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The Grapevine: The Bellevue Community College Employee Newsletter

 

 

News

BCC launches nation’s first degree for developmentally disabled students

BCC has achieved another first, launching the nation’s only higher education degree program for developmentally disabled students. With an expanded curriculum of 52 separate courses, BCC’s Venture program now offers a 90-credit Associate in Essential Studies degree through which high-functioning individuals with learning, cognitive and intellectual disabilities can demonstrate mastery of an established body of knowledge and gain the skills for lifetime success.

 

Academic topics in the curriculum include Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Science, Art, Media Communications and History. Courses in social and life skills include Learning Strategies, Conversation Strategies, Relationships, Self Advocacy, Disability Awareness, Nutrition, Human Sexuality, Brain Basics, Physical Education and Personal Finance. Workforce-skills course topics include Information Technology Literacy; Problem Solving in the Workplace; Job Research; Preparation of Applications, Resumes  and Portfolios; Conversations in the Workplace; Self Advocacy; and Internships. All content also emphasizes problem solving, critical thinking, communications and team building. By reinforcing academic content with practical development of social and workforce skills, the program works to prepare students to live self-sufficient, fulfilled lives with meaningful participation in society, according to Cynthia Johnson, director of the Venture program.

 

A major goal of the degree program is for students to gain challenging employment. A workforce development specialist provides social and vocational coaching and develops a support network to infuse appropriate vocational training into the curriculum. Job internships, job placement and job coaching all provide the opportunity for students to gain first-hand experience, increase self-esteem and enrich personal knowledge and skills.

 

For further information on the program, and an interview with Cynthia, go to the online magazine Inside Higher Ed, at http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/06/24/bellevue.

 

Students announce winners of "Best of the Year" awards

At its annual end-of-year celebration June 10, Student Programs announced student-voted “best of the year” awards for the 2004-05 school year. The Black Student Union was named Club of the Year, and the club’s advisor, Rossie Norris, earned Advisor of the Year honors. The Career and Women’s Center was named Program of the Year, while the Volunteer of the Year award went to student Rudy Ziemba (who was active in every Associated Student Government event last year). Student of the Year was Megan Kowalski, outgoing managing editor of The Jibsheet. (Photo: Rossie Norris, left, accepts "Advisor of the Year" award; Jaime Jones, right, accepts "Club of the Year" award on behalf of the Black Student Union; Faisal Jaswal, Director of Student Programs, looks on. Photo by Randy Ferreiro/The Jibsheet)

 

Public Safety offers free personal safety class for women

Learn how to be safe and defend yourself in a free, eight-hour training class titled “Personal Awareness and Self Defense for Women” being offered by the Public Safety Department. The training will be held in two four-hour sessions, on Friday, July 29, and Friday, August 5, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Room R204. Participants will learn some effective self defense techniques and how to recognize, reduce and avoid threats and dangers. Call X2400 to reserve your spot.

 

Watch for campus road closures

The campus roads on the south and west sides of the BCC parking garage will be closed for one day on Wednesday, July 27, and again for two weeks August 3-19, to facilitate construction of the fifth floor of the garage. During these times, the larger Metro buses will be making their stops on 148th Ave. SE at the main entrance and on 140th Ave. SE at the north entrance. All three entrances to the college will remain open. The contractor will put up detour signs to notify drivers of alternate routes. The only access to parking lots E1 and E2 will be via the road to the Flag Circle.

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Off the Vine

Welcome short-stay Japanese students in August

Eighty-five students from Tezukayama Jr. High in Nara, Japan, are expected on campus August 11-19 as part of a customized, summer “short-stay” program created by International Student Programs (ISP) and the English Language Institute (ELI). The visit to BCC this year is a follow-on to the successful program last summer, when ISP and ELI hosted two separate groups totaling 49 students from Tezukayama Jr. High. At BCC, the group will study English as a Second Language, computer applications and American culture. The students also will take music classes at Music Works and study American cooking at Everyday Eats in Lake Forest Park. When you see these students on campus in August, please help them to feel welcome!

 

NWCET's Working Connections Institute to draw 100 educators

More than 100 community college, university and high school information technology (IT) instructors from across the state will gather on the BCC campus August 23-26 for the seventh annual Washington Working Connections IT Institute. The Institute is a project of BCC’s National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (NWCET), which has raised more than $30,000 in corporate and state sponsorships to support the program. Participants will study the latest developments in IT and business technology in courses such as New Applications in Office 2003, Project Management Professional Certification, IT in the Health Care Industry, Programming Database and Web, and Hardening Wireless Networks. The event is being coordinated by Maureen Majury, program manager for the NWCET’s Educator-to-Educator (E2E) program. Marcia Williams, a BCC instructor in Business Technology Systems and Technical Support, currently chairs the Washington State Working Connections Institute Advisory Board.

 

Art-Zones sponsors successful Artists in Action exhibition

Continuing Education’s Art-Zones program sponsored Artists in Action Day, a display of art by more than 70 Art-Zones students, at Factoria Mall June 24. The event was planned by Art-Zones Program Manager Kristen Hatcher, Program Coordinator Ryan Miner and Program Manager Robin Ballard. “Blackbird,” a watercolor by student Michael Soodik, was voted the best work in the show by the hundreds of viewers who stopped by the display. For more on the show, read the Jibsheet article by Sarah Shay at http://www.thejibsheet.com/read.php?volume=62&issue=1&number=1&show=arts.

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Coming Attractions

KBCS-FM presents an evening of authentic urban Albanian music, featuring Merita Halili & the Raif Hyseni Orchestra, on Sunday, August 28, at 8:00 p.m. at The Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle.

Aki Matsuri, a two-day Japanese fall festival full of cultural and educational activities for all ages, comes to the BCC campus Sept. 10 and 11. The spectacular event includes on-stage performing arts, martial arts demonstrations, Japanese food booths and more than 65 art, craft, and other Japan-related exhibits. Activities for children include a taiko (Japanese drums) workshop, kimono/yukata dress-up, calligraphy, origami, water balloons and “Go” games. Browse through the Japanese-style flea market, watch a demonstration of traditional Japanese woodcut printing and view a Japanese lacquerware exhibit. Three workshops will be offered: “Japanese Culture in Your K-12 Classroom,” “Basics of Bonsai” and “Taiko Drumming.” (Pre-registration is required for the workshops.) The event is sponsored by the Eastside Nihon Matsuri Association with the involvement of many BCC employees. Please visit the Association's website (www.enma.org) for the full event schedule and to register for workshops. To volunteer to help, please send an e-mail to enma.japan@verizon.net.

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Campus Calendar

Aug. 11 Summer quarter ends
Aug. 28 KBCS concert of Urban Albanian music, The Tractor Tavern, Seattle, 8 p.m.
Sept. 2 Last day of summer hours
Sept. 10-11 Aki Matsuri Japanese Fall Festival, BCC Campus. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on 9/10 and 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on 9/11
Sept. 19 Fall quarter begins
Oct. 10-12

Accreditation Evaluators’ visit

For more events information, including BCC sports events, visit the college calendar at http://events.bcc.ctc.edu/eventcenter-bin/msclient.dll?SESSION=0362128400&METHOD=TOP&NID=2000219&CMD=2

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Movers & Shakers

Diana Hagen, secretary senior in the Library Media Center, has won the 2005-06 Exemplary Staff Award for Region B from the Staff Training for Technical and Community Colleges (STTACC) Board.

BCC Continuing Education Instructor Michal Ozeri Goldberg’s painted fiberglass pony, entitled "Garden of Eden," sold for $5,000 at the Northwest Center auction March 5. Northwest Center is an education, rehabilitation and work training program for people with disabilities. Michal teaches hand-building and wheel-throwing in clay for BCC.

Mitchell Bland, a painter in the maintenance department, completed the Seattle-to-Portland bicycle ride in one day July 9, completing the 202-mile trek in a remarkable 15 hours!

Senior Human Resources Assistant Olga Krichevskaya received her BCC associate degree in Information Technology/Database Management June 17.

Art work by BCC Art Instructors Lars Husby and Dale Lindman will be on display in a special exhibition at the Nordic Heritage Museum, 3014 NW 67th St. in Ballard, August 9 - 25. The preview opening is on August 9 runs from 6-9 p.m.

Imai Jen-La Plante, a 2002 Running Start graduate of BCC, was awarded one of two University of Washington President’s Medals at UW commencement ceremonies June 11. UW President’s Medals are conferred on the two graduating seniors with the most distinguished academic records, with one of the medals going to a transfer student from a community college. Imai’s future plans include pursuit of a Ph.D. in physics at the University of  Chicago. This summer she is doing research in particle physics at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland.

Worker Retraining and WorkFirst Project Manager Bill Mace and his partner Jan Capps welcomed their first baby, a girl named Solanes Mireya Capps-Mace, on June 24.

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Welcome & Farewell

Welcome to new BCC staff and faculty:

Ronald Byer – Interim Project Manager, Worker Retraining

Antje Giesler – Early Childhood Specialist 2, Early Learning, Family, and Childcare Center

Peter Graff – Interim Production Director, KBCS

Page Knapp – Early Childhood Program Specialist 2, Early Learning, Family, and Childcare Center

Phillip McGilton – Program Assistant, Disability Support Services

William O’Connor  - Director, Athletics

Phillip Vu – Laboratory Technician II, Science Division

 

Congratulations on recent promotions or changes:

Pedro Borja – temporary reallocation to Refrigeration Mechanic Lead, Maintenance

Jan Dwyer – to Early Childhood Specialist 2, Early Learning, Family, and Childcare Center

Bernice Gotta – to Payroll & Benefits Coordinator, Human Resources

Glenn Jackson – to Cook Lead, Food Services

Monte Taylor –  to Stockroom Attendant II, Material Resource Center

 

A fond farewell to departing BCC employees:

Toni Andersen – Office Assistant 3, Science Division

Edwin Anderson – Director, Business Development & College Extension

Lynn Bly – Project Specialist, Faculty Resources Center

Eduardo Gomes – Faculty, Political Science

Susannah Halliburton – Faculty, Early Childhood Education

Kathleen Hansen – Part-time Instructor, Business Division

Christiana Heins – Lab Manager, Science Division

Marcus Heriot – Director, Printing Services

Joy Howland – Project Manager, Workforce Development

Melinda Iwen – Project Manager, Workfirst

Priscilla Maynard – TELOS instructor, Continuing Education

Timothy Meehan – Faculty, Counseling & Advising Center

Peter Melvoin – Faculty, Sociology

Rossie Norris – Counselor/Instructor, Counseling & Advising Center

Stuart Pugh – Refrigeration Mechanic, Maintenance

Debra Ross – Executive Assistant, President’s Office

Jim Rostirolla – Faculty, Astronomy

James Shuman – Faculty, Business/Media

Jack Surendranath – Division Chair, Science

Deborah Townsend – Director, Publications

Deanna Veyna – Program Assistant, Social Science

Melissa Yanachik – Temporary Faculty, Nursing

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BCC in the News

Media Community and Technology Instructor Michael Korolenko was quoted in a July 18 King County Journal article titled "Rocket Man film takes off," about his class movie-making project. To read the article, go to http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/212495. The same article also appeared in the July 13 edition of the Bellevue Reporter.

BCC librarian and Chair of Ethnic & Cultural Studies Sayumi Irey was interviewed July 20 on the KBCS-FM program “Voices of Diversity,” about the need for multicultural resources in libraries.

Venture Director Cynthia Johnson was interviewed twice recently in regards to the new associate degree for developmentally disabled students (see lead story). She was quoted extensively in the article, "Unique Learners," in the June 24 edition of the on-line magazine Inside Higher Ed. That article can be read at http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/06/24/bellevue. She also was interviewed on the same topic by the National Public Radio station KUOW-FM, on June 17.

Jeff Johnson was quoted in an article titled, "Centers of Excellence: Increasing the economic prosperity of Washington state," in Creating Opportunities, an online magazine published by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. The article focused on the Centers of Excellence that the Board established at various community colleges in the state. BCC was selected as the Center for Information Technology Excellence (CITE). Jeff is past director of CITE, as well as director of Continuing Education 's Computer & Technology Programs. To read the article, go to http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/Publications/COMag/2005June/.

 

For more news articles about BCC, go to http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/news/coverage/. You can also check out BCC's official news releases at http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/news/releases/.

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On the Web

Check out these new or redesigned web sites:

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Continuing Education: http://www.conted.bcc.ctc.edu

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Life Sciences Informatics Center: http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/informatics/

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Venture Program: http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/venture/

  - Gallery Space: http://www/artshum/galleryspace/
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PEP: https://www.bcc.ctc.edu/pep/

Make sure your department information is accurate on the Web! Please go through these two directories on the BCC website -- http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/directories/ and http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/programs/az/ -- to check that your department information is all correct. If you see any errors, please report them to the Web Services staff at webmaster@bcc.ctc.edu.

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Submit News

To submit news, please contact:

 

Bob Adams

BCC College Relations
badams@bcc.ctc.edu
(425) 564-3081


Watch All-BCC FYI for deadlines. Please keep submissions brief, but be sure to provide the ‘who,’ ‘what,’ ‘when,’ ‘where’ and ‘why’ of your news. Please verify spelling and include your contact information. Thank you!

 

Grapevine Archives

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Bellevue Community College

 

The Grapevine employee newsletter is produced by BCC College Relations.

Editor: Bob Adams