CAMPUS NEWS

Carlene Gibson Named Interim Vice President of Student Services

Gibson is a veteran community college administrator and worked as an interim dean at Skyline College

Carlene Gibson has accepted the position of interim Vice President of Student Services and will begin March 5.  Carlene comes to Cañada after serving as interim dean of counseling, advising, and matriculation at Skyline College. She has a strong and varied background in student services from a number of community colleges. She has served as dean of counseling (both permanent and interim), dean of admissions and records, counselor, director of training and economic development, director of transfer admissions, faculty member and curriculum specialist in several California community colleges. As such, Carlene brings a wealth of experience and multiple perspectives regarding counseling programs and related student services. Prior to her retirement, Carlene worked at the North Orange Community College District as Dean of Admissions and Records for both Cypress College and Fullerton College. "Carlene is an experienced leader that can help steer the accreditation process in Student Services and manage day-to-day functions," said President Tom Mohr. The college is in the process of searching for a permanent vice president of student services and a vice president of instruction.

Melissa Raby Accepts Job at Columbia Community College

Melissa Raby, dean of counseling and enrollment services, has accepted a job as Dean of Student Services at Columbia Community College in Sonora. Her final day at Cañada will be April 3. Raby joined Cañada in 2004. She was instrumental in improving outreach and academic counseling services at the college. "I can't say enough about the people I worked with here at Cañada," she said. "I really enjoyed my co-workers in counseling, admissions and records and the rest of student services." Columbia Community College and Modesto Junior College are located in the Yosemite Community College District.

March 11 Flex Day to Focus on Assessment

New resources and processes will be introduced to help faculty and staff with program review and SLOs.

Program reviews and student learning outcomes will be the topic when Cañada holds its Flex Day on March 11. All staff and faculty are encouraged to attend. The day is broken out into two working group sessions where faculty and staff will have access to both their deans and a variety of content experts.  This format is solution-oriented and intended to provide hands-on advise tailored to your particular area and your particular needs.

Although goals will vary depending on the current level of completion on individual Program Reviews and SLOs, the intention is to have everyone make progress toward completion of Program Review and on your SLO agenda. For some the outcome at the end of the day will be a completed biannual program review report; for others it will be the development of a clear strategy on how to collect data to support program review; while others will walk away with a better understanding on how to craft, measure and assess their SLOs. "Given the ambitious agenda we would like everyone to come to Flex Day prepared with specific questions," said Greg Stoup, Director of Planning, Research and Student Success. "We encourage everyone to reflect on the current state of your program review and/or SLOs, and develop a short list of specific questions that will help us best respond to your particular needs."

Flex Day activities will begin at 8 a.m. with coffee and scones in the Main Theater lobby and orientation will be held from 8:30 to 8:55 a.m. in the Main Theater. After the orientation, working groups will be assigned various locations before everyone comes back together for a lunch session at 11:45 a.m. in Building 3, Room 142. The lunch session will feature a guest speaker. Afternoon sessions will begin at 1:15 p.m. and a wrap up will be held at 3:30.

A campus-wide e-mail will be distributed with more details on the Flex Day activities.

Anniqua Rana to Participate in UCSC Research on ESL Students

Rana will work with a team of researchers studying testing and placement policies in community colleges.

Anniqua Rana, professor of English as a Second Language, has been invited to work with a team of researchers at UC-Santa Cruz to study testing and placement policies impacting language minority students at California community colleges. Rana will serve in a collaborator role, working with the UCSC research team to create a more in-depth college profile, by helping collect and analyze data. Cañada will be one of five focal colleges involved in the UCSC research. UCSC researchers are still in the initial stages of defining the role and exploring who to collaborate with. Rana will be responsible for writing a 10 to 20 page college profile report and attend a feedback
and dissemination meeting in June. “I was already planning to go the June session but I think compiling the college profile report will help with our basic skills efforts.”

Cañada College: Celebrating 40 Years of Academic Excellence

A series of campus events will be held leading up to the 2010 commencement ceremony.

Since it opened its doors in the fall of 1968, Cañada College has been recognized as a place for academic excellence. For the next year, Cañada College will be celebrating its history with a series of events and programs designed to highlight student success.

The centerpiece of this celebration is the creation of a new Honors Transfer Program. The Honors Transfer Program at Cañada is designed to support highly motivated students as they pursue their educational goals for graduation and transfer. Honors students benefit from studying in a research rich environment with other students who are dedicated to a rigorous exploration of academic, intellectual, cultural and social issues. Students from all backgrounds and in all majors are encouraged to participate in honors classes.

Students can take courses in chemistry, economics English and math. The program’s goal is to help students transfer to the college or university of their choice and to succeed in their academic careers and beyond. Honors courses are taught by outstanding instructors who create a highly stimulating, creative, and challenging environment in their classes where learning is both fun and intellectually rewarding.

“Given our rich history as a transfer institution it makes sense to honor 40 years of academic excellence at the college with the creation of the new Honors Transfer Program,” said President Tom Mohr. “When you look at the list of colleges and universities our graduates attend – Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, UC Berkeley – it’s really quite amazing.”

From the first shovel of dirt turned at the Start of Construction Ceremony held on June 17, 1967, it was always planned that Cañada College would be a center for academic excellence in San Mateo County. When it opened its doors on September 10, 1968, Cañada College had 2,006 daytime students and another 1,984 attending evening classes. The average age for that first class was 29 for daytime students and 34 for evening. The first graduating class at Cañada was 1970.

Today, nearly 6,900 students attend the college in both day and evening classes and the student body has grown significantly younger. “High school graduates see the value of attending Cañada because of our small class sizes and low tuition costs,” Mohr said.

Events on campus to celebrate 40 years of academic excellence include the presentation of a new academic mace at this year’s graduation ceremony to be held Friday, May 29 and the introduction of “Spirit Mondays” where staff, faculty and students will be encouraged to show their Colt colors.

The “40 years of academic excellence” theme will also run through many of the end-of-year celebrations held on campus.

“The logo will be available for everyone to use, we’ll have t-shirts printed, and more events will be announced later this year and into next year as we approach the 40th anniversary of the first graduating class,” said Patty Dilko, coordinator for the new Honors Transfer Program and a member of the committee organizing events for the celebration.

Submit a Proposal to Present at the Strengthening Student Success Conference

Proposals are due March 30 for the Oct. 7-9 conference held in San Francisco

The Strengthening Student Success conference provides a unique opportunity for a wide cross-section of people—including faculty, deans, program directors, student services staff, professional development leadership, researchers, and planners— to engage with each other on strategies for building institutional effectiveness and student learning.  Held October 7-9 at the San Francisco Airport Marriott, our 2009 conference will explore the integration of evidence into practice.

We are seeking presentations that address assessment practices and how results are used to improve student success and learning within one or more of the following topical areas:

* Teaching, Learning & Assessment in the Classroom
* College & Program Level Assessment
* Closing the Loop:  Using Evidence to Improve Practice
* Leadership, Structures, and Sustainability for Assessment
* Accreditation
* Basic Skills
* Career Technical Education
* Student Services
* Transition to College & Transfer

Presentation proposals are due on March 30, 2009.  An easy-to-use online proposal application form, detailed information about strand topics and developing a successful proposal, as well as more information about the event, are available at http://www.rpgroup.org/events/SSS09.html

San Francisco Artist Elizabeth Johnson Featured in Main Theater Gallery

Exhibit features four large format oil paintings from 2007-08

The Cañada College Art Department presents an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by San Francisco artist Elizabeth Johnson. The exhibition runs through March 17 in the Main Theater Gallery in Building 3. The exhibition features four large format oil paintings from 2007-08. These dense, exciting images depict human and rock forms interacting in a dense space where one wonders if the humans are coming from the rocks or vice versa. The paint surface, usually created with the use of the palette knife, becomes part of the physicality of this world. In her use of color, Johnson creates a structured space, full of light and visual surprises. Also in this show are 12 works on paper drawn with acrylic inks. They show single figures and rocks often drawn as if they were one body. The simplicity and directness of execution in these are impressive.

top

FACES OF CAÑADA

Norma Abe Returns to Cañada as Grant Project Coordinator

Former MESA volunteer is hired as project coordinator for $1.5 million grant

Norma Abe, a former volunteer in the MESA Center and retired employee with Hewlett-Packard, has been hired as the project coordinator for the two-year, $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education designed to help shorten the time students need to enroll in transferable level math and science classes.

Abe, who most recently worked with the Peace Corps as a community developer in Dansai, Thailand, is familiar with campus and worked with MESA Director Cathy Lipe at HP.

“I believe in the work that is being done at Cañada College to help students succeed,” she said. “I’m familiar with the campus and the staff and I’m excited about the possibilities associated with this grant.”

The grant will fund an intensive six-week summer program in math instruction designed to raise math placement levels for students pursuing science majors. Then, during the school year, a math lab will be made available to students featuring self-paced, accelerated math instruction, faculty-guided instruction, instructional aides, and extended tutoring hours. Curriculum will also be developed to incorporate hands-on scientific experiments linked to math training so students see the applications of mathematical concepts and use real-life examples while learning math.

“Norma is the perfect person to coordinate this grant,” said Janet Stringer, dean of the Science & Technology Division. “She believes in the mission of the grant, is familiar with our faculty and staff, and knows our campus.”

Abe said instructional aides and tutors are being identified and the first student cohorts will be developed this spring.

Nick Tuttle: Cañada's Ironman

Tuttle, a counselor at Cañada, has been competing in Ironman Triathlons for several years.

Nick Tuttle is Cañada’s Ironman. Tuttle has worked as a general counselor at Cañada for the past two years but in his spare time he’s running, biking, and swimming as he prepares for triathlons. “Near the height of my
training I will ride 110 miles (6 hours) on a Saturday and run 18 miles (2.5 hours) on a Sunday,” he said. His debut Ironman Triathlon was in 2006, when he had a difficult time finishing the race. This past year, in Ironman
Arizona, Nick not only finished the race but ran the entire marathon and averaged a 7-minute per-mile pace over the last several miles. “It proved to me that I can do anything,” he said.

Editor's Note: If you have ideas for the Faces of Cañada section of the online newsletter, please contact Robert Hood at ext. 3340 or by e-mail at hoodr@smccd.edu.

top

SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS

Workshop to Help ECE Students With Career Options

Pathways To Your Future will be held March 30

"Pathways to Your Future: Career and College Pathways in Early Childhood Education" will be held on Monday, March 30 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Main Theater. Early childhood education students and childcare professionals can learn how to earn a certificate or associate's degree in early childhood education or a bachelor's degree in child and adolescent development. Students can also learn how to be transfer ready for CSU schools; child development permits; advising and counseling resources; financial aid; placement testing and SamCares.

B.A.M. Beauty Art Madness Fashion Show

Fashion Design Department's Annual Fashion Show Moves to May

The Fashion Design Department's annual fashion show is moving to Saturday, May 16. Seating begins at 7 p.m. in the Main Theater and doors will close at 7:15 p.m. Advance tickets are $8 or $10 at the door. Students in the Fashion Show Production program are organizing the show.

Money Will Help Single Parents Pay for Babysitting

The Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) at Cañada College will receive approximately $2,300 to help single parents on CalWorks and TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, formerly AFDC) succeed in college. CARE provides assistance with child care, meals, counseling, and other types of support.

The grants will be used to pay for babysitting services. “The EOPS Program helps the students primarily with book vouchers, counseling and retention services,” said Jose Romero, program services coordinator for EOPS. “The CARE program helps with additional services such as food vouchers, bus passes, education grants, and now childcare grants. Helping our students pay for childcare enables them to spend more time studying.” The college has seen an increase in the number of students applying for the EOPS program and is currently full for the current academic year. It is accepting applications for Fall 2009.

Editor's Note: If you have an idea for a student feature, contact Robert Hood at ext. 3340.

top

Please see the EVENTS CALENDAR for the latest event listings.

Editor's Note: If you would like to submit an event to the Cañada Calendar of Events please contact Robert Hood at hoodr@smccd.edu.