Cougar Bytes for September 4, 2009
September 4, 2009
Volume II, Number 25
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The next issue of COUGAR BYTES will come out on Friday, September 18, 2009.
IN THIS ISSUE:
- WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND CCCC
- Congressman Etheridge Visits Chatham Campus
- Fundraiser Scheduled for Kidney Transplant
- Professional Development Opportunities
- Central Carolina C.C. Scholarship to Honor Deceased Student
- Free Luncheon Seminars
- Excavation Underway for New Chatham Buildings
- Community College Survey of Student Engagement 2009 Results
- Chatham Mural Nearing Completion
- Fundraiser for Southern Lee Marching Band
- New Creative Writing Program at Chatham Campus
- Friends of the Library Fall 2009 BOOK SALE
- Heart of Carolina Jazz Society Concert
- Silent Auction and Wine Tasting For The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
- HR needs your help!
- PERSONNEL NOTES
- MARK YOUR CALENDAR
- CCCC-BAY
- COUGAR BITE-BACKS
WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND CCCC
Congressman Etheridge Visits Chatham Campus
Hilary Heckler (front left), Land Lab Manager, explains the college's Sustainable Farming program to Congressman Bob Etheridge (front, right) during the congressman's visit Tuesday to the sustainable programs at the Chatham County Campus. Also taking part in the visit were (back, from left) Andrew McMahan, Biofuels Program Coordinator; Laura Lauffer, Sustainability Coordinator; John Delafield, Sustainable Farming Instructor; President Bud Marchant; George Lucier, Chairman of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners and a college trustee; Chatham Provost Karen Allen; and (behind Etheridge) William Munn, the Congressman's district representative.
Congressman Bob Etheridge visited the Chatham Campus's sustainable programs Tuesday and was impressed by what he saw. In the Biofuels Lab, Andrew McMahan, Biofuels Coordinator, demonstrates the making of oil from canola seeds. Getting a close look at the process are Laura Lauffer, Sustainability Coordinator; Hilary Heckler, Land Lab Manager; and Etheridge.
Fundraiser Scheduled for Kidney Transplant
Many of you have seen the article that was in Cougar Bytes last issue about the benefit that is being held for Tommy and Christa Mashburn on Friday, September 25th. Tommy will be having a kidney transplant and Christa will be his donor. If you would like to purchase a ticket, please contact Nancy Shue at the Bookstore on the Sanford Campus. The cost is $7.00 per ticket. I will pick up the plates that day and bring them back to campus and you can pick them up at the Bookstore at a time we will announce later in the month. If there is interest off campus for as many of 10 plates, they can be delivered to your campus that day at lunch.
Thank you for supporting this benefit, it will mean a great deal to Christa and Tommy. They will both be out of work for a while and if you have had someone in the hospital you know how expensive it can be. Please keep their family in your prayers. They are going to need a lot of support in the months to come.
- Friday, September 25, 2009
- Broadway Community Center
- 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Professional Development Opportunities
Professional development day is back! You're invited to attend an all day event at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center featuring opportunities for professional development and fellowship. Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, October 27.
Central Carolina C.C. Scholarship to Honor Deceased Student
Dalanie Roe Webb, of Mamers, had a dream: to someday become a dental assistant or a dental hygienist. She was already taking classes at Central Carolina Community College in preparation for enrolling in the college's Dental Assisting Program. That dream came to an end for Webb when she was killed in a car accident on August 9th at the age of 20.
Now, her parents, Starr and Sherrill Webb, also of Mamers, and family and friends have decided to keep her dream alive by creating a memorial scholarship to help others who want to enroll in the dental programs at the college. The Dalanie Roe Webb Dental Scholarship is being established.
Webb was a 2007 honors graduate of Western Harnett High School, where she was an active member of the HOSA Club. She loved being involved at school, at Cool Springs United Methodist Church, and in the community. She was employed in the photo lab and electronics departments at Wal-Mart.
"She would love the idea of the scholarship for someone to be a dental student - she wanted that so much for herself," said her mother. "She loved people, she had friends everywhere. We want to keep her memory going and also help someone who really needs it."
More than $2,000 has been donated so far for the scholarship fund. Mrs. Webb said that family and friends are working hard to reach $10,000 in donations so the Dalanie Roe Webb Dental Scholarship will become a permanent, endowed scholarship at the college.
Free Luncheon Seminars
The CCCC Continuing Education Department is offering to all faculty and staff three free seminars on Wednesdays in September. Each one will be located at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center and you may bring your lunch to eat during the presentations.
- The H1N1 Virus
- September 9
- 12:00 noon -1:00 p.m.
- Presented by Pamela Glover, Health Education Specialist with the Lee County Health Department
- Cardiac Health
- September 16
- 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.
- Presented by Jeanette Wood, RN with Central Carolina Hospital
- Breast Health
- September 30
- 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.
- Presented by Gwyn Sandlin, RN with Central Carolina Hospital
No registration is required, but we encourage everyone to take time to hear these very important and informative talks. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes.
Questions? Call Charlotte Baggett at ext. 7394.
Excavation Underway for New Chatham Buildings
The back of the Chatham Campus looks like a bright-orange desert with the ground cleared and excavation started for the campus' new buildings, the Sustainable Technologies Building and the Chatham Community Library. Both are scheduled for completion by fall 2010. In the meantime, large construction vehicles are busy digging and hauling tons of the dirt to move the project forward.
Community College Survey of Student Engagement 2009 Results
For the first time last March, students in selected classes at CCCC took part in the national Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). Faculty had the opportunity to participate in the on-line Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE). The CCSSE uses a set of five benchmarks of effective educational practice in community colleges. These benchmarks allow member institutions to monitor their performance in areas that are central to their work. Participating colleges also have the opportunity to make appropriate and useful comparisons between their performance and that of other groups of similar colleges.
The CCSSE benchmarks are: Active & Collaborative Learning, Student Effort, Academic Challenge, Student-Faculty Interaction, and Support for Learners. Each benchmark score is an average of scores on survey items that comprise that benchmark. The CCSSE captures student engagement - the amount of time and energy that students invest in meaningful educational practices - as a measure of institutional quality.
Results show that CCCC is above the national mean in four areas: Student Effort, Academic Challenge, Student-Faculty Interaction, and Support for Learners. We are below the national mean on one benchmark: Active & Collaborative Learning. The benchmark mean for all North Carolina community colleges in the CCSSE cohort is 52.7. CCCC is above the NC mean in the same four areas, but below the NC mean in Active & Collaborative Learning.
CCSSE benchmarks focus on institutional practices and student behaviors that promote student engagement and that correlate highly with student learning and persistence. The CCSSE survey instrument can help us focus on good educational practice and identify areas in which we can improve. CCSSE and CCFSSE data can benefit planning and review across the college by providing important information. For example:
Student Services
- How students spend their time and importance of social networking
- Issues affecting student withdrawal
- Factors affecting engagement of full-time vs. part-time students
- Frequency of use, satisfaction, and importance of academic and career planning services, student organizations, and services to students with disabilities
Administration
- Academic quality (complexity of cognitive tasks and evaluation standards)
- Faculty perceptions of and expectations for students
- Academic support - importance, frequency of use, referral rate
- Level of interactive, collaborative, and experiential learning
Instructors
- Instructional characteristics at CCCC
- Integration of thinking skills
- Integration of writing
- Student-Faculty interaction
Please go to the CCSSE Web site:
http://www.ccsse.org/members/IR/. (Enter the Username: CentralCarolina, Password: HAXMUM$34) to see or download a copy of the full report. You may also click on Search the Data to discover a range of useful information about our college.
The CCFSSE - the faculty version of the CCSSE - gives us the ability to compare faculty perceptions and responses with students' on the survey questions. The national response rate on the CCFSSE for the last two years averaged 33%. The response rate for CCCC faculty was 63.5%. CCFSSE results can be accessed on the Web site in our institutional report.
Many thanks are due to our instructors and students for participating in these important national surveys and to staff members who administered the surveys. Please contact Zena Harvley-Felder, QEP Coordinator, zharvleyfelder@cccc.edu, 919-718-7253, with questions or comments.
Chatham Mural Nearing Completion
The wall-sized mural in the Chatham Campus Student Center is nearing completion as faculty and staff, students, and community members have joined in the painting. The mural, designed by artist Stacye Leanza with input from the student body, reflects the campus's emphasis on sustainability and green technologies, as well as depicting the campus as a fun place to be. The final Paint-A-Mural event will be held on the Pittsboro Campus on Wednesday, September 23rd in two sessions: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Fundraiser for Southern Lee Marching Band
We would like to invite you to our annual dinner and auction being held on Saturday, September 12th in the cafeteria at Southern Lee High School for the benefit of the school's marching band.
Dinner will be catered by Danny's BBQ of Cary. We will serve from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., serving a choice of BBQ or Chicken with baked beans, potato salad, drink and dessert. Takeout plates are available but please consider joining us for dinner even if you don't stay for the auction. Tickets are $6.00 per person.
We will have a silent auction from 5:30 p.m.- 6:30 p.m. and our LIVE auction begins at 7:00 p.m. The auction is LOTS of fun! Sometime you can get deals and sometime you'll pay way too much just to win! Contact Mike Spivey at 718-7398 for tickets.
New Creative Writing Program at Chatham Campus
This is a preview of the Fall 2009 Course Offerings for the brand new Creative Writing program:
Write Your Life Story:
- Wednesdays, Sept. 9-Nov. 11
- 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
- $108
- A written life story is a wonderful way to share your unique and priceless experiences with children, grandchildren, and others. This class will provide a step-by-step process for you to create a written record of your life and your memories. Karen Pullen is an innkeeper whose grandmother's life stories inspired her to help others write theirs. She has published mystery short stories.
Beginning Fiction:
- Mondays, Sept. 14-Nov. 2
- 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
- $100
- This class will cover the elements of fiction and the short story form through writing exercises, reading, group work, and critiquing. Participants will complete a short story. Anne Barnhill is the award-winning author of At Home in the Land of Oz (2007), and What You Long For (2009), a short story collection from Main Street Rag.
Journal: Self-Healing Seed Bed:
- Mondays, Sept. 14-Nov. 2
- 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
- $105
- This class will cover journaling to write more fluently and preserve a life record while stimulating other creative work. Readings from published journals will serve as model strategies for a more rewarding use of the journal. Judy Hogan is a founding editor of Carolina Wren Press, and she has published her poetry, journal excerpts, and creative non-fiction. Her journals are archived at Duke's Women's Archive Collection.
Poetry Writing Workshop:
- Tuesdays, Sept. 15-Nov 17
- 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
- $125
- Through reading and discussing today's poetry, this class will facilitate the writing of dynamic poems and improve your writing, editing and critiquing skills. Tom Dow has taught English and creative writing courses in North Carolina and Japan. His poetry has been published in numerous journals as well as his book, Different Gates.
Friends of the Library Fall 2009 BOOK SALE
Stock up on your winter reading at the Friends of the Library's Fall Book Sale September 10, 11, and 12, 2009, 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the Pittsboro Kiwanis Club Building, 307 Credle Street, Pittsboro.
We have a great selection, a wide variety and good prices!
Thursday, September 10
- Regular pricing: $3 hardcovers, $2 large paperbacks and trade paperbacks, $.50 small paperbacks.
- Deep Discounts for Bulk Purchases, including the Collector's Corner 20% off purchases of $100-$199 and 30% off purchases of $200 and up
Friday, September 11
- Everything is half price, including items from the Collector's Corner.
Saturday, September 12
- Get a grocery bag full for $5 per bag - as many bags as you like!
Cash or checks accepted (no credit cards)
Heart of Carolina Jazz Society Concert
The Heart of Carolina Jazz Society Presents: Marlene VerPlanck, jazz vocalist with The Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra, Directed by Gregg Gelb. 8:00pm, October 2, 2009 at the Temple Theatre. Concert Tickets are $15 Adults and $10 students/children (general admission). Call the Temple Theatre Box Office 919-774-4155 between 2pm - 6pm. For more information, click here.
Silent Auction and Wine Tasting For The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Come out and support local runners Ginger Jernigan and Julie Stickland who are running in the California marathon for Team In Training Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A silent auction and wine tasting will be held upstairs in the ballrooms of Bella Bistro on September 19th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Just a few items available at the silent auction are a 1/2 carat diamond ring, a spa package from The Spa at Pinehurst and selected jewelry from Brenda's Jewelry. The wine tasting will consist of 10 to 15 types of special wines by wine connoisseur and distributor Robert Jeffries. Tickets are $10 a piece and can be purchased from Rhonda Harrington (x7530) or Ginger Jernigan at Hair Associates. Tickets will also be available at the door. More information can be found at http://raceforthecure2009.blogspot.com and Facebook Group "Ginger and Julies Race For the Cure 2009 in California".
HR needs your help!
We need your help!! As ambassadors of CCCC please help spread the word to your family and friends about the college's job opportunities.
Here are the fulltime openings we are currently advertising:
- Full-time Positions
- Chemistry Instructor
- GED Instructor
- Mathematics Instructor
- Workforce Development Director
We encourage you, your family and friends to check out our website at www.cccc.edu/employment for up-to-date information regarding employment opportunities at CCCC.
PERSONNEL NOTES
Cougar Profile
Ellen Bland
Drama and Communications Instructor
Chatham and Lee Campuses
Why would anybody want to spend three hours in an old, unheated warehouse, freezing or roasting depending on the season, to see a play? Answer: When CCCC's Ellen Bland is staging anything at the Chatham Mill in Pittsboro. Whatever the season, it's standing room only for all performances.
Ellen, who has been on the faculty of the college since 1992, divides her teaching time between the Lee and Chatham campuses. She earned a B.A.. in Oral Communications/ English and an M.A. in Communications with a minor in theater from Marshall University. She brings to the college a wide range of interests in all aspects of communications and the theater. This is reflected in the breadth of the courses she teaches - acting, theater appreciation, interpersonal communications, public speaking, Readers Theater workshops, play production, as well as English classes. In Ellen's theatre appreciation class, an introductory survey course, her students have created a short children's play and taken it out to elementary schools to perform for free.
A good part of Ellen's success lies in her ability to use the resources she has available - aspiring actors from her acting class and the community, the limited resources of her budget, and the raw space at the Chatham Mill - and produce compelling theater. The first production at Chatham Mill was Millworker, an original play written by Ellen and her collaborator, Drew Lasater. The material was drawn from the Southern Oral History Project at University of South Carolina and her own experience growing up in Bynum, NC, an old mill town.
A documentary film was made by the Southern Documentary Fund about the play, which won several awards. The film followed Ellen, her students, and volunteers from the community as the play was brought into production. Here's what the fund said about the project: "Millworker: The Documentary chronicles the creation and year-long production of the play, Millworker, written by Ellen Bland and Drew Lasater in 2003 and directed by Ellen Bland. An intended one-time performance by community college students and local musicians turned into a year-long odyssey that changed the lives of the cast and won the hearts of critics and audiences across the state. "Millworker: The Documentary explores on film how this raw and magical theatre production about cotton mill workers in the Depression era not only made audiences cheer and weep but connected its actors and community to their past."
"The theater was unheated," Ellen laughingly recalled. "The audience had to dress for the Artic. You could see the actors' breath as they did the play."
Ellen describes the Pittsboro community as "eclectic," and they have continued to pack the house for her productions. Her latest hit was Kudzu, a play based on the late Doug Marlette's comic strip. "It was a big show," said Ellen. "We had to coordinate all the logistics of a musical." Ellen was a literal one-woman band, taking on production as well as directing responsibilities and drawing resources and assistance from many places. The play, about a boy growing up in a town called Bypass, North Carolina, struck an emotional cord in the local audience and its run was extended to accommodate all the people who wanted to see it.
"It was hot, hot, hot for this production," recalls Ellen, "But nobody walked out and nobody fainted."
Ellen lives in Pittsboro with her husband, Rae, and her nine-year-old son, Tristan. Three older kids are out on their own and have produced two treasured grandchildren. Ellen is matter-of-fact about her very considerable achievements, but does admit she longs sometimes for a theater with heat and air conditioning, modern facilities, and state-of-the-art technology.
News From the CCCC Family
Robert McCrimmon, brother of Markita McCrimmon (Criminal Justice Instructor/Harnett Campus) passed away Wednesday, August 26 ,2009. The family received friends on Sunday, August 30th and funeral services were held on August 31st in Sanford. You may express your condolences to Markita and family at 506-A West McNeill Road, Lillington, NC 27546
Debra McNeill, Administrative Specialist/Jonesboro Center, is recuperating from surgery at her home. She would appreciate hearing from her CCCC family at 121 Cats Drive, Broadway, NC 27505.
Birthdays
| 9/06 | Teresa Cameron |
| 9/10 | Bobby Sharpe |
| 9/10 | James Quesenberry |
| 9/11 | Mark Marand |
| 9/12 | Glenn Shearin |
| 9/12 | Tamara Clarey |
| 9/12 | Patrick Williams |
| 9/13 | David Flatley |
| 9/14 | Anita Green |
| 9/16 | Pam Mantia |
| 9/17 | Kelvin Hunt |
| 9/18 | Mitchell Million |
| 9/19 | Sylvester (S.L.) Turner |
| 9/19 | Katherine McDonald |
| 9/19 | Patricia Denton |
| 9/19 | Bill Tyson |
| 9/19 | Bobby Wicker | 9/19 | Robert Daniels |
| 9/20 | Janice Pope |
| 9/21 | Judy Herndon |
| 9/21 | Jimmie Boggs |
| 9/21 | Leigh Beam |
| 9/24 | Michael Cheek |
| 9/24 | Eileen Harrington |
| 9/24 | Joel Oldham |
| 9/24 | Cecilia Pate |
| 9/24 | Karen Walton | 9/25 | Fred Thomas |
| 9/25 | Elizabeth Wicker |
| 9/25 | Jamee Stiffler |
| 9/27 | Margaret Woodruff |
| 9/28 | Sue McNeill |
| 9/28 | Markita McCrimmon |
| 9/29 | Robin Gusman |
| 9/29 | William Edwards |
| 9/30 | Jennifer Ivey |
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Dates to Remember
Sept. 7 - Labor Day Holiday
Sept. 10 - ESTC Open House, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14 - Administrative Staff Meeting, 9:00 a.m.
Sept. 15 - Constitution Day presentation, "American Symbols 2" on Lee Campus, 3:00 p.m.
Sept. 17 - All Personnel Meeting, Civic Center, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sept. 23 - 20th Annual Golf Classic, CCCC Foundation, Sanford Golf Course
Sept. 24 - AEOP Meeting
CCCC-BAY
Things For Sale, For Adoption or for Free
Donations Needed for West Harnett Sustainable Ag Class: The Sustainable Ag program at the West Harnett Center needs an old bathtub and an old washing machine (does not have to be in working order). These will be used in the preparation of products for the market. Call Rob VanderVoort, (919) 498-1210, ext. 1004.
COUGAR BITE-BACKS
Compliments, Complaints, Comments
Have something you would like to get off your chest? Send your letters and your news to marketing@cccc.edu. The editors reserve the right to select what will be printed and to edit material to fit the space available.