Monday, April, 2, 2007

Communication Skills wins national award

Representing the Communication Skills Department in accepting an Outstanding Program Award from the Two-Year College English Association are, from left, instructors Ingrid Emch and Deborah Bertsch, and department chair Lisa Schneider. (Not pictured: adjunct instructor Jerusha McClendon.)

The Communication Skills Department received an Outstanding Program in English Award from the Two-Year College English Association of the National Council of Teachers of English at a conference in New York City during break.

Communication Skills won the award for its three-year-old program, Envisioning Possibilities: A Writing Workshop and Essay Contest for GED Students. The program, held in conjunction with the national Make a Difference Day effort, aims to "make a difference" in the writing lives of GED students by giving them an opportunity to learn about and practice college-level writing and by awarding scholarships to promising writers.

According to the Two-Year College English Association, the award honors "the achievements of those two-year college English teachers who, together with administrators, community leaders, and/or colleagues in other disciplines or programs, create exemplary programs and initiatives to enhance language learning of students and to enable students of diverse interests and backgrounds to achieve their college, career, and personal goals."

Present in New York to receive the award were Deborah Bertsch, co-founder and coordinator of Envisioning Possibilities; Ingrid Emch, teacher of English 119, a service-learning course tied to the project; and Lisa Schneider, Communication Skills Department Chair. Jerusha McClendon, co-founder and coordinator of Envisioning Possibilities, was not in attendance but was recognized during the program.

The department received a plaque and a travel stipend to attend the conference. In addition, the project will be recognized in the journal Teaching English in the Two-Year College and on the website of the Two-Year College English Association.

Accenture's Green Backs Two-Year CollegesReprinted courtesy of the Wall Street Journal
By David Wessel

William Green, chief executive of big consulting firm Accenture and a member of the Business Roundtable's Task Force on Education, told the Senate Finance Committee today [March 20] that both outfits back a significant increase in U.S. investment in education, especially math and science, and urged other steps "to raise the water table in terms of the education of our entire workforce in the U.S. across all industries," the increasingly frequent refrain from employers.

But then Green turned to his personal story, telling the committee that he is "a shameless advocate for junior and community colleges." Green, it turns, out is not a product of a prestigious Ivy League school or a brand-name state university. Instead, he went to Dean College, a two-year college outside of Boston.

"I credit Dean College with getting me on the right path," he said. "I was not an especially good student in high school. I spent the year after high school working in construction, and considered becoming a plumber, like my father. Then one day, I went to visit some friends who were students at Dean College, and my mindset began to change. As I walked around campus and listened to my friends talk about their experiences, I realized this was an opportunity to change my path that might never come again - an opportunity to take another shot at learning. Dean reached out a hand to me, and I can honestly say it was a life-altering experience. Our community and junior college system does the same thing for millions of students every day.

"It was a Dean College professor, Charlie Kramer, who ignited my passion for economics and taught me how to think analytically. After all these years, I still have my notes from his economics classes, and I've referred back to them from time to time - even as I went on to Babson College, where I earned my bachelor of science degree in economics and then an M.B.A.

"Would I be running a global consulting company with thousands of employees today if I'd followed a different path? Who knows? But there is no doubt that my two years at Dean College not only prepared me for advancing my education and gearing up for a career but also transformed me as a person. Our network of junior and community colleges can produce these results. I am living proof."


Lattes for a buckCafe DX at the Discovery Exchange is featuring a special drink promotion on Tuesday, April 3, from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. All regular size lattes or mochas served hot, frozen, or on ice are only $1.00 each. Stop by and enjoy a tasty drink! 

In-Service Day to feature good eatin'Mark your calendar for Spring In-Service, April 27. As part of the sustainability theme, lunch for In-Service will be provided by our own award-winning Hospitality Management students. This is a great opportunity for us to support the competition teams and to taste their wares before our students join the ranks of America's top chefs. Proposals are due by April 6. Visit the In-Service website at  http://www.cscc.edu/inservice for details.

Roundtable to hold theater workshops on campus The Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable (COTR) will hold a day of theater workshops on Saturday, April 14. This event is cosponsored by the Communication Skills Department.  

The mission of the Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable, a consortium of theatres in the greater Columbus area, is to promote theater in central Ohio by creating programs to generate interest in theater and to raise awareness about what's going on.

"These workshops should appeal to the general public, as well as to those already involved in theater, whether professionals or students of the theater," says Nancy Kephart, associate professor in Communication Skills, and vice president of the COTR.  

Some of the workshop titles include "Scars, Cuts, and Bruises--Makeup Makeovers," "Preproduction Planning: The Director's Task," and "Sketch Comedy," presented by cast from Shadowbox Cabaret.

The workshop will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Nestor Hall Seminar Rooms C and D. Lunch is included. Cost is only $10 per person and $5 for students with ID. Registration is limited to 60 participants. To register, send checks made payable to Theatre Roundtable, PO Box 163084, Columbus, OH 43216. For more information, contact Nancy Kephart at ext. 2534.

Batter Up!Plan on attending a spring 2007 Cougar softball or baseball game! Schedules are now under way http://www.cscc.edu/sports/. Here are the directions to the fields.

Cougar Women's Softball is played at Fred Beekman Park at Ohio State (note parking is on OSU property). Take Rte. 315 to the Lane Avenue exit west to Carmack Road. Fred Beekman Park is on the OSU campus south of Lane Ave. Next home game is April 10 versus OU Chillicothe, at 2:30 p.m.

 

Cougar Men's Baseball is played at McCoy Park on Harmon Avenue. Take the Greenlawn Avenue exit from I-71 and turn west on Greenlawn. Turn left on Harmon Avenue at the first light, then turn left at the first road to McCoy Park. Next home game is a doubleheader today versus Urbana Junior Varsity at 2p.m.

For more information on games contact Scott Nichols, Athletic Department Office Associate at ext. 5092.

Leeman to exhibit at Bexley Public Library Columbus State faculty member and Bexley resident Stacy Leeman will exhibit her work at the Bexley Public Library from April 2-30. In the past four years she has participated in over 54 shows in museums and galleries throughout the United States. She received her MFA in visual arts from Rutgers University in May 2001. She holds a BA from Oberlin College, where she majored in studio art with studies abroad including Jerusalem, Paris and Venice. 

Beeman also teaches at Ohio University and Otterbein College. The Sharon Weiss Gallery in Columbus and The Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia represent her work.