Richland Community College October 2012 IMAIL

Commitment | Respect | Excel lence | Accountabi l i ty | Diversi ty

RICHLAND iMAILCommunity College

OCTOBER2012

The Human Resources Department, in conjunction with the Richland Fitness Center, is excited to announce a new wellness competition, “Walking to a Winter Wonderland!”

Beginning October 1, teams of 6 or 7 will slowly make their way across the 880 miles to New York, New York, by adding up the miles each individual completes each week while walking, biking, running, rowing, swimming, or using either the elliptical or the stair climber. Each team will choose a fun team name and a team captain.

At the end of each week, the team captain will turn in all of the miles for his/her team by email to Kristen Bilyeu. As an added bonus each participant will receive a free pedometer to help track your progress! At the beginning of each week, everyone will be updated on how far each team has made it across the map on the way to New York. The goal is to “see” the Rockefeller Christmas tree by Christmas. The competition ends on December 17. At the end of the trip, participants will enjoy a New York Christmas themed celebration, including a viewing of the Rockefeller Christmas tree, and music that will make you think you have really made it to New York!

Please contact Scott Broyles at 217.875.7211, Ext. 290 or Kristen Bilyeu at Ext. 217 for more details or with questions.

HUMAN RESOURCESRick Gschwend, [email protected]

Wellness TEAM Competition

WALKING to a Winter Wonderland

WELLNESS t e a m c o m p e t i t i o n

Human Resources continued on page 2In this issue3

Online Learning

Correctional Educational Programs

4

Learning Resource Center

7

Faculty Academy9

CEHFA10

Health Professions11

Math & Sciences12

Marketing

mailto:rgschwen%40richland.edu?subject=


11.08.12

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Instructure Canvas will replace Angel in Summer 2013 as the College’s Learning Management System (LMS). A group of faculty representing every division in the College, Online Learning staff, a Dean, and IT staff served on the search committee and unanimously decided that moving to Canvas was the best decision for Richland. Canvas was found to be user friendly for faculty and students, accessible on mobile and tablet devices, and included some amazing features not currently offered by other learning management systems. These features include the ability to add comments directly to students’ papers from within Canvas (students can also use this feature for peer reviews), online conferencing with your students, and the ability to embed audio and/or video directly into almost all areas of Canvas (Examples: assignment directions, announcements, lecture, and grading assignments).

In preparation for this transition, Online Learning will be offering information and demonstration sessions of Canvas. Sessions will include an overview of a Canvas course from the instructor and student points of view, demonstration of some of the amazing new features, and information about training and the Canvas implementation timeline. Session days and times are below.

Canvas training for faculty will be available at the end of November. Information about training will be discussed in the Information and Demonstration Sessions and emailed out as it gets closer. If you would like an evening session or additional information, please contact Kona Jones at [email protected]. Hope to see you at a session!

ONLINE LEARNING

Canvas is Coming! Canvas is Coming!

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Oct. 17, 3 - 4 p.m. Oct. 18, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Oct. 19, 1 - 2 p.m.

Oct. 22, 4 - 5 p.m. Oct. 23, 9 - 10 a.m. Oct. 24, 10 - 11 a.m. Oct. 25, 1 - 2 p.m. Oct. 26, 9 - 10 a.m.

Oct. 29, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Oct. 30, 12 - 1 p.m.

All sessions will take place in W142 - Online Learning Training Room. No registration is needed, but seating is limited to 15 people per session.

October Sessions

Kona Jones, [email protected]

Eleven students were present for the combined Food Service and GED graduation at the Decatur Correctional Center on September 14. A trio of resident singers sang an inspirational song. Student graduates gave personal testimony and encouragement. Vice President Brauer gave a challenging message of change. The food service students made cakes to help the graduates celebrate.

Lincoln and Logan Staff attended training September 19th at the Illinois River Correctional Center. Christine Strohl of the Pacific Institute was the lead trainer.

CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMSJeffrey Davison, [email protected]

Dave Schneider was selected Employee of the Month at Logan Correctional Center. David was commended for his above and beyond attitude of service to the students and the institution.

Jill, a recent parolee and Construction Occupations graduate, has just completed her third month of employment with Electricians Local 134.

Success Story

Division Update

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LEARNING RESOURCE CENTERLouise Greene, [email protected]

By Gavena DahlmanBeyondtheBook

Learning Resource Center continued on page 6

In my first weeks working at the Richland library if you would have visited my desk you would have found me ripping up books, cutting up pages, and dog-earing every page in a book. Sounds like pretty destructive behavior for a new employee. Well, I can assure you there was a plan in my destruction.

I have a lifelong love and respect for books; it is part of the reason I became a librarian. However, I believe that books themselves are tools, and I think that one should use their tools. As a result, my personal books are full of highlighting, handwritten notes and even the occasional long lost phone number that I jotted down on the most readily available surface. Over the years I have replaced many of my books, sometimes more than once. However, I have been reluctant to actually discard my old books so I have found ways to reuse them. I began making book art from the old “useable” books.

I have created many things out of my old books, including trinket boxes, purses, book shelves and personalized gifts. For example, one year I used old copies of my family’s favorite books to make Christmas ornaments. I used this hobby in my first weeks at Richland to make book art to decorate the library for the Faculty Luncheon.

I pulled apart an old atlas and created a mobile using the cover and some pages. I used a decorative punch to make flowers that were scattered over the tables of food. And I folded each page of a book in a pattern to create a book sculpture. These are just a few small samples of the fun things that you can make with your old favorite books, or even old books in the library discard pile. So use your books to their fullest and find uses for them beyond reading your favorite stories.

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c at e g o r i e s i n c l u d e :

D i v e r s i t y | s u s ta i n a b i l i t y | g e n e r a l | R i c h l a n d e m p l o y e e s

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This program is partially sponsored by a grant from the Decatur

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ois Arts Council, a state agency.

Decatur area Arts Counc i l

I l l ino is Arts counc i l and

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community college in an arena where ‘community’ is almost a bigger buzz word than ‘books’. Finally, I learn all sorts of things such as Robert’s Rules of Order, that nearly 50% of all libraries are small/rural, that there are more libraries than McDonald’s in the United States, that having a skunk on your front porch is a legitimate excuse for being late to work in a rural library, or that the library director down the road in Argenta-Oreana gave an online catalog tutorial in the bank one time when she went to deposit money.

I would encourage everyone to become involved outside the college in an extracurricular activity. It doesn’t need to be a board or even work-related. As long as you are ‘out there’ as an employee of Richland Community College, you can represent Richland as an engaged citizen. And who knows, you might learn a thing or two, such as how to conduct lizard races, while you are at it.

I recently spent some time in Raleigh, North Carolina, at the Annual Conference of the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL). I have been on the board of this national association for the past two years and am completing my third year as a board officer. At the conference I saw some familiar faces such as the library director from Barclay Public Library District (Warrensburg) and the Children’s Librarian from the Vespasian-Warner Public Library in Clinton. The children’s librarian, Paula Lopatic, demonstrated lizard races by lying on a skate board and propelling herself forward with her arms. The audience for children’s programming hooted and hollered. I also saw some unfamiliar faces such as the keynote speaker, Susan Hildreth, who is the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This is the agency from which federal dollars for libraries of all kinds flow. Susan LOVES small and rural libraries.

What does this have to do with my work at Richland Community College and why would I be writing about it in iMail? For one thing, the experience I have had as a board member has been invaluable. This year ARSL was given nearly $100,000 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to build the capacity of the association through board development. I get to represent a

The Joys of Volunteerism

Learning Resource Center continued from page 4

By Louise Greene

Human Resources continued from page 1

If you fall for the myth that stress is something “between your ears” or imagined, you will be tempted to ignore the effects of the stress, dismiss its harmful symptoms, or try to “will” it away. Stress is your body’s natural response to threats or challenges. Your conscious decisions about the significance of these events may play no part in how your body responds to them. Everyone experiences stressful situations from time to time, but chronic stress can wreck havoc on your body and mind.

If you experience poor sleep, impaired memory, problems concentrating, panic sensations, depression, unexplained heart palpitations, headaches, muscle aches, unexplained weight gain or loss, or excessive tiredness, get these conditions evaluated by a doctor. Follow up with a professional who has stress management expertise.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a totally confidential and free service to employees and their immediate family. You can call the EAP at 1-800-433-7916 for help with stress and other problems.

When you make the call:• A phone counselor will make an appointment for you or refer you to the local Employee Assistance Program office

near you.• An EAP counselor will see you to assess your problem and provide short-term counseling if appropriate.• An EAP counselor may refer you to ongoing care to an appropriate resource if your problem cannot be adequately

managed within the EAP.

Reprinted with permission from Frontline Employee Newsletter provided by Chestnut Global Partners, our Employee Assistance Program

provider.

“I Can Handle It!”STRESS DENIAL:

http://arsl.info/

http://arsl.info/


Deanna Koenigs Farm Coordinator

WELCOME

RICHLANDto

FACULTY ACADEMYKona Jones, [email protected]

RetreatGreat TeacherOn Friday, September 21, Richland faculty participated in the Great Teacher Retreat at Allerton Conference Center. Nine faculty from across the College and two staff members joined with faculty from Heartland Community College and Parkland College to talk about teaching and learning. The focus of the retreat was “the art of teaching” and the format facilitated ongoing conversations between faculty of diverse fields, experience levels, and interests. There were no experts, only faculty wanting to share their experiences and talk about how to overcome some of the challenges of being an educator.

The Retreat was a wonderful experience and Richland faculty who attended will be getting together in groups to discuss and share with other faculty what they learned from the retreat and how they plan on applying this in the classroom and professionally.Days and times for the group discussion sessions are below:Session One Group Discussion – Tuesday, November 6 from 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.Session Two Group Discussion – Tuesday, November 13 from 10 - 11 a.m.

Both sessions will take place in W142 – Online Learning Training room. No registration is needed.

mailto:kona%40richland.edu?subject=


� e David Erlanson Art Gallery Presentsthe


2012

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annual

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FACULTYEXHIBITION

FACULTYEXHIBITION

October 1 - October 23

Reception: Thursday, October 11, 12–1pm






2012

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Dr. Lily Siu, lsiu @richland.edu

CEHFA Communications, Education, Humanities, and Fine Arts

Karen and Robert Grindy are doing a little Siskel-and-Eberting for the Decatur online magazine. Their first review just came out. Hope you’ll check it out, along with the rest of the magazine at www.redecatur.com. (You can also Like the site on Facebook.)

Do you have that photo on the wall that you think would bag some prize money? Submit it at our first photo competition! This is a first regional photography competition in the Decatur Area, which will have many activities, including tours of the photo and graphic labs, a critics corner where experts will give you pointers for your techniques, demonstrations, exhibits of cameras and historic photos, and much more!

The show is from 5 to 8 p.m on October 19. Announcement of the winners will be at 7 p.m.

The Seeing Eye Photo Contest - October 19

The October exhibit at the Erlanson shows off Richland fine artists, including Sally Walsh, painting and mixed media; Derek Clem and Ryan Rocha, painting; John Giglio and Gil Rocha, drawings; Joe Tury and Sue Huskins, photography; Shirley Kramer and Lily Siu, ceramics. The featured work is Gail Bauer’s photograph of a cat taken in Spain. This was accepted for publication in a 500 of the year’s best photography compendium in 2011.

Cheers or Razzies: The Words First Friday Gallery Walk

ErlansonArtGallery

Fine and Graphic Arts faculty and staff art will continue to be shown for one night at at Theatre7 at Decatur’s First Friday Gallery Walk on Nov. 2. The exhibit is opened from 5 to 7 p.m., with artist talks at 5:30 and 7:30 pm. Prof. Robert Grindy and his creative writing students will read original works at 6:15 p.m..

The David Erlanson Art Gallery Presentsthe

2012annual

FACULTYEXHIBITIONOctober 1 - October 23


mailto:lsiu%20%40richland.edu?subject=


Ellen Colbeck, ecolbeck @richland.edu

The Health Professions division is pleased to announce that Rick Harmon, Judy Maloney, and Karen Vercellino have earned the designation Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) after meeting strict eligibility criteria and successfully completing a rigorous certification examination developed and administered by the National League for Nursing.

Mary Crisler attended the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA), Indiana chapter, conference in Indianapolis on September 15. The conference, entitled Focus on Recovery, highlighted the recovery process for individuals with mental illnesses. Along with several breakout sessions, speakers, and panels, participants also attended a play presented by the Awareness of Mental Health through the Performing Arts acting troupe.

Rick Harmon and several members of the ADN nursing club participated in ADM’s Family Safety Day held at Progress City USA, on September 22. Student volunteers provided participants with free blood pressure screenings.

The Macon County Health Department held an on-campus flu clinic on September 25. Twenty students and staff received the seasonal flu vaccine. These individuals will protect themselves against influenza as well as avoid spreading it.

On September 28, Kathy Lee participated in the Mission, Vision, and Strategic Planning meeting for ARC/SCTA in Chicago. The following Monday and Tuesday, Kathy Lee participated in the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress at McCormick Place.

Karen Vercellino and second semester ADN students donated their time at Imboden Creek Garden’s Dessert Gala. Faculty and students helped serve gourmet coffees and desserts as well as assisted with the live and silent auction. All proceeds benefit the Alzheimers Association. Jennifer Born, Director of Nursing at the facility, commended Karen and her students for their professionalism, their leadership, and their willingness to assist residents.

Serving Communityour

Congratulations! Division Activities

HEALTH PROFESSIONS

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Division Activities

MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE DIVISIONDr. John Cordulack, [email protected]

Before the end of the summer semester Jill Feinstein did a science workshop for the Main Street Church Vacation Bible Study group. It was for 12-18 year old kids and the focus was on chemistry. She had them make lava lamps out of recycled water bottles and they made translucent slime. She also did some cool demonstrations and explained the chemistry behind them. Jill reports that it was a good workshop and the kids seemed to like it.

The Student Senate, with assistance from Larry Klugman, held a Meet the Candidates forum. The event was on October 2 and was well attended by students, community members, and political candidates. The Macon County Clerk was also on hand to register students to vote. Students in all politcal science classes are working in political campaigns of their choice. This year the total amount of hours represent 1,200 hours of field experience in grass roots politics.

Leanne Brooks shared information about the MEC/MATH 096 at the SUAA Luncheon on September 20. Also, a “completer” article that she wrote is in the current Communicatur.

Last week Dr. Gordon Gurley reached out to a young man whom I often try to encourage and support in making proper choices and bettering his life. Unfortunately he is currently an inmate at the Robinson Correctional Institute. “I delivered to him some books on character remodeling, faith, love, optimism and encouragement,” Dr. Gurley noted. “I do think that there is hope for even the incarcerated of our community.”

Dr. Srinivasan Durairaj invited a Fulbright scholar (Dr. Mohammed Hatha) from India to give a lecture in his BIOL 220 (Microbiology) course on September 28.

Dr. Chris Merli and his wife, Lynn, were involved with a Pilots and Paws rescue flight on Tuesday, October 2. The dog in the picture, Rascal, needed to get from Texas to a new home in the Chicago area. Four lady pilots and I combined to get him to his new owner just after 9 p.m. at night. This picture is taken just before dark at the transfer in Rantoul, Illinois, where Lynn and Chris started their leg that ended in Rockford, Illinois. The Pilot and Paws organization reports that Rascal has settled into his new home and seems to be doing well. The organization is part of a group that helps transport hard to place dogs to distant locations, thus avoiding the need to euthanize.

Christine Gregory (Adjunct in Physics) had an article accepted for publication by NSTA in The Science Teacher - “Be Your Own Groundhog: A Lesson in Data Mining, Describing Natural Patterns, and Creating and Testing Predictions.”

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MARKETINGLisa Gregory, [email protected]

In September 2012, the Decatur Ad Club, an organization of the advertising community in Decatur, hosted the annual Decagon Awards Ceremony. The Decagon Awards shine a much-deserved spotlight on the incredible advertising, marketing, and design work being produced in Central Illinois. Highly sought by artists, agencies, and clients alike, this prestigious award is presented at an annual awards ceremony having been judged by a panel of industry peers, and has come to symbolize the best in creative media.

The 2011 Richland Marketing team won four Decagons this year!!! The awards include: Animation for James and the Giant Peach, Short Promotional Video for Discovery Theatre Spotlight, Logo Design for the Coffee House, and one for the Scene Shop Signage in the poster, brochure, flyer category.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 20127PM • MUELLER STUDENT CENTER

FREE POPCORN!

RICHLAND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT PRESENTS

l i k e u s .f o l l o w u s . w a t c h u s .

richland.edu

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Richland Community College October 2012 IMAIL

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