Sept. 7, 2009

The DigestWhat’s Happening at KVCC

What’s below in this edition

Campus projects (Pages 1/2) Working out (Pages 11/12) Welcomers (Page 3) Call for cops (Page 12) Cougar Connection (Page 4) Be a wind tekkie (Page 13) ValleyCard info (Pages 4-6) Cadet of the Year (Page 13) ‘Blue’ is ‘Green’ (Pages 6/7) ArtPrize (Pages 13/14) In-city animals (Pages 7/8) Welding gift (Page 14) Sustainability (Pages 9) Turbine course (Pages 14-16) Writing task for 2 (Pages 9/10) ’Jump to Japan’ (Pages 16/17) ‘Power’ poem (Page 10) Swap Meet (Pages 17/18) ‘Power’ news (Pages 10/11) ‘Kalamazoo 1884’ (Page 18) Bain follow-ups (Page 11) And Finally (Pages 18/19)

☻☻☻☻☻☻Hard-hat season to last about 15 months

KVCC’s record fall-semester enrollment will be receiving a bonus learning experience – the evolution of a major construction project – the first on the Texas Township Campus since 2001 when the Student Commons welcomed its initial batch of students.

Scheduled to begin at the end of September, the $12-million renovation and expansion has received the green light from the state to enter the bid-seeking phase. Once that first shovel of dirt is turned, completion of the phased project should take 15 months.

The first two components will be: Building a 30,000-square-foot, two-level addition on the west end of the

campus adjacent to the “A” gymnasium to house the Student Success Center, the Office of Admissions, Registration and Records, the Office of Financial Aid, the Office of Institutional Research, and the college’s central-receiving functions. Included in this new wing will be a large lecture hall with a 150-person capacity.

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Installing a permanent parking lot for 250 vehicles at the northwest corner of the campus and O Avenue on the other side of the ring road. The plan is to have the area asphalted before the snow arrives.

As of the week prior to the start of classes on Tuesday (Sept. 8), students had enrolled in classes totaling 106,253 credit hours, a 23.1-percent bulge over the fall of 2008.

To handle the anticipated excess of student vehicles to start the fall semester, the college will be providing temporary parking for 250 to 300 vehicles adjacent to the tennis courts. Access/egress will be available through what is now the gated road off the technical wing’s parking area in the shadow of the 145-foot wind turbine.

“There will be a domino effect as each phase is completed,” says Mike Collins, vice president of college and student relations. “When the addition is ready for occupancy, all of the departments and offices will be moved there.

“As these functions are relocated,” he said, “that will free up space in the central part of the building to construct 10 new classrooms. Once that phase is completed, eight existing classrooms adjacent to the current faculty offices on the east end will be converted into additional office space, conference rooms, and student-friendly waiting-and-reception areas.”

The other phases include:● A 6,000-square-foot interior remodeling where Central Receiving and Facility

Services are now located. In addition to the latter, that space will also be the new home of the Office of Financial Services and the pay station, both functions of which will be closer to the new student-service wing. In the vacated space, the college will install a multi-purpose science lab. The relocating of Central Receiving to the outer part of the new addition will make it easier for large trucks to make and pick up deliveries.

● Remodeling, upgrading and restoring the existing geology and physics labs.“While the construction of the main addition will be somewhat out of the way of

students,” Collins said, “the other phases will be a bit more intrusive. We’ll try to get those components done during the summer months as much as possible.”

Dollars for such projects are banked in capital funds by the state and by the college, and are not part of each’s general fund. Michigan’s formula for higher-education projects has not changed from past years. Each community college and the state provide 50 percent of the costs.

The Kalamazoo architectural firm of Eckert Wordell is designing the expansion and remodeling, while the Miller-Davis Co. will serve as construction manager.

Bids for the site work, foundations, landscaping and underground utilities are due by Sept. 16 with a groundbreaking tentatively set for around Sept. 30. The second bid package for the rest of the project is scheduled for Oct. 13.

Overseeing the project is a steering committee whose members include Marilyn Schlack, Collins, Laura Cosby, Terry Hutchins, Deborah Dawson, Ron Young, Steve Walman and Rick Margelis.

Under that group will be subcommittees that focus their attention on components of the project. The smaller subgroups of college personnel will target these individual components of the project.

They will help outline the implications of construction on daily operations and incorporate any last-minute suggestions.

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Student welcomers sign up to launch fall semesterFaculty and staff have signed up to man welcome-back-students tables on both the

Texas Township and Arcadia Commons campuses for an hour or two.“We're looking for a few good women and men to help staff fall-semester

welcome tables on Tuesday and Wednesday (Sept. 8-9),” Mike McCall said. “Let's get our new students off to a good start and remind our returning students why they came back to the most helpful college in Michigan. In addition to serving our students, it is quite fun to do.”

Those who would like to volunteer for an hour or two can contact Rose Crawford at extension 4347 to sit with a colleague at locations around the Texas Township Campus, answer questions and give directions.

Folks can also stop by her desk in the Admissions, Registration and Records Office to sign up.

Stepping forward so far are Terry Coburn, Jim Taylor, Teresa Fornoff, Steve Doherty, Pat Pojeta, Terry Hutchins, Tom Thinnes, Michael McCall, Kandiah Balachandran, Nancy Taylor, Kathleen Cook, John Holmes, Tom Lentenbrink;

Diana Haggerty, Su Cutler, Dan Mondoux, Amy Triemstra, Pamela Siegfried, Pat Conroy, Wanda Scott, Lynn Berkey, Karen Visser, Dave Reid, Colleen Olson, Ray Hendriksma;

Rick Ives, Jaime Robins, Courtney McCaul, Laura Cosby, Diane Vandenberg, Catie West, David Hughes, Marylan Hightree, Jackie Howlett, Karen Phelps, Lois Brinson-Ropes, Jacob Johnson, Carol Head, Isabella Robinson, Steve Cannell;

Shannon Lindquist, Robyn Robinson, Jane Westra, Theo Sypris, Shelia Rupert, Harland Fish, Denise Baker, Rod Albrecht, Charissa Oliphant, Mel VanAntwerp, Candy Horton, Al Moss, and Janet Alm.

Personnel at the Arcadia Commons Campus can contact Jackie Cantrell at extension 7805 to volunteer, offer directions and answer questions. Jim Ratliff, Anora Ackerson and Nicole Newman have volunteered for those welcome tables

Those who would like to be the friendly faces behind the tables in the Student Commons during the Cougar Connection and on Wednesday can touch base with Mary Johnson at extension 4182.

She has already signed up: Connie Edlund, Joe Brady, Bob Vezeau, Natalie Patchell, Art Parker, Bob Post,

Eunice Levy, J. P. Talwar, Marylan Hightree, Stella Lambert, Lisa Winch, Sue Hollar, Kim Grubka, Gloria Barton Beery, Bill Wangler;

Dawn Pantaleo, Mark Sigfrids, Pamela Siegfried, Rick Margelis, Bruce Punches, Larry Taylor, Tim Kane, Fred Toxopeus, Mike Tyson, Pat Pojeta, Jane Geschwendt;

Jonnie Wilhite, Harland Fish, Kate Ferraro, Jon Stasiuk, Lynne Morrison, Su Cutler, Daniel Cunningham, Bill deDie, Marie Rogers, Tom Keena, Francis Granzotto;

Susan Puckett, Ray Hendriksma, Jackie Howlett, Dwight Coblenz, Chris Garrett, Jim Turcott, Jack Bley, Nancy Vendeville and Brian Graening.

As you can folks such as Hightree, Siegfried, Fish, Cutler, Pojeta, Hendriksma and Howlett volunteered for both general-campus and Student Commons slots, while many KVCC’ers signed up for two, three and four-time slots.

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Cougar Connection 2009 on TuesdayKVCC programs, departments and services will be welcoming fall-semester

students at the 2009 Cougar Connection on Tuesday, Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Student Commons on the Texas Township Campus.

This year’s "Connection" for new and returning students will also feature:♦ door prizes and other give-aways, including 43 Dell laser printers♦ a variety of games♦ free food and refreshments provided by vendors♦ fitness orientations by the KVCC Wellness and Fitness Center.♦ a scavenger hunt♦ massages by the Kalamazoo Center for the Healing Arts♦ a local radio station’s remote broadcast♦ displays by college and student organizations and programs.♦ and promotions by local financial institutions, restaurants, and businesses.All will be free at the eighth Cougar Connection. KVCC programs and services to students that would like to gain exposure during

the 2009 Cougar Connection should contact Mary Johnson, student activities and programs coordinator in The Student Commons.

Among the 37 Kalamazoo-area enterprises and organization that will be sharing their wares in helping to welcome students back will be: The Ground Round, Kalamazoo Center for the Healing Arts, Cottage Inn Pizza, Big Apple Bagels, Golf and Hockey Services, Papa John’s Pizza, Downtown Kalamazoo Incorporated, the Wesley Foundation, Sweetwater’s Donut Mill, The Pointe at Western;

Educational Community Credit Union, Frayed, Boesky Chiropractic, First Community Federal Credit Union, Kalamazoo Gay Lesbian Resource Center, Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, National City Bank, Troy Weldon State Farm Insurance, Bank of America, Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Greater Kalamazoo;

The U. S. Army, Center Ice Sports Bar and S2 Arena, Threshold College Ministry, League of Women Voters of the Kalamazoo Area, Lenny’s Sub Shop, Texas Corral restaurant, Girl Scouts of America, Charter One Bank, Cool Beans café, Great Lakes PeaceJam, JavaFit, the salon at J C Penny, Kalamazoo Cru, the Kalamazoo Valley Bookstore, Sam’s Club, and the Centre.

Manning tables to offer information about college activities and services will be personnel representing career planning and assessment, prior learning, the veterans organization on campus, the Student Service Center, the Learning Center, The Focus Program and Transfer Resource Center, Phi Theta Kappa, the Student Success Center, KVCC Student Activities, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, the Child Development Center, the Active Green Committee., and the dance and kendo clubs.

To arrange for a table and any other preparations, contact her at extension 4182 or

e-mail her at mjohnson@kvcc.edu. A primer on the ValleyOne Card

You’d think they were lining up for a rock concert on “Refund Days,” but those days of pay-station cues are over for KVCC students.

Welcome to the ValleyOne Card Era.

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KVCC has contracted with HigherOne, a student-established, for-students-only financial institution that promotes itself as student-friendly.

But friendship, like communications, is a two-way street, and students – particularly those who receive financial aid in its various shapes and forms – must activate that friendship.

The Valley/HigherOne partnership allows students to have their refund checks electronically and directly deposited into their personal checking or savings accounts. It’s safer and quicker. No more mailed checks – at least that’s the theory and the hoped-for result.

Any student who qualifies for financial aid and is registered for classes at KVCC receives a ValleyOne card, and they were mailed this summer.

Mary Lawrence, assistant controller at KVCC, reports that 8,000 of the college’s enrollment receive some form of financial aid. As of this past week, the good news is that 45 percent of those students have already activated their cards, which will be in effect as long as they are enrolled at KVCC.

You know what the bad news is. So be prepared. Faculty and staff should be ready to point the other 55 percent in the right

direction as the fall semester begins.Here is what you will hear: “I never received any card in the mail.”There are two possible responses to that one: (1) the address that the college has for the student is not his/her true address

and is inaccurate.(2) The student, wrongly assuming it was a piece of junk mail, tossed it.Normally, that would be the end of the story and students would be facing a $20

charge to get a new ValleyOne card.But HigherOne, a national banking service headquartered in New Haven, Conn.,

and currently serving some 300 schools nationwide, is giving KVCC a 30-day grace period for all eligible KVCC students to get themselves aligned with this time-saving opportunity.

From now through the October date when financial-aid students receive their payments after the drop-add deadline, staff from KVCC Financial Services will be available in Room 4540 on the Texas Township Campus to help the cardless by either giving the computer savvy some easy-to-follow printed directions or by guiding the not-so-savvy through a step-by-step process.

“When students qualify for financial aid,” Lawrence said, “they receive an e-mail from the college via the VIP portal. There are two more e-mail directives that are sent later as reminders of what they should do.

“The key,” she said, “is that students must – must – have a current address. It is mandatory. All of this is fairly easy to accomplish. We encourage all students to verify their address information at www.kvcc.edu, ‘My Current Address.’ Directions on how to update their address are also available at this site.”

HigherOne offers choices as well. A student can sign up for a direct deposit into his/her personal, existing account, or the student can open a HigherOne account.

The result is that the ValleyOne card thus becomes either a credit card or a debit card. But, she says, these are banking decisions that must be made by the individual

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student. HigherOne is providing ATMs at pay-station offices on the Texas Township and Arcadia Commons campuses.

So what happens if the financial-aid student does nothing? There is a default to a traditional paper check after a 21-day period.

“A student’s ValleyOne card is good for as long as she/he is a KVCC student,” Lawrence said. “The card does not have to be renewed each semester.”

Students who receive a “ValleyOne” card can log onto www.valleyonecard.com. Questions can also be answered by calling 1-877-305-3978.

Blue containers spur green initiative Southwest Michigan landfills have some new friends – members of four KVCC

student organizations who want us to stop throwing away stuff that can be reused.Leaders from the Phi Theta Kappa and PeaceJam chapters on campus have joined

forces with Recycle Now! and the college’s International Student Association to guide the activities of an implementation arm they have named the KVCC Active Green Committee.

Working in conjunction with the college’s facilities division, they have located 15 blue, triple-holed recycling bins – 12 on the Texas Township Campus, one in the Center for New Media, one in the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, and one in Anna Whitten Hall.

Involved are PTK chapter president Mike Waldschmidt, Recycle Now’s top two officers Thomas Henley and Casey James, and Korin Seals of PeaceJam.

Working as a team and beginning with the fall semester, each organization has taken responsibility for collection areas and for the storage of the recyclables.

Any revenues generated will be plowed back into the program and other “green” efforts envisioned by the committee, such as replacing paper towels in restrooms with warm-air machines and toilets that use less water.

On the main campus -- from the gymnasium to the Student Commons to the technical wing to the computer lab to the food-service area -- plastic bottles, glass products, metal containers and paper can be deposited and salvaged.

Waldschmidt, a graduate of Bangor High School majoring in business administration, said his PTK chapter’s participation stemmed from the national organization’s agenda to promote “green” actions in communities.

“The Alpha Rho Nu members are excited about improving campus recycling efforts,” he said, “and mobilizing student awareness of environment impact. Personally, I strongly believe this will be a great step toward reducing waste at KVCC.”

As part of the college’s “Cougar Connection,” PTK will be staffing a table to spread the word and passing out re-usable plastic bottles in attempt to cut down on bottled-water containers becoming landfill fodder. Putting a 10-cent deposit on water bottles might be another deterrent, Waldschmidt believes.

James made arrangements with Center for New Media graphic designers to fashion an icon for the committee, which is also hosting a “Cougar Connection” table to distribute information and draft volunteers.

James, who grew up in New Orleans, chose to attend her father’s alma mater, Western Michigan University, which pointed her toward taking classes in the sciences at KVCC. As a military science minor, she would like to pursue a career as a veterinarian in the Army.

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Henley spearheaded the establishment of Recycle Now! about two years ago “because I couldn’t find a place to recycle my drink bottle one day.”

When the international studies major approached KVCC President Marilyn Schlack about his dilemma, she told him that the PTK chapter and PeaceJam shared his concern. The collaboration followed and the college gave its full support.

James became involved when she thumbed down a list of student organizations and spotted Recycle Now!.

“I’ve always been very environmental and I’ve been recycling since I was little,” James said. “For the ecology club in high school, one of the projects was converting a bog into a pond with a waterfall and butterfly garden.

“I’m not a hippie,” she said. “I just like taking care of the planet and community, both in looks and health. We have to live off the land so we should try to take care of it.”

This student-driven initiative complements what the college has been doing when it comes to recycling paper products, cardboard, scrap metals leftover from technical courses, and batteries -- even predating the currently popular “Green Revolution.”

In just about every classroom and office is a blue bin for recycling paper. By doing that, trees that replenish the planet with the stuff we all breathe stay upright.

Hammered through all of us in science classes is that trees eat what we exhale and what comes out of our vehicles’ exhausts. Each time a tree is saved through the use of recycled paper, so is an oxygen generator.

Recycling paper is not that tough to do. All that is required is a little patience and a sense that one is doing the right thing.

The same goes with metal and plastic products that touch our lives and, without any consideration, end up in trash containers. What good is it to down a plastic bottle of that good, clear, clean water, and then relegate the containers to the landfills?

Most of this applies to what we do in our homes, too. By taking the time to recycle paper, plastic, metal and glass products, the amount of trash, debris and garbage bound for the landfill can be drastically reduced.

If possible, establish a compost pile in the yard to accomplish at least three goals – create fertilizer, build up a personal supply of worms if you are an angler, and greatly reduce the amount of trash put out along the roadside for pickup, thus reducing your costs.

Need more convincing? It is estimated that it takes a plastic container 50,000 years to break down. Think about that the next time you chuck away that empty water bottle that costs you more than a buck.

City’s wildlife stars in ‘Animals Among Us’“Animals Among Us,” a locally produced documentary about the variety of

wildlife in and around Kalamazoo’s Kleinstuck Preserve that premiered on WGVU-TV last July, will be shown at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Free and open to the public, the showing is set for 1:30 p.m. in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater.

“Animals Among Us” documents Matthew Clysdale’s close examination of the diverse community of wildlife existing in preserved green space and woodlands in the heart of the city of Kalamazoo.

Whether it's a fox family living at the train tracks next to one of the city's busiest intersections, a trophy buck right on the edge of the downtown, or an osprey dining on

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goldfish in a private pond, Clysdale brings the viewer a truly extraordinary glimpse into the secret world of urban wildlife.

Called an “intimate alternative to the big-game documentaries of Africa or Yellowstone, it depicts how a city can ironically offer a life-changing encounter with wildlife.”

Seeking a little more tranquility in his life, urbanite Clysdale moved crosstown, away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown into an apartment next to the 50-acre Kleinstuck Preserve with its lush marsh and towering woodland embedded right in the city. It was enough to fool anyone into thinking they've moved to the country.

At first, he only used the preserve as a jogging course, but he is slowly drawn in by the calming charm of the marsh, as well as the unexpected discovery of whitetail deer.

Interested in bow hunting, Clysdale sees that Kleinstuck becomes a perfect place to practice his skills. But instead of the bow, he turns his camera on the deer and discovers a new passion.

Putting in hour after hour waiting for deer, a pantheon of wildlife begins to emerge -- from thrush to weasel to flying squirrel. He's spellbound by them all - particularly the red fox.

Eager for a close-up, he embarks on a year-long journey to find the fox, and peer in on their world. His exploration takes him beyond Kleinstuck into the surrounding woods, where he discovers an entire network of habitat harboring more wildlife, as well as his next big discovery: a red-tail hawk’s nest.

And the revelations continue: another fox family living at the train tracks, green heron at Kleinstuck Marsh, and the even more obscure privilege of an osprey dining on goldfish in a neighboring pond.

The videographer’s patience pays off with the fox and hawk as he witnesses some extraordinary moments in the lives of the young kits and fledgling red tails.

But as autumn nears, his attention returns to the deer, this time in search of big, rutting bucks, including “Karl,” a handsome male living right under his nose in Kleinstuck Preserve.

Karl manages to elude the camera holder , but sends him in search of other buck, right in the neighborhood where he grew up, surprisingly right on the edge of the downtown.

Clysdale connects with the fox one last time, and as the year comes full circle, the dynamism of the wild brings changes and disappointments, some human induced and others played out among the animals.

The final discovery ushers in a profound change for the animals of Kleinstuck and the neighborhood, and a surprising reminder of Clysdale’s own role in the cycle of life. Clysdale earned a bachelor’s in fine arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1989 where he majored in sculpture and began his exploration into video during his senior year.

Upon returning to his hometown of Kalamazoo, he began working at the Whole Art Theater, first as the curator of the theater's Blue Moon Gallery Café and later in all facets of theatrical production, both on and off stage.

“Animals Among Us” was supported by the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation and the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.

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College part of ‘sustainability’ accordKVCC has aligned itself with an umbrella organization dedicated to an improved

quality of life in this part of the state through actions and collaborations that promote environmental, economic and social responsibility.

It is among the 17 pioneer signees of what is called the “Southwest Michigan Regional Sustainability Covenant” that has been in the works since a Feb. 26 gathering initiated by Western Michigan University President John Dunn.

Other covenant originators include the cities of Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Portage, Kalamazoo College, Borgess and Bronson hospitals, the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, the Kalamazoo and Portage school districts, the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency, the Kalamazoo Nature Center, and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

A key component in improving the quality of life for future generations is the concept of sharing ideas and innovations regarding recycling, energy conservation, and purchasing agreements that address economic, environmental and social issues.

The idea is to share programs and projects that work instead of each of the members trying to re-invent the wheel.

The first step is the spread the word about the covenant so that area residents and businesses can get involved. That will lead to the group blueprinting an organizational structure that identifies sustainability issues, the methods for monitoring progress, and how to share “best practices.”

There is no timetable to reach these accomplishments, other than to get started and open the door to future signees.

Mike Collins is the college’s liaison to this initiative whose members – as public entities across the county -- will be paying attention to issues of sustainability.

“It will be operational in two phases,” he said. As an umbrella organization, it will “discuss policy implementation and issues with a perspective that all of us can and will be impacted. Then there will be a working group of those involved in the maintenance and design of public facilities and structures.”

This second group is staffed by those who are involved daily in the Green Revolution. “They will be sharing their best practices,” Collins said. “It will be a practical unit, not one steeped in theory. They will share what works at their places and what can be used to reduce utility expenses.”

Kroll, Haight writing for national publication KVCC English instructors Keith Kroll and Rob Haight will be contributors to the

2010 publication of “Contemplative Teaching and Learning in the Community College.”It will be part of Jossey-Bass’ “New Directions for Community College” series.Kroll is both writing and editing a chapter, while his KVCC colleague will

confine his efforts to wordsmithing for the publication. Other contributors hail from two-year and four-year institutions around the country.

Haight’s title is “The Classroom as Sangha: Contemplative Education in the Community College.”

Kroll is writing about “Further Sources and Information on Contemplative Teaching and Learning in the Community College.”

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The thesis goes something like this: “Contemplative education can help community college students recover from the disintegration they have suffered as a result of mechanized curriculum and hyperactive assessment systems driving public schools.” Such practices as meditation “can restore wholeness and enhance engagement, imagination and compassion in instructors and students.”

Kroll reports that the first drafts are due in October and the edited manuscripts must be delivered to the publisher in January. It will be printed and ready for distribution in the fall of 2010.

76 year old is a poet, and now knows itDoris Lee Parsons is proving that one is never too old to become a poet.The 76-year-old Kalamazoo resident felt empowered to give it a whirl after taking

courses from KVCC English instructors Rob Haight and Gloria Larrieu. Inspiration came from the nation’s growing interest in wind energy and the

college’s 145-foot wind turbine.Here’s what she crafted about “Wind Power”:

“The wind tho invisible makesItself known as it brushes cheeksAnd ruffles hairLeaves loosened from treesBob and weave in aSkip dance to the ground

Atop hills the wind farms standIn rows with spinning finsLook like drum majorsTwirling great batonsAnd marking timeAs they harvest the windInto visible power.”

In the newsThe KVCC Wind Energy Center garnered some front-page coverage in The

Kalamazoo Gazette in addition to the announcement by Congressman Fred Upton that it was in line to receive a $350,000 grant from the federal government for the purchase of training equipment.

The Aug. 26 account by staff writer Paula Davis included an update on the number of people who have inquired about the Wind Technician Academy slated to start in late October in the M-TEC of KVCC.

Of the many who call, a few – 16 in all – will be chosen. One of the calls came from a Russian fellow aboard a fishing trawler in the

Bering Sea.Once approved by the U. S. Senate, the earmarked $350,000 will buy a training

tower and the 8,000-part hub of a wind turbine – the giant kind that populate wind farms.In the meantime, the academy will lease equipment from Lethbridge College in

Alberta, Canada, which has an established training center in wind energy.

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The M-TEC of KVCC will be the first in the United States to offer certified wind-energy training based on European standards.3 follow-up sessions on Bain’s effective-teaching remarks

In the wake of Ken Bain’s workshop on effective teaching during Faculty Seminar Days, three follow-up sessions are slated for this month for both full-time and part-time instructors.

Led by both faculty and administrators, the sessions on “Talking about Teaching: Characteristics of Highly Effective Teachers” are slated for:

Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.Those who are interested can register by contacting Grant Chandler, dean of the

Arcadia Commons Campus, at gchander@kvcc.edu. He will respond with the locations. Refreshments will be served.

Bain, author of “What the Best College Teachers Do,” is the vice provost for instruction and the director of the Research Academy for University Learning at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

In his Faculty Seminar workshop, Bain addressed six questions: (1) What do the best teachers know and understand? (2) How do the best teachers prepare to teach? (3) What do they expect of students? (4) What do they do when they teach? (5) How do they treat students? (6) How do they check progress and evaluate their efforts?

These will be expanded upon at the three sessions later this month. To attend any of the three, it was not required to take part in the Faculty Seminar Days discussion. Copies of Bain’s book are available for loan through Chandler’s office by calling extension 7920.

Exercise, wellness opportunities start this weekWith the caveat that the yoga offering might wind up with the great speckled dodo

on the extinct species list, the Wellness and Fitness Center’s line-up of free activities to promote vitality and good health among KVCC employees is about ready to be launched for the fall semester.

Now that you’ve pared off a few pounds so that you look good in your bermudas and swimming togs, you can stay that way into the fall and winter because of this full regimen of drop-in exercise opportunities that begins Tuesday (Sept. 8) and runs through Dec. 23.

“Yoga is reaching a do-or-die stage,” advises Blake Glass. “It has been moved to prime time at noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but needs a boost in attendance to survive.

“Another new wrinkle,” he said, “is the addition of 6:45 a.m. sessions for those who want to use adrenalin rather than caffeine to get them going in the morning.”

Joining that new addition will be fitness cycling on Fridays, and a Saturday open swim for students and employees.

Here is the lineup for faculty, staff and enrolled students:Monday – morning workout from 6:45 to 7:40 a.m.; swimming from 11 a.m. to

1:30 p.m.; and total body conditioning, 1 to 1:55 p.m.Tuesday – swimming from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and yoga from noon to 12:55.

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Wednesday – morning workout from 6:45 to 7:40 a.m.; swimming from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and total body conditioning from 1 to 1:55 p.m.

Thursday – swimming from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.. and yoga from noon to 12:55 p.m.

Friday – morning workout from 6:45 to 7:40 a.m.; swimming from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; fitness cycling from 11:30 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.; and total body conditioning from 1 to 1:55 p.m.

Saturday -- swimming from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.Except for the obvious site for swimming, these exercise opportunities will be

based in Room 6040 in the Student Commons.

Police academy seeks applicationsThose interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement are invited to apply to

the Kalamazoo Law Enforcement Training Center based at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

KVCC’s 76-th police academy scheduled to begin in January of 2010. The application deadline is Oct. 2.

Police academy director Rick Ives said that additional information, along with an application packet, is available at this web site: http://www.kvcc.edu/police/. Two other contacts are (269) 488-4336 or lberkey@kvcc.edu .

Michigan law requires county and municipal law-enforcement officers to be licensed by the state before they can enforce laws. Licensing is obtained by meeting the minimum enrollment requirements, completing the basic training requirements established by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), and obtaining employment with a Michigan police agency.

Among the basic requirements to be a law-enforcement officer in Michigan are:● U. S. citizenship.● At least 18 years old.● No prior felony convictions, including expunged convictions.● Possess good moral character as determined by a favorable comprehensive

background investigation covering school and employment records, home environment, and personal traits and integrity. Consideration will be given to all law violations, including traffic and conservation-law convictions, as possibly indicating lack of good moral character.

● Possess normal hearing, normal color vision, and normal visual functions and acuity in each eye correctable to 20/20.

● Be free from impediments of the senses, be physically sound, be in possession of all extremities, and be well developed physically, with height and weight in relation to each other as indicated by accepted medical standards.

● Be free from physical defects, chronic diseases, organic diseases, organic functional conditions, or mental or emotional instabilities that may tend to impair the efficient performance of a law-enforcement officer’s duties or that might endanger the lives of others or the officer.

● Possess a valid Michigan vehicle-operator’s license.

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Candidates must pass the MCOLES pre-service physical-agility test and reading and writing test. Test information can be found at www.mcoles.org. Physical agility

testing must be completed no more than 180 days prior to beginning the police academy.

Wind-tech certification is fall-semester ‘newbie’KVCC is launching its program to train the coming generation of wind-energy

technicians this fall semester.To earn a one-year certificate in the emerging field, students will complete 35

credit hours of classroom instructions and lab experiences designed to teach them how to install, maintain and service modern wind-energy turbines.

While students could have prepared for this curriculum by enrolling in summer courses, the classes that apply directly to wind-energy technology will begin this semester.

Among the chief instructional tools will be the 145-foot, 50-kilowatt, commercial-sized wind turbine that towers over the college’s technical wing on the Texas Township Campus and a 1.8-kilowatt model that is designed for residential purposes. A wind-turbine lab in KVCC’s nearby M-TEC will also be part of the learning equation.

Through courses in applied electricity, electrical machines, programmable logic controllers, fluid power, the operations, maintenance and repair of wind turbines, the mechanical systems in these turbines, and the generation and distribution of power, students will be introduced to the technical standards in the industry.

They will learn about the generation of electrical power, safety in the workplace, mechanical devices, electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, computer controls and communications. They will learn the skills needed to connect locally generated power into the grid systems used by utilities.

The curriculum will be rounded out by an overview of renewable energies, including solar energy, wind power, hydropower, geothermal energy, and alternatives to petroleum-based products. They will learn the basic principles of each technology to understand their natures, their limits and their potential.

‘Teacher Cadet of the Year’ picks KVCC to startAshley Kettenbell, the winner of the Vicksburg Education Association’s

scholarship that helps train the next generation of teachers, will begin her quest this fall at Kalamazoo Valley Community Education.

The 2009 graduate of Vicksburg High School received the $1,000 Grace Molineaux Memorial Scholarship, which is named for one of the VEA’s most distinguished members.

Kettenbell, who plans to transfer to the Western Michigan University College of Education, is a member of the National Honor Society, served as her class’ secretary for all for years at Vicksburg High, and was named “Teacher Cadet of the Year” by the Education for Employment program. Two with KVCC links part of big-money art competition

It is Grand Rapids’ version of “American Idol” for artists, and at least two creative folks with KVCC connections are involved.

Called ArtPrize, it is a competition among artists from around the world and the top 10 winners – determined by popular vote – will be sharing $500,000 in prize money.

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KVCC art major Andre McKee qualified for the competition as did Jean Stevens, a former Kalamazoo Valley Museum staff member who retired to concentrate on her painting.

They will be among the 1,262 artists who were chosen to showcase their creations in 159 locations in downtown Grand Rapids. During the summer, potential participants had the opportunity to enter one piece of artwork in the competition. Each venue handpicked its artists.

The wares will be on display from Sept. 23 through Oct. 10.During this period, the public will vote for their favorites. The most popular vote-

getter will be written a check for $250,000. The payoff falls off from there to $7,000 for the artists who finishes in 10th place.

Stevens, who has a studio in the Park Trades Center in downtown Kalamazoo, will be exhibiting her oil painting, “Light Streams,” at BETA Design located at 70 Ionia Ave. Six others with Park Trades Center space will also be in the competition.

McKee’s entry is a black-and-white pencil sketch of Martin Luther King Jr. that is set in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington. It is titled “Dreamer.”

Registration for voting begins Sept. 14. You have to be at least 16 to cast a ballot. More information is available at artprize.org.

Born in Benton Harbor, McKee has called Kalamazoo home for 17 years. The 1981 graduate of Benton Harbor High School is 46 and nearing completion on his associate degree. He is a member of the college’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter.

The person behind the ArtPrize initiative is Rick DeVos, the grandson of the Amway co-founder. While on the surface, it is viewed as a boon to the arts community because of the buzz it created around the state and nation, just as The Kalamazoo Promise did among the world of education, it is primarily an economic-development initiative under the guise of groundbreaking philanthropy.

Welding students benefit from Pfizer donationSome $5,000 worth of surplus stainless-steel piping has been donated by Pfizer

Inc to KVCC’s welding program.“All Pfizer pipe-fitter, machine-repair and welding apprentices are required to

take a welding class at KVCC as part of their training program,” said Steven Doorlag of Pfizer’s asset and contract management operations. “Making this donation benefits all welding students at KVCC, including our own.”

Delivered to the Texas Township Campus were 60 feet of four-inch piping, 20 feet of three-inch piping, 100 feet of two inch, 180 feet of one inch, 100 feet of three-quarter inch, and 60 feet of half-inch piping.

“It’s all new stuff,” Doorlag said. “An update to our piping standards in April made it surplus to our needs.”

“Stainless-steel materials are expensive and difficult to obtain,” said Deborah Dawson, dean of business and advanced technology. This is a very welcome gift to the college.”

Build a wind turbine, earn eight creditsDesigning a wind turbine, fabricating its components, assembling the power-

generating unit, and making certain it produces electricity constitute the mission of a new course this fall at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

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With no technical prerequisites or prior knowledge of computer-aided drafting, machining, welding or electrical technology needed, the eight-credit, multidisciplinary offering (Mach 282) with a lecture-lab format will be open to 18 enrollees on a first-come, first-served basis. One slot remains as on last week.

Lectures will be slated for Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 to 4: 20 p.m. while lab sessions are booked for Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 to 10 a.m., and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All will be held in the college’s technical wing on the Texas Township Campus in the shadow of the 145-foot turbine that has been generating electricity since early March.

The 2009 fall semester at KVCC begins Tuesday (Sept. 8) and ends Monday, Dec. 21. It will also be offered in the 2010 winter semester that begins on Monday, Jan. 11.

The fee follows the college’s normal tuition rate -- $71 per credit hour for KVCC in-district residents, $113 for those out of district, and $152 per credit hour for non-Michigan residents.

The lead instructors are Howard Carpenter (machining), Rick Garthe (drafting and design), Erick Martin (welding and fabrication), and Bill Wangler (electrical technology).

“Our goal is to produce a functioning wind turbine that generates one to three kilowatts of electricity,” said Carpenter, the project leader who advanced the concept and received a two-year, $90,000 Innovative Thinking grant from KVCC to proceed with planning, equipment purchase and course design over the summer.

The enrollees will be performing the basic functions and tasks in the design, critical machining and welding phases that produce shafts, blades and other components. But the more detailed and complex jobs will be handled by the instructors and advanced students. The electronics will be purchased units.

“It’s the process that is important for the students to see and understand,” Carpenter said. “The turbine that we build will produce electricity, but that’s not the main function. Its function is to demonstrate the basic design, manufacturing, welding and electrical skills that are needed in making a turbine.”

Course components will include what a practical electrical output would be for a turbine in a variety of locations, wind-energy terminology, how to connect a unit to the existing electrical grid, the basics of electricity, the wiring required, metallurgy, how to optimize efficiency through design variations, fabrication techniques, how to prevent corrosion, and how to incorporate a small wind turbine into existing structures and buildings.

“We think this course will target anybody who has an interest in wind turbines,” Carpenter said, “whether to build one yourself or buy one. It will provide answers to questions about what to consider and how to evaluate what is on the market.”

As the lead instructors prepared for the prototype course in the fall through the purchase of instructional equipment and software that will also be applicable to other technical courses at KVCC, they also joined forces this summer to build the training components that will be key parts of the instructional process.

The course-concluding wind turbine, which will have at least three blades that will each be six to eight feet long and stand as high as 30 feet off the ground, will find a spot on KVCC property to serve as a promotional prop for future eight-credit courses.

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To register for this course, contact Sue Hills at (269) 488-4371 or go to this web site: www.kvcc.edu/schedule.

Also scheduled for a fall-semester launch is the college’s one-year certificate for training wind-energy technicians. The mission of that 35-credit-hour program is to teach students how to install, maintain and service wind-energy turbines designed for residential and commercial locations.

‘Jump to Japan’ ending four-month stay“Jump to Japan: Discovering Culture through Popular Art” – with one of those

forms of creativity being animation – is wrapping up a four-month stay at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

Jointly developed by the Minnesota Children’s Museum and The Children’s Museum in Seattle, “Jump to Japan” showcases that nation’s amazing culture through activities based on animation, manga (comics), woodblock prints and traditional scrolls.

The exhibit, which closes on Labor Day (Sept. 7), is the result of a collaboration with the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka and the movie studio that produced the animated film, “My Neighbor Totoro.” The animator, Hayao Miyazaki, won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

Japanese animation and manga have become very popular among American youth as illustrated by the broad acceptance of the phenomenon known as Pokemon.

But the three-part exhibit is designed to entertain people of all ages. In addition to creating their own manga drawings and animation at a pair of art stations, visitors can take off their shoes and step into a traditional tatami room for a tea party, try on a kimono and other traditional Japanese clothing, and play the ancient card game known as katura.

They’ll learn the fundamentals of woodblock printing and how the Japanese tell stories through scrolls. They’ll shop at a Japanese store and learn to use that nation’s coin of the realm.

The four art forms are linked in a variety of ways. In “Jump to Japan,” the dominant link between animation, manga and woodblock prints is that they all are -- or were -- popular art forms. And from them, visitors can experience the complexity of Japanese culture (traditional and contemporary, rural and urban, and realistic and fantasy).

Through scenes and characters from “My Neighbor Totoro,” visitors will explore how animated films are brainstormed, designed and created, and try their hand at the magic of making one-dimensional images come to life.

“My Neighbor Totoro” is full of fantasy, joy and adventure. Set in 1950s Japan, the family film tells of two girls and their friendship with the magical Totoro, who can be seen only by children who love him.

Adults and children can match background paintings from the animated film to photos in two “picture scroll” windows. By juxtaposing artistic renderings with corresponding photos, they discover how an animator’s inspiration comes from real places, things and events.

“Jump to Japan” offers the chance to choose from a variety of backgrounds, foreground elements, cultural icons and characters to create animation.

One section explores the prevalence and influence of manga in Japanese culture. Shelves hold a variety of manga books and magazines for browsing.

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Everyone in Japan reads manga; the average person can read 16 pages of per minute.

An oversized “book” shows how manga is read differently than comics in the United States. Puzzles demonstrate how manga is read -- right to left and top to bottom.

Visitors can sit at a light table and create manga by choosing elements from transparencies featuring faces, eyes, hair and bodies drawn manga-style.

Inside the manga shop, visitors role-play customer and shopkeeper at a sales counter using authentic Japanese objects.

At the cashier’s counter, visitors use Japanese money, hear and say basic Japanese words and numbers and incorporate Japanese words into dramatic play. They can push the buttons on a sound box and hear a voice say the number in Japanese.

Another feature is to take a trip to Japan without leaving Kalamazoo. Visitors can move a shinkansen (bullet train) along a track embedded in a map of Japan and into slots corresponding to locations. Backlit photos depict the place or activity and location name.

Japan’s people, places and things are depicted in nine woodblock prints that relate to Japanese clothing, festivals, foods, children’s games and stories.

Visitors can enter a Japanese home modeled after details shown in the woodblock prints and learn how these art forms are made.

An ancient picture scroll is complemented by a panel containing “seek-and-find” questions that call attention to details in the scroll.

Visitors see similarities between ancient scrolls, woodblock prints and the contemporary art forms of manga and animation.Think of ‘Swap Meet’ as KVCC ‘garage sale’ with photos

The Office of Human Resources’ web page contains a want-ad system to link KVCC folks with their colleagues in the sharing of talent, knowledge, skills, goods and services.

And now there is the technology to attach a photo to what you want to sell. The “KVCC Swap Meet” provides a forum to barter goods (made or grown) and

to post information about services that can be provided -- painting, sewing, computer assistance, etc.

It can also be used to post an announcement about services or goods that are being sought.

There are four categories on the site: Services for Hire, Goods Wanted, Goods for Sale, and Miscellaneous. This site is for KVCC employees only and is intended as a way for employees to network with each other for trade or sale purposes.

KVCC will not be responsible for any transactions or the satisfaction of either party, and will not enter into dispute resolution. “KVCC Swap Meet” is housed on the Human Resources website under Quick Links.

To post a service or item, just click Post Ad, select the appropriate category, complete the online form and click submit.

“To attach a picture to an item that you put up for sale on the Swap Meet,” reports Sandy Bohnet, “all you have to do is go to the Swap Meet site and place your ad. Then, e-mail a digital picture to Kristine Goolsby, and she will attach the picture to the ad. Remember, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.......or dollars.’”

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Co-workers will be able to view the posting by the next business day. It is requested that the postings be made during non-working hours.

Among the services for hire are painting and staining, lessons in softball and baseball for youths, a music ensemble for events, sewing, dog boarding, carpet cleaning and maintenance, landscaping and home repairs.

For sale are a radial saw, a German shepherd puppy, a three-piece bistro set for a patio, deck or small kitchen, record collections, a carrying crate for a canine, an entertainment center, a 2005 BMW roadster, and a bike rack for a car.

Wanted are checkerboards and sets of checkers, trendy clothes and foot attire for a “tween,” old-fashioned colored pencils for art, a heavy snowblower, and donated goods for Denise Miller’s “Fire” project.

Under the Miscellaneous category are an offer for free herbs, for hosting an international student, and for renting a place for a Disneyworld vacation or a lakefront cottage.

Take a look at 1884 Kalamazoo on Sept. 27To celebrate the Kalamazoo’s 125th birthday as a municipality, the city of

Kalamazoo produced a 40-minute film, “Kalamazoo 1884,” and featured photos provided by the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

The concept was to illustrate what the hub of the community looked like back then, from its educational system to its architecture to fashions worn by residents.

Featuring a countdown of mayors, from the 1884 gavel-wielder Allen Potter, who was featured in a recent edition of the museum’s Museography magazine, to the present office holder, KVCC alumnus Bobby Hopewell, the film takes viewers on a tour of the city that maps out road and water systems, connecting the time frame to what was happening nationally.

Historians were involved in the process and even had their own screening to make certain the film was accurate. Buildings and landmarks still in place 125 years are also showcased.

Premiering in late August in Kalamazoo City Hall, a second showing – free and open to the public -- is slated for the museum’s Mary Jane Stryker Theater on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 1:30 p.m. DVDs are also available for purchase.

The production was funded by Irving S. Gilmore Foundation and the Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission. In addition to the museum, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Public Library and the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collection took part in the project.

And finally. . . Four older men went into the pro shop after playing 18 holes of golf. The pro asked, “Did you guys have a good game today?”The first fellow responded: “Yes, I had three riders today.”The second said, “I had the most riders ever. I had five.”The third gent said, “I had seven riders, the same as last time.”The last old man said, “I beat my old record. I had 12 riders today.”After they went into the locker room, another golfer -- who had heard the

four talking about their game -- went to the pro and said, “I have been playing

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golf for a long time and thought I knew all the terminology of the game, but what's a rider?”

The pro said, “A rider is when you hit the ball far enough to get in the golf

cart and ride to it.” ☻☻☻☻☻☻

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