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Carroll G. and Sandra P. Lamb stand in front of one of the many exhibits in the Black Inventors Showcase, which was installed at HCC on February 22.

Exhibit celebrates black inventors, pioneers

Ask Carroll Lamb why he left a successful career as a human resources manager, and the Amherst resident won’t talk to you about paychecks or promotions.

Lamb will immediately launch into a spirited description of the people who convinced him there was something better for him to do.

They are washerwomen and businessmen, dreamers and fighters. People like Walter Lincoln Hawkins, the first black man to be hired by Bell Labs. Or Norbert Rillieux, the black engineer who in 1846 patented the process for turning cakey brown sugar into fine white crystals.

Many of his inspirations are long since dead, but they still cast a long shadow, thanks the Institute for Black Invention and Technology, a traveling museum that Lamb and his wife Sandra founded five years ago. A piece of that museum – the Black Inventors Showcase – was installed for one day at Holyoke Community College on February 22, as a part of the school’s celebration of Black History Month.

Visitors to the Black Inventors Showcase were treated to a personal tour by Sandra or Carroll, both of whom rattled off stories with an intimacy that bordered on the familial.

“Ellen Elgin, she invented the clothes wringer, but she did not patent it,” said Carroll Lamb. “Instead, she sold it for $18 to a white salesman who made a lot of money. The reason she didn’t patent it was that she didn’t think that white women would buy something that was made by a black woman.”

The exhibit contains various artifacts – an Easy Bake oven, leather shoes, a golf tee – that broadly outline the history of black innovation, entrepreneurship, and determination in this country. It begins with a chilling reminder of the hardship that presaged success.

“A lot of them (inventors) came from slavery,” Sandra Lamb said as she introduced a group of teens to a pair of rusted manacles. “These manacles remind us of that. But they still had a vision about how to solve problems. Slavery may have been where they came from, but look what they did.”

Carroll Lamb points to a portrait of George Grant, a Harvard University-educated dentist who patented the golf tee in 1894.

“So, all the great golf players to this day have used something he made,” said Carroll. “He never sold them. He just gave them to friends who like to play golf like he did.”

The Lambs are very busy during the month of February, Black History Month, but that they bring the exhibit to schools, community centers and libraries throughout the year. Wherever they go, Carroll says, visitors walk away with a new appreciation for the vision and strength that propelled black people forward against a tide of racism.

“Kids talk today about discrimination, but they don’t know what it is,” he said. “The guy who invented the desktop computer, Mark Dean – he was the vice president of IBM. But when he was a boy, a little white boy said to him ‘Are you sure you’re black? Because you’re too smart to be black.’”

Left to right are Reyna Dechert, Chrystal Baez and Sara Nieves, three of the Holyoke teens who are working with HCC student mentors to create a mural celebrating Latino life.

Latino Mural Project kicks off
In a few months, the curtain will come up on the Latino Mural Project’s masterpiece: an 8-foot-by-40-foot mural celebrating Latino life in Holyoke.

No one knows exactly what the finished product will include, but they do know what it won’t include.
“ There’s a stereotype that says Latinos are bad, and that’s not true,” says 14-year-old Chrystal Baez, a student at Dean Technical High School. “We are going to make something that shows what Latinos are really like.”

That’s a daunting task for anyone, but the 10 at-risk youths recruited to create the canvas are not put off. Twice each week, the teens go to the Holyoke Children’s Museum, where they meet with six HCC student mentors. Together, with Montague-based visual artist Deborah Savage, the crew spends hours discussing what their vision is and how they can represent it.

“ We started out the first day talking about their feelings, how they felt about Holyoke,” said Savage. “Also, about what colors they’d associate with those feelings…Then we started talking about what in their lives they would see as an indication of hope, of things that would counteract the negative things in their lives.”

Funded by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, the Latino Mural Project will eventually produce a work of art that will be installed on the HCC campus just below the window of President Bill Messner. College officials are encouraging the students to do more than visit the finished work.

“ We want you to come back to HCC, to take classes,” Messner told the students at the Latino Mural Project’s official kick-off. “We can offer you a lot here.”

Proving that point to this group of city teens is something else again. That’s where student mentors like 26-year-old Kamil Peters come in.

Resplendent in dread locks, a colorful T-shirt, and a welcoming smile, Peters encourages his protégés to believe in themselves. Art – and college – are not pie-in-the-sky dreams to this young man.
“ A lot of people don’t know they are artists, but they are,” says Peters, a Springfield native currently pursuing a liberal arts degree at HCC.

“ So what I’ll do is I’ll set down the design and give them the colors. They can start by filling in things. Because, once they get involved a little bit, they might lose that insecurity about art. They might see they can take risks and try things.”

Substitute the word “art” with the word “life” and you’ll hear the intended message of the Latino Mural Project. If these young people can spend months using artistic talents they didn’t know they had, organizers hope they will develop the same faith in their abilities in other areas.

The students have been meeting for just a few weeks, but, already, there is a growing sense of comfort and familiarity in the venture.

“ I hear some of the teens have been bringing their friends to work on the mural,” says Holyoke Juvenile Court Judge Rebekah Crampton Kamukala, one of the project’s organizers. “And that’s great. Any time you can get kids to come to an after school program willingly, it’s a good thing. We want to encourage that.”

One of the HCC billboards that you will be seeing in Springfield and Holyoke over the next two months.

HCC launches new advertising campaign
HCC has launched a new Spanish language advertising campaign, featuring billboards and radio spots that will run through the month of April. The ads are intended to interest prospective Latino students and their families in HCC and inform them of the May 1 financial aid priority deadline.

The minute you hear the radio ad, you won’t be able to get it out of your head. It will run on WSPR (AM 1270) and WZMX (FM 93.7). Two 10’ x 20’ billboards, featuring HCC students, will be installed in four Springfield locations and four Holyoke locations.

To aid us in tracking ad response and directing callers to appropriate HCC staff, we’ve directed viewers/listeners to call the Welcome Center or visit a web landing page:
www.espanol.hcc.edu

This webpage reflects the design of one of the billboards and serves as a “landing page” through which we can count responses/hits. It also plays the music from the radio ad that you can hear if your computer has sound.

Vice President for Administration and Finance Mike Giampietro, left, and Dean of Arts and Humanities Marcia Morrison, right, demonstrate the fine art of Hula-hooping during the kick-off of the Wellness Campaign, February 21.

Wellness Campaign swings into action

If you were anywhere near the cafeteria on February 21, you might have seen a whole lot of shaking going on. A roomful of faculty, staff and students helped kick off the Wellness Campaign by Hula-hooping. Guided by Orlander Worthy, the youth director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, the group busted at least one fitness myth, says Mary Farrell, the dean of the Health Division and an organizer of the Wellness Campaign.

“ Fitness doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be fun,” she said. “We’re hoping that the campaign will encourage a culture of wellness on campus. We do not want to blast people for not getting involved, but we’re going to give them as many opportunities to get involved as possible.”

Farrell said the campaign will sponsor a wellness week, April 18, to give HCC students, staff and faculty additional opportunities to catch the fitness bug. For now, the campaign is sponsoring campus walks on Tuesdays at noon and Fridays at 1p.m. Those walks are open to anyone who shows up to the bus stop between the Frost and Donahue buildings at the appointed times.

Kelly Keane, HCC’s nursing success coordinator, swung with the best of them during the February 21 kick-off to the Wellness Campaign. HCC President Bill Messner jumps through hoops for fitness during the kick-off to the Wellness Campaign, February 21.

The Wellness Campaign has made available a limited number of pedometers, which track the number of steps you take each day. More may be available as the need arises, Farrell said. There are also an unlimited number of activity logs, which will allow you to track your fitness efforts over the coming months. To find out more about the logs and the pedometers, visit the Allied Health Division office at Marieb 225 or call Kimya McLaurin at (413) 552-2272.

“ I would love to expand this into non-physical fitness types of things, like mental health,” said Farrell. “But, for now, we’re very encouraged by the response. People are doing things that are not a part of the campaign, per se, and I think that’s great.”

One of the offshoots of this new “culture of wellness” is the creation of the HCC Get Fit club. HCC sophomore Darnell Giroux said she is forming the club to make fitness more attainable for staff, students and faculty. The organizing meeting for this club is March 7 at 12:30 p.m. in Frost 127. If you want to join, but cannot attend this meeting, you may email Grioux at hccgetfitclub@yahoo.com .

The club is for anyone who wants to lose weight in a healthy way, says Giroux.

Originally, I was going to call it The Biggest Loser club,” she said, referring to the popular television show that makes weight-loss into a competition. “But I felt that was too negative. If people feel negative, then they won’t get involved.”


Tell us how you get to HCC and win a shopping spree
Students, faculty and staff will have a chance to win Holyoke Mall shopping sprees, reserved HCC parking spots, and even an iPod, all prizes in the Rideshare Raffle, which kicks off March 6.

Participation in the raffle is free. The only thing you have to do is fill out a simple online questionnaire that will ask you about your commuting habits. Student may access the survey via the HCC website (click on “My HCC”) beginning March 6. Staff will be able to access the survey via an email link that they will receive on March 6. Everybody will have at least a week to enter the contest online, according to Mark Schwinger, special project assistant.

“ We will keep it open until we get sufficient participation. If we need to go a month, we will,” Schwinger said. “We want to get as many as possible.”

Schwinger said HCC is required to participate in the Rideshare survey as a condition of its federal funding. The information collected via the questionnaires will allow state and federal authorities to evaluate HCC’s ride-sharing efforts. Schwinger said the government would eventually like to see a 25 percent reduction in the number of commuters riding alone.

“ That’s pretty hard to do,” said Schwinger. “Each year, we lose some of our students, so we lose some of the people who car pool and we have to start all over again.”

Schwinger said HCC has worked hard to reduce ride-alones - establishing a special car pool parking lot, installing bike racks in convenient locations, and negotiating a PVTA bus stop on campus. There is still some work to be done, Schwinger said. With rising gas prices, he hopes more students and staff will consider the option of sharing their vehicle.

For more information, contact Mark Schwinger at (413) 552-2290.

When the survey goes online, Schwinger said, students will receive an email reminding them to enter. Winners will be contacted individually when the contest closes.

Students may win:

• Three $100 Holyoke Mall certificates
• One $300 Holyoke Mall certificate
• One iPod.

Faculty/staff may win:

• Three $100 Holyoke Mall gift certificates
• One Visitor’s Parking Lot pass (good for the spring and summer 2006 semesters)

Campus Briefs

Getting publicity just got easier

The Marketing and Public Relations department has created a form that will allow us to better respond to the many requests we receive for publicity. The form will address requests for publicity in the HCC Connection as well as external media outlets (TV, radio, newspapers etc.).

You can access this form on the HCC website, http://www.hcc.edu/about/camp_news_deptofmktg&pr.html

From now on, we request that you fill out this form before asking the Marketing and Public Relations department for assistance in your publicity efforts. You can download it and fill out a hard copy, or you can fill it out online and send it to us electronically.

Unfortunately, we cannot produce media releases for every activity that occurs on campus. On occasion, however, we may promote a stand-out activity as a feature article – either in The HCC Connection or in an external media market. You won’t know unless you fill out the form.

Even if we cannot issue a press release for your activity, you may want to fill out the form anyway. It is a great tool for organizing. Once it is fully filled out, you will have everything you need to create your own media release and to facilitate your activity.

When a request is approved by the Marketing and Public Relations department, it may become:

• A news brief (short news items generally found on the margins of most papers);
• A calendar item (again, short items that appear in “calendar of events” sections);
• A hard news story (where a reporter will come out to cover your event because it relates to some breaking news event);
• A feature story (where your event, or people attending your event, become fodder for a softer, less timely piece for television, newspaper or radio);
• A feature or brief in The HCC Connection.

We are excited about streamlining this process and we believe the new form will help all of us do our jobs more efficiently. If you have any questions, please contact

Anne B. Garber, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at (413) 552-2259 or Natalia Munoz, Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations (413) 552-2183.

P.S.
The department has also put the final touches on HCC’s Media Relations Policies, which is available, by request, in our office, Donahue 101 or by sending a request to nmunoz@hcc.mass.edu.

Shear Illusions helps out Waiting to Excel club

The Waiting to Excel club is 20+ inches closer to its goal of collecting 500 inches of hair, thanks to an unexpected donation from Shear Illusions hair salon in Agawam.

You may remember that Waiting to Excel is collecting the hair for Wigs for Kids, an organization that creates wigs for children who have lost their hair due to illness. Last year, Waiting to Excel collected more than 300 inches of hair from HCC staff and students for the same cause.

Shear Illusions owner Valerie Molka found out about the club’s bid from a blurb that appeared in the February 19 edition of The Republican. The newspaper ran a brief about Vice President Lisa Wyatt Ganson’s decision to grow her normally close-cropped hair until May 2007, all the while collecting cash pledges for each inch of growth. The proceeds – including Ganson’s hair – will be donated to Wigs for Kids.

In addition to the hair, Molka donated gift certificates for her 497 Springfield Street salon. Waiting to Excel will use the gift certificates as prizes in its April 12 raffle.

If you want to get involved with this worthy cause, look for members of the Waiting to Excel club outside the Welcome Center on March 8, 11 a.m. to noon. The club will have an informational table set up and will be accepting pledges.

Luncheon Series a Hit!

The Culinary Arts Department's Wednesday lunches continue to be a hit. Just $6 buys you a three course meal, delivered by our own student chefs. To sign up for lunch, put your name on the reservation sheet, which is posted outside of Frost 255 at 10 a.m., one week prior to the luncheon. Seatings are at 11:15 a.m., noon and 12:30 p.m. Upcoming lunch menus include American Diner, Asian, and India food.

Notices

Scholarships are still available

If you, or someone you know, could use some help paying for college, stop by Donahue 101 and check out the scholarships now available through the Institutional Development Office. There are more than 90 scholarships available. The deadline for submitting an application is March 29.

Online learning: is it for you?

If you are curious about the opportunities available for online learning, you might want to schedule some time for one of four upcoming information sessions, offered through the Division of Distance Learning.

On March 1, at 11 a.m., faculty and staff are invited to Frost 343, where Dean of Distance Learning Gloria DeFillipo will present a workshop for faculty and staff who advise students. This session will address the particular rigors associated with distance learning and will help attendees to better advise and evaluate potential participants in HCC’s distance learning programs.

On March 7 and 9, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., DeFillipo will present “Is on-line learning for me?” an informational session which will help students evaluate the appropriateness of the on-line learning option. Students will have a chance to fill out a short quiz that will help them see whether on-line learning is appropriate for their learning style. This session will take place outside the HCC cafeteria in G Building.

On March 8, at 11 a.m., DeFillipo will repeat the student workshop in Frost 343.
For more information about these informational sessions, call Gloria DeFillipo at (413) 552-2236.

Human Service Program Informational Workshops

Students who want to know more about HCC’s Human Service Program, and faculty who advise students, are invited to the following workshops:

• Wednesday, March 1, 2:30-4 p.m. and 5:30-7 p.m., Donahue 168

• Tuesday, March 7, 12:30-2 p.m., Donahue 362

For more information, call Jackie Griswold at (413) 552 -2333

Two quick courses to bring you up to speed on MS Word

If you are stumped by Microsoft Word, the HCC Center for Business and Professional Development has two quick courses that you may want to take.

On March 23 and March 30, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., students will learn the basics in Microsoft Word 2000 Core. On April 13 and April 20, also 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Microsoft Word Expert will give students a more advanced understanding of this powerful program.

The course fee for each two-day class is $269, which includes lunch and all course materials. To register, please call (413) 552-2000.

Completion of both courses will give student the necessary skills for passing the Microsoft Systems Core and Expert exam. Topics covered will include processing text, formatting characters, placing and aligning text, uses for columns, paragraph formatting, tab setting, and chart creation.

Learn the basics of effective team building

Registrations are still being accepted for Effective Team Building, a two-day course offered March 1 and March 8 through HCC’s Center for Business and Professional Development.

The course will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., on Wednesday March 1 and Wednesday March 8. The course fee, which includes lunch on both days and all course materials, is $269. To register, call the Welcome Center at (413) 552-2000.

The course instructor is Lynn Turner, an executive coach and founder of the Ironweed Business Alliance. A graduate of Corporate Coach University, Turner worked extensively for Spalding Sports Worldwide and currently hosts “Coach Live”, a radio show on WARE - AM1250. She recently launched a new radio/website project, Business Link, which focuses on business issues.

Upcoming Campus Events:

Student Activities and Events:
Contact Vivian Ostrowski (413) 552-2418; vostrowski@hcc.mass.edu for more information.

Note: The Stepping show scheduled for March 1 has been canceled.

Tuesday February 28, noon
Every Friday at 1 p.m. (note the time change)
Campus Walks.
Beginning the week of February 28, you can sneak some physical activity into your day by joining the campus walking brigade every Tuesday or Friday. Meet at the fountain. Different leaders, including everyone’s favorite, Ace the Vet-Tech Dog, or one of his canine friends, will join us.

Tuesday, February 28, 7 p.m., Leslie Phillips Forum
Wednesday, March 1, 2:30 p.m., cafeteria
The Vagina Monologues
Fifteen women, all members of the HCC community, will present this thought-provoking play to celebrate “V Day: Until the Violence Stops” a global effort to end violence against women. Based on interviews conducted by playwright Eve Ensler, the play honors the breadth of women’s lives, taking on oft-silenced topics like childbirth, orgasm, misogyny and rape.

Tickets to the February 28 performance are $1 for students, $3 for others, and all of the proceeds will benefit Safe Passage, the Northampton-based battered women’s shelter.

March 1, 11a.m. Frost 309
Peace Corps presentation
Celebrate the Peace Corps’ 45th birthday and hear about our colleagues’ experiences in North Africa, India, and other locales around the globe. Speakers will include HCC staffers Larry Leavitt, Michelle Sedor, Margaret Sweeney, and Pam Kennedy.

March 6 - March 24, Frost Building, 3rd floor corridor
“ Of Many Colors – Portraits of Multi-Racial Families”
The Office of Student Activities is sponsoring a free photo exhibit focusing on multi-racial families exhibition produced by Amherst’s Family Diversity Project. Come view this insightful exhibit. Free and open whenever the campus is in session.

Wednesday, March 8, 11 a.m. Leslie Phillips Forum
Young @ Heart Chorus
Retired HCC speech and theatre instructor, Jeanne Hatch will return to HCC on March 8 to perform with the Northampton-based Young @ Heart Chorus, an ensemble of senior citizens that performs “music your mother wouldn’t like.” The group is well-known locally, but has also delighted audiences in Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands.
This event is free and open to the public

Sunday, March 19, 11 a.m., KMart Plaza, Northampton Street, Holyoke
HCC joins the Holyoke’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade
HCC has sponsored a float and will send a contingent of students, staff and faculty to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 19. You are welcome to join in.

Anyone wishing to ride on the HCC float or march with the HCC contingent should contact Vivian Ostrowski at (413) 552-2418. You can show up at the KMart Plaza at 11 a.m. or park at HCC and take a van to the Plaza at 10 a.m. To reserve a spot in the van, call Vivian Ostrowski

HCC Music Events
All concerts and events are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated. For information, call (413) 552-2485.

Sunday, March 5, 3 p.m., The Leslie Phillips Forum.
Annual HCC Classical Faculty Showcase Concert

Sunday, March 12, 3 p.m., The Leslie Phillips Forum
Holyoke Civic Symphony: French and Russian masterpieces.

HCC's Taber Gallery
Contact Amy Johnquest (413) 552-2614; ajohnquest@hcc.mass.edu for more information.

The campus is invited to view ”Storyboard” an exhibit of 150 paintings and drawings by Dean Nimmer, on display at the Taber Art Gallery until February 16.

Monday, February 27 to Thursday, March 30
The campus and public are invited to view Burnt Unit, an exhibition of mixed media digital photography and welded steel sculpture by artists Jeff Derose and Michael Martindell.

March 8, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. gallery opening
There will be an opening reception with a talk by the artists.

The Taber Gallery is located in the Donahue building of HCC, 303 Homestead Avenue, Holyoke. The gallery hours have not yet been posted for this semester. Please call Amy Johnquest at (413) 552-2614 for a schedule.

 

HCC Theatre
The following one-act plays will be performed on March 2, 3, and 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Leslie Phillips Forum. All but one (the first) were written by students. Admission is free, but voluntary donations to The American Red Cross will be accepted.

• Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden By Thornton Wilder
Directed by West Springfield staff member: Stephen Bailey
• Deep Within the Subconcious written and directed by Henry Sakalinskas (Easthampton)
• Video Mania written and directed by Easthampton resident Joshua Smith
• Its Easter written and directed by Florence resident Jasmine Miers
• Dot...Dot...Dot... written and directed by Michael Pray
• Bloodlust written and directed by Laura Markis

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

To be added to our email distribution list, please email: Kimberly Wilson, kwilson@hcc.mass.edu
To submit campus event information for inclusion in HCC Connection, email Natalia Munoz, nmunoz@hcc.mass.eduwith details including date, time, location, cost if any, open to public or not, web links (if appropriate) and contact information (name, phone number, and email). Deadline: end of day Friday before publication.

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.