THE VIEW FROM THE VALLEY

“In all, the chemistry lab

will now support greater

student learning, diverse

instructional methodolo-

gies and a safer labora-

tory environment for

everyone.”

- WVC President Matt Fowler

WVC’s Newly Remodeled Chemistry Lab

Students in WVC’s Chemistry classes are returning to a new environment in the Chem-

istry Lab, and one which was much needed. Reflecting back to a year ago, the aware-

ness of several safety issues that required repairs and alterations in the WVC Chemis-

try Lab were made known. The Capital Development Board indicated they were fund-

ing projects under their Capital Renewal Funds that the District had requested several

years ago. The estimated cost for this Capital Renewal Project was $250,000. The

IECC Board of Trustees approved the commitment of District funds for the completion

of the Wabash Valley College Chemistry Lab project.

The chemistry lab is original to the Science Building built in 1975 and was not designed

to accommodate both lecture and laboratory work. With the increased enrollments at

the College and contemporary instructional methods melding both laboratory presenta-

tion and lecture, the lab had to be adapted to meet the needs of our students. This

required a critical look at the functionality and the safety of students utilizing a space for

multiple purposes. Students entering the new lab will quickly notice the change in the

orientation of the room. The front of the classroom used to be along the long side of

the room. The newly remodeled classroom supports two fronts with a lecture area on

the short side of the room and the multimedia along the long side of the room. Stu-

dents will also notice the workspace for books, equipment, and general laboratory

space has nearly doubled since the room was remodeled.

WABASH VALLEY COLLEGE An Illinois Eastern Community College

Volume 9, Issue 7 January 14, 2015

WVC’s Chemistry Lab Undergoes Major Improvements

WVC Chemistry Instructor, Dr. Laura Bruck

Sandra Craig Is First Recipient of TRIBE Award Sandra Craig, Director of the Learning Resource Center at Wabash Valley Col-

lege, has been selected as the first recipient of the TRIBE Award. This new em-

ployee recognition award, established for WVC staff and student employees, was

launched this year for the purpose of recognizing outstanding full-time and part-

time staff or student employees of WVC who show exemplary individual achieve-

ment, contribution, and performance in their jobs and other related duties beyond

their own offices. Also, the Award is to acknowledge those employees whose

efforts have inspired and supported the performance and achievement of others.

This Award allows employees to nominate fellow employees, creating a collabora-

tive environment in which employees take pride and share the work of their peers.

The name of the award, the TRIBE Award, shall stand for: True Role Model In-

spiring By Example. This award will be presented each fall and spring semester

to a WVC staff or student employee who demonstrates: A positive attitude toward

work responsibilities, co-workers, and customers, and serves as a role model for

others; Commitment to quality in carrying out job responsibilities, and is an asset

to the IECC/WVC community; and a Willingness to exercise servant-leadership,

take initiative, and accept and carry out additional responsibilities beyond regular

job assignments for the good of the campus community as a whole.

A Committee comprised of the President, Dean of Instruction, Director of Busi-

ness, Director of Enrollment Management, Athletic Director, Assistant Dean of

Student Services, O & M Team Leader, and Administrative Assistant to the Presi-

dent shall have the responsibility for managing the nomination, selection, and

award process for the TRIBE Award. Members of the Committee are not eligible

to receive the award during their time of service.

In addition to recognition at the

Fall and Spring Faculty/Staff Work-

shops, all recipients shall be rec-

ognized at the May graduation

ceremony.

Sandra serves as the CARLI li-

brary director for Illinois Eastern

Community Colleges and is a

member of the Illinois Library As-

sociation and the Illinois Associa-

tion of College and Research Li-

braries Association. She is a past

president of SILRC (Southern Illi-

nois Learning Resource Consorti-

um). She chairs the Learning Re-

source Committee at WVC and

sits on the Technology Committee.

Sandra serves as the Co-curricular

representative for IECC LRCs for

the Students First initiative. Also,

she initiated the digitization project

for IECC through CARLI. Projects

completed in this area include the

digitization of WVC archives, in-

cluding yearbooks and digitization

of OCC yearbooks. Sandra also

serves as a literacy representative/

advocate for the AOK network in

Wabash and Edwards Counties.

The WVC Library was featured in

the Illinois State Library Newsletter

this past fall for its efforts in provid-

ing a Summer Reading Program

to area children.

In addition to her involvement in

WVC and IECC organizations and

activities, Sandra serves as pianist

for her church and assists with

special programs. She has served

as Wabash County Chairman of

Relay For Life and as captain of

the Walking Warriors Relay For

Life team. She is the proud moth-

er of Melissa and Peter and the

very proud Nana of Craig and

Myles.

Dr. Matt Fowler presents the TRIBE Award to Sandra Craig at the January 7 Spring Workshop.

WVC President Matt

Fowler was pleased

with the announcement

of the funding and stat-

ed that “This project

will further enhance the

service we provide the

students and residents

of southeastern Illinois,

southwestern Indiana,

and northwestern Ken-

tucky. The timing by

Governor Quinn and

the vision by the IECC

Board of Trustees and

CEO Terry Bruce could

not have been better

as we marry this pro-

ject with our previous

project, creating a Stu-

dent Services Center

that includes registra-

tion, advising, financial

aid, and the billing of-

fice. These are truly

exciting times for stu-

dents of Wabash Val-

ley College.”

WVC Granted $4 Million for Addition to Main Hall Along with the excitement of a new calendar year and the beginning of Spring Semester, excitement pre-

vails on the campus of Wabash Valley College with the “Good News” from the Governor’s Office – the

granting of $4 million for a new addition to Main Hall.

This addition to Main Hall will consist of a two-story building with approximately 20,000 gross square feet

helping to further consolidate student support services on campus. The majority of the space will be devot-

ed to moving the Campus Bookstore, Student Center, and Red Café from the David L. Hart Student Center

to Main Hall while creating a new banquet room and classrooms.

Currently Main Hall houses the majority of student support services, and, therefore, is a high traffic area on

campus; the current support services of the cafeteria and bookstore are located in a separate building, an-

cillary to no other services on campus. The cafeteria and bookstore are extremely popular on campus, but

their location creates parking and other problems due to their location. The new location will not only solve

these problems for students and the community, but also provide expanded services.

Also, the expansion may include the creation of two computer labs for instructional purposes. These could

replace two current labs which would be converted back to classrooms again as they were originally de-

signed. The two additional classrooms would accommodate lecture classes and allow for more course

offerings. These larger classrooms will allow larger class sizes and greater efficiency of student-to- teacher

ratio while still maintaining the atmosphere and mission of the community college. Ultimately, there is much

work and discussion to be done with the State, and our architects.

Chief Executive Officer Terry Bruce commended Governor Quinn for his release of these funds, “The Gov-

ernor indicated that these buildings would be built and his word was good. Senator Dale Richter and Rep.

David Reis worked to get the required bond funding and should be thanked for their leadership in getting

these funds released.”

G. Andrew Fischer, Chairman of the IECC Board of Trustees, called this “fantastic news for Wabash Valley

College. Capital improvements on this scale are incredibly rare in today’s financial environment. Students

at Wabash Valley College will see great benefits in services and instructional abilities with this expansion.

We are so pleased that the State of Illinois sees what an asset WVC is in this community and desires to

invest further into its success for the sake of these students.”

This will not be a quick project and patience will be needed during this process.

Main Hall