Faculty newsletter
March 2014
Faculty in the News…
Begging for Vultures, a book by Lawrence Welsh, Professor of English at Valle Verde, has been named a
finalist for the 2013 PEN Southwest Book Award. The book, published by the University of New Mexico Press
has received three other awards. PEN stands for Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists. According
to the group’s Web site, PEN International “works to advance literature, defend free expression, foster
international fellowship, and to dispel national, ethnic and racial hatreds.” Founded in 1921, PEN is an
international organization of professional writers dedicated to defending freedom of expression wherever it is
threatened. PEN Texas is a chapter of PEN Center U. S. A.
`
The memoirs of Gertrude Muro (ESOL, Valle Verde) and her husband Jaime Muro Crousillat have been
published by Amazon.com and the book is available in both Spanish and English. Entitled Ode to Love: From
Argentina to the United States, the book’s Spanish title is Oda de Amor.
Lucy Michal, mathematics professor at the Rio Grande Campus and New Mathway Project (NMP) lead faculty
for EPCC, has been appointed to serve as an NMP Ambassador by the Charles A. Dana Center at UT Austin.
Ambassadors will conduct outreach to other colleges in the state of Texas and will represent NMP at state and
national events. The ambassadors will represent the New Mathways Project and the partnership between the
Texas Association of Community Colleges and the Dana Center. In the ambassadors’ role of providing accurate
information about the project in its entirety to other colleges and groups, they must understand the rationale for
the NMP principles, the implementation process, and the tools and services available. Ambassadors will serve
from January 2014 to December 2014.
1
What is NMP? It stands for the New Mathways Project and is designed to offer non-STEM students
mathematical pathways leading to statistics and quantitative reasoning by offering a mathematical foundations
course in reasoning skills and concepts more relevant to their programs of study before they take either statistics
or quantitative reasoning courses. It is designed so that non-STEM students may complete their required college
mathematics course within a year of first entering. NMP will eventually design a pathway for STEM students.
NMP is about systemic institutional change, not just about mathematics departments offering new courses.
While the driving forces are changes in curriculum, pedagogy, instruction, and assessment, the changes needed
to support NMP are institutional systemic changes.
Albert “Doc Dakota” Burnham recently won third place in the Frontier Cartridge Duelist category at the
recent “Shootout on the Butterfield Trail” sponsored by the Single Action Shooting Society in Las Cruces.
Burnham is a professor of history at EPCC.
Rudy Castro, Debbie Luna, Lorely Ambriz, Monica Wong, and Maria Estela Gleason hosted a “Create a
Valentine Day Card for Your Loved One” craft workshop at the Northwest Campus on February 12. More than
200 students, faculty, staff, and NW Campus Dean Dr. Lydia Tena participated in this goodwill effort to create
valentines for US soldiers serving in Qatar.
As part of EPCC’s Black History Month Celebration, Rainy Demerson, District-Wide Coordinator of Dance,
presented a dance performance for the Musical Extravaganza on February 17. She worked with student dancers
to create the piece which includes West African, Modern, and Swing Dance. Ms. Demerson also organized local
professional dancers and singers who performed at the International Festival on March 1. On March 5, she will
be attending the International Conference on the Sustainability of Dance as an Art Form in Barbados, where she
will present research on African Dance pedagogy, teach Brazilian Dance, and perform original Contemporary
choreography. She and instructor Pam Turley will escort 13 students to the American College Dance Festival in
Austin, where they will perform and attend master classes by artists of regional and international renown on
March 12-15.
2
Librarian of the
Year Award
Oscar Baeza, VV Librarian
Oscar Baeza, Valle Verde librarian,
received the 2013 Arnulfo Trejo Librarian of
the Year early to mid-career award by
REFORMA (The national Association to
Promote Library and Information Services to
Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking). Mr.
Baeza accepted his award during the
American Library Association Conference in
Chicago last year. Oscar holds a Master’s
degree in Library Science from Texas
Woman’s University (20078) and a
Bachelor’s degree in Social Psychology
from Park University. He is also a graduate
of the Emerging Leaders program of the
American Library Association.
Hats off to you, Oscar!
Celina Uranga-Gomez, counselor at the
Valle Verde campus, graduated in May
2013 with a Doctorate in Educational
Leadership and Administration from the
University of Texas at El Paso. She is the
first faculty member at EPCC to graduate
from UTEP’s higher education leadership
program. Her study examined the
curriculum in a developmental reading
course and offered a nuanced account of
developmental education with a focus on
classroom practice.
By studying the experiences and
perspectives of those engaged in
developmental reading, Celina sought to
learn about the particular version of a
reading curriculum collectively produced
and its import to the academic futures of
underprepared college readers. Her
dissertation titled “A Qualitative Study of
Curriculum in a Developmental Reading
Course at a Community College” was also
nominated for outstanding dissertation of
the year at UTEP.
Dr. Celina Uranga-Gomez
Congratulations, Celina!
3
Distance Education Spring 2014 Training Schedule
Please call the Distance Education Office at 915-831-3111 to RSVP by the date indicated. Seating is limited.
TBD = To be determined. Room numbers will be confirmed upon RSVP
March
1 – Saturday
4 – Tuesday
5 – Wednesday
6 – Thursday
7 – Friday
8 – Saturday
19 – Wednesday
25 – Tuesday
26 – Wednesday
27 – Thursday
28 – Friday
Location
VV TBD
RG TBD
VV TBD
TM TBD
NW TBD
VV TBD
via Blackboard
RG E111
VV TBD
NW M95
TM TBD
Time
9 am-12 pm
10 am – 12 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
10 am – 12 pm
9 am – 12 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
10 am – 12 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
10 am – 12 pm
Subject
Blackboard Cert Trng (4 of 5 in the series)
SoftChalk Basics
SoftChalk Basics
SoftChalk Basics
SoftChalk Basics
Blackboard Cert Trng ( 5 of 5 in the series)
E-Bug Virtual Meeting
SoftChalk Advanced
SoftChalk Advanced
SoftChalk Advanced
SoftChalk Advanced
RSVP by Date
February 25
February 26
February 27
February 28
March. 18
March 19
March 20
March 21
April
3 – Thursday
5 – Saturday
8 – Tuesday
9 – Wednesday
Location
via Blackboard
VV TBD
TM TBD
RG E111
Time
3 pm – 5 pm
9 am – 12 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
Subject
E-Burg Virtual Meeting
Blackboard Cert Trng (1 of 5 in the series)
Blackboard Q&A Session
Blackboard Q&A Session
RSVP by Date
March 28
April 1
April 2
10 – Thursday
11 – Friday
12 – Saturday
19 – Saturday
21 – Monday
22 – Tuesday
23 – Wednesday
24 – Thursday
25 – Friday
26 – Saturday
NW TBD
VV TBD
VV TBD
VV TBD
via Blackboard
TM TBD
VV TBD
NW M95
RG E111
VV TBD
10 am – 12 pm
10 am – 12 pm
9 am – 12 pm
9 am – 12 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
10 am – 12 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
3 pm – 5 pm
10 am – 12 pm
9 am – 12 pm
Blackboard Q&A Session
Blackboard Q&A Session
Blackboard Cert Trng (2 of 5 in the series)
Blackboard Cert Trng (3 of 5 in the series)
E-Bug Virtual Meeting
Grade Center*
Grade Center*
Grade Center*
Grade Center*
Blackboard Cert Trng (4 of 5 in the series)
April 3
April 4
April 15
April 16
April 17
April 18
-
May
Location
Time
Subject
RSVP by Date
2 – Friday
via Blackboard 3 pm – 5 pm E-Bug Virtual Meeting
3 – Saturday VV TBD
9 am – 12 pm Blackboard Cert Trng ( 5 of 5 in the series) -
Blackboard Cert Trng = Blackboard Certification Training
*Tools used within/in conjunction with Blackboard
Training schedule subject to change
4
Announcements
Congressional Internships 2014
Texas-16 District Office
Faculty! Do you have students who are curious about
how the government really works? Have them contact
the district office of Congressman Beto O’Rourke
for more information about acquiring legislative and
district experience.
Skills required include:



Ability to produce professional work in projects
Excellent Communication skills
Experience using Microsoft Office and other software
These internships are volunteer positions and call for
students to work a minimum of 15 hours per week.
For more information, contact:
Mariah Savage
303 N. Oregon, Suite 210 or
Mariah.Savage@mail.house.gov
Faculty Development Office
Phone (915) 831-2201
Fax (915) 831-2738
Email anar@epcc.edu
Spring Newsletter Editor: Ruth E. Vise
Email: rvise@epcc.edu
Phone: 831-8841
5
Be Prepared For Emergencies!
What should you and your students do if you need
to evacuate the building in case of an emergency?
Where is the nearest exit?
Where will you go?
Who do you need to contact?
When can you return to the classroom?
The best time to give this information to
your students is at the beginning of the
semester. Feel free to download and print
as many copies of these examples as you
need. They can be found at:
http://www.epcc.edu/OfficeofRiskManagement/Pages/emergencies.aspx
Questions?
Contact the EPCC Office of Risk Management & Safety
Nancy Tharp, CSRM 831-6444; ntharp@epcc.edu
Jacqueline Lomeli 831-7812; jlomel12@epcc.edu
Gustavo Chavez 831-6381; gchav104@epcc.edu
6
HAVE YOU APPLIED FOR THE FACULTY RETREAT YET?
What:
Workshops for personal & professional growth &
opportunities to enjoy the area
Where: Buffalo Thunder Resort & Spa, 10 minutes from
Santa Fe, NM
When: May 20-21
How:
Apply by March 19 using registration form sent
to your email on Feb. 21 from Ana Resendez,
Faculty Development Office. Don’t forget your
check!
7
Two Librarians Hired for Valle Verde, Northwest Campuses
EPCC recently hired two new librarians to serve patrons of the Valle Verde and the Northwest Campuses.
Librarians enjoy faculty status at the College and these two positions are tenure-track.
Mariaelena de la Rosa joined the Valle Verde Library team after having worked part-time at the
Northwest Library since 2012. She earned a Master’s degree in Information Resources and Library Science
from the University of Arizona and an M.P.H. in Health Behavior & Health Education from the University of
Michigan. Ms. de la Rosa graduated from UTEP with a major in Spanish, having received an Associate of Arts
degree in Nursing from EPCC. Mariaelena’s favorite author is Paulo Coelho and she enjoys knitting and
crocheting.
A knowledge management specialist/librarian for the Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office for
the U.S.-Mexico Border of the World Health Organization and United Nations, Lorely Ambriz is returning to
EPCC after nine years, having created a virtual health library and establishing health information and research
relationships with professionals throughout the border, Central and South America. She began her education
and library work experience as an ESL student and worked as a staff and adjunct faculty member at the
Northwest Campus Library from 1998 through 2012. She earned a Master of Library Science degree from UT
Austin and an advanced Medical Health Information Certification from the University of Pittsburg. She was
instrumental in bringing three workshops on Community Disaster Emergency Preparedness to the Northwest
Campus in February and March. Only one other city was awarded a grant by the National Library of Medicine
for workshops in community preparedness related to extreme weather, health, and security.
Mariaelena de la Rosa
Lorely Ambriz
The El Paso County Community College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age,
disability, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity.
8