The Latest on LMC's Dynamic Facilities

ETEC Lab
The ETEC lab is complete and in full utilization this semester, complete with hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment (almost all donated by industry partners, along with the lab itself), a new sign and even a bit of landscaping.

Lot B Solar Project
The addition to the original solar panel project in parking lot B is almost complete. Any additional work required will not interfere with prime time parking at the beginning of the semester.

Football Field and Track
Our new football field and track are almost done and they are absolutely great. The football and soccer teams were able to get a preview when they used the field for a couple of final games last semester and the reviews are very positive. We are looking forward to an early February opening for your jogging/walking enjoyment.

Core Building Remodel
The former Learning Resource Center project is approaching the 50% completion mark, with occupancy scheduled for June 2009. Level one will consist of three general use classrooms; level two houses a large computer lab to be used by computer science, business and other instructional programs; the Reading/Writing Center and Tutoring Services will occupy level three; offices and conference rooms on level four will house the Office of Instruction, Marketing and Research.

Baseball Field Scoreboard
You may have heard about the new scoreboard donated by the IBEW; it is scheduled for installation within the next two months.

Art Remodel
The major remodel of the entire art facility, including the area now occupied by computer science, will commence in summer 2009. In the interim, ceramics will move to the current Graphic Arts building and the remainder of the art program will be housed in the former math area.

And yet more to come:
Planning is well underway for the major remodel of the current student services, nursing, President's Office, Business and Central Services areas to house all of student services in a wonderful new facility. Stay tuned for updates for more info on the facility and the timing.

And finally, the nursing and EMT programs are working with the architects to complete planning for a new nursing and EMT classrooms and labs that will be located in the former sciences area.

The timing of the construction for the student services and nursing projects isn't confirmed at this point, but the earliest that construction could be completed for Nursing/EMT is SP2011, at which time the student services construction could begin. And before that project can commence, we need to arrange interim space (called "swing space" in the business) for all student services, the President's Office, and Ruth Goodin and Company. Business and Central Services will be going to new permanent locations prior to SP2011.

We can definitely count on some "interesting times" during the next few years as we find places to house all of the displaced offices and live with the disruption of construction inside the college complex. Be patient and hang in there - - it will be great once it is done, just like the new buildings and quads.

Enrollment Is Up Again!!!
Thanks to everyone, from student services to facilities to instruction, we are enjoying an excellent beginning to spring semester. For a district enrollment report as of January 20th, click here to view our PDF...

PG & E Donates Truck for Emergency Response for District
College campuses around the country are now much more aggressive in their emergency planning in light of events such as the Columbine High and Virginia Tech shootings, and the huge fires in Southern California which resulted in the closure of several campuses, while others became evacuation sites and command centers.

In an effort to prepare for potential emergencies, Los Medanos College recently received a donation of a truck from PG&E that has now been transformed into an emergency support vehicle. The truck will be utilized not only by Los Medanos College but by the entire Contra Costa Community College District. It will transport required emergency equipment and support the logistical needs for the district-wide Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program and District Police Department personnel.

Officer Teddy Terstegge, the district's emergency services coordinator, spearheads the effort. It was Officer Terstegge's plan that included an emergency support vehicle to serve the entire community college district. Since there are now four campuses plus a center in Brentwood, having a vehicle to transport emergency supplies throughout the district is key. He shared his idea with LMC Foundation Executive Director Lindy Wille who, in turn, discussed the proposal with PG&E. A long-time supporter of the district, PG&E was more than eager to help out.

"PG&E is happy to provide the Contra Costa Community College District with a vehicle that will be used for such a valued emergency service," said Executive Manager Greg Hoaglin. "PG&E is always looking for opportunities to better its customers and their communities."

District Chief of Police Charles Gibson explained, "We have a difficult task to provide a safe learning environment for over 31,000 students in the District. Our task is made much easier when agencies like PG&E support the district by providing urgently needed resources. Our top priority is to provide for the safety of our students, faculty and staff; having the proper equipment is paramount for us to accomplish our mission. We are grateful to PG&E for its contribution."

With funding reductions expected for public education throughout California, financial support and supplies and equipment donations become ever more critical and appreciated. "The LMC Foundation is pleased and delighted to be the recipient of PG&E's generous donation of this truck," commented LMC Foundation Executive Director Lindy Wille. "This donation is a prime example of how community and business leaders can support our college through the LMC Foundation. Working together, we can assist our students in achieving their academic goals in a safe environment that supports academic excellence."

Parking Permits Required Starting Next Week
On January 26th, all students and employees must have parking permits on their cars. The "beginning of the semester" grace period will be over. Please mention this to your students - - they'll appreciate it!

LMC Wins Award from Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC)

Well, it doesn't hurt to "toot your own horn." The LMC Math Department can be very honored to receive an Honorable Mention in the 2009 ASCCC Exemplary Program Awards for best embodying this year's theme, Growing Our Own: Showcasing Innovative Development Programs for Faculty.

Each year, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges honors colleges for excellence in faculty development. Julie von Bergen, who just joined the tenure-track faculty in January 08, submitted the LMC entry on behalf of the college.

LMC President Peter Garcia commented, "I am very proud that the premier faculty organization in the state has acknowledged the work of Los Medanos College's faculty - - we are continuously striving to improve student learning, and this award confirms that we are among the very best educators in the state."

From the ASCCC press release:

Los Medanos College received an Honorable Mention for the Math Department Teaching Communities created for its faculty. Instead of adhering to their typical faculty interactions, the Math Department created communities of educators, comprised of both part-time and full-time faculty, which have written collaborative curriculum and common final exams. The Teaching Communities have been invaluable due to the fact that 50% of the course sections at Los Medanos are taught by part-time faculty.

"Los Medanos College's Math Department lesson studies and other teaching communities are a positive motivational professional development for our faculty throughout the department and a huge help in bringing needed consistency and equity across sections," wrote Los Medanos' Senate President, Michael Norris.

To read about the other award winners in the entire press release, click here.

We've Received Funding for FINS at LMC

Three Faculty Inquiry Network (FIN) projects have been funded at LMC!

The FIN is a statewide network of teams of community college faculty who are united around a set of shared values for strengthening developmental education. The network seeks faculty who believe in students' capabilities, who understand that basic skills involve complex cognitive routines and affective dimensions, who engage students in meaningful intellectual work, and who are committed to working together in an open, transparent, and collegial manner. Each team within the network is investigating a complex problem in basic skills education - - "a thorny, difficult question we need grapple with to better understand how students learn, what's getting in their way, and how to reach them." The FIN received 39 applications from 36 CA community colleges. LMC is the only college in the state to have more than one proposal funded.

Umoja Student Success in Math
This inquiry project is an investigation of an environment that is conducive to the success of African American mathematics students. The ultimate goal is to make visible the issues facing African American students in order to understand their needs and investigate ways to best create a community in which these needs may be met, in order for them to experience success and persist through graduation. The project will be done in collaboration with Umoja math faculty across the state. A'kilah Moore is the lead faculty for this project.

Increasing Puente Student Tranfer: A New Math Path
This inquiry project addresses a series of interrelated questions about Puente students - - their experiences, their growth as leaders, their academic progress, and obstacles they may encounter. With the goal of improving Puente "transfer-preparedness" this FIN plans to augment the Puente Learning Community with a one-year math path that begins with an experimental, open-entry, accelerated developmental math course and ends with a transfer-level statistics course. Myra Snell and Maria Tuttle are faculty co-leads for this project.

African American Student Success in English 70
This inquiry project aims to improve the educational outcomes for African American students in English 70 stand-alone classes by focusing on practices used in the Umoja Program and other learning communities. The project will involve students in both facilitating and participating in focus groups, interviewing and video-taping students, and leading study groups. Joellen Hiltbrand, Tess Caldwell, Katalina Wethington and Michael Yeong are faculty collaborators for this project.

These LMC projects are part of a FIN network of 18 community colleges throughout California. Funded by a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Chabot College will lead this exciting network of inquiry.

Peter Garcia Receives Community Service Award from Dow Chemical

Peter Garcia was honored recently by The Dow Chemical Company, one of LMC's industry partners. On January 15th, Dow held its annual Martin Luther King birthday celebration. Each year, Dow recognizes an individual from the community for his/her dedication to community service to further Dr. King's dream of love and peace by promoting harmony and unity.

President Garcia received this year's community award because he "has been instrumental in creating new education opportunities for East County students. He also serves as the President of the Board for the East County Boys and Girls Club as well as One Day at a Time, a gang violence prevention program."

For the full service award press release, click here.

Sandra Castillo is an Award-Winning Author!

The American Journal of Nursing has selected a publication co-authored by Sandra Castillo, Director of the LMC Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program, and Maryanne Werner-McCullough, Director of the CCC Registered Nurse (RN) program.

Calculating Drug Dosages, 2nd Edition is a 2009 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year award winner. These awards are given annually by the American Journal of Nursing to recognize outstanding achievements in nursing publishing.

Calculating Drug Doses was a publication including a CD, a student workbook and and instructor's manual. The software is one of three products recognized in the electronic media category. A full list of winners was recently published in the journal's January issue.

Editor's note: Sandra was actually teaching at CCC when this publication was created. We are delighted that she's here now!

Umoja Thank You to LMC Employees

On behalf of the Umoja Scholars Program, we would like to say THANK YOU!

With your support, we were able to provide 17 families with lovely Thanksgiving baskets! Extra special thanks to Madeline Puccioni, Gil Rodriguez, Judy Bank, and Ruth Goodin for their monetary donations; Sandi Schmidt for 'adopting a student'; the Umoja Scholars for donating the apple cider; the Umoja steering committee for donating the turkeys; Lindy Wille and the Scholarship office for donating can openers for each basket; and to all of the LMC community who donated canned and boxed goods and helped fill the bins around campus. We could not have done this without your help and hearts. "THANKS" for "GIVING" !

Editor's note: This might seem a bit dated, but we didn't do a December enews. Still, we wanted everyone to be aware of this amazing collaborative effort and that it is appreciated.

Update on LMC Employees

New Full-Time Faculty
Sean Truesdell, Nursing
Kim Wentworth, Librarian

New Manager
Tawny Beal, Senior Academic/Student Services Manager, Office of Instruction

New Classified Employees
Kendra Carr, Student Services & Instructional Support Coordinator, EOP&S
Yvette Simmons, Grounds Worker/Gardener II
Jeffrey Biles, Grounds Worker/Gardener II
Andre White, Grounds Worker/Gardener II
Constance Tolleson, Administrative Assistant, Honors
Roberto Quezon, Inventory/Receiving Clerk, Bookstore
Diane Ahlborn, Sr. Admissions & Records Assistant
Claudia Acevedo, Scholarship Program Coordinator
Donnie Asher, Lab Equip. Tech II, Voc Tech
Rikki Hall, Admissions/Records Assistant, Brentwood
Joseph Hong, Science Lab Tech II, Eng., Physics, Astronomy, Environmental Science
Catherine Fonseca, St. Services & Instructional Support Coordinator, Career Technical Education
George Nelson, Maintenance Mechanic
Leticia Rodrigues, Sr. Administrative Secretary, Buildings & Grounds
John Bridges, Custodian II
Denise Knowles, Web Application Specialist

Returning From Sabbatical
Frank Dorritie, Recording Arts

Interim Manager Promotions
Newin Orante, Dean of Student Development
Jeffrey Benford, Academic/Student Services Manager

Classified Temporary Out-Of-Class Assignments
George Mills, St. Services & Instructional Support Coordinator, EOP&S Leetha Robertson, Sr. Payroll Clerk

Promotions
Greg Ericson, Grounds Worker/Gardener II
Kathy Cullar, Administrative Assistant, Outreach
Susie Purdy, Transcript Audit Specialist

Cash For College Event This Weekend
The Financial Aid crew will be hosting a Cash for College event this Saturday, January 24 from 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Not only will our staff help students and potential students with their FAFSAs, but there will also be a tax preparer on board to help financial aid applicants with their tax forms. A raffle will take place for an IPod, ITunes gift cards, and other prizes, plus all students will be able to sign up for a drawing for a $1000 scholarship.

For more information, click here

email: bcella@losmedanos.edu

web: http://www.losmedanos.edu