Bill’s Bulletin is a feature of HCC Connection Online where President William F. Messner shares news about all-college initiatives and the college’s expanding involvement in the region.

The following college priorities have been established for the 2007 – 2008 academic year:

1. Develop and implement an explicit system of shared governance and inclusive decision-making.

2. Increase the number of full time faculty and staff, ideally reflecting the diversity of communities in our service area.

3. Enhance advising and transition to college initiatives.

4. Create a campus climate that fosters open communication, inclusivity, diversity and a sense of community.

5. Improve campus resources and facilities including classrooms, technology, parking and space utilization.

6. Increase outreach to the city of Holyoke and surrounding communities to enhance education, as well as economic and workforce development.

7. Begin implementing Foundations of Excellence recommendations.

The college priorities are a mix of old and new. Items that have been college priorities for years—such as shared governance, and increasing the number of full-time faculty—are joined by new initiatives: enhancing advising and transition-to-college efforts, and improving campus facilities.

Over the past month we have been developing specific action plans to accomplish these priorities. For example, among the actions being considered to improve campus facilities are: the construction of both a new photography lab and an electronic media facility in the G building; the possible construction of a new parking lot; and the addition of ten "smart" classrooms. In the area of advising and transition to college, consideration is being given to the redesign of the advising center. And, in order to increase outreach to Holyoke, the college will hopefully move into the new Multi-modal Transportation Center on Maple Street in the fall.

All of these items, and most others that are aimed at implementing the college's priorities, will require resources—in dollars, people, or both. Whether those resources will be available to the college is unclear given the economic challenges that the state is facing. Over the next several months we will work with area legislators to make the case that public higher education needs to be a priority for the state. Hopefully, working in conjunction with interested parties such as the MCCC, AFSME, and our neighboring public higher education institutions, we can convince state legislators that an investment in our campus and students is in everyone's best interest.

Headlines

Say Who?

“You cannot go to college so try to not get pregnant and then you can get a job with a good family”

The identity of the HCC faculty member who received this stupid advice as a teenager will be revealed in the next edition of the HCC Connection. Can you guess who it is? Have you asked any of your faculty colleagues or acquaintances about the advice they received when they were young adults? The answer may surprise you.

Send your guesses to nmunoz@hcc.mass.eduor put your name and contact information on a slip of paper and give it to Sue Doyle in Donahue 101. We will draw one entry from among all of the correct submissions and that person will receive a guest pass to one of the Wednesday culinary luncheons.

You could be the winner. We’ve gotten a few correct entries. We want more.

For more clues on the mystery person’s identity, please click on the HCC Connection archive (January 24 edition), and review the “Says Who?” column.

Some of you have told us that it’s impossible to figure out who the mystery person is without more details. To this, we must reply: it is impossible to fully appreciate the people around you if you don’t ask questions. We know that the identity of this person won’t be immediately obvious.
We want you to get curious, to throw away your assumptions. There are some very plucky, inspirational people all around you. Dig a little.

Racism at HCC the topic of February 8 event

A new discussion series, “HCC Campus Conversations” will kick-off tomorrow, with a frank exploration of campus racism. Sponsored by the Student Senate, the discussion will be held in the cafeteria beginning at 2 p.m. Subsequent HCC Campus Discussions will explore size-ism (March 8) and classism (April 12).

All of the HCC Campus Discussions are open only to members of the HCC community.

“ If you invite people from outside the campus to this, it becomes a discussion about the larger issue, not a discussion about the issue on our campus,” said organizer Kimberly Boyd, who serves as the secretary for the Student Senate. “That’s a different conversation, and I wanted this one to be for us (HCC).”

Boyd, a liberal arts major from West Springfield, said she hopes the discussion series will reinvigorate HCC’s commitment to civil discourse—the notion that passionately held beliefs can be discussed civilly. She said some events in the recent past have made HCC students wonder if this is possible.

“ What I’ve seen this semester and last is that people think that talking about issues means getting into a conflict…(as a result) it feels like everything is lingering, unsaid, festering,” she said. “This (discussion) is a way to get things out, to purge things. If we don’t, it would be easy to backslide, to allow racism to fester.”

Boyd says she looks forward to a lively conversation—on Feb. 8, March 8, and April 12—but there will be limits. Each speaker will be limited to 2-5 minutes (depending on the number of people in attendance), and abusive speech will not be tolerated. Three students have been chosen to begin the conversation, but they, too, will have a limited time to speak. Boyd says she hopes to hear from a wide cross-section of the HCC community.

“ It’s not that I respect every opinion that’s out there, because I don’t,” she said. “But I think it’s important that we respect people’s right to have an opinion.”

To find out more about this series, please email Boyd at hcccampusconversations@gmail.com

February is Black History Month

Editor’s note: The following sentiments were generated by Vice President Lisa Wyatt Ganson and Math Center Coordinator Gail Hilyard and circulated to us all via campus email. They deserve repetition, as we all celebrate Black History Month. If there are events or sentiments which celebrate Black History Month which you would like to celebrate with the HCC community, please feel free to send them our way.

From Lisa Wyatt Ganson:

As our community celebrates all cultures, we need to remind ourselves that history is being made all the time, by ALL people, in all ways. Monthly celebrations that honor the varied groups that represent our communities provide opportunities for us to educate others and ourselves on the history, both past and present, of our differences and our sameness.

A call to action is in order, please join me.

History in the Making
Written By: J. Ivy

History is more than a memory.
It’s a movement, an act by certain individuals,
Who have found the ability to make time stand still.
Whether they be young or old, the brave and the bold,
Who aren’t afraid to have their stories told.

So those stories might be echoed, and echoed, and echoed.
So Black voices speak out, timelines are effected,
Legacies are born, as heaven uses these beautiful instruments
to tell their tale.

To make a statement, to do something monumental,
Something memorable. A reminder that we’re the Creator’s creations,
So capes are no longer kept in closets. They’re put on,
as ordinary people are transformed into heroes as they fly
through their community and create change.

Because that’s what History is…Change.
Which starts with the vision of one person,
Therefore Black History can’t be confined by one month,
Because Black History is made every single day,
By those who remind the World how beautiful Black really is.

So from Bronzeville to Harlem, from Motown to Compton,
This is merely a reminder that we are Black History in the Making,
SO MAKE YOUR HISTORY

From Gail Hilyard:

I would like to begin Black History Month by sharing this message with the HCC community...

" ...Make us as waves of the sea, as flowers of the garden, united, agreed through the bounties of
thy love...Dilate the breasts through the signs of thy oneness, make all mankind as stars shining from the same height of glory, as perfect fruits growing upon Thy tree of life."

CampusBriefs

Solved: The Great Cookie Dilemma

From left, Math Center tutor Andrew Havens, Cookie Contest winner Devin Hackett, and Math Center Coordinator Gail Hilyard.

Last semester, the HCC Math Club challenged us all to solve an old-fashioned brain-teaser. The club rightly supposed that anyone could solve this conundrum with a pinch of logic and a heaping teaspoon of persistence. In December, the club revealed the winner of the challenge: student Devin Hackett.

In case you missed this little competition, we have included the original question (below), which is followed by Hackett’s winning solution.

The Question: Suppose you want to make a jumbo cookie, and the perfect cooking time given by the recipe is 17 minutes. You have two timers; one runs for exactly 12 minutes and the other for exactly seven minutes. You want to cook the cookie for the time given by the recipe, but you can only use the full lengths of each timer. What possible configuration of the timers would allow you to bake that perfect cookie?

(The students were asked to visit the Math Center and put their answer on a note card. The entry which was the closest to the correct guess of the timers won the contest.)

Hackett’s Answer: Don't put the cookies in the oven but set both timers, when the first timer goes off you know it's the seven minute timer. Put the cookies in the oven and when the second timer goes off (the 12 minute timer) set it again. When it goes off again, the cookies have cooked for 17 minutes.

Connect with HCC Clubs

Assistant Coordinator of Student Activities Liz Golan (center) is seen here with members of the HCC Role Play Club, from left: Dan McIntyre, Dane Porth, Samantha Mariani, and Steven Thibodeau.

There’s more to the college experience than classroom learning. That’s what students attending the Jan. 31 Student Club Fair discovered .

HCC has 52 clubs representing a wide variety of personal interests, religions, cultures, social activism, and life perspectives. Many of those clubs sent representatives to the fair, where they spoke with throngs of students who were milling about. From Anime to engineering, the club representatives made for a lively scene.

“Being in clubs allows me to meet people and learn other things along with my classes like in the radio club,” said psychology major Shruti Oza, who is a member of the Radio Club, Drama Club, and Queer/Straight Alliance (QSA). “I joined the QSA because I believe people need to be educated and this is something I believe in, and I feel that acting is a good way to feel good about myself.”

Event organizers echoed her thoughts.

“ The students at HCC want to be involved and it is terrific that we have so many clubs to offer. Joining a club is the second half of academics,” said Liz Golen, assistant program coordinator of student activities. “Student can really become involved, learn social skills and leadership roles that round out the college experience.”

Students interested in joining a club, starting a new club, or getting a complete list of the clubs at HCC should contact Liz Golen at (413) 552-2060.

Notes

Caribbean Poetry Reading tomorrow, February 8

Four published poets will lead a bilingual poetry reading and booksigning at a Caribbean Party, sponsored by Holyoke Community College, on February 8 at 4 p.m.

The HCC community is invited to this event, which will feature Fulbright Scholar Graciela Maglia, University of Massachusetts Professor Martin Espada, Mount Holyoke Professor Roberto Marquez, and Springfield Technical Community College Dean Arlene Rodriguez. This event is free and will be held in the Picknelly Dining Room, Frost Building room 265. There will be music by José González, and the authors will have copies of their books available for purchase and signing.

Photojournalist to visit HCC on February 12

On February 12, the HCC community is invited to Frost 307 to hear a presentation by noted photojournalist and peace activist Linda Panetta.

The presentation will take place at 2:30 p.m. Panetta will present and comment on her work, which includes photographs from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Latin America. According to Panetta’s website, her work “focuses on cultural, environmental and human rights, with a particular emphasis on conflict zones.” Panetta uses her slides to educate others about US foreign policy and war.

Radiologic technology session on February 14

Individuals interested in pursuing a career in radiologic technology are invited to attend a free, one-hour information session on February 14, at 11 a.m., and at 3 p.m. in the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development, room 302. No reservations are necessary. Participants will meet with the program chair and learn more about the field of radiologic technology. Attendance at a radiologic technology information session is required of all students who intend to pursue this major at HCC.

Additional information sessions are also scheduled for April 2 at 11 a.m., and May 2, at 3 p.m. For more information, call (413) 552-2600 or pick up an information packet at the Welcome Center, Frost 221.

Trained radiologic techologists are involved in computed tomography (“CAT”) scans, mammography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Starting salaries in the field range from $36,000 to $48,000 per year.

Marieb Chair nominations due February 16

Is there a teacher at HCC who changed your perspective, inspired your future, or captivated your interests? Tell us about it!!

Students are encouraged to nominate a favorite HCC faculty member for the 2007 Elaine Marieb Faculty Chair for Teaching Excellence. The deadline for nominations is Friday, February 16.

Nomination forms are available in Donahue 101, Frost 321, or online at www.hcc.edu. The completed nominations should be returned to Donahue 101 by February 16. For more information contact Sue Doyle in the Institutional Development Office at (413) 552-2546.

This award recognizes a full-time faculty member with five or more years of service who exemplifies outstanding classroom teaching. The Marieb Faculty Chair was founded in 1991, by Elaine Marieb an anatomy and physiology professor. The award recognizes the professional development, skills, and dedication to student learning that HCC faculty bring to the classroom.

HCC scholarship deadline is March 28

Now’s the time to find money for next year’s academic expenses. More than 90 scholarships, worth more than $100,000, are now available to HCC students who plan to either remain at HCC or transfer during the 2007-2008 academic year.

Applications for HCC Foundation scholarships are available through the HCC Institutional Development office, Donahue 101 and are due back in that office on March 28.

Don’t think you qualify? Think again. There are scholarships for specific fields of study, transfer, and a variety of life circumstances and interests. For a full list of scholarships, or an application, call the HCC Foundation at (413) 552-2182 and online at www.hcc.edu.

Keep an eye out for these HCC faces!

On Friday, February 9, Masslive.com will feature a streaming video segment that covers the January 31 opening of “Cool Runnings” in the Taber Gallery. The exhibition of unique wood carvings is the work of Elton Braithwaite, a 13-year HCC employee and lifelong artist. Elton’s work has also been featured in several local publications. If you haven’t already, go over to the Taber Gallery to check out his work!

The Human Resources Department wishes to announce the following new hires:

• Vanessa Martinez, Anthropology Instructor
• Maureen Bourbeau, Senior Special Programs Coordinator for the Office for Students with Disabilities

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 now serves as the site for the UMass Isenberg School of Management Professional MBA program.