We hope everyone had a great holiday season. The Spring Semester should be busy as the college continues the process for selecting a new president, hosts high school visits, and celebrates Black History Month. This Friday, Feb. 3, the college will host counselors from local high schools. We hope everyone will have a chance to talk about their programs with this important delegation. We at the Olive Press would also like to welcome Katie Townsend-Merino, the new Dean of Humanities, and Ricardo Flores, the new division assistant for Academic Support Services and the University Center . We would also like to congratulate Dianne Eyer and Dick Clair on their successful retirements. Tuesday's retirement send-off drew VIPs from every corner of the county. We hope you enjoy this issue of the Olive Press.
CAMPUS NEWS
KinderCaminata returns on April 28
Nearly 1,500 kindergartners from area schools will descend on the campus April 28 as part of the sixth annual KinderCaminata celebration.
The KinderCaminata Committee is looking for volunteers to help with the celebration. To volunteer, contact Maggie Souza at Ext. 3238.
"This is a fantastic event that strengthens our relationship with the local community," said Interim President Tom Mohr. "It's also a very large celebration so we need as many volunteers as we can get."
Volunteers are needed to set up on the day of the event, act as greeters and tour guides, provide assistance to the career stations, and help clean up after the event.
College to Host up to 400 High School Students During Tours
Nearly 400 high school students will be on campus during the next two months as part of the annual high school tours organized by Campus Outreach.
"We're very excited about this year's tours," said Carmina Chavez, college recruiter. "We hope everyone has a chance to welcome these students to campus."
Students from San Mateo to Half Moon Bay will be participating in the program. For more information or for details about promoting your programs to prospective students contact Chavez at Ext. 3427. The full tour schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Feb. 16 and 23 - San Mateo Union High School District will bring approximately 80 students.
Wednesday, March 1 - East Palo Alto Charter, Pescadero and Half Moon Bay are expected to bring approximately 60 students.
Wednesday, March 8 - Sequoia and Woodside high schools will bring approximately 90 students.
Wednesday, March 15 - Menlo-Atherton and Carlmont high schools will bring approximately 60 students.
Wednesday, March 22 - Redwood High School will bring approximately 45 students.
Wednesday, March 29 - Burlingame and Hillsdale high schools will bring approximately 95 students involved in the English as a Second Language Program.
Budget and Planning Committee Continues Work
The Budget and Planning Committee is working on a constitution for Budget and Planning. The committee meets twice a month and serves as a subcommittee of College Council.
Interim President Tom Mohr said the committee is discussing the budget building process with a goal of making the school's budget understandable to everyone.
"The best demonstration of an institution's philosophy and goals is how it spends the money," he said. "We need to be able to peel back the revenues layer by layer so that everyone knows where the money is coming from and how it is being spent."
The committee is made up of the President (ex officio), Vice Presidents, College Council Chair and Vice Chair, Academic Senate President and a second faculty member appointed by the Senate President, Classified Senate President, College Budget Officer (ex officio), CSEA representative, and ASCC student representative.
In the past, the committee was called together only sporadically when the president wanted the committee to consider an issue. That meant meeting once or twice a semester. Mohr has encouraged the committee to meet regularly and to become a leader in developing future plans for the college.
Faculty Senate President Patty Dilko said the committee is formalizing its new role and will soon come to the College Council with a set of recommendations designed to institutionalize this plan.
"We started by looking at the strategic plan but its clear there's no where to go with that plan until a planning cycle is developed," Dilko said. "We need to create a planning cycle that takes into account the annual budget and long-range strategic planning."
Mohr said the work being done by the committee is critical.
"The budget process needs to be understood by the entire college community and people need to know how expenditures relate to future goals of the college" Mohr said. "It's important that this is transparent and inclusive. I anticipate that this committee will develop guidelines to steer not only the annual budget process but also connect that to the mission and goals of the college."
Since arriving at Cañada in July, Mohr has actively engaged the campus community in the shared governance process. He is working with students, staff, and faculty to institutionalize the shared governance process by strengthening committees and clarifying roles and reporting procedures.
Financial Aid to Host Cash for College Workshop
Cañada College will host a free workshop from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11 to help both prospective and current college students and their parents learn about financial aid opportunities and how to fill out the required paperwork. Attendees may come anytime during these hours. The workshop will be held in the school's cafeteria, Building 5.
The "Cash for College" workshop is designed to help all students no matter where they plan to attend college. Experts will be available to answer questions on a variety of financial aid topics for both students and parents. Professional guidance will be available to assist with the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Cal Grant Forms for students planning to attend a California college, and the Board of Governors (BOG) fee waivers for students planning to attend a California community college.
Margie Carrington, financial aid director for Cañada College , said experts will be available for the entire four hours of the workshop but it should take participants approximately an hour or less to work through the forms. Parents and students should bring all of the required financial records necessary to fill out the paperwork. If you have questions about what records might be needed, call the Cañada College Financial Aid Office at Ext. 3307.
"Filling out financial aid forms can be a daunting task," she said. "Our goal is to make the process as quick and easy as possible."
FACES OF CAÑADA
Smiles, Tears, Order of the Day at Retirement Celebration
There were plenty of smiles and laughs and a few tears as family, friends and co-workers joined long-time Cañada College professors Richard "Dick" Claire and Dianne Widmeyer Eyer in a special retirement ceremony held Tuesday afternoon.
Claire served as mayor of Redwood City for two terms, served on the Redwood City Council for 20 years and is a current member of the city's planning commission. He also coached Little League and Senior League baseball for 12 years and coached baseball and football at Sequoia High School . Claire attended K-12 in Redwood City . He was the target of plenty of good-natured ribbing from Redwood City officials, family and co-workers.
At Cañada, Claire taught approximately 9,000 students in accounting, business, and computer application classes. He also conducted courses in auditing for the tax department for the Republic of China and traveled to China twice to conduct research concerning accounting practices, business law, tax policies, and general economic opportunities in that country. At Cañada, Claire served as dean of the Business Division, academic senate president, and served on numerous district and state committees.
Eyer developed the Early Childhood Education/Child Development Department from two courses in 1970 to 35 courses and numerous specializations today. She is the author of one of the most widely used textbooks in the field of infants, toddlers and caregivers. Eyer also developed a four-year link with San Francisco State University allowing students to earn their bachelor's degree in ECE/CD at Cañada College 's University Center .
While her academic accomplishments are extensive, Eyer may be better known for her relentless advocacy for providing pre-school for all children. She was instrumental in helping First 5 San Mateo County obtain a grant to recruit and retain quality ECE/CD teachers and child care providers.
Her husband, Lyle, told the standing-room-only audience that students often wrote to Dianne telling her how she had changed their lives forever.
Both Claire and Eyer opted for mid-year retirements. They taught their last classes in the fall and Interim President Tom Mohr said it was fitting to begin the new semester with a tribute to two of the professors that literally helped build the college.
"You really can't plan a tribute for these two people that is befitting their immense contributions to both the community and the college but we wanted to give everyone a chance to recognize them and wish them well in retirement," Mohr said.
Katie Townsend-Merino Joins Humanities as New Dean
Katie Townsend-Merino, a psychology professor at Palomar College for the past 20 years, has been hired as the new Dean of Humanities. Townsend-Merino joined the college on Jan. 23 and was introduced to staff and faculty at a "welcome" reception held in the Humanities Division Office.
"The most important thing to know about me is that I am a communicator and that communicating well and often is how I effect leadership," Townsend-Merino said. "I find that most people, when given enough good information, make choices that are in the best interest of the college and, most especially, of our students."
Townsend-Merino headed a department at Palomar with 20 full-time and 65 part-time faculty members. She served as Faculty Senate President and was part of the steering committee developing the college's strategic planning process. She was also honored with the 2004 Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching from the faculty at Palomar.
"I am most proud of the fact that, while at Palomar, I earned a reputation as a consensus builder and team player," she said. "I not only understand the philosophy of shared governance, I am able to make it work because I believe that we all ARE on the same team."
Interim President Tom Mohr thanked the search committee that included Jenny Castello, Linda Hayes, Bill Morales, Joan Murphy, Lisa Palmer, Jose Romero, and Frank Young.
"Everyone who has worked and interacted with Katie is enthusiastic about her ability to be an excellent dean and leader of the division," Mohr said.
Townsend-Merino is married and has three daughters and two grandsons.
M. Ricardo Flores Joins Academic Support Services/UC
Ricardo Flores is stationed in Building 22, supporting University Center classes and serving as the Division Assistant for Academic Support Services. He will support Jeanne Gross, Dean of Academic Support Services, and Kathy Sammut, who is directing the Student Support Services/TRIO program.
Ricardo joined the college on Jan. 9. He has a background in Hospitality Industry Management as well as experience in Graphic Arts and Multimedia. He has worked at San Francisco State University and the College of San Mateo .
Ricardo grew up in Mexico . He is single and lives in San Bruno . Ricardo said he likes to learn foreign languages and cook and currently meets with a tutor in Berkeley once a week and learns how to cook in French.
"My tutor gives me all of my cooking instructions in French," he said. "It's a great way to learn a language."
Flores said everyone at Cañada has been very supportive and he enjoys the fact that his office has windows. "My old office was like a cave," he said. "Being able to look out the windows and see hills and trees is terrific."
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
MESA Welcome Lunch Draws Big Crowd
A large crowd of students gathered in the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement Center last week for the annual MESA welcome lunch. The event is designed to help students make friends, form study groups for math, chemistry and physics, and learn about scholarships and financial aid.
A large number of faculty members (Chuck Iverson and students are pictured to the left) were also in attendance to mentor students.
Student Leaders Plan Busy Spring
It should be a busy spring at Cañada College . Student leaders have a full schedule of activities including five lectures to celebrate Black History Month, the annual Club Day, and a Spring Concert Series.
"Our student leaders have been actively planning a series of events for the Spring Semester," said Aja Butler, student activities coordinator.
The annual Club Day will be held Wednesday, Feb. 15. The event provides students at the college the opportunity to explore the student-organized clubs that exist on campus.
Butler said the final details of the Spring Concert Series will be announced in early February.
Black History Month to Feature Lecture on Negro Leagues
Entertainer Byron Motley grew up listening to stories of the Negro Baseball Leagues from his father, Bob Motley, who served as a chief umpire in the leagues for several years. Now the younger Motley will spin his tales at Cañada College as part of the school's celebration of Black History Month.
The lecture will be held on Thursday, Feb. 23 from noon to 1 p.m. in the school's Main Theater.
Motley's lecture, The Negro Baseball League: An American Legacy, will feature film clips from his upcoming television documentary Oh How They Lived - Stories of the Negro Leagues which includes interviews with former Negro League players as they reminisce and discuss stories and memories about the historic Negro Baseball Leagues.
The history of the Negro Baseball Leagues (1920-1960) is draped in a fabric that mirrors America's culture. From segregation to integration, the progression of America 's race relation journey is literally reflected in events that unfolded in the Negro Baseball Leagues.
"We are honored to have a speaker of this magnitude bring his story to our college for Black History Month," said Cañada College Interim President Tom Mohr. "I'm very proud of the entire schedule of events planned at the college."
Other events include:
Classical African Civilizations - Professor Manu Ampim of the Peralta Community College District will discuss the achievements of the classical African civilizations in the Nile Valley. Wednesday, Feb. 8 from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m., Building 2, Room 10.
African American Women Activist - Cañada College History Professor Chuck Carlson will discuss the role of African American women in social justice, civil rights, labor and the feminist and black liberation movements since the 19th Century. Wednesday, Feb. 22, 10:10 to 11 a.m., Library.
Discussion and Presentation on Reparations - State Reparations Chair Marie Davis will discuss past and present efforts to get reparations for descendents of African and Black Americans slaves. Students will have the opportunity to discuss the issue and brainstorm ideas. Tuesday, Feb. 28, 12 to 1 p.m., Building 13, Room 110.
"This Little Light of Mine: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story" - Veteran stage actress Billie Jean Young will bring Fannie Lou Hamer to life in all of her Mississippi-born, sharecropping, freedom-fighting glory. The award-winning one woman show captures the story of one of the early champions of civil rights. Tuesday, March 7 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., Main Theater.
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 on inside Cañada for the latest event listings.
Editor's Note: If you would like to submit an event to the Cañada Calendar of Events please contact Debbie Joy at ext. 3318, or use the link at the bottom of the Calendar.
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