MARICOPA News from the Maricopa Community College Retirees Association Autumn 2014

Issue Highlights:

2 Scholarships2 Maricopa Priorities3 Ballot and Dues3 Emeritus Status4 Saar Sets Example4 Retired Faculty Join FA

Governing Board Increases to 7 Seats, 5 on November BallotVoting in the upcoming election is critical as the outcomes will change the dynamics of the MCCCD Governing Board as we have known it. A total of five Governing Board positions will be up for election on Tuesday, November 4. This unprecedented situation of five seats up for election to the Governing Board includes the seats aligned with Maricopa County Districts 3, 4, and 5, and two new at-large seats.

The state Supreme Court decided that the MCCCD Governing Board should be able to expand from five to seven members. That was the message of Dawn Wallace, Director of State and Local Government Relations, who told the Governing Board at their August 26th meeting that the Supreme Court vacated an Appellate Court order.

The Arizona Superior Court had ruled that the legislation creating the new at-large seats was unconstitutional. The state Supreme Court was scheduled to hear an appeal to that decision and if they had upheld the Superior Court ruling, the at-large seats would not be included in the election. But, the Arizona Supreme Court recently vacated the Court of Appeals opinion in STEVE GALLARDO v STATE OF ARIZONA, thus reinstating the two at-large MCCCD Governing Board seats, which had been ruled unconstitutional about a month earlier.

The Supreme Court’s order has the effect of allowing at-large elections to go forward. This means voters are facing not three, but five, Governing Board elections this November. Four candidates qualified for the at-large race; the top two vote-getters will be elected, along with the winners of three district seats. All Maricopa County voters may vote on the at-large seats while only voters living in County districts 3, 4, and 5 will get to vote on candidates running for seats representing those respective districts.

Employees, students, retirees and community members were encouraged to attend the candidate forums for the MCCCD Governing Board elections. Candidate forums were held at the community colleges in September.They can be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/user/MaricopaCollegesTV.

Retiree Picnic

Faculty Association Celebrates Retirees

Saturday, October Don’t Miss it!

25th 11 - 2 p.m.Call a colleague and join in the celebration recognizing the service provided by Maricopa Community College retirees from all employee groups. Refreshments will include picnic food, soft drinks, beer and wine.

MCCCD Faculty Association Office520 E. Southern Avenue

Tempe, AZ

At Large CandidatesMario DiazJohn HeepTracy LivingstonEddie Tiggs

District 3 CandidatesJohanna HaverReyes Medrano, Sr.Fred Zook

District 4 CandidatesJean McGrathRandolph Lumm*

District 5 CandidatesAlfredo Gutierrez*

*Incumbent

Who are the Candidates?Go to the Maricopa Recorder’s website and input your address. (https://recorder.maricopa.gov/

pollingplace/getdistrict.aspx) Look for the district number

listed for “Supervisorial/MCCCD/SPHCD”.

For other questions related to the elections, voting, or resources for students and others to get involved in voter education and outreach efforts, contact the Center for Civic Participation at civic.participation@domail.maricopa.edu, or call (480) 731-8156.

Scholarships Awarded to 3 Students this YearThanks to donations, MCCRA reached its endowed scholarship fund goal of $100,000. MCCRA gave scholarships of $2,680 to three deserving students this year.

Nichole Marie Denman, Estrella Mountain Community CollegeDenman is a single mom who wanted to “lead by example” for her children by pursuing a college degree in a field where she could make an impact. With a goal of becoming a nurse, she registered in a concurrent enrollment program (CEP) between EMCC and NAU to earn an RN and BSN at the same time. She also volunteered for a Special Olympics program held last spring at MCC and a summer long experience at Watkin’s Shelter for the Homeless.

Stacee Himes, Rio Salado CollegeAs a home aid for an autistic child and a mother of two autistic children who are home-schooled, Himes needed a flexible educational program. Rio Salado allowed her to take classes online to achieve an associate’s degree and she is on the President’s Honor roll. Her “passion for writing and film studies” led her to dream of transferring to ASU to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Film and Media. Himes volunteers at a local youth theater and has participated in the Autism Walk and Phoenix Comicon.

Howard Allen Hays, Estrella Mountain Community CollegeWith the goals of becoming a CPA, starting his own accounting business and organizing a local non-profit to help people use their money, Hays is studying accounting at EMCC. He plans to transfer to ASU’s W.P. Carey Business School. He is a member of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) and volunteered at the Health Awareness and Career Expo at EMCC.

Your gift keeps on giving, allowing more students to achieve their educational and life goals by attending one of the Maricopa Community Colleges. Donate any amount to the MCCRA Endowed Scholarship Fund by contacting Ann Oehmke at aoehmke@cox.net or (602) 265-9497. You may donate using a credit card through the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation at (480) 731-8400 or online at www.mcccdf.org.

2

Maricopa PrioritiesThe Maricopa Priorities initiative is a district-wide effort to evaluate everything MCCCD does through a process of reflective self-assessment, and identify opportunities for better strategic alignment and more efficient use of our limited resources.

On May 2nd, self-assessments were submitted by each department, academic discipline, and career/technical education program throughout the District to local task forces at each college and the district office. These task forces evaluated each self-assessment to recommend opportunities for expansion/enhancement, maintenance, restructuring/consolidation, or reduction/elimination, as appropriate.

Task forces have completed their evaluation and recommendations, which were then passed to local steering teams for additional review. Steering teams appended the recommendations, which were then shared with each college’s community for feedback. Feedback has been collected and provided to local champions (Presidents at the colleges, and the Chancellor for District Office) for a final round of appended recommendations, due September 19th. These recommendations have been forwarded to a district-wide steering team.

From September to December, the district-wide Maricopa Priorities Steering Team (MPST) will evaluate recommendations and identify opportunities for One Maricopa improvements, including regionalization or centralization of services or programs where appropriate.

In late November, final recommendations will be shared with all employees and the MCCCD Retirees Association for feedback, which will inform CEC discussions scheduled for January. Final decisions and an implementation plan are expected to be communicated by February 2015.

American Association of Retired Persons

Check out the “Real Possibilites” for retired folks in our local area at aarp.org/Phoenix

3

2014-15 DUES RENEWAL Maricopa Community Colleges Retirees Association

Name Check if information is new

Address Street City State Zip

Phone: Home ( ) Other ( )

Email address

Membership Dues are $25 / year; dues for 2014 are valid until April 2015. Dues $

Make check payable to MCC Retirees Association.

Margaret Hogan, Treasurer | MCC Retirees Association (MCCRA)2411 W. 14th Street | Tempe, AZ 85281-6942

BALLOT For the 2014-2017 MCCRA Board Nomination or Self NominationIn nominating someone for the other than yourself, please confirm the nomination with the nominee. Be sure to indicate the appropriate employee group and contact information I nominate

to be a candidate for the 2015-2018 MCCRA Board.

Please Check Employee Group: Faculty MAT/CEC M&O/Crafts/Public Safety PSA

Contact Information / EmailBallot can be mailed with dues form or mailed to: Ann Oehmke, 500 W. Clarendon, E13, Phoenix, AZ 85013Or email information to: aoehmke@cox.net

EMERITUS STATUSThe Governing Board grants Emeritus status at its monthly meetings based on nominations of recently retired faculty and executive staff.

April 2014Dr. Janet Johnson, Education, Rio Salado College

May 2014Sheila Merritt, Speech/Theater, Mesa Community College; Richard Cups, Physics; Dennis Sheehan, Business/Management; and William Roe, Psychology; Phoenix College

June 2014Frances Aileen Ormiston, Business; and Ronald Dinchak, Life Science; Mesa Community CollegeAlbert Mendez, Reading; Dr. Yvonne Montiel, Education/Reading; and Carole Rodgers, English; South Mountain Community College; Dr. Kathryn Sheffield, ESL, Phoenix College

July 2014Dr. Jacqueline Fergusson, Math/Science, GateWay Community College

August/September 2014Pat Serrano, CIS, Scottsdale Community CollegeDr. Ana Jarvis, Spanish, Chandler-Gilbert Community College

MARICOPA GOLD Maricopa Community College Retirees Association (MCCRA) 2411 W 14th Street • Tempe, AZ 85281

Ann Oehmke, President • aoehmke@cox.net • 602.265.9497Patti N. Johnson, Newsletter Editor, patti.n.johnson@cgc.eduMCCCD Marketing, Newsletter Productioncarol.diego@domail.maricopa.edu

Send your email address to jhoganaz@msn.com

Retired Faculty Can Join FAMCCCD retirees are invited to join the Faculty Association and reap the benefits of membership. Affiliate Membership is available for $10 annually or a Lifetime Membership costs a $75 one-time fee. Benefits of joining the FA include helping to insure academic freedom and professional standards, charitable giving to student success, political action committee, and lobbying efforts on behalf of faculty and pensions. An additional perk is a Legal Benefit to members, spouses and dependent children which covers a free will, living will and healthcare power of attorney, a free one-hour consultation for any legal matter and reduced contingency fees of 25% on personal injury/wrongful death cases. For a membership application, contact the FA at (480) 894-8700 or log into www.mccfa.org and click on “Join Us.”

Join us on facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/maricopa.edu.retirees

2411 W. 14th StreetTempe, Arizona 85281

4

Governing Board President Saar Sets Example

The Association of Community College Trustees recognized Maricopa Community Colleges Governing Board President Dana Saar for his commitment to excellence in community college governance. Saar completed ACCT’s Community College Governance Recognition Program (CCGRP) after participating

in seminars and trainings about financial oversight, institutional accreditation, and governance leadership. ACCT – the national association serving the needs of community college trustees – designed the CCGRP as a way to share knowledge essential to the practice of exemplary community college governance and provide individual trustees an opportunity to earn a certificate ofparticipation. The CCGRP is available only to ACCT members of community college boards.

“The CCGRP is a hallmark of individual trustee learning at the national level,” Narcisa Polonio, Ed.D., ACCT Executive Vice President, wrote in a letter to Board President Saar. “We commend you for making the commitment to excellence in community college governance.”

Saar is the first trustee in Arizona to complete the program, which started two years ago.

COVER GUYChancellor Rufus Glasper is the subject of the cover story in the August 2014 issue of Frontdoors magazine. Read to learn more about Dr. Glasper’s life and how his passion for education drove him to become the leader of the largest community college district in the United States. http://frontdoorsnews.com/2014/08/book-smart-street-smart/