May 18, 2012 Glad Grads! A record crowd of more than 2,200 graduates, family and friends packed the PE Center Arena for the College of DuPage 45th Annual Commencement Ceremony. Nearly nearly 500 students crossed the stage to receive their diplomas amid cheers and congratulations. During the ceremony, 2012 Outstanding Graduates Alexa Alianello and Chandrika Gopal encouraged their classmates to move forward with future dreams and goals. Read More Student Essay Winners Honored by COD Board Student Essay Contest winner Alysa Jirska of West Chicago receives a plaque and congratulations from COD President Robert L. Breuder (right) and Executive Vice President Joe Collins at the May Board of Trustees meeting. Also recognized were Charlyne Singson, second place, and Brian Peterson third place. Click here for photos! Click here to read the winning essays. COD T-Shirt Featured ‘Millionth Pound Package’ Operation Support Our Troops (OSOT) Illinois recently kicked-off 2012 Rockin’ for the Troops festivities with a “millionth pound package” sent to a lucky U.S. soldier. After nine weeks of collecting items from around DuPage County, the 20-pound, 22-ounce package was posted for dispatch. College of DuPage included both a “COD Loves Veterans” tshirt and red, white and blue wristband in the gift. Click here for more information about OSOT and the July 21 Rockin’ for the Troops event, which COD will support again this year. COD Steers Students Straight Counseling Services and the COD Police Department closed the academic year with lessons in summer safety at an “Alcohol Awareness” event that featured a Drunk Busters obstacle course (above). To drive the pedal carts, students were asked to wear special goggles that simulate a blood alcohol level between .08 and .15. Students also had an opportunity to wear the goggles and undergo a sobriety test given by COD police officers, experiencing firsthand the effects alcohol has on response times and coordination. Click here for more photos. KUDOS to…English Professor Tom Montgomery-Fate, who was recently featured on NPR's “To the Best of Our Knowledge,” in a segment that offered perspectives from some of the nation’s best nature writers on the continued interest in and legacy of Henry David Thoreau 150 years after his death. Fate’s book, Cabin Fever: A Suburban Father’s Search for the Wild (Beacon Press, 2011), was listed as a Must-Read by USA Today and hailed by Publishers Weekly as a collection of essays that “blends the significant milestones of marriage and family in a high-tech BlackBerry society with the joys and shortcomings of being mindful in both cultures.” Click here for Fate’s NPR reading and interview. MORE Kudos…to adjunct Motion Picture/TV faculty member Robert Fritz who recently received an outstanding letter of thanks and appreciation from former student Ryan K. Johnson. Please click here to read. Even MORE Kudos…to former COD students Christopher Kriz and Justin Adair and COD Costume and Makeup Coordinator Allison Greaves Amidei on their recent nominations for the 2012 Joseph Jefferson Awards. The Jeff Awards, established in 1968, celebrate excellence in acting, stage production and behind-the-scenes work in Chicago theater. Each year, a 50-member committee evaluates more than 250 productions, honoring winners at two award ceremonies for both equity and non-equity productions. Kriz is nominated for sound design for “Bug” and “Opus,” both at Redtwist Theatre, and for and original incidental music and sound design for “The Count of Monte Cristo” at Lifeline Theatre. Adair is nominated for supporting actor in a musical for “The Light in the Piazza” at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre. Amidei is nominated for costume design for “The Count of Monte Cristo” at Lifeline Theatre. The award ceremony is June 4. New Service for Students COD is now offering students access to the U.S. Bank AccelaPay® card, which provides a faster, more convenient alternative for students to receive refunds and financial aid disbursements. Refunds and disbursements are automatically deposited to a student's account without the requirement of check-cashing or bank visits. In addition, if a card is lost, it can be replaced and the card balance restored. There is no cost for COD students to obtain a card. More Info Hot Tix for Employees Hot Tix are half-price tickets for employees, available at the Ticket Office with an employee ID. This weekend: Buffalo Theatre Ensemble: Tuesdays With Morrie – Fri./Sat., 8 pm, $16.50; Sun., 2 pm, $14.50 www.atthemac.org Tulip Bulb Giveaway! The annual Tulip Bulb Giveaway will be held this Monday, May 21, in Parking Lot A (behind TEC) from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., or until the supply lasts. Limit 20 bulbs per person. Waterleaf Portuguese Wine Dinner May 24 Waterleaf restaurant will host a Portuguese wine dinner on Thursday, May 24. The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a lecture and tasting of five Portuguese wines in the CHC Amphitheatre, followed by an exclusive five-course prix fixe dinner at Waterleaf fine-dining restaurant. Each course of the Portuguese influenced menu will be paired with a select wine from the restaurant's premium collection. Read More Summer Promos from Multimedia Multimedia Services produced a series of summer promos to encourage registration and spread the word about COD. Click the links below to enjoy: http://youtu.be/Dnr4BiVwyNI http://youtu.be/6JCo8Oeb94s http://youtu.be/LoBJmirofsY http://youtu.be/f_KF1FODv8c Marketing and Communications is On the Move! The COD Office of Marketing and Communications will move to its new digs in BIC 1645 the week of May 28 to June 4. Please note that during this week, some normal business activities may be impacted – we apologize for any inconvenience this might cause and appreciate your patience during this transition. If you have questions, please contact Marketing Director Laurie Jorgensen at ext. 2755 or News Bureau Coordinator Robyn Johnson at ext. 2454. Thank you! The Great COD Scavenger Hunt! Need to learn more about our new campus? The Great COD Scavenger Hunt puts you in the driver seat of your own campuswide adventure. Using clues and a campus map, you can help solve the mystery behind the disappearance of Professor “Dr. Horace Hatsfield” Contact the TLC to register and for Blackboard tips. You have until May 31 to solve the mystery! The hunt is worth three workshop hours and can be used to satisfy the requirement of a TLC class for the Wellness Incentive Program. (Please do not use work time for the scavenger hunt. Thank you.) Purchasing For an item to be recommended for purchasing approval to the COD Board of Trustees at the Aug. 21 Board meeting, all specifications, rationales, requisitions and IT Equipment Reviews must be in Purchasing Friday, June 8. Job Opportunities To view and apply for any posted internal job opportunity: Go to: http://inside.cod.edu. Login using your network ID Click on the “employees” tab Click on “COD Links” Click on “internal job opportunities” Job opportunities will be posted to the external webpage after they have been posted on the COD Portal for seven days. If you have any questions, please contact Toni Woolsey at ext. 2890. Employment Information Lines (630) 942-2796 – For a listing of faculty, classified and administrative positions. (630) 942-2460 – For detailed information and to schedule skills testing for clerical positions. Apply at www.cod.edu/hr.