CAMPUS NEWS
Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Officially Opens State-of-the-Art Facilities Maintenance Building
The new building has more than 14,000-square-feet of work space.
It was hard to miss the smiles on the faces of the Cañada Facilities team on Thursday, Sept. 17 as the ribbon-cutting ceremony took place for the new Facilities Maintenance Center on campus. The new building includes a Silver Certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an auto maintenance bay, carpenter workshop, maintenance support shop, electrical workshop, men's and women's locker rooms, a fueling station, and car wash station.
The building is approximately 14,000-square-feet. “This is a tremendous day, not only for our Facilities team, but for the entire college,” said President Tom Mohr. “The Facilities team has waited patiently for this day to arrive.” Facilities has been working out of a small venue located in the gymnasium building. With construction of the new Facilities Maintenance Center, the physical activities programs will be able to expand into the space once occupied by facilities. “I really want to commend everyone involved in this project,” said Chancellor Ron Galatolo. “This project involved a lot of work from many different people. This building will be a huge asset for the college.”
Celebration of Cañada's 40th Anniversary Continues
The next event is planned for Oct. 14 and the college is reaching out to alumni.
The college is reaching out to alumni with a new Facebook page and a series of campus events designed to highlight Cañada’s 40th anniversary. “Cañada College: 40 years of Academic Excellence” will feature campus celebrations designed to buoy staff, faculty, and student pride and connect alumni to each other and the college.
The college is holding a special 40th Anniversary celebration from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and again from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The informal event will allow current staff, faculty, students and alumni to gather and share stories about the college. Special 40th Anniversary polo shirts will be available for $20. The event will be held in the President’s Reception Room in the bottom of Building 8.
Presidential Brown Bag Sessions
Bring your lunch and talk to President Tom Mohr about your ideas for the college.
President Tom Mohr, will hold brown bag sessions with faculty and staff every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. in the Building 8 conference room. “I want to listen to any and all thoughts and concerns any member of the campus community might have about any issue of importance,” he said. “I am especially interested at this time in hearing any suggestions people may have concerning budget reductions or budget saving measures. Every idea is worth hearing and no matter how unique the suggestion I hope that people will take the time to express it.” Mohr said it’s important to provide people with an opportunity to meet face-to-face to express their ideas.
Project READ to Host Annual Trivia Bee Oct. 16
It's a foot-stomping, fun-loving, raucous and rowdy event.
Redwood City Friends of Literacy present Project READ’s 20th Trivia Bee on Friday, Oct. 16 in the Main Theater. The event is designed to promote literacy and raise money for Project READ’s mission of a literate community by 2020. More information is available at Trivia Bee.
Redwood Symphony Plays Gershwin and Ravel
The symphony opens its 25th season on Oct. 3 in the Main Theater.
The Redwood Symphony will open its 25th season in the Cañada College Main Theater on Saturday, Oct. 3. The show features violin soloist Robin Sharp, a new and evocative score by Dorothy Chang, and two popular American masterworks. Maestro Kujawsky's 7 P.M. pre-concert lecture will examine these works, as well as provide a preview of this season's coming attractions. Tickets are $25 for adults ($20 in advance); $20 for seniors; $10 for children under 16 and students with ID; and free to children under 12 with a paid adult. Staff, faculty and students with the college district are admitted free to every Redwood Symphony concert.
Bookstore Big Top
Visual Merchandising and Display class transforms Bookstore into a circus.
Ken Fehrman’s Visual Merchandising and Display class is at it again. This time they’ve transformed the Cañada College Bookstore into a three-ring circus. Signs say “Welcome to the Circus” and festive colors and displays hang from the walls and ceiling. "My approach to education is simple - if you don't do it, you don't know it,” said Fehrman. “It's infectious with students. Once they get a taste for designing the displays they want to do more." Fehrman and his classes have been working with the bookstore for the past two years. “The bookstore gives us free reign which really unleashes the students’ creativity.”
Zapotec Weaver Discusses Rugs, Culture
Hand-crafted wool rugs are focus of lecture.
Pastora Gutierrez, president of her women's weaving collective from Teotitlan del Valle, discussed her natural dyed handcrafted wool rugs, and answered questions about the designs in a special lecture held in the Main Theater on Friday, Sept. 11. Gutierrez explained the labor-intensive process that has been passed down through generations of Zapotec women. She also talked about Zapotec culture. The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca of southern Mesoamerica. Archaeological evidences shows their culture goes back at least 2500 years.
SCAT Books Club Brings Faculty Together to Discuss Assessment
Watch for various events throughout the year designed to help faculty examined assessment techniques.
Carol Rhodes, professor of biology, is organizing a SCAT (Sessions on Classroom Assessment Techniques) Book Club. Faculty will discuss use of strategies from Angelo and Cross’s Handbook on Classroom Assessment Techniques. Faculty will bring their own lunch and discuss their experiences or ask questions about formative assessment techniques. One or two faculty will be identified for each session to lead off by presenting their own strategies. A special seminar was held on Sept. 28 to discuss new teaching technologies being used at the college. It was led by Ray Lapuz, mathematics professor. On Oct. 22 Greg Stoup, director of planning, research and student success, will lead a special seminar on Assessment Analysis in 20 Minutes.
College Nurses Available to Discuss H1N1 Flu Virus
Experts predict this flu season could be one of the worst in recent years.
The college nurses will be making the rounds in participating classrooms to educate staff, faculty and students about the H1N1 flu virus and seasonal flu. They will give a brief overview of what students should know about this strain of flu including information on who will get which vaccines and when.
Budget Committee Looks at 2010-11 Budget
The college is facing a reduction of $1.2 million.
Facing a $1.2 million cut to the 2010-11 fiscal year budget, the Cañada College Budget Committee began discussing strategies earlier this month for ways to identify reductions before the winter recess. “This is not going to be an easy task but I want to make sure it’s transparent,” said President Tom Mohr. “I will work closely with the vice presidents and deans to identify possible reductions and then bring them back to the Budget Committee so that the entire campus community understands the direction we’re heading.”
The Budget Committee’s role is to consider the proposals and then forward them to the College Planning Council. The CPC will consider the reductions and offer advice to the president but the final decision for cutting the budget lies in the hands of the president. “The discussion of who we are and who we want to be - our vision- should be the guiding frame of reference for each of the bodies undertaking every consideration of change, be that a matter of a reduction or the development of a new program or structure of a service,” Mohr said. “As we study alternatives, from Program Reviews and retention/reduction of programs, or the creation of new, to letting go of a part of one structure and creation of something newly conceived, we must, with professional will and shared dialogue, stay true to a vision of Cañada’s future and the mission it entails in serving students. In due course we will be thankful that we kept clear the vision and that we applied our thinking with prudence, courage, temperance and justice.” The Budget Committee will continue to meet twice a month to consider reductions.
FACES OF CAÑADA
Nathan Staples Sings in Russia
Biology professor travels with Voices in Harmony men's chorus.
Nathan Staples, professor of biology, toured St. Petersburg, Russia as a member of Voices in Harmony, Northern California's premier men's a cappella chorus. The award-winning, 90 member male chorus was invited to perform in the Russian/St. Petersburg’s A Capella Choral Festival. The choir performed "Polyushko Pole", a traditional Russian song. The song is a solemn but very proud battle hymn about Russian soldier heroes riding across the fields and off into battle, leaving their sad families behind in the villages. "It was amazing," Staples said. "The audience was crying, we were crying, it was an incredible experience." Staples and the choir toured many sites and became the first American group ever to perform at Petergof.
Digging Archaeology
Jessica Einhorn plans spring break class to introduce students to archaeology.
Jessica Einhorn, Professor of archaeology, will be introducing students to the process of archaeological lab work in a special course offered over spring break. Students will help Einhorn in cataloging faunal, botanical, and lithic remains from a proto-historic archaeology site in Baja, California. The process of archaeological lab work will be covered, including stone tool analysis and how to catalog artifacts and organics. The class will include field trips to see an archaeology site as well as trips to the Pheobe Hearst Museum of Anthropology and the archaeological sourcing lab at UC Berkeley. “This class is designed for students who want to pursue studies in archaeology, “ Einhorn 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.
SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS
Students Volunteer with Traveling Storytime
Redwood City Library program reaches out to 16,000 children a year.
Students in the Cañada College TRIO and CBET programs have formed a partnership with the Redwood City Library and the Cañada College Library to volunteer with the popular Traveling Storytime program operated by the Redwood City Library. TRIO students are being trained by the program to do read-aloud volunteer work in various CBET childcare sites throughout the community. Last year, approximately 65 volunteers read to students at 80 daycare and pre-school sites around Redwood City. The program touches more than 16,000 kids on an annual basis. “Our students are very excited to participate in this program,” said Linda Haley, director of the CBET Program. “There is a strong connection because the students in the CBET program are Cañada College students.”
Breakfast with the Board of Trustees
ASCC organizes student breakfast with the SMCCCD Board of Trustees
The Associated Students of Cañada College organized a breakfast with President Tom Mohr, faculty, staff, and trustees from the San Mateo County Community College District, to give students the opportunity to meet decision makers and tell them about their experiences at the college. "The students did a fabulous job of organizing the event and we learned a lot from the students," Mohr said. Students explained that the $6 per unit fee increase can add up fast and can cost more than $100 per semester. Trustee Dave Mandelkern asked students about the impacts of the fee increase because he told them he wants to share their stories with local legislators. When students were asked if they had taken advantage of the bookstore's textbook rental program only a few students raised their hands. The majority said they tried to rent textbooks but the bookstore ran out. "This is just one example of how our growing enrollment impacts students," Mohr said. The event was part of the Opening Week ceremonies organized by ASCC.
Math Jam Success Story
Student skips trigonometry thanks to new summer program.
Diana Lis Valderrama was able to skip trigonometry and begin studying calculus during her first semester at thanks to the summer Math Jam. The Math Jam was one of several projects initiated at Cañada this year aimed at improving the interest, persistence and performance of underrepresented students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It was funded by a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Participating in the Math Jam gave Diana access to personal tutors who helped her with a study plan. “I learned more in four days at the Math Jam than I did in three semesters at high school.”
Drama Takes Center Stage
Fall performance was written by Anna Budd and new stage readings provide audience a chance to offer feedback.
The Woman in Armor, a new play written and directed by Cañada's own Anna Budd, will be performed by students in October. Opening weekend includes a free performance on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. for students, staff, and faculty. On Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. there will be post-show discussions with Budd and the cast. The final weekend includes 8 p.m. performances on Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7 and a special matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8.
Budd and her students have also developed a series of staged readings that take place on Wednesdays in the Flex Theater. The readings give actors and playwrights an opportunity to solicit input directly from the audience. "Receiving direct feedback from the audience is very important," Budd said. The readings are open to the campus community and are held at 1 p.m.
Fair Oaks Princess
Former Upward Bound student Melisa Lopez is named princess for Fair Oaks Festival
Former Upward Bound student, Melisa Lopez, was a finalist in the Queen of North Fair Oaks scholarship pageant. Melisa has been in the Cañada College Upward Bound program since her freshman year of high school and earlier this month started her first semester at San Jose State University.
Editor's Note: If you have an idea for a student feature, contact Robert Hood at ext. 3340.
CAMPUS CALENDAR
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.
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