SB 1456, Student Success Act of 2012, Introduced

In its March Update the California Community Colleges Student Success Taskforce reported on the legislation that Senator Alan Lowenthal has introduced. SB 1456, the Student Success Act of 2012 would amend the current matriculation program to frame the Task Force’s vision of student success and support services. More information on the bill is at the Task Force website.

Personnel Recommendations from the March 13, Board of Trustees Meeting

Appointment of Classified Personnel

• Dee Fraites has accepted the position of Assessment and Testing Coordinator effective March 1, 2012.
• Anna Pilloton has accepted the position of School Relations and Outreach Coordinator effective March 1, 2012.
• Mayra Ramirez has accepted the position of Administrative Assistant to the Maintenance and Operations Department effective March 12, 2012.
• Carol Schwartz has accepted the position of DSPS Specialist effective March 12, 2012.

Resignation of Classified Personnel

• Accountant Mariya Rohde has submitted her letter of resignation effective February 29, 2012.

Appointment of Academic Personnel

• Kathleen Rooney has accepted the position of Dental Assisting Instructor effective January 3, 2012.
• Benjamin Jose has accepted the position of Physics Instructor effective August 17, 2012.
• Scott Serafin has accepted the position of Chemistry Instructor effective August 17, 2012.

Resolution Passed in Support of March as Women’s History Month

The role of American women in history has been and is dynamic, inspiring, and transformational. College of Marin continues its commitment to teaching and studying this important topic for the benefit of current students and future generations. At its March 13, 2012, meeting the Board of Trustees passed a resolution supporting March as Women’s History Month.

Kudos

At a ceremony held March 7, 2012, in Sacramento Student Trustee Raemond Bergstrom-Wood and Liberal Arts/Language major Lori Davis were recognized as part of the All-California Academic Team. Student Affairs Administrative Assistant Vickie Lamke accompanied the students to the event. The All-State Team is co-sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, two-year college presidents, and community college state associations. Students are nominated for this special recognition based on outstanding academic performance and service to the college and community.

Lori Davis, GPA 3.83, with a major in Liberal Arts/Language was selected for the second team, and Raemond Bergstrom Wood, GPA 3.78, with a major in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science was selected for the third team.

Twenty-two California community college students were selected for the All-California Academic First Team, 22 students for the Second Team, and 24 for the Third Team. The selection of the All-California teams were determined by the scores nominees received from Phi Theta Kappa judges at the national level selecting winners for the national academic teams. The 68 students selected represent some of the best of the 2.9 million students enrolled in California’s community colleges.
 
Congratulations to Lori and Raemond, and to every instructor who has contributed toward their educational dreams.

Echo Times wins General Excellence Award

The Echo Times campus newspaper won the General Excellence Award at the annual Journalism Association of Community Colleges Conference held in Burbank, CA last weekend. The last time COM’s journalism department won this award was in 2005. Competing against 120 community colleges statewide, with much larger journalism programs, the school’s paper distinguished itself as one of the top community college newspapers in the state.

Submissions were judged by professional journalists based on the strength of the news stories, features, copyediting, headline writing, design, photography, art, and graphics. More than 500 journalism students and faculty were present for the awards ceremony at the Burbank Marriott Hotel auditorium. Designer Jim Gessner and Editor Nick Madden also received honorable mention for their inside page layout on the student march on Sacramento spread, which ran last spring.

Three students attended the conference, which was funded by COMET, the journalism club. Editor-in-chief Chelsea Dederick, Managing Editor Gustavo Goncalves, and Design Director/Photo Editor Jim Gessner went to workshops, and participated in contests, while editing, designing, and producing the March issue.

Campus Police News and Views

When preparing for disasters, remember that floods are the most common type of disaster in this country. Heavy rains and high tides in this area can cause flooding on and around the Kentfield Campus and occasional mud slides at the Indian Valley Campus. Never try driving or walking through deep or fast moving water covering roads or sidewalks.

The most common problems we have during storms are loss of power. Please check the Emergency Guidelines Handbook on page 16 for further information. More information on what to do in a flood is on FEMA’s website.

All COM staff and students are encouraged to sign up for ALERT U, an emergency text message system, via the link below. ALERT U enables the COM Police Department to provide college related emergency information to subscribers. Sign up at ALERT U.
 

Shift

Choreography by the COM Dance Faculty
Production designed by e. “Ernie” Ernstrom

March 30 and 31 at 8 p.m.
April 6 and 7 at 8 p.m.
Performing Arts Theatre
Kentfield Campus
 
The Dance Department presents their spring dance concert Shift. Come and join the COM dancers as they shift into spring. Alan Scofield’s Ven a Bailar is a jazz piece with a Latin flair and his Limon Tribute pays homage to Jose Limon for his contributions to the splendor and spirit of the art of dance. Kristi Kuhn’s And the Beat Goes On infuses music from The Glitch Mob with percussion and visual effects. In David Jones’ Catch the Wind love is a butterfly that comes and sits on your shoulder, and the bold Stand begs the boat to be rocked. Sandra Tanner’s The Absinthe Hour is where patrons meet to partake of the green elixir’s promised effects of inspiration and a freer state of mind, and to escape into the sanctuary of the surreal. Inspired by W. B. Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming,” Deborah Graham and her dancers explore the loss of the American Dream in The Centre Cannot Hold.
 
Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. This performance is supported in part by the College of Marin Foundation, Dancers’ Guild, and the Saragay Stetson Memorial Dance Fund. Contact the box office at (415) 485-9385 for more information.

Sustainable African Blackwood: Harvesting the Music Tree

College of Marin Music Department presents a lecture-performance by Brenda Schuman-Post: Sustainable African Blackwood: Harvesting the Music Tree on Monday, April 16, at 12:30 p.m. in Olney Hall, room 96, Kentfield Campus.

Virtuoso oboist Brenda Schuman-Post has been studying and teaching about the music tree since 1992. In 2008 she won a Global Connections grant from Meet the Composer to create, via improvisation, a new piece of music. The music was intended to bond the people in whose forests African Blackwood grows with the people who play instruments made from that tree. She also became the first musician in history to witness every detail from finding and harvesting an African Blackwood tree, to the making of a top-of-the-line instrument.

Brenda will play the oboe, show slides and video, exhibit authentic Makonde sculptures, and present a hands-on display of the wood. Her talk will discuss the characteristics, uses, searching for and harvesting of the tree, and her experiences in East Africa. Attendees will learn about what’s currently being done to lift destitute East Africans out of poverty by preserving, conserving, protecting, and replanting African Blackwood.
 
For more information contact Boyd Jarrell atBoyd.Jarrell@marin.edu or 415.485.9491.

Track Commemoration Ceremony

You are invited to attend a ceremony held on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Diamond Physical Education Center to commemorate the completion of the college’s new track. Join me for light refreshments and a victory lap around the track with students, faculty, staff, and trustees. All are welcome to attend.

Spring Plant Sale at the IVC Organic Farm and Garden

Come to the Indian Valley Campus Organic Farm and Garden Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and purchase spring plants, get gardening information, and enjoy live music.

• Plant Sales: vegetable starts, herbs, annual and perennial flowers, perennial shrub and berries, fruit trees, and more
• Produce Sales: seasonal varieties
• Live music by the old-time trio Wagon (Saturday only)
• Backyard composting information session from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Tours led by Marin Master Gardeners
• Bouquet-making
• Tastings

For more information email Jenna Brager or call (415) 720-2051.

Spring Healthcare Employment Fair

The annual spring Healthcare Employment Fair will take place Monday, April 23, in the Student Services Building, first floor from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. Medical and dental recruiters from all over the Bay Area will be in attendance to present employment and continuing education opportunities. Healthcare agencies will be accepting resumes and applications. Resources are open to community members as well as College of Marin students and alumni. Anyone interested in a position in nursing or dental assisting should plan on attending. Contact the Job Placement Center at (415) 485-9410 for more information.
 

COM Athletics

Baseball vs. Napa Valley College
Saturday, March 31, 1 p.m. in Napa
Baseball vs. Contra Costa College
Tuesday, April 3, 2 p.m. in San Pablo
 
Softball vs. Solano College—doubleheader
Tuesday, April 3, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Suisun
Softball vs. Mendocino College—doubleheader
Thursday, April 5, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Kentfield
 
Swimming and Diving—Solano Invitational
Saturday, March 31, all day in Fairfield
 
Track and Field—Beaver Invitational at American River Community College
Saturday, March 31, all day in Sacramento

Have a great week!

David Wain Coon, Ed.D.
Superintendent/President

President's Weekly Briefing Web Page
Technical Contact: Nicole Cruz, Assistant to Director of Communications and Community Relations, (415) 485-9648 x7648
Content Responsible: Cathy Summa-Wolfe, Director of Communications and Community Relations, (415) 485-9528