendenhall, Marie Dolembo, Michael Hembree, Michael Robertson, Sean Daley, Timothy Hoare and Valerie Zell.
• Student Veterans Spoke about Democracy
The JCCC Office of Veterans Services and the Committee for Democracy Commitment sponsored a veterans panel discussion on April 4, in CC 211.
The topic for the panel discussion was “Veterans’ Perspectives on Democracy.” The panel was composed of four veteran students who gave a little bio about themselves and then took questions from the students. The Blog editor attended this presentation and was impressed by the veterans’ knowledge of government and their quiet, calm demeanor. The students were from the Marines, National Guard, and Army. They spoke authentically and seriously about our own democratic processes, the need to protect them, and the difficulties of establishing democratic processes elsewhere. They also urged young people to become much more knowledge about local government. They shared many of their experiences in local politics overseas in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
• Filmmaker Kevin Willmott Presented His Film on April 5
Kevin Willmott presented his film From Separate to Equal: The Creation of the Truman Medical Center at the Hudson Auditorium in the Nerman Museum 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on April 5th.
The film can be viewed from the following page: http://www.fromseparatetoequal.org/
The movie is thematically linked to JCCC’s Common Read for 2012-13: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
Lorie Paldino writes:
Thanks to Jane Stock for organizing a terrific event on Friday. Her efforts at bringing Kevin Willmott back to campus were laudable. His presentation is now available on Infoshare: https://infoshare.jccc.edu/communities/emptrain/Shared%20Documents/video/Presentations/Kevin_Willmott_040513.aspx
Thanks, as well, to the entire Common Read committee (Maureen Fitzpatrick, Monica Hogan, Steve Werkmeister, Shawn Edie) for making The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a success.
I am looking forward to next year and Behind the Beautiful Forevers!
• Article from the New York Times on College Recruitment and the Rural Poor
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/opinion/elite-colleges-are-as-foreign-as-mars.html?hp&_r=0
• Cult Film Club Film for April 12
This Tuesday, Poultrygeist, 5-8 p.m., in GEB 233
• Sigma Kappa Delta News: Next Meeting, April 12
The book discussion group will be discussing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy at Java Jazz from 2:00-3:00. All students and faculty are welcome.
• Kansas Writers Symposium
This year’s JCCC Kansas Writers Symposium will be held on Saturday, April 13, in the Regnier Center. Sponsored by the Kansas Studies Institute, this is part of an ongoing series of efforts to promote education about the art, history, environment, cultures, and literature of Kansas. This year’s theme is “The Native Presence in Kansas Literature.” Denise Low, former Kansas Poet Laureate, will be the keynote speaker. Unlike previous years when invited authors from the humanities, social sciences, and even journalism discussed the topic of Kansas as a place and idea, this year’s symposium will be focused on a more narrow dialogue among writers whose primary work has been in fiction and poetry. Participants will include, in addition to Denise Low, Linda Rodriguez, Lisa Mann, Joshua Falleaf, Stephanie Fitzgerald, DaMaris Hill, Lisa Tatonetti, Jim Hoy, Kevin Rabas, Raylene Hinz-Penner, Pamela Dawes Dambornino, Roy Bird, and Xanath Caraza. The organizers of the event include Jim Leiker, director of the Kansas Studies Institute; Ann Rubeck; and English faculty members Sam Bell, Dave Davis, Tom Reynolds, and Farrell Jenab.
• Free College Day
Many faculty members of the E/J Division will be participating in Free College Day on April 20th. Click here to learn more about classes and registration.
• The American Association of University Professors Releases Report
The AAUP released this week a report on the Economic Status of University Professors.
http://www.aaup.org/report/heres-news-annual-report-economic-status-profession-2012-13
• The Impact of the Sequester on Education in the Tribal Lands
The following list of links is to stories about the impact of the sequester on Native American Education. This issue recently came to my attention in a discussion with a former JCCC adjunct who currently teaches on a reservation.
http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/ht-full.cfm?method=hearings.view&id=17d3dc99-c065-4bec-a7c8-cfd374bf41a3
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-21/local/37904086_1_sequester-tribal-leaders-million-in-additional-cuts
http://www.nativenewsnetwork.com/atw-sequester-related-education-cuts-hitting-schools-on-reservations-military-bases.html
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/sequester-hits-those-in-need-on-wind-river-reservation/article_a81fba89-5a8c-584c-b661-fbe975e338cd.html
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/03/22/1759661/sequestration-indian-reservation-schools/?mobile=nc
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rural_education/2013/03/sequester_hurts_rural_schools_on_tribal_lands.html
• Booktalk Meets April 26:
The book selection for the April 26 is Tear Out this Heart ( 304 pages) by Angeles Mastretta.
• Mind’s Eye 2013 will be out in late April.
The cover image chosen by the artwork judges is “DJinnFella2” by Ryan Storek.
The student editors for the issue are Rebekah Baughman, Derick Dujardin, Austin Hoffman, and Sergio Sanchez.
“As a writer myself, I have immense respect and admiration for anyone with enough courage to share a piece of themselves with any audience, especially their peers. When evaluating creative work, one generally has no criteria to abide by, yet the pieces selected in this edition of the magazine have exceptional depth, and certain intangible factors that set them apart”
—Austin Hoffman.
The guest judge for poetry/fiction was William Sheldon, an associate professor of English at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas, where he teaches creative writing. He has published three collections of poetry: Retrieving Old Bones, Into Distant Grass, and Rain Comes Riding. Student Editor Sergio Sanchez conducted an interview with him.
“I take whatever inspiration comes. You know, any port in a storm. However, walking in a field or on the Arkansas River often spark poems. But really, when I’m open, and not worried about my teaching, or the bills, or the “fiscal cliff,” or whatever, something can happen. As far as the process goes, I tend to start off scratching ideas whenever they hit, or as soon as I can get to paper, having turned some image or language over in my head while I walk along.”
–William Sheldon
Student Editor Rebekah Baughman conducted an interview with bestselling author Nancy Pickard. Mind’s Eye also received permission from the publisher to publish the first chapter of her latest novel The Scent of Rain and Lightning.
“Reading has probably meant even more to me than writing. Don’t you wonder sometimes how people get through life if they don’t like to read? Or worse, can’t read? I feel so lucky to be able to read and to love it. Writing has focused my life and given me that rare and fortunate thing–a career that feels like a ‘calling.’ It took me until I was about 35 to find this career, but when I realized it, I knew I’d be doing it for the rest of my life.”
–Nancy Pickard
The 2013 issue includes a survey of four writers from different genres, each answering the same three questions. Participating writers include Eric McHenry (poet) from Washburn University, Matthew Porubsky (poet) from Topeka, Sarah Smarsh (non-fiction writer) from Washburn University, and Lois Ruby (writer of a number of children’s and young adult novels) from Albuquerque.
“Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Believe in yourself and persist in the face of rejection and indifference. Your dedication and desire to write well are about a hundred times more important than your talent. Your brain is like a muscle; you can strengthen it by exercising it. When you write something, always imagine that the smartest person you know is going to be reading it. This will guarantee that you’ll do your best work, because you’d be embarrassed to put anything less in front of the smartest person you know, and that you’ll never patronize the reader.”
–Poet Eric McHenry
This year, the poetry section includes twenty-one works, all of which have the earmarks of good poetry—interesting use of language and the ability to surprise us, to make us think about ourselves and our world from fresh perspectives. This issue also includes a series of poems from featured student poet Wendy Dunwiddie. Wendy writes the following about her poem “Eviction”:
“In the summer of 2012, heat became a presence so constant and intense that it began to feel like a person that appeared to follow us. It seemed that heat posed with us in vacation pictures, laughed at us when we considered spending anytime outside, and delighted in being the topic of conversation. This poem considers the idea of heat becoming a real person—that obnoxious houseguest who demonstrates the unfortunate ability to irritate, while those around him anxiously await his demise.”
The fiction and non-fiction sections are also very strong, conveying their narratives in prose that is often surprising and always compelling. Standouts include Michael J. Baker’s compelling and taut “Dr. Neumann” and L.F. Miller’s amusing “Raising Chinchillas.” Our non-fiction section once again proves the power of using literary craft to present real-life events in compelling prose, particularly Erica Scott’s prize-winner “Spelunking,” a poignant evocation of a weekly silent auction held in a limestone cavern, and Janet Rector’s examination of the power of place in “Johnston Atoll.” JCCC professor Sam Bell served as this issue’s non-fiction judge.
Yet again, the artwork contributors have provided a series of powerful and thought-provoking images. For the first time in Mind’s Eye history, these images are presented in full color. The featured student artist for this issue is Jeremy Miller. Fourteen photographs of brass images he created will be included.
“I ended up getting hurt in the Army and losing my vision in my left eye due to a training accident. While I was healing, I finished my AA and was ready to transfer, but I felt something was missing. I figured out it was my art, specifically jewelry. I wanted to combine all that I had learned in my metalsmithing classes, so I decided instead of transferring to KU that I would take a semester of art here at JCCC. My first semester I took five studio art classes, and loved it! It was more work than any other semester I had gone to college, but it felt right, and now I got to combine the stone and bone carvings with the metal and leatherwork.”
–Jeremy Miller
• Learn all about Summon, the Library’s New Digital Search Tool
Ask a librarian!!
• Copyright at JCCC
Mark Swails, JCCC copyright librarian, did a presentation on copyright for at the Tech Brown Bag this week. If you missed it, or if you’re just worried about copyrights, here are the top six things for faculty to know about copyright at JCCC:
1)The largest and most useful exemption to copyright law is “Fair Use,” which balances four factors: the Purpose of the use, the Nature of the copyrighted work, the Amount of work used, and Effect on the market for the work. Using a small portion of factual works for educational purposes that have no negative effect on the potential market for the work makes a finding of Fair Use more likely. JCCC has published Guidelines for Fair Use on its website. Staying within these thresholds can help limit your copyright risk.
2)The use of publisher materials (the textbook and associated support materials including quiz questions, presentation slides, and illustrations) are governed by licensing agreements that often do not allow the materials to be used when the textbook isn’t required for your class. If you are using publisher materials from a textbook other than the required text, it’s best to first ask the publisher for permission
3) JCCC’s library has already licensed a tremendous amount of content including most major publications and many video resources. Funding is also available to license content the library doesn’t own. Contact your division’s library liaison for more details.
4)Students own the copyright for all the classwork they create in the classroom. If you’re going to use student work, it’s best to obtain the student’s permission. JCCC has a student work release form, if you wish to do so formally. When the use does not fall within the Fair Use or another exception, formal permission must be obtained. To address privacy and attribution concerns the student should have the opportunity to request that identifying information to be removed or that it be used with proper attribution.
5) Copyright law explicitly allows face-to-face instructors to perform or display any copyrighted work in the classroom, unless the work has been unlawfully obtained (i.e. a bootleg recording). Distributing material to students or posting it online is not explicitly allowed, but may fall within Fair Use or another exemption. Such use should be evaluated on a case by case basis prior to distribution or posting.
6)Creative Commons (search.creativecommons.org) maintains a registry of search engines that return only images, films, music and text that are either not protected by copyright or are licensed for re-use, subject to certain conditions set forth by the creators related to attribution, creation of derivative works, and commercial use. It is recommended that these search engines be used to find materials use in your presentations, rather than taking material from the internet that is most likely subject to copyright.
Swails leads copyright initiatives on campus and is available to answer questions, negotiate permissions, and help with license agreements. Contact him at mswails@jccc.edu, ext. 3773.
• Sigma Kappa Delta Meeting Schedule
April 12: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
April 26: Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins (last meeting of the semester, probably at Barley’s!)
• Apply for Undergraduate Research Mini-grants–deadline: April 29
Mini-grants of up to $1,000 are available for faculty who are interested in developing undergraduate research projects that can be incorporated into the curriculum. Funds can be used for planning or for supplies
The application form can be downloaded from the Undergraduate Research Committee SharePoint site. Look under “Shared Documents” on the right-hand side of the window.
Applications are due Monday, April 29.
• Cavalier Film Festival
Tenth Annual Cavalier Film Festival is April 23, 2013
Activities include:
An afternoon panel discussion with local professionals in the film making industry
A screening of our festival entries and the award presentation begins at 7 p.m. in the Craig Community Auditorium (GEB 233).
Free refreshments and entertainment! Prizes are awarded at the evening event.
Deadline for submissions is midnight, Tuesday, March 26.
General Rules
Judging and Awards
Festival schedule
More about the festival
The Cavalier Film Festival was founded in 2003. Each year our Film Festival serves as an outlet for creative minds to show others their hard work and dedication to their passions. Filmmakers are invited not only from Johnson County Community College but high schools as well. This event is open to all those who love to create and view fresh and new creative forms of art and entertainment.
For more information, email Molly Baumgardner, or call (913) 469-8500, ext 4949.
The Cavalier Film Festival is sponsored by the Johnson County Community College’s Journalism and Media Communications Department, the Student Life and Leadership Development Division, and the College Information and Publications Department.
• Next Creative Writing Readings Set for April 24
The April creative writing reading will be in COM 319 from 12:00 to 1:00. The host will be Nathan Hagman
For more information contact Samantha Bell ext 4950 sbell26@jccc.edu
• Register now for April 19 Assessment Conference
Register now for the third annual Regional Community College Assessment Conference, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 19, at JCCC.
The plenary speaker is Susan Hatfield, assessment coordinator and professor, communications studies, at Winona State University, and a visiting scholar on assessment at the Higher Learning Commission.
This year’s conference theme, “Assessment Matters,” will feature best practices from two-year colleges around the region. Faculty interested in presenting on their assessment activities should contact the Office of Outcomes Assessment at ext. 7607 or by email at sbarre13@jccc.edu. Tracks are still being added to the schedule.
The conference is free to JCCC faculty and staff. To register, go to the Outcomes Assessment website and click on “Register Now” at the top right corner of the page. Follow the directions for registration and use the promotional code RCCAC at the checkout.
If you have questions or problems, please contact the Office of Outcomes Assessment at ext. 7607, or by email at sbarre13@jccc.edu
• Creative Writing Club Meetings for the Spring Semester 2013
The Creative Writing Club will meet every Tuesday from 3:30 – 5:00. Location is yet to be determined.
• Honoring Journalism’s Best — Pulitzer Prize