JULY 2008
MCC
FACULTY
& STAFF
NEWSLETTER
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"Wisdom is like a baobab tree: no one individual can embrace it."
- African Proverb
Mott Community College nursing students, alumni and faculty came together recently at Applewood Café for a memorable event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the college's Associate Degree in Nursing
Program. In 1956, MCC (then Flint Junior
College) opened its doors to the first class of
Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) students.
A total of 14 students entered in 1956 with 11 graduating from that inaugural class in 1958, and since the program's inception, the number
Sally Shaheen Joseph, MCC Board of Trustees member, (from left) joins Arie Carpenter of Flint, (MCC nursing program’s class of 1961) and MCC Board of
Trustees member Celia Turner.
of entering students, successful graduates and practitioners continues to grow. To date, more than 4,000 nurses have graduated from MCC's ADN program, and 85 percent of nurses practicing in Genesee, Lapeer and Shiawassee counties are graduates of MCC's nursing program.
The theme selected to commemorate the nursing program reaching the half-century mark was
"Bridging the Past to the Future." MCC kicked off a two-year celebration marking this significant milestone initially on May 11, 2006, with an afternoon tea held in conjunction with the annual observance of National Nurses Week. On June 21, 2007, an Open House showcasing the state-of-the-art Health
Sciences Laboratory Complex housing patient simulators was presented, and on May 22, 2008, MCC
Nursing Program held the culminating event, a reception/reunion program commemorating the 50th
Anniversary, recognizing the contributions of nursing students, alumni and faculty, past and present.
The program featured a nostalgic slide show of photos of nursing students and faculty from the
50s to the present; a display of nursing memorabilia, including an early 1900's bedpan; old textbooks; surgical tools and an old nurse's uniform, complete with cap and shoes, graciously donated by MCC
Nursing alumna, Arie Carpenter, (class of 1961), who was recognized at the event. Jo Sukany Elliott, a member of that first graduating class of 1958, was present and recognized at the reception, as well as Mary Ashley, class of 1959, who provided several photos and a 1958 class yearbook for the event.
Sam Blomberg, the first male nurse to graduate from the program (class of 1959), was also recognized. Waunetta Remington, (class of 1958), also loaned several documents that were instrumental in helping MCC Nursing faculty trace historical information.
Pamela Cislo, RN, MSN, Chief Nursing Officer of
Genesys Regional Medical Center, and a 1971 graduate of the program when MCC was Genesee Community
College, served as the keynote speaker for the event.
Reflecting on her experiences as a nursing student at
MCC, she gave a moving tribute to her nursing professors and current MCC nursing faculty.
"What I remember the most are my nursing
Pamela Cislo, Chief Nursing Officer of
Genesys, accepts a plaque from MCC Dean of Health Sciences Patricia Markowicz.
instructors, and the lives they touch -- the hundreds of men and women in this most wonderful profession -who in turn impact the lives of thousands," Cislo said.
"The work you do will probably impact more people than you'll ever know."
"I say this with pride as a Mott grad," added Cislo.
"Congratulations to MCC on the first 50 years, and much success in the next 50."

Sociology Prof. Brenda Zicha, advisor of the MCC Alpha
Omicron Iota Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the International
Honor Society of the Two-Year College, has been recognized by Phi
Theta Kappa's Center for Excellence for five years of service to the
MCC PTK chapter. In a letter addressed to President M. Richard
Shaink, Rod A. Risley, PTK Center for Excellence Executive
Director, wrote: "We at Phi Theta Kappa's Center for Excellence owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our chapter advisors whose dedicated service is responsible for the success of our local chapters.
Advisors are truly the lifeblood of our organization, and we are delighted to recognize them for their years of service. We are proud to honor Ms. Brenda Zicha for five years of service as an advisor of the Alpha Omicron Iota Chapter."
Institutional Research Coordinator Marty Goldstein lets us know that Printing and Duplicating's Matthew Curtis and Wendel
Brandon received the Award of Education from Grand Blanc City
School. This award is given to an outstanding member or organization in the community that has had a positive educational impact on students at Grand Blanc City School. The Family Council at City
School issued the award to both Matthew and Wendel for their outstanding efforts in printing the City School Yearbook. “It is a very small school of choice within Grand Blanc Schools (less than 82 students)”, Marty added. The 4-H students at City School lay the yearbook out using the www.snapfish.com web site and Microsoft
Powerpoint. When all of the Powerpoint pages are put together, a large PDF file is made and given to Printing and Duplicating. These employees do an outstanding job getting the book printed. The kids love their book!"
Occupational Therapy Assisting (OTR) Coordinator Wendy
Early shares news from her program. Jennifer Sopka, OTR parttime faculty member, recently had two books published: Play to
Learn, Learn to Play: Multi-sensory Approach to Enhance the
Memorization of Capital Letter Formation and Play to Learn, Learn to Play: 40 Activities to Enhance Sensory/Fine motor Development in
Young Children. These books are intended for use by therapists, educators, caregivers and parents who are working with children with special needs.
Fine Arts Dean Jessie Sirna provides an update on activities in the Fine Arts Division. The Art Area offered a two week/four-day
Summer Kids Camp during the month of June as an outreach project for children participating in the North End Soup Kitchen summer camp. This grew out of a class project of Graphic Design Professor
Mara Fulmer last summer. With the theme of “US History &
Landmarks” this year, she was assisted by Ceramics Professor Thom
Bohnert and Graphic Design instructor Jim Shurter along with student assistants. Each day, approximately 30 campers engaged in hands-on traditional art activities, digital art activities and new ceramic component. The North End Soup Kitchen Camp provided transportation, lunch and supervision for the children during this project.
The current printmaking exhibition, "Printmakers Without
Boundaries" at Buckham Gallery in downtown Flint creates an outstanding showcase for the Printmaking Program here at MCC. Works by retired professor and chair Sam Morello, instructor Mary
Birkmeier and eight advanced students are featured in the exibition.
The show runs through July 3.
Jazz Professor Chuck Iwanusa recently performed with students at the "Keep Genesee County Beautiful" dinner and at the Flint Golf
Club as part of the Buick Open festivities. Choral music Prof. Mary
Nieuwenhuis performed with the Carolyn Mawby Chorale in May on a program entitled "Made in America," which also included a solo part. Instrumental music director Mary Procopio is preparing to go to Haiti in July as part of her annual volunteer teaching experience there. Part-time music instructor Bruce Nieuwenhuis is the conductor of the Genesee Valley Concert Band, which has performances scheduled throughout July in and around the Flint area, in
Frankenmuth and Mackinaw City.
Special Populations Coordinator Madonna Carpenter tells us that students in the Special Populations (SP) program completed their first community service event. On June 7, they helped with the Sheila
Reese Cancer Benefit which took place at Washington Elementary.
The program was a success; more than $4,000 was raised to aid
Sheila and her family. The SP program would like to thank all of the faculty, staff and students who donated either time or money for this very worthy cause.
Flint City Theatre will present Touch of the God Kissed by
Megan Donahue. Theatre Instructor Dan Gerics is directing this production. Shows are scheduled Aug 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 8 pm at the
Good Beans Cafe. Tickets are $7. For more information check in at www.flintcitytheatre.com.
The MCC Science and Math Division is hosting a seminar designed to prevent laboratory mishaps by offering instructors an opportunity to learn all about science lab safety. The Laboratory Safety Institute's 24hour Lab Safety Short Course is scheduled to take place August 26 to
August 29, 2008 at MCC. Participants will have an opportunity to learn about the fundamentals of lab safety, how to avoid hazards, accidents and injuries, and how to develop and improve their own lab safety programs in compliance with the OSHA Lab Standard.
LSI was founded in 1978 by Dr. James A. Kaufman to provide safety training for secondary school science teachers. Today, LSI has grown to become a National Center for Health, Safety and Environmental
Affairs, actively promoting safety in science education by offering a variety of programs and services to assist educators, scientists and safety staff in industry and academia at all levels. Dr. Kaufman, regarded as the nation's foremost authority on safety instruction in academia, is the author of Laboratory Safety Guidelines, which has become the world's most widely distributed lab safety publication.
The registration fee is $695 for one person. A $625 early bird registration fee is available now. Discounted fees for more than one participant are also available: two to four: $620; five to nine: $550 and ten or more: $475. Registration fee for MCC employees is $475. For more information or to register, call Ana Adams at LSI at (800) 647-1977, email LSIAdams@aol.com or visit the website at www.labsafety.org.

MCC Trustee Sally
Shaheen Joseph -- whose story was featured in The
Flint Journal -- was among the proud graduates who walked across the stage to accept their degrees at the college's commencement ceremony.
Joseph was among nearly 400 graduating students from MCC who showed up at Flint's Perani
Arena to accept their degrees in person at the col-
lege's 2008 commencement ceremony. A total of 1,379 students were eligible to graduate this year, and Joseph was one of them. As it turns out, she had three Associate degrees coming to her that she never knew she had earned.
The former Flint Township supervisor, an attorney who holds degrees from Cooley Law School and the University of Michigan-
Flint, attended MCC from 1969 to 1972, concentrating on work toward credits to transfer to a four-year institution. A recent conversation with MCC administrators about students who don't pursue degrees, led to a review of her records. It was then discovered that she had earned enough credits to qualify for three Associate's degrees: one in general studies, one in humanities and another in science.
Elected to her first term of office on the Mott Community
College Board of Trustees in 2007, Joseph brings over 25 years of experience in politics to MCC, serving as a Township Trustee,
Supervisor, City Administrator, Personnel Director, Risk Manager and
Purchasing Agent. She currently serves as an advisory board member of the Flint Area Salvation Army; board member of Planned
Parenthood of East Central Michigan, Planned Parenthood of
Michigan; Arab-American Institute, Executive Board and Arab-
American Institute National Policy Council.
A former president of The Michigan Public Risk Management
Association, Joseph has also served as board member of Genesee
County YWCA, Easter Seals, Michigan Women's Foundation, Flint
Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau and the Fair Winds Council of
Girl Scouts of America. She is the recipient of Mott Community
College's Carroll Clark Civic Service Award. She has also received
Rotary International's Paul Harris Award by the Genesee Valley
Rotary and the Salvation Army's Hands of Mercy Award. She was chosen as the American-Arab Heritage Council's "Woman of the Year" in 2000 and was appointed to the Michigan Women's Commission in
August 2003.
MCC faculty/staff and students anxiously await the new restaurant scheduled to open sometime in Fall
2008. Specialties include: soups, sandwiches and a salad bar.
Sharon Ewles, Human Resources Staffing Manager, was selected as the MCC Outstanding Employee of the Month for May. Described as always upbeat and positive, epitomizing "the essence of the can-do attribute,” Sharon is constantly searching for and researching new sites to help the organization find applicants, especially diversity applicants. In addition, Sharon's professionalism and expertise has earned her a spot in the leadership of the new Higher Education
Recruiting Consortium. Sharon received a $50 Visa card, a certificate and a balloon bouquet. Congratulations, Sharon!
Steve Robinson, English Professor and AQIP Coordinator, has found a way to combat skyrocketing gas prices: intermodal commuting. He has been taking the bus or his bicycle to work. "What I do is called hybrid bus/bike commuting; also called "intermodal" commuting," he said. According to MapMyRide, he figured his daily car commute is 12.33 miles, for a round-trip total of 24.66. According to www.fueleconomy.gov, the fuel to drive 25 miles is 1.25 gal, or $5.09
based on today's fuel cost of $4.07/gal. He takes a more direct route on his bike. "My bike commute is 8.63 miles," Steve added. "Most days I will ride the bus/bike to work and ride all the way home." The website www.mapmyride.com helps users find a safe and direct route to/from work or to/from an MTA bus stop. The MTA bus routes and schedule are at www.mtaflint.org.The bus costs $1.25."As far as I am concerned, that #9 bus is going past my house toward the college every morning whether I am on it or not," Steve said. "I might as well be on it."

JULY 2008
1 2 3
Upward Bound
Breakfast/Lunch
7 am-1 pm
Ballroom Prahl Center
7
Kearsley Park Meeting
Noon-1:30 p.m.
Field House
Flint City
Council Meeting
4:30-8:30 pm
RTC 1005
14
21
28
Meet the Candidates
5:30-7 pm
RTC 1003
Buick Homecoming
Parking
8 am-9 pm
Parking Lot G
MMIT Board Meeting
10 am-1 pm
RTC 1107
8
15
22
29
Sierra Club Meeting
5:30-9:30 pm
Genesee Room
9
Foster Parent
Training
6-8 pm
RTC 1301
16
23
30
Clio Chamber of
10
Commerce
Noon-1 pm
NTC 131
Referral Institute
Pipeline
8:30 am-5 pm
NTC 127
17
24
31
4
11
Kearsley Park Meeting
Noon-1:30 p.m.
Field House
18
Upward Bound
25
Breakfast/Lunch
7 am-1 pm
Ballroom Prahl Center
5 6
12
19
26
13
20
27
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