NEWSNEWS
January, 2012Volume 12Issue 1
PACE Home Page2011-12 Theme: Step UpFor monthlyLists
Next Edition Scheduled for February, 2012 (subject to change)
Admistrative Corner
Dean of Students
A Little Tough Love for our Students
I fully understand that you might expect for me to deliver another treatise on why we need to love and care for each other and our students even more this next year. After all, I like that reputation of being one of those “touchy, feely” student services folk and I usually prefer to remind all of us that we are friends and family way before and after we are deans and directors. While I’ll stand by that always, is seems that now is the time for a little tough love for our students.
Recently, Dr. Rod Risley, the Executive Director of Phi Theta Kappa, honored us with his presence and remarks offered during the spring in-service. His topic of Student Success and Completion served as an additional confirmation of what all of us have been hearing and experiencing. Our students are not succeeding and completing at a rate that any of us should be proud of. While we may find it convenient and disarming to blame the alarming statistics on unrealistic and inappropriate measures put onto us by outsiders, we, in fact, have been contributing to the problem by the culture we create. As a community college crusader myself, I have always stood proudly by the idea that we meet students where they are and help them to get where they want to go. With that premise, we have supported their right to fail and measured their success by growth that often occurred outside of the classroom. That method has created a lot of good stories and good friends, but our government, our employers, and our taxpayers are right to be wanting more. So should we…
In the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of returning to the classroom and teaching political science and developmental math courses. Like many of our faculty, I’ve had the joy of watching incredible successes, but also experienced the agony of too many failures. Too often the failures are not connected to any lack of ability, but instead result from a lack of motivation, desire, and discipline of our students. In my position of working with student leaders on our campus, you might expect that I would be insulated from most of our underachievers, but it has been striking close to home for me. Just this past semester, I was saddened to lose or dismiss a number of our student leaders because of choices they had made or not made. In the past, I may have tried to bail them out, but I’m moving to that tough love approach.
In recent meetings with the Student Senate and Resident Advisors from Eagle Hall, the students have agreed that we have a problem as they know even more intimately of their own and their peers’ academic losses. They understand that the first and last reasons for all of us being here is to go to class and get an education. We spend an enormous amount of time, energy, and money providing supports and services outside of the classroom, but those are supposed to increase the success inside. It has become difficult to link one to the other.
My new approach reminds me of what my pastor said in church this past Sunday…”hate the sin, love the sinner.” While we still want to love our students, we need to hate their failures and encourage, support, expect, and demand their success in the classroom first. That has changed the nature of my conversations with students and led me to encourage our staff to refocus our programs on supporting educational success first. Terms like support, access, and care will always describe who we are, but success, completion, and graduation need to describe our students. Let’s practice a little tough love! XOXO
Congratulations to PACE Employees of the Year
PACE AWARDS INTRODUCTION
- The College of Southern Idaho Professional and Classified Employees (PACE) Organization was started in 2002 to serve as an official voice of the non-teaching, non-administrative employees of CSI. (Approx. 300)
- The annual PACE Employee of the Year Awards, which are voted on by members of the organization, recognize and honor outstanding classified and professional employees.
- Each recipient will receive a $1,000 honorary award and the opportunity to participate in an education/training activity of their choice.
($500 Student Senate/$500 Foundation)
- These employees:
- Must develop positive caring professional relationships with colleagues, students, and the public
- Must demonstrate commitment to colleagues and students
- Must demonstrate high level of integrity and professionalism
- Must demonstrate a high level in job knowledge and performance
2011 CLASSIFIED Employee of the Year
Carolyn Matsuoka, Student Services Specialist, Admissions and Records
- Cares about students and coworkers, demonstrates sensitivity to others, and has great communication and listening skills;
- Demonstrates commitment to CSI through dedication to students, eagerness to learn new skills, and willingness to accept additional work as needed;
- Exhibits integrity through quality of work and has earned the trust of coworkers through leadership;
- Is knowledgeable about office policies and procedures and provides training and support to coworkers.
Comments from nomination forms:
- “Nominee always keeps what is in the best interest of each individual student at the forefront.”
- “Nominee knows when someone is in need of a hug or a work of encouragement.”
- She has been employed full-time at CSI for 22 years
2011 PROFESSIONAL Employee of the Year
Sharon Whitchurch, Fiscal Specialist, Office on Aging
- Listens to clients and coworkers with a cheerful smile and genuine concern;
- Strives to help clients understand programs and is always willing to help coworkers with projects when needed;
- Demonstrates professionalism and high ethical standards when working with peers or clients on challenging issues;
- Continuously strives to learn new information that will help the department function better and serve the clients better.
Comments from nomination form:
- “Nominee is the most dedicated employee I have ever met.”
- “Nominee has the integrity and ethics I admire.”
- “She has been a full-time employee for 3 ½ years.”
Congratulations to all those who were nominated. There were 22 nominations submitted by 61 people. Classified nominees were: Ann Keane, Ansina Durham, Bev Harper, Carolyn Matsuoka, Dawn Wendland, Evanna Flynn, Ginger Nukaya, Jasmine Lopez, Jenny Coelho, Joseph Lemoine, Joy Worhsam, M Kathy Phillips and Michelle Posphical.
Professional nominees were: Elaine Bryant, Gary Baum, Gary Dewey, Jenny Emery-Davidson, John Bottinger,
Karen Griffith, Karrie Horbacher, Sharon Whitchurch andSteve Poppino.
Picks from the Shelf
Can Diets be Harmful? - Book - is a Greenhaven Press’s “At Issue” series book that provides a wide range of opinions, some conflicting, today’s diet fads and practices. The articles are short and to the point for ease of reading. Much of this you have heard before: how yo-yo dieting causes health problems, the possible nutritional deficiencies of a vegetarian diet, the benefits of a historical diet pattern such as the Mediterranean, and so forth. But, did you know that calorie restricted diets (CR) may extend life? I was very interested to learn that “researchers postulate that when our ancestors struggled through extended periods of food, the body’s remarkable survival instinct would kick in and somehow slow down their aging.” There is also an article by a journalist that conducted astudy of 100 nine-year-old girls in 1986 to ask how they felt about their bodies and found that 75 percent thought they weighed too much. This mirrored the results of a study that had taken place in San Francisco. More than 20 years later he got in touch with those same women, then 32 and 33. He shares his conversations in his article.I was also pleased to see one woman writer address the need to set healthy standards for sons as well as daughters.This book poses no answers to your weight-loss concerns, but it raises some good issues to be aware of. – Judy Thom, HR Specialist
Wild Strawberries - DVD – This 1957 black and white film by Ingmar Bergman was chosen to be included in The Criterion Collection, a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films. Opening scene is a fabulous nightmare experienced by the main character of the film. Not to be missed is the added 90-minute feature of Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work presented by filmmaker and author Jörn Donner. This gives the viewer a wonderful sense of how Ingmar brings his own life experiences to his movies. – Ann Keane, ADC Office Spec.
An Enduring Legacy, The Story of Basques in Idaho – Book – By John Bieter and Mark Bieter. Great account of the Basques in Idaho. This book was especially interesting after listening to John Bieter at the Herrett Forum in October of 2011. John Bieter gave a great talk along with a slide show. One thing I found most interesting about this subject is the generational aspect. Immigrants are the first generation and are interested in making a new life in a new land. The second generation (their children) is interested in becoming part of the American culture. They want to be accepted into the mainstream. The third generation (the grandchildren) discovers they want to know about their cultural history and maintain a part of that tradition. The Basques have a strong heritage and have contributed greatly to the state of Idaho. It is a good thing to understand such a vibrant culture. – Ann Keane, ADC Office Spec.
Queen to Play - DVD – Wonderful movie about a woman’s sudden obsession for Chess and overcoming class barriers to achieve her goal of winning a match against a group of men arriving to the playing field from a higher social status in life. Time spent watching this movie is well spent. It doesn’t matter what job you do in life—if you have the will you can achieve anything. – Ann Keane, ADC Office Spec.
The Good Times Are All Gone Now, Life Death, and Rebirth in an Idaho Mining Town – Book – By Julie Whitesel Weston. Great stories of the Kellogg mines and smelters; the men that worked them; the families that lived among them; the union and its antics; the local doctor (the author’s father) and hospital; the dying of the mines and the slow rebirth of a town. And to top all of that off, the contaminates and the SuperFund. This is a great read on part of Idaho’s history. – Ann Keane, ADC Office Spec.
The Young Victoria – DVD – Who would ever dream there could be such a love story amidst all the pomp and circumstance and planned/plotted marriages of the British Royal family history. Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend bring to life the amazing love story of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. They were a strong pair who truly loved their England and accomplished much during their reign. To date Queen Victoria has not been surpassed in years of service to her county. This is a truly wonderful account of an extraordinary couple during an extraordinary time. – Ann Keane, ADC Office Spec.