HCC Connection

The Task Force on Free Speech and Civil Discourse invites everyone to share their thoughts about a proposal to create a campus ombuds position. Discussions sessions are scheduled for Monday, May 21 at 1 p.m. in Frost 265 and on May 23 at 11 a.m. in Frost 309.

If you are unable to attend one of the discussions/open hearings please feel free to forward comments or questions to Doreen Larson, vice president for student affairs at Frost 224 or email her at dlarson@hcc.mass.edu.

The ombuds position would serve as an independent, confidential, neutral, and informal resource for students, faculty and staff at HCC. This position fills a critical gap identified by many constituents at HCC as the absence of a central, well-identified office where people can discuss concerns in an informal and confidential environment. This position is to serve as support for the HCC community in developing options when addressing common concerns and developing orderly systemic change.

By now, you've got this much: HCC is turning 60 and we're having a party on June 7, 5-9:30 p.m., at the Bartley Center. The tickets are $20 and include a sumptuous buffet, live music, and great stories.

Tickets should be purchased by prior to the event. To receive a formal invitation or to purchase a ticket, drop by Donahue 101 or send us a note at 60thgala@hcc.mass.edu. You may also call Suzanne Doyle at (413) 552-2546.

The evening will feature catered food stations, a video montage of HCC’s 60-year history, and memorabilia from every era. There will also be a DJ and live musical performances from HCC students and alumni, featuring big band, jazz, and rock ‘n’ roll selections. Featured guests include former HCC President David Bartley, former Lt. Governor Donald Dwight, and former Holyoke Mayor William Taupier.

No matter what we tell you about the curriculum, the student activities, and the great transfer opportunities, it’s our graduates who really tell the world what HCC is all about.

This year, HCC is honored to have four student orators taking the podium during the June 2 commencement exercises. Together, their stories create the mosaic that makes us all proud to be a part of HCC. Those students are:

West Springfield native Kimberly A. Boyd, Ethiopia native Asamenw T. Anbessie, Westfield native Paul V. Condarcuri, Jr., and Holyoke resident Victoria L. Mitchell.


Joan Postell-Porter and Nicole Leslie Darden share a laugh before the 2006 commencement ceremonies	Members of HCC's Board of Trustees donned their own graduation gear for last year's commencement ceremonies.	Former Board of Trustees Chairman Jim Carey addressed the graduates of 2006. He is joined by Vice President of Academic Affairs Lisa Wyatt Ganson

Commencement ceremonies will be held on the O’Connell Memorial Soccer Field at 10 a.m. on June 2. If it rains, the ceremonies will be held inside the Bartley Center.

Graduates should plan to pick up a graduation envelope and report to parking lot O (behind the Bartley Center) by 9 a.m., preferably with their caps and gowns. Graduation envelopes will be organized alphabetically by last name and distributed from tables, which will be located in a tent in parking lot. O.

The graduation envelope will contain a tassel (to be hung on the right side) and two cards: one, which will be handed to a college official as the graduate walks across the stage, and the other, to be handed in when the student receives a diploma. Diploma distribution will take place in the tent in parking lot O following the ceremony.

Parking will be available in all lots, with the exception of P and O, which are reserved for those needing handicap parking.

By now, graduating students should already have their caps and gowns and four formal invitations to the outdoor graduation program. If the ceremony is held indoors because of rain graduates will receive two admission tickets to the ceremony that will be held in the Bartley Center.

Chappell Graduation Images will photograph each graduate as they receive their diploma. Your will receive a color proof from Chappell with no obligation to order. For questions or to place orders, contact them at www.chappell.com or (800) 424 3686.

A note to students who plan to graduate: Diplomas will not be released to students with outstanding obligations to HCC (e.g., parking tickets, library books, fines, etc.) For more information about degree and certificate requirements for graduation, see the latest HCC catalog (p. 224) available on the HCC website: http://www.hcc.edu/about/documents/2007-2008HCCCatalog.pdf

Commencement is only the tip of the iceberg…

Two students each from HCC's tennis, golf, baseball, and softball teams will be honored with Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards. This is by invitation only. For more information call (413) 552-2162

This event gives Foundation donors a chance to meet the many students who will receive HCC Foundation Scholarships this year. It is by invitation only. For more information, call the HCC Foundation at (413) 552-2546.

Students will be honored for their academic achievements. Honorees and two guests will receive invitations to this event. Faculty and staff should receive invitations the week of May 7. For more information call the Office of Academic Affairs at (413) 522-2589

Forty-four HCC's students who have completed their associates of nursing degree will participate in the annual pinning ceremony, which symbolizes their entrance into the profession. Former Interim Nursing Dean, Patricia Triggs will speak. This event is open to family and friends of the graduates. For more information please call the Division of Nursing Education at (413) 522-2443.

In this event, graduates of HCC’s Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) Certificate program will receive pins, signifying their entry into the profession. This event is open to family, friends, and graduates. For more information call the Division of Nursing Education at (413) 522-2443.

On May 9, the college recognized four staff members with awards that celebrate their unique contributions to the community.

Easthampton resident Pamela Kennedy and Amherst resident Eileen F. Kelley were named as the co-recipients of the 2007 Elaine Marieb Chair for Teaching Excellence. Named after retired HCC anatomy and physiology professor Elaine Marieb, the award was established 1990 and is given out annually to a faculty member for excellence in classroom teaching. Recipients each receive a cash award to support activities that will further enhance their professional skills. It is the highest honor bestowed by the college on faculty. Kennedy, a 21-year college employee, chairs and teaches in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Kelley has taught in that program since joining the college faculty 20 years ago.

Granby resident Jack Scanlon was recognized as the Outstanding Non-unit Professional (NUP) Staff Member of the Year. A 33-year employee of HCC, Scanlon directs the college's graphics department, which designs everything from the HCC catalog to the commencement program. He was lauded by the selection committee as “the unseen backbone to most initiatives at HCC."

Holyoke resident Linda Sullivan was recognized as the 2007 Classified Staff Member of the Year. Sullivan, who serves as the clerk for the Division of Science, Engineering and Mathematics, is a seven-year employee of the college. In naming her to this honor, the selection committee hailed Sullivan as “resilient, dedicated, and one of the most approachable and sincere people on campus.”

Kathleen Keough has been appointed to the position of senior academic counselor in Counseling Services. Prior to coming to HCC she worked at the Griswold Center of Wing Memorial Hospital and at the University of Massachusetts. She holds an MSW from Boston College and an M.Ed. from Seattle University. Kathleen is located in Frost 238 at (413) 552-2375.

Terrie comes to this position with experience in Upward Bound at HCC – both as a tutor and as an instructor. Terrie earned her BS degree in sociology from the University of Miami and is currently working on her masters. She is located in Frost 124.

Ojae Beale has been named to the position of STRIVE Program Manager. Ojae comes to HCC from the University of Massachusetts where she was the director of the Counselor/Advocate Program in the Everywoman's Center. Ojae holds a masters degree in counseling psychology and a doctorate in social justice education. Ojae’s office is located in Donahue 235 and her number is (413) 552- 2551.

Editor’s note: If there were any doubt that HCC’s Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Graciela Maglia is, at heart, a poet, it was wiped away when she bid formal adieu to her colleagues and friends at the Professional Association Meeting on May 9. Below is the text of her speech. Originally from Argentina, Maglia is a tenured professor at the Instituto Caro y Cuervo, where she specializes in literary analysis. She has spent the past academic year at HCC under the auspices of the Fulbright program.

Rituals help us to support the weight of history; helps us to survive and not to die inside the daily nonsense routine. A farewell is such a ritual, a passage, a sharing of the spoils of war, a declaration of intentions, a promise. Every culture has rituals, Like in this picture, this indigenous Owl, a Papago medicine woman, who sings beautiful songs to treat sickness. Like her, I want to intone my thoughts in the music of a few words. I went to the American poets to illustrate my own thoughts, to help put together your voices and mine; to build a familiar bridge to permit myself to enter into the landscapes of your soul.

I could have remain looking at the sunset through the same window; frequenting the same friends and tasting good coffee, as usual; reading my books, full of glosses and saying, “good morning, how are you?” to the porter on duty. I could have continued through the dream avenues, stopping maybe in some corner to imagine how a different life could be! But I choose the vertigo, the equatorial vault, and the heavenly embrace, the road less traveled.

When I arrived in Massachusetts, I suddenly found myself on 91 South, starting to reach 65 miles per hour in an automatic 97´Saturn, which I had filled up, my self! Like the cowboys I saw in the dusty gas stations as I use to watch in movies. And, when I stayed home, looking the snow falling in Wilbraham, I felt panic, frightened of the dark and silent enemy: black ice!. There is no snow in Bogotá!. When I first arrived at HCC, I had to practice my talent as a fisherman in order to catch words in the aquatic English of the public aquarium, and then rebuild the meaning, and understand, before the sluice (slus)gates were closed and I remained alone for ever, saying goodbye behind the glass. I could then say: Never more! But I persisted, and here I am.

Then I had the incredible happiness to visit places, that I couldn´t even have dreamt of as part of my Fulbright duties, I was invited to speak at Georgetown University, Howard University, Montclair State University, Delaware State University, Mount Holyoke College, Greenfield Community College and, of course, at Holyoke Community College. This was a great honnor, but, I experienced panic attacks in front of theese distinguished people, who have been speaking English since birth! My interior voice, almost in the abyss, kept telling me: remember the phonetic, breathe in the pauses, inspire yourself to be spontaneus. Any questions?

During my breaks from researching and teaching I enjoyed each season. I had forgotten the pleasures of seasons, because I have been leaving in the Tropics, where the year is like a long day with the same season. New England ´s red autumn drew incessant roads for me, where I could walk through my first homesickness. In winter, I could sink my feet into the deep snow, obviously with my fur covered hunter boots. In summer, I increased my social skills while shopping and saved a lot of money in the bizarre tag sales.

But nothing was better than to again feel the gentle spring breezes, carrying rains and sweet perfumes instead of the freezing winter winds.

Then, I met my beloved new friends in the States: colleges, students, neighbors, assistants, secretaries, deans, an always renewed female universe softening my falls with their feather mattresses, and waiting for me, at the end of the battles, with a cup of tea and warm corn bread. Oh, darling! Oh my God! Oh dear! Doesn´t matter! Dont worry! I still can listen to your sweet voices.

Lisa Wyatt, Idelia Smith, Kate Douglas, Marsha Morrison, Marsha White, Rubaba Matin, Kathy Daly, July Beckley, Laura Bradford, Katheleen Moore,Christine Wilk, Maura Henry, Colleen Cameroon, Vivian Leskes, Ann Barry, Mónica Torregrosa, Fran Morse, Mónica Pérez, Vannessa Martínez, Elizabeth Trobaugh.

Cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity. This is an enormous territory that offers continuous opportunities for new immigrants, for the people who hope, for the idealists who dream , and for desperate people. From where do you get your incredible energy, you giant? Every one can play in your garden, because you are not a selfish giant, as that one in Oscar Wilde’s short story. And your generosity makes you richer and bigger, because each community you received in the diaspora, brought their legacy, their roots, their cultural memory and talents to work, their dreams and ….their savings!

After getting used to your decorum, to your extreme punctuality, to the respect for the distance between cars and the distance between people, after I learned to say I am sorry, just in case. After being able to leave the house with the doors open and to get my letters from the mailbox. After having learned to wait without doubt. After accepting that I can do the shopping in Stop and Shop when the month begins, and in Save a Lot when the month ends. After being able to finish reading the complete book of The Caribbean Discourse in English and to enjoy American poetry without translation. And to teach learning to replace some unknown words for another in French or Latin language. Now, when I learn to stop my car at the Stop sign. Now, when I get my Social Security Number! Now, when I learn how to love you! Now, I have to go.

I want to say thank you also to them, the proud army of the handsomest and smartest men I have ever seen:

Thank you to Bill Messner, Ted Leth’Steensen, Orlando Isaza, Jim Dutcher, Gustavo Acosta, Ismet Ozkilic, Ryan McDonald, Joe Tolisano and Chris Mahar.

Memory has a synthetic power and is directly connected with the heart. Even in the times of Shakespeare, people believed that the big factory of feelings was the liver. On the other hand, the Greeks, endowed their heroes with many souls: one emotional soul was to fight, to desire, to be afraid; the second was the sensitive soul, to enjoy the beauty and art; the third was the spiritual soul, able to contemplate the superior ideas and to feel God´s presence . But love is a phenomenon that continues to be inexplicable. It is nourished with mutual confidence, as the myth of Eros and Psiqué shows. And if we try to light the lamp to see its face, (because we never trust: maybe it is beautiful or maybe it is a monster!). Love can disappear forever. Love helps us to break the fence of solitariness in which human beings live, divided in neighborhoods, clubs, countries, languages, political flags, social classes, and permit us to enter into a crazy paradise of solidarity, where nobody recognizes us because of our driving license number, our credit card balance, our skin color or our religion.

HCC will hold its annual Campus Clean-Up Day on Wednesday, May 23, from 8:30 to 11 a.m.-ish.

All interested faculty, staff, and students should dress in comfortable clothes and report to Frost 265 at 8:30 a.m. to receive their work assignments. Refreshments will be available.

Your participation on this day is truly appreciated and a great symbol of your commitment to this institution.

Congratulations to Irma Medina for being selected by the Latino Scholarship Association to receive the Community Champion Award for 2007 that will be presented on May 24. This award recognizes individuals whose work significantly contributes to the vitality, welfare, and future of the Latino community. The Community Champion Awards are given to individuals whose work has improved the quality of life for Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in the Pioneer Valley. The Association celebrates and recognizes the recipient for tireless work in service to the Latino individuals seeking to alter their life trajectory through continued education.

HCC Connection is published every other Thursday (or thereabouts) and is distributed to the campus community, and friends of the college, and local media.

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Natalia Munoz
Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Holyoke Community College
Phone: (413) 552-2183 Fax: (413) 552-2479
cell: (413) 348-8515 (emergency)
nmunoz@hcc.mass.edunmunoz@hcc.mass.edu
Holyoke Community College is the Commonwealth’s oldest community college, serving almost 9,000 students annually in 82 associate degree options and 42 certificate programs, and over 4,000 in noncredit and workforce development courses. The college has the highest transfer rate of any community college statewide, holding articulation agreements with 27 colleges and universities. Recognized for its Honors Program, distance learning curriculum, learning communities, and service to students, HCC anticipates opening its state of-the-art Kittredge Business Center in Spring 2006.