CommunitasMVCC Faculty/Staff Newsletter Week of September 30, 2013

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The College celebrated Completion Day on Monday, Sept. 30, featuring a number of activities on both campuses thanks to work by members of Lambda Beta Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.

The day’s events were throughout the day under the tent on the Utica quad and displays in the Plumley Complex Atrium in Rome. At both locations, there were signing walls where students could pub-licly place their commitment to complete their degree at MVCC. Students were able to write thank you messages to faculty and staff who have impacted their completion journey.

This was also an opportunity for stu-dents to meet with an advisor to review their academic plan. Students who meet with an advisor were received a magnet confirming their commitment to complete with their projected graduation/comple-tion year.

These events weren’t limited to just the students as faculty and staff were able to share their completion stories with students while enjoying doughnuts and cider.

Signing ceremonies were held on the Rome and Utica campuses at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively. Completion banners were on display on both cam-puses.

As a way to demonstrate to the student body, faculty and staff were asked to wear shirts or sweatshirts from their alma mater as a conversation starter about their own college completion story.

MVCC celebrates Completion Day

The College celebrated Completion Day on Monday, September 30, with events held on both campuses, including the “Commit To Complete” wall signings. Above, two students sign their committ-ment in Utica. Right, Rick Quest, Dean of the Rome Campus; Randall J. VanWag-oner, MVCC President; and Keari Little, President of the Lambda Beta Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.

MAKING A VOW TO COMPLETE

83 percent of Fall 2013 dorm students are from outside the

Mohawk Valley?

Did You Know?The MVCC Board of Trustees held a special meeting on Thursday of this week to address an

important collective bargaining issue affecting the majority of the College’s employees. Following months of negotiations, the College and the Professional Association reached an

agreement for a three-year contract dated Sept. 1, 2013 through Aug. 31, 2016. The Board of Trustees met and voted unanimously to ratify the proposed contract. With this

step completed, the contract has been forwarded to the Oneida County Legislature for consider-ation this month.

Board approves 3-year PA contract

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With October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, MVCC has taken great strides to promote the prevention of such acts by lighting up the night on the Utica Campus.

Through the efforts of the College’s Healthy Lifestyles Committee, the Utica Campus is participating in this year’s “Shine the Light on Domestic Violence” campaign. For the month of October, the exterior lights on Payne Hall have been tinted purple in support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The lighting began at sundown on Oct. 1.

In addition to this month-long recogni-tion, and in association with the Mohawk Valley YWCA, MVCC will host Melissa Loiacano as presenter of “Love Shouldn’t Hurt.” This informative session is an open and honest discussion of dating, dating violence and healthy relationships. It ex-plores topics like consent, drug and alco-hol use, and technology as they pertain to healthy and unhealthy relationships.

As the community educator for the Mohawk Valley YWCA, Loiacano has been offering this material to area high schools and colleges to raise awareness of the “red flags” associated with domes-tic violence. She also provides informa-tion regarding services offered to those in need through the local YWCA.

This event takes place on the Rome

Campus on Oct. 22, at 2 p.m. in the Festine Auditorium, and on the Utica Campus Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. in the Alumni College Center, Room 116.

The MVCC Healthy Lifestyles Com-mittee is selling Domestic Violence Awareness wristbands and ribbons, with proceeds benefiting the Mohawk Valley YWCA. The committee also is encourag-ing all employees and students to wear purple on Oct. 23 in support of the cause.

The Central New York Recruiting Consortium (CNYRC) held its inaugural Job Fair Extraordinaire, Central New York’s pre-mier recruiting event, on Wednesday Sept. 25, in the Jorgensen Athletic and Event Center.

Students from all area colleges were encouraged to attend with this event being open to all job seekers.

Nearly 50 of the region’s most prominent employers, includ-ing Chobani, Turning Stone, Indium Corporation, PAR Technol-ogies, Herkimer ARC and UCP were on hand to greet the more then 500 job seekers.

“This turned out to be a very successful event for the consor-tium. Our goals is to help job seeks gain access for that face time with perspective employers,” said John Nehme, MVCC’s Coordinator of Career Services. “Several of the attendees walked away from the event with scheduled interviews.” WUTR News was a co-sponsor of the event and was on site to provide live evening news coverage from MVCC.

The CNYRC is comprised of Utica College, Mohawk Valley Community College, Herkimer County Community College, SUNYIT, Morrisville State College and USC The Business College. The CNYRC serves as a resource to employers by allowing one point of entry for companies to recruit candidates from all member institutions. The fair is one of the most effec-

tive methods of assisting employers in finding local talent to fill their hiring needs.

MVCC ‘Shines the Light on Domestic Violence’

MVCC hosts Job Fair Extraordinaire

MVCC has been very active in hon-oring and celebrating the outstanding academic performance of its students through the Lambda Beta Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. The College’s chapter has been nationally recognized for its extensive activities of providing leadership and volunteerism.

This work couldn’t have been accom-plished without the guidance and leader-ship provided by the MVCC faculty and staff who act at advisors for the students. Two of these advisors were recently rec-ognized with the Years of Service Award with the Lambda Beta Chapter.

Stephen Frisbee, Director of Libraries, and Robert Christman, Psy.D., Profes-sor of Psychology, were honored at the conclusion of the fall induction ceremony in Schafer Theater.

“Our success in earning the Five Star designation, the highest achievable in Phi Theta Kappa, is due in part to the dedica-tion of those advisors to that organization in the Lambda Beta Chapter. Certainly the leadership of Steve Frisbee for 10 years and Professor Robert Christman for five years, has contributed to the suc-cess of that endeavor,” said Maryrose Eannace, Ph.D., Vice President of Learn-

ing and Academic Affairs. This year Dr. Christman and Frisbee

have been working closely with Susan Smith and Liz Doherty to aid Lambda Beta’s continued success. They perform counseling on scholarships, rev the stu-dents up on leadership roles on the state and regional levels, and work with orga-nizing volunteer and mentor programs.

Frisbee’s focus on developing lead-ership in the chapter has resulted in students achieving state and regional leadership roles and his leadership in service projects for the students has lead to our achieving and maintaining the Five Star status. Dr. Christman’s advis-

ing of these students on their academic pathways to completion and success has been invaluable in helping these students apply and win scholarships, according to Dr. Eannance.

MVCC has inducted more than 10,000 students into the honor society since its’ founding in 1960.

Phi Theta Kappa is the International Honor Society, which serves to recognize and encourage the academic achieve-ment of two-year college students while providing opportunities for individual growth and development through aca-demic, leadership, and service program-ming.

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to rhaubert@mvcc.edu

SERVICE AWARDS - Robert Christman, Psy.D., and Stephen Frisbee were honored this fall with the Years of Service Award to the Lambda Beta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Dr. Christman received the five-year award and Frisbee received the 10-year award.

Dr. Christman, Frisbee honoredwith Years of Service Awards

BACK TO NATURE - On September 21, the International Student Services Office, the International Club and the Recreation Club collaborated to go on a hiking trip to Bald Mountain in Old Forge. There were 47 students and staff who completed the climb with a full day of enjoyment.

George J. Searles, Ph.D., has au-thored two new poems. The first was in the summer issue of The Southampton Review, published by SUNY Stony Brook at Southampton.

The second poem was in the August issue of Glimpse, published in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Searles is a Professor in the Center for Arts and Humanities, teaching English and Latin.

Dr. Searles publishestwo poems

While Team MVCC has been active from the first day of classes, the Team officially kicked off its’ 2013-14 campaign on Monday with the 4-Runners Recognition event where this year’s schedule of events was released.

During last year’s campaign, Team MVCC supported 17 organizations from around the region. New criteria to become a 4-Runner were announced at Monday’s event. Faculty and staff qualify by making a donation to the Foundation’s annual campaign and taking part in three events while the criteria for students is taking part in four Team MVCC sponsored activities.

Team MVCC recruited more than 600 volunteers and par-ticipants last year and collected more than 200 toys for local children and 300 non-perishable food items for local veterans. Team MVCC helped raise more than $57,143 of which $27,619 was raised for local non-profit organizations and $29,524 for the College’s Foundation, mostly to support scholarships.

The events Team MVCC sponsored or co-sponsored included the Marine Corps League -Holly Days Toy Drive and the Feed Our Vets campaign which was done in conjunction with the MVCC baseball team. Team MVCC also held an iPad raffle for the Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis along with recruiting more than 180 faculty, staff and student participants for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.

The Oneida County Intergenerational Clean-Up Weekend provided local elderly and disabled individuals with Fall and Spring yard cleanup. More than 45 students from six clubs vol-unteered to perform this work while more than 35 volunteered to take part in the annual Salvation Army bell ringing campaign.

Other campaigns saw Team MVCC raise $2,770 for Hur-

ricane Sandy Relief, $7,455 for America’s Greatest Heart Run & Walk with 107 participants, $5,856 for the Ted Moore Memo-rial Scholarship, and $2,551 for relief efforts of local residents devastated by the floods over the summer.

Volunteer activities also included the Mighty Run where more than 20 MVCC faculty, staff and students took part; Saranac Thursday where 20 Team MVCC members helped raise money for the United Way; and the Boilermaker Road Race where more than 30 participants helped along the International Mile with music, water and positive support.

To join the efforts of Team MVCC, contact co-chairs Sandy Cummings or Deanna Ferro-Aurience.

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The MVCC women’s soccer team is on track for a return visit to the NJCAA regional and possibly a national title run following last week’s back-to-back victories.

Playing a key role in these victories was Nicole Burline from the midfield position. She helped control the tempo and turn the title when the opposition went on a run.

For her performance, Bur-line was named MVCC’s Ath-lete of the Week for the week of September 29. Burline has started in all of the Hawks’ games this season as they have raised their overall record to 9-2 and remain undefeated in Region III competition with a 9-0 record.

Burline is a sophomore defender who graduated from Sauquoit High School. She is a chemistry major who has attained a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA).

Athlete of the Week

BurlineMVCC presented its annual Dr. Jim Dyer Award for Academic Excellence to John P. Byrne of Cleveland, N.Y., the liberal arts graduate with the highest grade point average during a cer-emony over the summer.

Byrne, an alumnus of Camden High School, graduated from MVCC in May.

The award, founded by faculty at MVCC in honor of Jim Dyer, Ph.D., honors the liberal arts graduate with the highest GPA in the humanities.

Dr. Dyer served MVCC for nearly 50 years, joining the full-time faculty from 1968 until his retirement in 1996, upon which he was named Professor Emeritus by the MVCC Board of Trustees. Dr. Dyer continued to teach part-time until 2011. He taught English composition and literature, and received the 1978 award for Excellence in Service.

Dr. Dyer passed away in May 2012.

MVCC graduate Byrne wins Dr. Jim Dyer Award

Team MVCC celebrates last year’s success