MOTT COMMUNITY COLLEGE
CONNECTION
DECEMBER 2005
MCC
FACULTY
& STAFF
NEWSLETTER
WHAT’S
INSIDE
AROUND CAMPUS
MCC
CONVERSATION DAY
WORLD’S FASTEST
DRUMMER EVENT A
ROUSING SUCCESS
MCC CULINARY
ARTS PROGRAM
Q UOTE OF
THE M ONTH
“If you have knowledge, let others
light their candles in it.”
-- Margaret Fuller
Jessie Sirna Named Interim Vice
President of Academic Affairs
Fine Arts
Dean Jessie
Sirna will be
wearing yet
another hat.
She will serve
as MCC's
Interim Vice
President of
Academic
Affairs while
the college
continues its
search for a
replacement for outgoing Vice President of
Academic Affairs, Bill Angus, who announced his
retirement this Fall semester. MCC President
Richard Shaink made the announcement in a campus-wide email issued Dec. 1.
"Since it is important that there is internal continuity in the leadership of the Academic Affairs
Division, I am very pleased to announce that Jessie
Sirna has agreed to fill in as the interim Vice
President while we complete our search during the
winter semester," Dr. Shaink said. "Jessie is a capable manager who possesses both educational and
business experience. During this interim assignment,
Jessie will be serving as both Dean and Vice
President."
Jessie Sirna has been the Dean of the Fine Arts
Division at MCC since 2002. Prior to that appointment, she was an art history professor here. In 1998,
she was honored with MCC's Faculty/Staff
Innovation Award for increasing the art history slide
collection in the areas of African, African-American,
Native American and Hispanic art. In 1992, she
received the Excellence in Education Award for
enhancing the art history slide collection in the area
of women artists. Sirna holds an MA in art history
from Wayne State University and a BA in art history
from University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) where she
received a four-year Regents Scholarship. Sirna's
husband, Ronald, is a Flint attorney. They have two
children: a daughter, Andrea, who works as a library
information manager in Pittsburgh and son David,
an attorney in Atlanta.
MCC Hires New Interim Executive
Dean of Curriculum
MCC has welcomed Michael (Mike) Thompson,
Interim Executive Dean of Curriculum, to our team.
Mike Thompson joined us on Nov. 1 and replaces
Jim Drummond, who retired earlier this year. He is
from Wyoming but has spent the past several years in
Wisconsin, ("Yes, a badger wearing a cheesehead,"
he quipped). Thompson brings a wealth of experience to the college. Most recently, he has worked as
a learning design consultant with the Wisconsin
Technical College System where he has consulted
with community colleges all over the U.S., in
Canada, Mexico, Scotland and Kuwait. He has
served as adjunct professor with the University of
Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonee and at Lakeland
College in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, teaching the
course Designing and Assessing Learning.
He holds a master's degree in education from
the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, a bachelor's
degree in health from the University of Houston
(graduating cum laude) and an associate's degree in
pilot training from Gateway Technical College in
Kenosha, Wisconsin. Thompson is a student of
Spanish and the guitar and for fun he builds wooden
boats. His wife, Joy is a teacher; his daughter is
studying marketing and his son is a cadet at the U.S.
Merchant Marine Academy.
Ca m pus
d
n
u
Aro
Congratulations to Design Engineering
Prof. John Irwin. He will be graduating Dec.
15 from Wayne State University with an
Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction.
From Foundation for MCC's Mary
Yarbrough comes dates for upcoming
FMCC events: The MLK Jr. Tribute Dinner
will be Jan. 12, 2006 at the Sarvis Center. A
5:30 pm reception with a dinner at 6 pm is
planned. Dr. Claude Young, President
Southern Christian Leadership Conf., Detroit
Branch is guest speaker.
Theatre Instructor Dan Gerics has a role
in the Flint City Theatre play, SLAB, a
comedy written by Sean Michael Welch, a
Flint native now living in New York City.
The play runs through Dec. 8, 9, 10 at 8 pm
at the Good Beans Café, 328 N. Grand
Traverse at First Ave., Flint. Dan plays the
role of Louden Gray, crazed theatre director
trying to compete with reality TV. Dan is
Flint City Theatre founding member and
executive/artistic director. Tickets are $5 and
can be reserved by calling (810) 341-6912.
Visit www.flintcitytheatre.com for details.
Biology Instructor Lynne Wandrey, a
member of the New Century Chorale, lets us
know that the group will perform its 12th
annual Yuletide Festival Saturday, Dec. 10
and Sunday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at St.
Christopher's Episcopal Church, 9020 S.
Saginaw Road, Grand Blanc. The Mott
Community College Chamber Singers and
Festival Brass Ensemble will also perform.
Tickets are $10 and will be available at the
door beginning at 6:15 p.m. Reserve tickets
at www.newcenturychorale.org, where you
will find information about the Chorale and
the entire 2005 - 2006 season.
Educational Systems' Becky Gwillim is
featured on the cover of the Flint Institute of
Music's (FIM) 2005-06 season booklet. She's
a member of the Flint Festival Chorus performing in Flint's annual Holiday Pops
Concert with the Flint Symphony Orchestra.
The Holiday Pops is scheduled 7 pm
Saturday, Dec. 17 and at 3 pm Sunday, Dec.
18 at The Whiting. For details, call FIM
(810) 238-1350. For tickets, call the Whiting
Ticket Center at (810) 237-7333.
Brenda Zicha informs us that Phi Theta
Kappa has finished a major college wide
project. "This campus has sent a record
1,950 holiday cards to our troops serving in
the armed forces," she said. "As an advisor, I
am impressed with this effort on the part of
Phi Theta Kappans, but the other clubs on
campus also did a heck of a job helping to
get cards signed and they are to be commended as well."
Speaking of clubs, Web Master John
Tyler tells us that the student clubs page is
now active and can be accessed by using
addresses http://www.clubs.mcc.edu or
http://clubs.mcc.edu.
From Institutional Research Director
Gail Ives comes this news: On Oct. 21, staff
in the Academic Affairs area held their
Second Annual Ellen's Closet Potluck. Gail
said: "This event combines the "closet cleaning" work that many of us do at the end of
the summer with an excuse to bring our
favorite goodies to share with co-workers.
Each person brings in business clothing that
he/she no longer uses, and a dish to pass.
After admiring all of the outfits and eating
(lots!), we donate the clothing to Ellen's
Closet. Participating staff included Dolores
Sharpe, Laurie Lacross-Wright, Linda
Uren, Gail Ives, Marty Goldstein, Michele
Traver, Bobbie Foust, Cherie Brown,
Sherry Bradish, Krista Allen and Nikita
Macklin. On Sept. 24, Gail was joined by
Michele Traver, Martha Goldstein, Dolores
Sharpe, Robin Foreman "for a fun-filled
day" as the group participated in the "2nd
Annual Bowling 4 Warmth" sponsored by the
Genesee County Community Action
Resource Department. This event is part of
the annual effort to raise money for heatrelated emergencies throughout Genesee
County. GCCARD raised a grand total of
$4,151.80 during the Bowling 4 Warmth to
help our county citizens stay warm this winter. Congratulations to the MCC Team!
Fine Arts Dean Jessie Sirna has a lot of
great news from her area: In Art: An exhibition by Eric Mesko, "Tough Times Are Here
To Stay" was shown in the Fine Arts Gallery
Oct. 17-Nov.1 with a gallery lecture on Oct.
26. The current exhibition of 'Paintings'
through Nov. 22 was by an MCC alumnus,
Donovan Entrekin, who gave a gallery lecture Nov. 22. Printmaking Instructor Mary
Birkmeier and four of her advanced students
all had work accepted in the prestigious
Alma College Annual Statewide Print
Competition, which runs through Dec. 15 on
the Alma campus. Sam Morello and Tom
Nuzum, both art professors emeritus, developed and curated an exhibition at Buckham
Gallery in Oct. in memory of sculpture
instructor Bob Caskey and English instructor
and artist Joe Bommarito. Sculpture
instructor Paul Hauth, currently is showing
his work in Buckham Gallery's show
"Functionally Functional." Art Appreciation
instructor Jacquie Piechowski, is exhibiting
her work at the new Lapeer Center for the
Arts. In Music: The Jazz Combo, under the
direction of Director of Instrumental Music
Tom Smith, presented a series of informal
Monday afternoon concerts during the month
of October, each of which highlighted a different aspect of jazz. This same group also
performed for the Friends of the MCC
Library Art Auction, for a Consortium
Meeting of K-16 district math instructors and
for an event for the Foundation for MCC.
The Guitar Ensemble, under the direction of
Mari Yancho, performed at a dedication for
the Foundation for MCC. Steel drum
instructor Jim Coviak and his Steelheads
performed a concert at UM-F in advance of
their participation in Percussive Arts Society
International Convention in Columbus, Ohio.
The Concert Band, Choir and Chamber
Singers performed a concert on October 23.
Choral director Mary Nieuwenhuis, who is
the interim director of the New Century
Chorale, performed a concert "A Harvest of
Song" at Lake Fenton HS on Nov. 13. She
shared the stage with the Genesee Wind
Symphony, directed by part-time instructor,
Bruce Nieuwenhuis. The latest and largest
event was the Michigan World's Fastest
Drummer Competition held in the MMB
Auditorium on Sat. Nov. 12, organized by
Tom Smith. "With the excellent assistance of
music students, staff and faculty, the
Marketing Dept. and Educational
Technology, the event was a huge success
and drew over 400 people and lots of PR
attention to the department and the college,"
Jessie added.
Library Services Director Denise Hooks
and Lead Librarian Mike Ugorowski were
both presenters at the Michigan Library
Conference in October. Mike was responsible for a poster session on the "Research
Help Now" Virtual Reference service offered
by the Mott Library and other community
college libraries in Michigan. Denise was
part of a panel presentation by Board members for the Michigan Center for the Book at
the State Library of Michigan.
The following new employees have
joined MCC. Academic Computing Instructor
Will Weidner began work on Oct. 19;
Financial Aid Specialist Wanda Brown and
Financial Aid Specialist Pamela Boyle started Nov. 21. Welcome to the MCC family!
Your fellow faculty and staff members
are interested in what’s going on here at
Mott College. If you know about some personal or professional news, e-mail Michael
Kelly or call 762-0456 to have it included in
the Connection.
MCC Conversation Day
About 500 employees participated in planning activities during AQIP
Conversation Day. MCC was closed to students and the public on Friday,
Nov. 4 for Conversation Day as college faculty and staff members convened in the Ballenger Field House for an extensive series of discussions
and exercises about the future of the college. Conversation Day is one of
a number of activities planned for the 2005-06 academic year as MCC
transitions to AQIP the Academic Quality Improvement Program. AQIP
is an ongoing accreditation program that will replace the traditional 10year, self-study process for regional accreditation with the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). In a campus-wide email,
Dr. Shaink thanked employees for their participation. "Thanks to your
efforts, MCC has an extensive set of insights and propositions about the
future to fuel our upcoming planning activities," wrote Dr. Shaink. "I
was so impressed by the level of insight and thoughtfulness in the observations that were shared during the sessions. It was truly moving to witness so many dedicated people working so hard to determine the future
of our College." Conversation Day is the beginning of our AQIP process.
Action Projects identified during Conversation Day will be prioritized
for the coming Strategy Forum scheduled May 2006. Any comments or
questions about the AQIP process should be directed to MCC's AQIP
Coordinator Steve Robinson at 762-0483.
The MCC Culinary Arts Program represented Applewood Café at the
March of Dimes annual fundraiser, Chefs' Night at the Flint Golf Club on
Oct. 18. Pictured left to right are Culinary Arts Student Steven Maleski;
MCC Executive Chef and Food Management Professor William
Crawford; Business Division Dean Robert Loth and Culinary Arts
Students Nick Neff and Bradley Carnduff.
World's Fastest Drummer
Event a Rousing Success
Hundreds of unsuspecting spectators came down with a major case
of WFD fever at MCC on Nov. 12. Contestants competing for the
Michigan Championship for the World's Fastest Drummer (WFD)
set the Mott Memorial Building auditorium on fire with some
amazing speed drumming techniques. Around 500 people from
across the region were on MCC's main campus to cheer the contestants on. Tom Smith, MCC Instrumental Music Director and event
organizer, was pleased at the result -- "arguably the tightest produced WFD event outside of the National Association of Music
Merchants competitions themselves," Smith said. "Along with wonderful scene-change music provided by Flint's own internationally
acclaimed Steelheads Steel Band and crisp 1970s Miles Davis
fusion music from the MCC Jazz Combo, it was quite a show."
After seven weeks of regional preliminaries in five different
locations, the top 33 of 121 Michigan area contestants were invited
to compete. Grand Championship status for best competitor went to
Swartz Creek resident Michael Kilburne, who won the fastest feet
competition with a score of 814 over heavily favored Jackson resident Greg Soule. Kilburne took second place in hands (17 and over)
with a score of 903. Kilburne's foot show was topped off by a furious conclusion that brought the crowd to its feet. Top performance
honors went to 15-year-old Matt Smith, (Tom Smith's son) who was
a featured performer with the MCC Jazz Combo, before setting a
new 16 and under record with an official WFD hands exhibition run
of 1,028. (Matt Smith was ineligible for this competition because
his father's sponsorship would have represented a conflict of interest).
"Flint residents expressed immediate interest in seeing that the
Mott College WFD remains a permanent fixture," Smith added.
Popular Flint radio personality Ced Lover with Club 93.7 (WRCL)
hosted the event, which garnered extensive media attention from
three local TV stations and widespread newspaper coverage. "I had
never seen this before," Lover said. "It was really incredible. The
energy given off by these guys scares you."
DECEMBER 2005
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday Thursday
6
5
7
Men’s basketball
Game 3 p.m.
Ballenger
Herb Babcock Exhibition
VADC
Runs through 12/13/05
12
Friday
Saturday
1
2
3
8
9
10
Wild Ones Meeting
7-9 p.m.
Genesee Room
13
14
15
20
21
22
Fridays at Applewood
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Applewood Café
16
Board of Trustees
Meeting • 7:30-10 p.m.
Prahl Ballroom
26
Winter Break
Campus Closed
23
Winter Break
Campus Closed
27
Winter Break
Campus Closed
28
Winter Break
Campus Closed
Winter Break
Campus Closed
29
Women’s basketball
1 p.m. Ballenger
Men’s basketball
Game 3 p.m.
Ballenger
30
Winter Break
Campus Closed
4
Jazz Ensemble/Jazz
Combo/Steel Drum
Ensemble Concert
MMB Auditorium
Concert at 3 p.m.
11
Women’s basketball
1 p.m. Ballenger
17
Genesee Audubon
Society Meeting
5:30-10 p.m.
Genesee Room
19
Sunday
24
Winter Break
Campus Closed
31
Winter Break
Campus Closed
18
MCC
Band/Choir/Chamber
Singers Concert
MMB Auditorium
Concert at 3 p.m.
25
Winter Break
Campus Closed
1
Winter Break
Campus Closed
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