Oct. 26, 2009

The DigestWhat’s Happening at KVCC

What’s below in this edition

New look, approach (Pages 1/2) SSC events (Pages 12/13) Boo, flu (Pages 2/3) Digging history (Pages 13/14) Veterans Day (Page 3) Costume contest (Pages 14/15) United Way (Pages 3/4) ‘Phantom’ (Pages 15/16) Auto III open house (Pages 4/5) Afro drumming (Pages 16/17) Extra food? (Page 5) Visit Germany (Page 17) Chinese opera (Pages 5/6) Yoga time (Page 17) Wind Academy (Pages 6/7) Hospitality training (Page 17/18) Band concert (Page 7) Texas Township (Page 18) Faculty Success Center (Pages 7/8) Linda’s landscapes (P-18/19) Wellness screens (Pages 8/9) GVSU here (Pages 19/20) Managing weight (Pages 9/10) New trustees (Pages 20/21) WeightWatchers (Page 10) DeKam’s day (Pages 21/22) Blood clinic (Pages 10/11) Transfer tips (Page 23) A big deal (Pages 11/12) And Finally (Page 23)

☻☻☻☻☻☻KVCC’s ‘brand’ to be unveiled Friday

Trumpets, please!KVCC’s “branding” initiative, which was launched just about one year ago, will

be capped off at a pair of “Brand Reveal” presentations on Friday (Oct. 30).The first is slated for 9:15 a.m. in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater at the

Kalamazoo Valley Museum. The Dale Lake Auditorium will be the site for the second at 1 p.m.

As President Marilyn Schlack said in her invitation to the college community, “You will see how communication, collaboration and commitment have brought us to this point.”

The process began in mid-October of 2008 when the Chicago firm of Lipman Hearne began its information and data collection. Its representatives also conducted a series of interviews with administrators, students, faculty, alumni and staff on campus and conversed with business, educational, governmental and civic leaders.

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The process was seeking:● A better understanding of what the institution means to its audiences. ● A focus on what must be accomplished to continue reaching these audiences

and building new ones. ● Improved efficiency and effectiveness in how marketing resources are used. ● A common language that improves the quality of dialogue, especially about the

future. To move the initiative along in its early stages, a collegewide steering committee

was established. Its members included Mike Collins, Deborah Dawson, Jim DeHaven, Steve Doherty, Mike Keller, Karen Matson, Candy Horton, and Schlack.

Six “branding” objectives were identified: build awareness of KVCC’s full portfolio; establish a consistent brand image; recruit and retain students; increase private support; build alumni affinity; and clarify opportunities for growth.

After the Lipman Hearne interviewers boiled down what they had heard and scheduled another package of interviews, the findings and conclusions were turned over to a “creative group” that took the process to its conclusion, working through the summer to reach this point.

Co-chairing that group were Matson and Keller. Joining them in the creative phase were business instructor Steve Walman, part-time design instructor Thomas Mills and Thomas Wrench, a 2009 graduate of the Center for New Media program. Karen Visser was later added to address implementation. "We are presenting an alternative brand concept that's 'simply different' from other colleges," Matson said. "We felt a tagline was often cliché, and opted for what we think is a stronger, more emotional connection to KVCC. It will all be explained in the presentation."

“We've used the term ‘brand essence’ and ‘brand promise,’” Keller added, “but the presentation will give a broader understanding of the various components as well as the terminology.”

One of the important components of the branding process is to captures the essence of what KVCC is all about. It will shape and forge the messages that KVCC wants to foster in positioning its future, to pinpoint what distinguishes it from similar institutions, and how all of these factors can define strategies for future actions in presenting itself to the public.

Get ready for the flu to bug usIf you’re down and out, do us all a favor -- don’t lift up your head and shout, “It’s

gonna be a great day” no matter how badly you feel. Stay home, especially if you experiencing flu symptoms. As Amy Louallen, the

college’s human resources manager, informed the college community last week, H1NI, formerly known as the Swine Flu for some strange reasons, is already pigging out on Southwest Michigan.

KVCC has established a committee to address appropriate planning and preparedness in conjunction with the Kalamazoo County Department of Health and Community Services along Center for Disease Control guidelines. The intent is for the college to defer to government authority and public-health directives as what is being called a “pandemic” impacts the state.

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KVCC’ers who want the most up-to-date information and guidance can tap into this web page: http://www.kvcc.edu/safety/pandemic.

While common sense comes into play, those who feel sick should isolate themselves as much as possible.

This form of influenza is extremely contagious, but is on the most part a mild form that runs its course in less than a week without prescription medication. Medical attention should only be sought if the person is classified as high risk or the illness worsens after seven days.

Instructors are also asked to cut their students some slack by not requiring a note from a physician if they miss class because of illness and by being a bit lenient in the application of an absenteeism policy.

This webpage is accessible to staff, faculty, students, and any other members of the community. It will contain constantly updated information and reports, and also feature a five-minute video. Another way to reach the site is the go to the KVCC home page, and then click on “College Resources” and “Pandemic Planning.”

Flag raising part of Veterans Day observanceWith the United States at war on two fronts and basically around the world as the

nation battles terrorists, it’s time to salute those who have served – and are serving -- in the armed forces.

The KVCC Veterans Club will conduct a flag-raising ceremony at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in front of the Tower Entrance of the Texas Township Campus. In addition to the probable sound of a gently flapping “Stars and Stripes” in the wind, a bugler will be present.

That will be followed later by a Veterans Day celebration from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. in the Student Commons Forum.

Both events are open to the public.

College begins its United Way campaignKVCC will be launching its part of the 2009 Greater Kalamazoo United Way

(GKUW) campaign the last week in October and maintain the initiative through Nov. 6. The communitywide fund drive was started on Sept. 9 and is scheduled to end Nov. 20. This year’s goal is $9.1 million, which is about what the campaign raised in 2008 as, for the first time in anyone’s memory, the fund drive fell short of reaching its goal.

The GKUW supports 60 human-service programs in 42 member agencies, from Girls on the Run to round-the-clock crisis intervention. This year’s campaign theme is again “Live United,” with a tagline of “Give. Advocate. Volunteer. Live United.” Western Michigan University President John Dunn is the campaign chairman for 2009. The supported agencies have a variety of missions, including physical and mental health, strengthening families and youth, strengthening community, and increasing each person’s self-sufficiency.

Together, they deliver services for the growing ranks of the unemployed, the increasing number of children receiving some kind of food assistance, a homeless

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population that is spiking and is 41 percent children, more and more people losing their health coverage, and a boost among people who are losing their homes.

“As in the past,” said Steve Doherty, who is chairing the college’s two-week effort, “your gifts have been greatly appreciated and we thank you for your consideration.”

Those who choose to participated can use payroll deduction that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2010. Pledge cars can be forwarded to Denise Baker in Room 3380 or dropped off with other members of the campaign team.

Among the member agencies are Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Boys and Girls Club, Comstock Community Center, the Community Healing Centers, Goodwill Industries, MRC Industries, the Portage Community Center, the Salvation Army, the YMCA, the YWCA, Senior Services Inc. the Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo, the Hispanic American Council, Hospice, Ministry with Community, the Douglass Community Association, Gryphon Place, and Family and Children Services.

Automotive Academy plans open houseAn open house on Nov. 5 will help launch the third edition of the KVCC

Automotive Academy for which applications are still being accepted. Just like the high-tech vehicles that it trains prospective mechanics to maintain,

the academy format is being fine-tuned. It will be shorter in duration, smaller in size, and slightly redesigned in instructional delivery.

The training will be staged in the M-TEC of KVCC, located on the college’s Groves Campus off 9th Street along I-94, instead of at the Texas Township Campus’ automotive facilities.

That is also where the Nov. 5 open house will be staged from 4 to 6 p.m. The third academy is slated to begin Nov. 23.

The agenda will include information about the academy, remarks by lead instructor Hector Orlandi, and a seminar on “Emerging Technologies in the Automotive Industry.” Refreshments will be served.

One of the new wrinkles will be a textbook-less approach. Instead, each student will have access to a laptop computer that they can use to research on the Internet for the online maintenance services offered by automotive manufacturers and suppliers.

Under Orlandi, there will also be a shift in instructional design. The first two academies, which ran for 42 weeks, featured a third segment that had enrollees, in effect, running their own repair shop under the guidance of their instructors.

The new format will have that kind of training integrated throughout the instructions. When the students are being trained in brake work, that’s the kind of repairs they will be making right then and there instead of waiting to the end.

The theory is that will be a more effective and hands-on way of learning and training because the students will be applying that knowledge quickly instead of waiting until later when there could be a tendency to forget.

Instead of a peak enrollment of 17, the third academy will be limited to 12 enrollees. Among the selection criteria in the competitive process are the quality of the written applications, a “documented work ethic,” interest in and knowledge of automotive technology, and driving records.

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Within five days of submitting an application, a prospective enrollee will be notified as to whether he/she has met the basic eligibility criteria and be scheduled for an interview. Notification of acceptance into the academy will also be within a five-day period.

The fee for the third academy, which will run through next July, is $9,500. This includes uniforms valued at $300 and $7,000 in high-tech tools that automotive technicians need to function.

“The automotive academy is like a job,” said Orlandi, who has more than 25 years of global experience as an automotive-service technical engineer. “We look for students who can make a full-time commitment.”

Beginning on Nov. 23, the enrollees will be in class or in the lab from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays. Stressed will be the eight automotive-knowledge areas that are certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and preparing students to reach those standards.

Financial aid is available, and scholarship funds awardable through the Kalamazoo Promise also qualify for the KVCC Automotive Academy.

A complete description and application can be downloaded at www.kvcc.edu/training. Then click on “Automotive Technician Academy.” Information is also available by calling (269) 353-1282.

Bring that surplus food to campusFor the holiday season from Thanksgiving through Christmas, the college is

coordinating a food-collection effort for Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes. Faculty, staff and students can donate canned and bottled foods, along with

edibles that are packaged and unopened, all of which will be distributed by the agency to needy Kalamazoo-area residents.

Donations may be made in Room 4220 in the Student Commons, in a receptacle near the faculty offices, and in the Student Success Center.

More information is available from Mary Johnson, student activities and programs coordinator, at extension 4182 or mjohnson@kvcc.edu.

Chinese opera booked for Lake performanceA free performance of a traditional form of Chinese opera featuring artists from

the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing will be hosted by KVCC on Wednesday (Oct. 28).

Co-sponsored by the newly formed Confucius Institute and the Diether H. Haenicke Institute for Global Education at Western Michigan University, the 7 p.m. staging in the Dale Lake Auditorium is open to the public as well as students and staff.

Six vignettes from classical Chinese operas will offer the audience an opportunity to learn about this type of musical creativity best known for its usage of elaborate costumes, intricately painted face masks and a unique singing style.

Performances include acrobatics, dance and martial arts. The stories on which the vignettes are based date as far back as 200 A. D.

Based in Ellsworth Hall, the Confucius Institute was established last July via a five-year, renewable agreement in collaboration with China's Office of Chinese Language Council International, known more commonly as the Hanban. The partnership will provide new Chinese-language and cultural-studies options for WMU students and

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faculty. It also has the potential to dramatically expand international opportunities for area schools and local businesses.

"The Confucius Institute program represents the commitment on the part of the Chinese government to extend and expand knowledge about China and its language and culture with people all over the world," said Donald McCloud, dean of the Haenicke Institute. "The program represents one of the largest intercultural education programs ever established. Although differing in format in the area of international education, the Confucius Institute program holds many goals similar to our Fulbright Scholar and student-exchange programs." One of the institute’s goals is a commitment to extend the teaching of the Chinese language and culture to students and to community residents. It seeks to strengthen collaborations with local schools and community businesses, train teachers and offer language and culture workshops, summer camps, fine-arts events and travel opportunities.

Serving as a window and bridge to China for the region, the collaboration will bring six or seven Chinese-language faculty members, financially sponsored by the Chinese partners, to the WMU campus each year to help the university expand language arts and cultural offerings on campus. In addition, WMU's library holdings will be enhanced, and the Beijing Language and Culture University will designate WMU as one of its major study-abroad sites, sending as many as 30 students to study in Kalamazoo each year.

The WMU Confucius Institute will be supported over its first five years with funding from the Hanban, which will be matched by WMU largely with support for such things as office space and personnel needs, assistance to visiting professors, faculty time in several colleges for institute work, travel, curriculum development and designation of an institute director. In addition to faculty salaries, funding from Hanban will provide operating funds on an annual basis.

In all, the Confucius Institute has formal partnerships in the United States with 61 universities – four of which are now in Michigan at WMU, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University. Michigan is the only state with four.

For more information, contact Jaime LeBlanc-Hadley, WMU Confucius Institute, at (269) 387-3951.

Wind academy’s first session is MondayKalamazoo Valley Community College’s first-of-its-kind-in-the-nation training

academy for technicians who will work on utility-sized turbines clustered on wind farms around the world is scheduled to be launched Monday (Oct. 26) at the M-TEC.

The 26-week training academy, based on skill standards established in Germany, will produce technicians for entry-level employment working on the giants of the wind-energy industry. They will complete training on May 9.

A second academy is booked to start May 17 and applications are still being accepted. Those applicants not accepted into the first session will be carried over to a waiting list for the second. The fee is $12,000.

The first step to gain access into the next academy is to complete the written application, which can be downloaded at this web site – www.kvcc.edu/training. Applications can be mailed or faxed to the M-TEC, or dropped off personally.

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An algebra test is also part of the screening process, along with the results of a medical examination and documented work experience in technical fields.

The KVCC Wind Turbine Technician Academy is certified by Bildungszentrum fur Erneuerebare Energien (BZEE). Its English equivalent is “Renewable Energy Education Center.”

Located in Husum, Germany, and founded in 2000, BZEE was created and supported by major wind-turbine manufacturers, component makers, and enterprises that provide operation and maintenance services. As wind-energy production increased throughout Europe, the need for high-quality, industry-driven standards emerged. BZEE has become the leading trainer for wind-turbine technicians across Europe.

‘Brand’ on Friday, ‘band’ on MondayThe KVCC Campus Band will present a quartet of musical selections in a pair of

concerts on Monday (Oct. 26) in the Student Commons.Under the direction of conductor Chris Garrett, the 52-member group will play

“Hosts of Freedom,” “Deep River,” “Pachinko,” and “The Great Locomotive Chase” at 1:05 p.m. The musicians will repeat the performance at 1:25 p.m. Both are free and open to the public. This year’s largest-ever campus band includes:

Flute: Jan Kruse-McCoy of Portage, Shannon Love and Stephanie Shaw of Kalamazoo, Hannah Lucero of Climax, and Kristen Vierkant of Allegan.

Clarinet: Christine Baker, Brooke Briggson, Joyce Payne and Andrea Rook, all of Kalamazoo; Dawn Garrett of Vicksburg, and Steve and Jennifer Heimann, both of Comstock.

Oboe: Caitlin Brewer of Portage. Bassoon: Ruth Birman and Hans Engelke, both of Kalamazoo.Saxophone: Miriam Duggins, Hugh Lynch and Ward Vanderberg, all of Portage;

Mike Kalin of Battle Creek, and Leo Pulsinelli of Paw Paw. Trumpet: Andy Duffield of Lawton, Mark Fitzpatrick of Plainwell, Rebecca

Greene of Galesburg, Merle McCoy and Martin Wright, both of Plainwell; and Alex Gillum and George Sylvester, both of Kalamazoo.

Horn: Chris Channells of Richland, Joanne Decker of Mattawan, Frank Jess of Kalamazoo, and Luke Shepich of Plainwell.

Trombone: Aleks Copeland and Jeremy Koss, both of Comstock; Johnny Kilmarten and Kelly White, both of Kalamazoo; and Doug Lynes of Portage.

Euphonium: John Griffith and Cassandra Heyboer, both of Kalamazoo; Jim Woodhams of Scotts, and Kevin Coniglio of Sterling Heights.

Tuba: Bill Button of Kalamazoo, Ryan Ewing of Martin, and Terrance Spencer of Portage.

Percussion: Rebecca Bettig and Joshua Warr-Morgan, both of Mattawan; Randy Childress of Battle Creek, Bryan Stewart of Portage, and Brendan Cleary, Jamar McCaskey, Justin Union and Chris White, all of Kalamazoo.

‘Success Center’ for instructors part of college’s inventoryIf KVCC can have a “Success Center” for students, why not one for its band of

instructors?

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Under the auspices of Grant Chandler, dean of the Arcadia Commons Campus, the college is establishing the Faculty Success Center to assist the college community in focusing time, energy, and conversations about high-quality teaching and learning.

The pilot event was staged last month with an initial “Talking about Teaching seminar on “Characteristics of Highly Effective Teachers as a follow-up conversation stemming from Ken Bain’s visit to KVCC during the fall Faculty Seminar Days.

This month’s offering is titled “Creating an Engaging/Motivating Classroom Experience” and three sessions are scheduled:

Wednesday (Oct. 28) at 2 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 29) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m.

They are described as “highly interactive conversations” led by KVCC faculty and administrators. Those who wish to attend can e-mail (facultysuccesscenter@kvcc.edu). Refreshments will be provided.

Here’s the rest of the “Talking About Teaching” line-up through the end of the 2009-10 academic year:• November: “Making Lectures More Interactive” • December: “Leading Effective Discussions” • January: “Classroom Assessment Techniques” • February: “Dealing with and Preventing Classroom Incivility” • March: “The Appropriate and Inappropriate Use of Instructional Technology” • April: “Designing Appropriate Learning Activities and Lesson Planning.”

Chandler can be contacted by extension 7849 or gchandler@kvcc.edu

Final call for wellness screenings Free wellness screenings and counseling on the Texas Township Campus are

available through Friday (Oct. 30) for full-time KVCC employees and their spouses who are both either new to the college’s program or continuing participants.

KVCC’ers and spouses can book their own 30-minute appointments through their own computer instead of making a telephone call. This can be done by going to the Holtyn and Associates website: www.holtynhpc.com and following the directions. Sue Avery, a registered nurse who is the wellness coach and coordinator for Holtyn and Associates, is conducting the screenings.

Here is the remaining schedule: Monday (Oct. 26) – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 27) – 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 29) – 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 30) – 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

While payoffs in the past have focused on one’s personal and individual health, it is now starting to pay off in the pay checks of employees.

The one-on-one appointments include a glucose analysis, an HDL and cholesterol evaluation, a blood-pressure check, a body-composition reading, an assessment of cardio-respiratory fitness, an overall health survey, an individual fitness assessment, and a personal consultation.

The 30-minute screenings can be done on work time. For more information, contact Blake Glass, manager of the college’s Employee Wellness Program, at extension

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4177 or bglass@kvcc.edu or Avery at (269) 267-3712 or savery@holtynpc.com. She can be contacted for assistance in enrolling in the wellness program for the first time and in registering spouses.

All full-time staff, faculty and administrators – and their spouses -- are encouraged to sign up for this college-sponsored program, even if previous screenings had not identified any health risks.

Participants should wear comfortable, loosely fitting clothing. Short-sleeve tops are recommended. Fasting is not required, but it is advised not to consume caffeinated beverages two hours prior to the assessment and to refrain from smoking.

The testing is paid for by the college.“Our employee-wellness program has been successful in helping to control

health-care costs for the college and in assisting staff members achieve their personal goals,” Glass said. “We are hoping for a record number of fulltime employees to take advantage of this service. Hopefully, more participation will mean dollar savings in the

long run.” Weight-management class begins Tuesday

The college’s employee-wellness program will launch a 12-week weight-management class on Tuesday (Oct. 27).

Through Jan. 28, participants can take advantage of weekly “confidential” weigh-ins to complement classroom presentation on all facets of healthy eating.

“Since this class does not conclude until after the holiday period,” says program director Blake Glass, “it may be just what you need to get through that difficult time of indulgences. An added feature is the exercise component one day a week that will supplement the educational aspect.”

The sessions under the auspices of Holtyn and Associates will address such topics as food labels, portion control, the value of fiber in a diet, organic foods, good versus bad fats, effective grocery shopping, packing a healthy pantry, and exercise modes. Among the presenters will be a registered dietitian, exercise physiologists, certified personal trainers and health coaches.

While employees will be charged for the cost of class -- $120 -- there is a 50-percent rebate for those who attend at least 20 of the 24 sessions -- 10 of 12 in the classroom and 10 of 12 exercise sessions. The class is limited to 20 people. They will write a pair of $60 checks to Holtyn & Associates, but one will be returned if attendance requirements are met. Call Glass at extension 4177 for more information. If this class fills, a waiting list will be created for another session during the winter semester.

The classes will meet on Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 4370. The exercise content will be delivered on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. in either the Wellness and Fitness Center or one of the gymnasiums.

The center’s line-up of free activities to promote vitality and good health among KVCC employees is under way.

Now that you’ve pared off a few pounds so that you looked good in your bermudas and swimming togs, you can stay that way into the fall and winter because of this full regimen of drop-in exercise opportunities that runs through Dec. 23.

Here is the lineup for faculty, staff and enrolled students:

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Monday – morning workout from 6:15 to 7:15 a.m.; swimming from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and total body conditioning, 1 to 1:55 p.m.

Tuesday – swimming from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and yoga from noon to 12:55.Wednesday – morning workout from 6:15 to 7:15 a.m.; swimming from 11 a.m.

to 1:30 p.m.; and total body conditioning from 1 to 1:55 p.m.Thursday – swimming from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.. and yoga from noon to 12:55

p.m.Friday – morning workout from 6:15 to 7:15 a.m.; swimming from 11 a.m. to

1:30 p.m.; fitness cycling from 11:30 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.; and total body conditioning from 1 to 1:55 p.m.

Saturday -- swimming from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.Except for the obvious site for swimming, these exercise opportunities will be

based in Room 6040 in the Student Commons.

WeightWatchers rep to explain how to watch those poundsWeightWatchers leader Deb Kosko will be on campus Monday (Oct. 26) to talk

about weight-loss strategies for “busy” students and staff.Sponsored by the Student Success Center’s Life Resources unit, the free

presentation is booked for the Student Commons Theater from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. She’ll talk about successful ways to peel off the pounds and simple solutions to keep them off.

Time to roll up your sleeves, and give the gift of life To wrap up each episode of his TV series, “Highway Patrol,” actor Broderick

Crawford would offer some traffic and driving tips in the epilogue.In his best gruff-voiced delivery, Crawford would say:“Remember, leave your blood with the Red Cross, not on the highway.”KVCC faculty, students and staff can do just that by taking part in the “Drain the

Vein Blood Drive” on Thursday (Oct. 29), from 10:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Student Commons Theater on the Texas Township Campus.

Prospective participants should have a photo identification, a driver’s license, or a blood-donor card. Donors must also know the exact names of the medications they are taking or have taken during the last month.

Those who are at least 17, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds when fully dressed, and are in good general health may be eligible to donate blood at this clinic, which is also open to the public.

To schedule an appointment, type in www.givelife.org and plug in “kvcc” into the sponsor code.

Every 12 seconds, someone in the United States receives a life-saving transfusion. In Michigan, that translates to about 2,000 units of blood a day. A pint of blood is truly the gift of life.

The process, which can be repeated every eight weeks, takes about 75 minutes, most of which involves registering, taking a donor’s medical history, and staying in the refreshment area. The actual blood-donating part takes between six and 10 minutes.

The donor gives a little less than a pint of blood. The typical blood transfusion in a hospital amounts to 3.4 units (pints) of blood. The average adult has eight to 12 such units flowing through his/her veins.

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It is recommended that donors eat within four hours of donating. Donors should also drink extra water and fluids prior to rolling up their sleeves to replace the volume being donated and to prevent low blood pressure. Keep up the process after the donation. Coffee and tea really don’t cut it because their caffeine causes the body to lose more fluids than taken in by consuming those liquids.

Eating foods loaded with protein and carbohydrates (bread, cereal, fruit and lean meat) makes the process more comfortable.

Here are a few more reasons for rolling up your sleeve on Thursday:* Volunteer donors are the only source of blood products for hospital patients. * Approximately 20 percent of the blood used in the United States is donated by students.* One donor can save as many as four lives with a single donation because each donation is divided into its component parts - platelets, plasma and red cells.*All donated blood is tested for transmitted disease.* You cannot contract the HIV virus or any other infectious disease by donating.* Those with sickle cell anemia, cancer, heart disease, leukemia and other major illnesses may need blood transfusions to survive. Some 22 percent of the people who need transfusions are over the age of 65 and consume 52 percent of the donated blood. About 5 percent of the U. S. population donates blood.

According to the Red Cross, a “reasonable” supply of blood needed for emergencies is a three-day inventory in each region. There are some days when this part of Michigan can bank on only a half-day’s backup. The inventory must be constantly replenished because blood’s various components each has a shelf life.

Blood transfusions are also needed for life-saving medical responses, hip and knee replacements, heart surgery, hysterectomies, and treatments for many chronic conditions. Thus, the chances are great that members of all families will someday need this gift of life.

The American Red Cross also reports that a potential donor might be thwarted because of a low iron level, which impacts one’s red-cell count in the blood.

The answer is to take supplements or eat more high-iron foods -- red meat, fish, poultry, liver, fortified cereals, beans, raisins, and prunes. Consuming Vitamin-C-rich foods enhances iron buildup in the blood. Citrus fruits, broccoli and tomatoes can do that job.

Such a deal, and KVCC in line for ‘Deals’ awardKVCC’s activities in promoting wind energy and the training of technicians in

this emerging alternative source of power has been nominated by Business Review West Michigan magazine as a finalist in its 2009 “Deals of the Year” awards.

In all, the weekly magazine had designated 26 finalists in eight categories for its 2009 “Deals” salutes that honor the most significant business transactions in West Michigan that took place between Sept. 1, 2009, and Aug. 31, 2009.

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Winners in the eight industry categories will be named during a black-tie gala on Friday (Oct. 23) at the JW Marriott in Grand Rapids. Finalists were featured in a special print edition Thursday (Oct. 22) as well. Here is how KVCC’s entry was portrayed:

“As part of its new Wind Energy Center, Kalamazoo Valley Community College in February became the first school in the nation authorized to train students for wind-farm certification, following the startup of the school’s $250,000 50-kilowatt wind turbine.

“KVCC’s first-in-the-nation Wind Turbine Technician Academy, which won $350,000 in federal funding, drew strong attention. By August, some 500 people had inquired and 75 had applied for one of 16 seats in the six-month academy that begins in late October and will cost students $12,000.

“Through the college’s Michigan Technology Education Center (M-TEC), academy students will be training to install, repair and operate utility-size wind turbines that are found on wind farms in North America and overseas.

Fully equipping the training academy will cost several hundred thousanddollars more, said James DeHaven, KVCC’s vice president for economic and business development, and officials plan to go after competitive grants, too.“’It’s going to put us on the national and international map,’ DeHaven said.”

Also nominated in the education category was Michigan State University for securing a nuclear-research facility and the Battle Creek Food Training Institute. Other categories are health care, the life sciences and biotechnology, construction and development projects, real estate, business services, manufacturing, and alternative-energy initiatives.

Other Kalamazoo-area nominees are the city of Battle Creek for its downtown revitalization, the terminal expansion at the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport, the coming of the Gun Lake Casino, the purchase of Pfizer’s office complex in Portage, and Mann & Hummel adding jobs at its Portage plant.

Last July, KVCC’s foray into the arena of alternative-energy production via its Wind Energy Center based at the M-TEC received one of the publication’s annual Innovation Michigan awards for 2009.

As reported by the magazine, KVCC “is leading the way for wind-energy research and education in Michigan” as illustrated by its M-TEC becoming the national training headquarters for Entegrity Wind Systems Inc., a leading manufacturer of wind turbines that erected a 145-foot, 50-kilowatt unit on the Texas Township Campus.

Stated DeHaven at the time: “The Wind Energy Center improves the image of KVCC in the state and nation. It also helps improve Kalamazoo’s reputation with manufacturers.”

To produce the next generation of wind-energy technicians, KVCC has also established a one-year certificate program. It began with the fall semester as has a multi-discipline eight-credit course in which students will be designing a wind turbine, fabricating its components, assembling the power-generating unit, and making certain it produces electricity.

Career planning, nutrition, job hunting October topicsInstructors should alert their enrollees about the events planned by the Student

Success Center that are designed to energize academic accomplishments.

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Career adviser Diane Finch will wrap up a month-long series of “Career and Coffee Roundtable” discussions on Tuesday (Oct. 27) at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Commons Forum. Her final topic is “Implement Your Pursuit.”

To have students register or get more information, contact Finch at extension 4123. Finch will begin a new series of discussion on Nov. 4.

Scheduled for Monday (Oct. 26) is a presentation about nutrition and exercise at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Commons Forum. A third session on finding employment is booked for Wednesday (Oct. 28) from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Student Commons Forum. It will be repeated at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The third segment of “What It Takes to be Successful” is pegged for Thursday (Oct. 29) at 1 p.m. in the Student Commons Forum. Earlier that day there will be a workshop on yogic breathing at 11 a.m.

‘Sunday Series’ digs into Kalamazoo’s cemeteries “Kalamazoo Cemeteries” is the Oct. 25 installment of the Kalamazoo Valley

Museum’s 2009-10 edition of “Sunday Series” presentations. Curator Tom Dietz will dig into the community’s past at 1:30 p.m. in the Mary

Jane Stryker Theater. All of the programs are free and open to the public. The community’s founder, Titus Bronson, in his efforts to secure the designation

of his town as the county seat, promised to set aside two acres for use as a public cemetery.

Bronson’s promised cemetery, near what today is the intersection of South and Henrietta streets, was never used, according to Dietz’s research.

Rather, in December 1833, Cyren and Mary Ann Burdick, the brother and sister-in-law of Justus Burdick who owned the town’s first hotel, the Kalamazoo House, donated three acres on land at the corner of Park Place and what is now South Westnedge Avenue “to be set apart and reserved as a common burying ground.”

The first person buried there was Joseph Wood whose son was Smith Wood for whom Woods Lake is named. Wood’s funeral was in December 1833. The final burial in the West Street Cemetery, as it was known, was that of Albert Evans in May 1862.

That same year, the Kalamazoo Board of Health ordered the cemetery closed. Some of those buried there were removed and re-interred at either the Mountain Home or Riverside cemeteries. For the next 20 years, it remained a cemetery but was neglected.

In 1884, the cemetery was converted into a public park. Graves that were not removed elsewhere were left alone but their stones were turned over and covered with a new layer of soil. Today, the cemetery is known as Pioneer Park.

In 1895, Cyren Burdick’s son, R. Carlisle Burdick, sued to recover the land, claiming the city no longer was using the land as specified in the original deed of gift. City attorneys introduced as evidence the “West Street Cemetery Record of Graves” that listed the names and burial sites of more than 100 pioneers still buried there. The court rejected Burdick’s claims, ruling that while the area was used as a park, beneath the surface it remained a cemetery.

The board of health was able to close West Cemetery in 1862 because two others had been established -- Mountain Home in 1850 and Riverside in 1861.

Headstones at Mountain Home offer a look at Kalamazoo’s history over the decades, from ordinary citizens to the prominent. There are politicians: Gov.

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Epaphroditus Ransom; U. S. senators Charles Stuart, Julius C. Burrows, and Francis Stockbridge; and Allen Potter, the first mayor.

Educators such as Lucinda H. Stone and her husband, James, can be found there as can social reformers like Mary Pengelly. Banker and industrialist Jeremiah P. Woodbury, casket manufacturer Oscar Allen, “The Mint King” Albert M. Todd, paper manufacturers George Bardeen and Samuel Gibson, and pharmaceutical pioneer Dr. W. E. Upjohn are among those whose final resting place is Mountain Home Cemetery.

Col. Frederick W. Curtenius returned from the Civil War in 1862, having served one year with the 6th Michigan Infantry at the age of 56. A widower, he married his second wife, Catherine Woodbury, and together they had six children. Five died in January 1881, victims of a diphtheria epidemic. Tombstones tell that tragic story.

Originally adjacent to Mountain Home, but now part of it, is the Jewish cemetery. Purchased by the Temple B’Nai Israel, such prominent members of the 19th century Jewish community as Mannes Israel and Meyer and Bernhard Desenberg are buried there.

A historic marker is located near the tomb of Edward Israel who died on an ill-fated Arctic expedition in 1872.

In 1861, a second cemetery opened in Kalamazoo Township just east of the village. Riverside Cemetery, as it was called, encompasses the land where Rix Robinson operated a fur-trading post in the mid-1820s.

In 1862, the board agreed to sell acreage to St. Augustine Church for use as a Catholic cemetery. Just north of that lies a small separate plot originally purchased by the early 20th century Orthodox Jewish Congregation of the House of Moses. In more recent decades, a Latvian section was developed.

Although it opened during the Civil War, the cemetery was not a response to the war. However, one section has become a burial site for veterans of that war. Their graves are grouped around a monument erected by the Grand Army of the Republic, depicting a Union soldier, looking south as he stands guard against any future rebellion. In a similar plot nearby, veterans of the Spanish American War can be found. Such familiar names from Kalamazoo’s history as Col. Joseph Westnedge, manufacturer William Shakespeare Jr., Charles A. Hatfield of the Kalamazoo Corset Co. and Chester Z. Bronson, first director of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, are part of the Riverside inventory.

Here are the upcoming “Sunday Series” programs: “Newspaper Wars in Early Kalamazoo: The 19th Century Story” – Nov. 8 “Where the Streets Got Their Names: The Sequel” – Dec. 13 “The Making of the Paper City” – Jan. 10 “Welcome to the Hotel Kalamazoo: Kalamazoo’s Early Hospitality Industry”

– Jan. 24. For further information, contact Dietz at extension 7984.

The Hulk, Spiderman, Snow White coming to KVCC?The college community is invited to come dressed for the occasion on Friday

(Oct. 30), according to an informed spooksmen.The occasion is the 2009 observance of Halloween.

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KVCC’ers can become whoever or whatever they want to be for a Best Halloween Costume “competition” that will be staged in the Student Commons Forum from noon to 1 p.m.

Meanwhile, Muriel Hice reports that Texas Township Campus folks should prepare for princesses, superheroes, and all types of critters as the children from the Child Development Center make their annual trek to the main building on in search of treats on Friday.

Approximately 40 of the little tykes will arrive on campus around 9:30 or 10:00 and weave their way through the building until bags are full and bodies are exhausted. If your office will be providing treats, contact Amy Murray at amurray@kvcc.edu.

‘Phantom is ‘Friday Night Highlight’The 2004 movie version of "The Phantom of the Opera” is the Oct. 23 attraction

for "Friday Night Highlights" programming at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. showing in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater are $3. The scary theme will continue with an Oct. 30 booking of the 1948 comedy

"Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.”“The Phantom of the Opera” features Gerard Butler (of “300” fame) as the

Phantom and Emmy Rossum (who was only 16 at the time of filming) as Christine. Derived from the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which was based on the

novel by Gaston Leroux, the film begins in 1919, as the effects of a dilapidated Paris opera house are being sold off at auction. A chandelier once in pieces has been restored and newly electrically wired.

As the auctioneers display the restored chandelier, the opening crescendo of music wipes away the years of decay from the opera house as the black and white turns into color, and the audience is transported back in time to 1870, the beginning of the story, when the opera was in its prime. A disfigured musical genius called "The Phantom” lives within the deepest recess of the opera house. Tormented by his scarred face, the Phantom lives in the watery labyrinths beneath the structure. After nearly 10 years of quiet obsession with the delicate, ethereal voice of Christine and the beautiful young soprano herself, he plots to place his protégé at center stage. And thus, the love story and tragedy advance, and the plot unfolds.

“Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” is the first of several films where the comedy duo meets classic characters from Universal Studios’ horror film stable.

In this film, they encounter Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolf Man, while subsequent films pair the duo with the Mummy, the Keystone Kops, and the Invisible Man.

On a TV special in the early 1950s, the two did a sketch where they interacted with the latest original Universal Studios monster being promoted at the time, the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The 1948 film is considered the swan song for the "Big Three" Universal horror monsters – Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's monster – although it does not appear to fit within the loose continuity of the earlier films.

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The film was re-released in 1956 along with “Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer.” In 2001, the U. S. Library of Congress deemed this film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. In September 2007, Readers Digest selected the movie as one of the top 100 funniest films of all time.

Of the 35 films that the comedy team made during their often stormy relationship, this spoof of horror films is regarded as one of the pair’s funniest. Costello’s brain is ticketed for an organ transplant into Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. Along the way, Dracula and The Wolfman get in a few licks as well. It’s an inspired blend of laughs and scares with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. lending their ghoulish talents to the merriment.

Each of the "Friday Night Highlights" billings is actually a doubleheader because also planned for each evening is a 8:30 p.m. showing of the planetarium show featuring the music of U2. That, too, has a $3 admission fee.

With a laser-light show in full color streaming across the planetarium's 50-foot dome, the 35-minute production will feature the classic hits of the Dublin, Ireland, combo that has earned 22 Grammys, sold 146 million albums, and warranted induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility.

Here is the rest of the “Friday Night Highlights” schedule that includes more movies and concerts by local combos:

Nov. 6: Hoot Owls and the group's style of bluegrass and country music.Nov. 13: “Interview With the Vampire.”Nov. 20: "Miracle on 34th Street," a 1948 flick to kick off the holiday season.Dec. 4: A free concert by the Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra.Dec. 11: Carmea, the trio that won the 2009 Fretboard Festival play-in

competition at the museum.Dec. 18: The 2002 movie "8 Crazy Nights."Jan. 8: Music by Belfast Gin.Jan. 15, 22 and 29: The movies "Cutting Edge,” "Miracle," and “Cool Runnings,”

respectively.

Afro dancing, drumming to entertain familiesThe beat goes on – at least as it delivered in West Africa and other parts of the

world influenced by Afro cultures – will be the entertainment targeted for families at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Percussionist Carolyn Koebel, no stranger to musical performances at the museum, will be bringing in her Dunuya Drum and Dance troupe for a 1 p.m. performance in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater. Admission is $3.

The next family-oriented performance, featuring the music and comedy of Ron Moore, is set for Dec. 5

Dunuya Drum and Dance is described as a global drumming collective presenting music of West Africa, Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean, North Africa, and Brazil. The members strive for audience interaction via singing, dancing or playing instruments.

Koebel as a member of the Blue Dahlia combo and a percussion soloist has been booked into the museum on several occasions.

Koebel, who plays the drums, vibes, dulcimer and other percussion instruments for Blue Dahlia, has been exploring drumming and rhythm for more than 24 years. Her

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passion has taken her to some of the best instructors in the world. She is skilled in the techniques and style of West African, Afro-Cuban, American jazz, Brazilian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Celtic, Italian and classic drumming.

She has served as principal percussionist with the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, including the performance of a percussion concerto. She tours regionally and internationally with flutist Rhonda Larson, among others.

Koebel was the music director of the Michigan State University Department of Theater’s production of “Waterworks: Tales of the Hydrasphere.” With a keen interest in rhythm-based healing, she works as a music therapist in schools for children with special needs. The recipient of a master’s degree in music therapy from MSU, she was one of the key presenters at the 2005 Michigan Music Therapists conference.

Other Dunuya members are Calvin Ruff, Tommy Mac, Jennifer Nowlen, Kama Mitchell, Love Burkett, Jaidyn Kynaston, and Dasan Mitchell. They have traveled to regions featured in their drumming and dancing.

More information about events, attractions and tickets is available by checking the museum’s web site at www.kalamazoomuseum.org or by calling 373-7990.

Germany next stop on campus-based toursA KVCC graduate’s perspectives of Germany will be in the spotlight in an

upcoming presentation sponsored by the KVCC International Studies Program. Next on the itinerary will be Germany on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 2 p.m. It will

take place in Room 4380. In charge of the tour of Germany will be Nick Goodman, who is also an alumnus

of KVCC’s program. He’s lived in that nation and currently serves as a tutor in that language in the KVCC Learning Center.

Breathe in, breathe outYoga breathing techniques will be explained and demonstrated Thursday (Oct.

29)workshop in the Student Commons Forum.

Free and open to the public, it will begin at 11 a.m. and run to 12:30 p.m.Leading the session will be Renu Sharma, a certified instructor in “pranayama”

(yogic breathing techniques). Sharma is an occupational therapist.She will explain how proper breathing can improve a person’s physical, emotional

and mental health, beat back invasions by diseases, and increase a person’s positive energy by reliving daily stress.

Participants can learn to meditate and cultivate an awareness to promote a sense of peace, joy and happiness. The concept is to decrease personal stress through yogic breathing.

14-week hospitality training planned at M-TEC

A training program for those in supervisory positions in the hospitality industry has been scheduled to begin in November as the M-TEC of KVCC continues to plan for a third edition of an academy designed to prepare employees for entry-level jobs in that field.

The 14-week, every-Monday course will tentatively run from Nov. 2 through Feb. 15 at the M-TEC, located on KVCC’s Groves Campus off of 9th Street along I-94. The fee is $980. Each Monday-night session will run from 6 to 10 p.m.

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The instructor will be Scott Swope, who has 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and has guided the two previous academies to train entry-level workers.

Additional information is available by contacting Lesa Strausbaugh, KVCC’s director of career academies, at (269) 353-1289 or lstrausbaugh@kvcc.edu. She’s also the contact for Hospitality Academy III in which enrollment is limited to 15.

“The ‘Hospitality Supervisor Training’ program examines the skills and best practices in the operation of a lodging property,” she said, “and prepares enrollees for the Certified Hospitality Supervisor (CHS) exam with the American Hotel & Lodging Association.”

In 56 hours of training, they will learn everything from managing the employee cycle (recruiting, hiring, training, discipline, and separation), to proper documentation techniques, safety and loss prevention, and the principals of “yield management.” “This training is designed to enhance the skills of all hospitality professionals,” Strausbaugh said, “from the up-and-coming associate looking to forge ahead with his or her career, to the experienced hospitality professionals looking for an opportunity to study their craft.”

Those who complete the program can take the CHS exam. Information about this aspect and registration instructions on line are available via the M-TEC of KVCC’s web site at http://mtec.kvcc.edu/.

Strausbaugh reports that a version of the college’s Hospitality Academy began last week at Kellogg Community College. Kellogg partnered with KVCC to bring hospitality training to 12 Michigan Works! clients from the Albion/Battle Creek market. Swope is the instructor for that program as he has been for the first two KVCC hospitality academies.

M-TEC to host meeting on Texas Township issuesTexas Township will hold a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct.

28) at the M-TEC of KVCC in the Groves Campus.The agenda will include an update on the township’s financial situation, a

presentation by Kalamazoo County Road Commission Managing Director Joanna Johnson, discussion on the township’s roadwork policy, an update on parks activities including a proposed farmers market, an update on the fire department, and a review of various issues facing the township. Jim Mischler will moderate the meeting at no cost to the township, Texas Township Supervisor Dave Healy said. Mischler is a former television-news anchor.

Rzoska’s landscapes on display at CNMLinda Rzoska’s digital paintings of the Irish landscape, inspired by 10 visits to the

culture-rich country, are on display in the KVCC Center for New Media through the Nov. 6 Art Hop.

Rzoska’s impressions capture what she has seen and experienced in Ireland by guiding KVCC students to Ireland over the last seven years.

While Rzoska, a new-media instructor and now program coordinator at the center, has led KVCC contingents to Burren on Ireland’s west coast overlooking Galway Bay since 2000, her digital paintings on exhibit were the result of a 2009 winter-semester

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sabbatical that took her to Poland and The Netherlands (each for two weeks), and finally back to Ireland for a seven-week period.

Her repeated visits there and eventually the sabbatical stemmed from a question she asked herself – if she could do anything that she wanted, what would it be? The answer – teach art in Ireland.

A bit of googling on the Internet connected her to the Burren College of Art, which led to the excursions under the aegis of the KVCC-based Midwest Institute for International/Intercultural Education as well as an artist-in-residence appointment.

Why Ireland?“I have Irish ancestry,” said Rzoska, who joined the KVCC faculty in 2000 after

23 years as an illustrator and graphic designer. “I have always been fascinated with Irish literature, history, folklore, art and Celtic spirituality. There is a connection for me and the country’s landscapes, and it’s why I always wanted to go there.”

For centuries, that part of Ireland has been a source of inspiration for all genre of artists — poets, novelists, painters, sculptors, musicians and playwrights, and now for Rzoska.

The Burren College of Art is on the grounds of a 16th-century castle. Known as “The Stony Place,” Burren is home to a wealth of archeological and monuments that includes megalithic tombs, medieval castles and abandoned abbeys.

From an abbey built in 1194 to a 9th -century ring fort built of stone to a 6,000-year-old tomb to cliffs that plunge 700 feet to the Atlantic to the coastal limestone region known as Black Head, it has been an important part of Ireland’s legend for artistic creativity.

Rzoska said she sought the sabbatical and the short break from teaching to regain what she construed as her lost artistic soul. She thought she was “losing touch with the artist within me.” To regain that touch, she used graphite drawings, photos and videos of what she saw, and from those sources created her digital paintings.

Believing that western civilization has basically lost the spiritual and cultural relationship with nature’s landscapes, Rzoska said the essence of her digital paintings is “to honor all the living things that exist in every aspect of the landscape. Often I portray this life in human form in order to relay the precious and beautiful qualities of all life.”

Also gaining insights from the writings of author Terry Tempest Williams who has spoken at KVCC on two occasions, Rzoska staged a pair of one-person shows in The Netherlands and Ireland during her sabbatical, including being the subject of a news article in a Dutch newspaper headlined “Digital Romantics from Linda Rzoska.”

While in Poland, she visited the remnants of the Stutthof Concentration Camp that was established near Gdansk that was established in the fall of 1939 and was the scene of the extermination of Polish intellectuals and Jews.

“One cannot visit a place like this,” she said, “without being significantly undone. My view of humanity has been forever changed.”

Rzoska garnered some coverage in The Kalamazoo Gazette’s “Ticket” tabloid that previewed the October Art Hop.

She told report Simon Thalmann that the creations stemmed from her interest in nature and spirituality. She described them as being “something about the sense of place or the personality of the landscape, and how important that is to people, to the human race, to the world.”

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She said that in contemporary times in a modern culture, “we have a tendency to move so fast that we really don’t notice it, and we’ve kind of lost touch with that. My sabbatical gave me the opportunity to spend a lot of time just immersing myself in the landscape.

Grand Valley due here Nov. 18 for on-site admission Following in the long-standing footsteps of Western Michigan University, Grand

Valley State University will hold its first On-Site Admission event on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Commons Theater.

KVCC students will have an opportunity to meet with GVSU admissions personnel and will be given an admissions decision on the spot. Also, a financial-aid representative will be on hand to answer questions.

Appointments are available in half-hour slots, and can be made in the Transfer Resource Center office (Room 1364) or by calling Robyn Robinson at extension 4779. Students should bring the following items to their appointment:

* GVSU application that is available online or in the Transfer Resource Center office. * $30 application fee.* official transcripts from all colleges attended.

If students have completed less than 30 semester credits, GVSU will also need the following: * official high school transcripts.

* ACT scores.The Transfer Resource Center is also currently taking appointments for WMU's

On-Site Admissions that is set for is Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Editor, MPI exec join foundation boardThe editor of the Kalamazoo Gazette and the chief operating officer of MPI

Research in Mattawan, newly appointed to the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Foundation Board of Trustees, will attend their first meeting on Thursday (Oct. 29).

Rebecca Pierce and Bill Harrison will join the 17-member board, replacing Bill Hoenes and Richard Olivanti who have both served the maximum of three three-year terms.

One of the first decisions they will help make at their inaugural meeting will be taking a look at the grant proposals that were filed by the Sept. 30 deadline. The deadline for the next granting cycle is Dec. 23 with decisions to be made at the trustees’ Jan. 29 meeting.

Harrison, who joined MPI Research in 1993, is responsible for the daily operations at the business that focuses on the pre-clinical and early-clinical research needs of the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical-device, animal-health and agri-chemical industries. Prior to that, he was director of regulatory affairs and operations at what is now Pharmaco LSR.

A graduate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology where he majored in biomedical engineering, Harrison, who also serves on the governing board of MRC Industries, has more than 25 years of experience in contract laboratories.

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Pierce, an alumna of the University of Michigan who was raised in the Detroit area, was named the Gazette’s first female editor in its 172-year history in August of 2000 and only its fourth editor since 1912.

She first came to Kalamazoo as a reporter in 1984, covering education, the courts, and local government. After a short stint at the Bay City Times to gain managerial experience, she returned to Kalamazoo as the daily’s metro editor responsible for local coverage.

Other members of the board are Ed Bernard, David Jarl, Albert Little, Michele Marquardt, Catherine Metzler, Jerry Miller, John Saunders, David Tomko, James Weber, T. Kenneth Young, and Carolyn Williams with Dawnanne Corbit serving as chairwoman, Jeff Gardner as vice chairman, Charles Wattles as treasurer and Larry Leuth as secretary.

The foundation was established in 1980 to enhance educational opportunities and the learning environment for KVCC students, faculty, staff and affiliated entities. With nearly $8 million in assets, it supports and promotes academic, literary and scientific activities.

The KVCC Foundation annually provides more than $300,000 in grants and scholarships.

In recent years, it has provided financial assistance to restore, expand and technically upgrade a building in downtown Kalamazoo to become the home of KVCC’s Center for New Media, support the college’s Honors Program that involves an average of 30 to 35 students each academic year, support educational programs at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, upgrade laboratories and the use of technology in the teaching of physics and chemistry, and providing special assistance to minority and non-traditional students who face unique problems when focusing on their educational goals.

For more information about the KVCC Foundation and its funding opportunities, contact executive director Steve Doherty at 488-4442.

DeKam’s scholarship saluted at WMU Instructor Kristin DeKam is the 2009 recipient of the Western Michigan

University Department of Philosophy’s “Alumni of the Year Award.”The 1999 master’s recipient who joined the KVCC faculty the following year will

be saluted as part of the WMU College of Arts and Sciences’ reception to celebrate distinguished graduates on Friday (Oct. 23) from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the South Ballroom of the Bernhard Center.

Earlier at 3 p.m., DeKam will make a presentation titled “The Socratic Methods in the Community College” to an audience of WMU philosophy instructors and College of Arts and Sciences’ administrators and department chairs, followed by a question-and-answer dialogue.

“I’ll talk about pedagogy,” said the former Bloomingdale resident who earned her first degree in psychology and social work at Michigan State University in 1991, “but basically I want to brag about KVCC, dispel myths about who we are, and talk about how I use analytical philosophy (the Socratic Method) to teach my specific classes. I really want them to ask about KVCC and what I do out here.”

DeKam was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Bloomingdale High School where she also earned National Merit Scholar status. While at MSU where she also served as a graduation speaker, she interned as a social worker at a shelter for

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homeless adults and children. The summer of her graduation, she ran a day camp for Indian children and teens in British Columbia, which led to a one-year stint as a medical social worker at a nursing home in South Haven.

All of which drove home the point that being a social worker was no longer her No. 1 goal. With solid skills in the English language, she cast about for a teaching opportunity. The cast landed a long, long, long way from her roots in central Van Buren County.

“I chose China,” she said, “probably because it was the farthest away from my home town and it offered a world view totally different from mine. It was a big enough place to get lost and start over. And that is exactly what happened. The result was the most intellectual and personal transformation I have ever had.”

The language was not totally foreign to her when she arrived in the fall of 1992 under the auspices of a nonprofit educational/cultural-exchange organization based in Los Angeles. During her social-work gig, she was tutored in Mandarin Chinese at Kalamazoo College.

Over the next three years, she taught both Chinese students and faculty at the Chongqing Communications College, the Shanghai International Trade College, and the Guangzhou Business College.

“I would come back to the United States each summer for six weeks,” she said. “I came home for good when I tired of living in rough condition. It wasn’t possible to live comfortably on my salary, but I would have stayed because I loved the culture and the people.”

DeKam returned to the Kalamazoo area in the mid-1990s, enrolled in English and philosophy classes at Western, and supported herself as a substitute teacher for the Van Buren Intermediate School District and a Head Start instructor.

“Discovered” in a 300-level philosophy class, DeKam said she was advised to study the discipline at WMU, which led to a fellowship in the WMU Graduate College and her master’s. She was a full-time instructor in the philosophy department when hired by KVCC to teach her specialty, mythology, and arts in the community.

“I was completely shocked when I was told about the award,” DeKam said. “Most of the people I graduated with went on to get doctorates. But I did very well while at Western – presented at the World Congress of Philosophy and received both a research and a graduate-teaching award. I think I had to be nominated by the professors in the department.”

The award also carries the responsibility of a second presentation – this one at noon on Jan. 29 and more intellectual in nature to her philosophy peers. “It will be on the semiotics of Julia Kristeva in the context of controversial contemporary art with feminist themes,” she said.

Kristeva is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, psychoanalyst, sociologist and feminist. Kristeva became influential in international critical analysis, cultural theory and feminism after publishing her first book “Semeiotikè,” in 1969. She travelled to China in the 1970s and wrote “About Chinese Women.”

In her leisure time, DeKam rides her war pony and thoroughbred mare. “I used to jump horses,” she said, “but now I feed them organic carrots.” She takes classes at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, visits contemporary art museums, and digs the sounds of early blues musicians.

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The Alumni Achievement Awards program began in 1997 as a way of reconnecting WMU students and faculty with alumni, as well as the alumni with the College of Arts and Sciences.

The awards are given in recognition of the recipients’ achievements in their fields and for their service to their former departments. Not every department will make a recommendation every year.

While each of the departments in the college provides different opportunities for the recipients, most spend a day or two on campus talking with students and faculty about their careers and experiences at WMU.

Transfer, scholarship workshop on ThursdayA workshop designed to help KVCC students apply to transfer to four-year

universities and to attract scholarships at their new learning destinations is set for Thursday (Oct. 29).

Counselor Gerri Jacobs and Robyn Robinson, office specialist for the KVCC Transfer Resource Center, will give the dialogue and instructions from 3 to 4:30 p.m. 5 in the Student Commons Forum.

And finally. . . Here is a modern adaptation of the Creation Story:And God populated the Earth with broccoli and cauliflower and

spinach and green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so man and woman would live long and healthy lives.

And Satan created McDonald's. And McDonald's brought forth the 99-cent double-cheeseburger.

And Satan said to man, "You want fries with that?" And man said, "Super-size them." And man gained pounds.

And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair.

And Satan froze the yogurt, and he brought forth chocolate, nuts and brightly colored sprinkle candy to put on the yogurt. And woman gained pounds.

And God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad."And Satan brought forth creamy dressings, bacon bits, and

shredded cheese. And there was ice cream for dessert. And woman gained pounds.

And God said, "I have sent you heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them."

And Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak from Cracker Barrel so big it needed its own platter. And man gained pounds, and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.

And God brought forth running shoes, and man resolved to lose those extra pounds.

And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2. And man gained pounds.

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And God said, "You're running up the score, Satan." And God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition.

And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fat fried them. And he created sour-cream dip also. And man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol.

And Satan saw and said, "It is good." And man went into cardiac arrest.

And God sighed and created quadruple-bypass surgery. And Satan created the HMO.

☻☻☻☻☻☻

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