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SUPPORT BLUE STORM BASKETBALL DOES THE SOUND of sneakers squeaking on a gym floor make your heart race? It should if you’ve seen this season’s SWIC basketball teams that have been playing up a storm – a Blue Storm, that is. As of Jan. 24, the women’s team, led by Head Coach Mike Juenger and Assistant Coach Vance Porter, were 13-4. The men, led by Head Coach Jay Harrington and Associate Head Coach Steve Campo, were 18-1. In February, the men’s and women’s teams each have five home games. These talented student-athletes have been playing some exciting roundball, so why not get together with friends and hit a couple of games – at the home court or an away game. Look for the schedule at www.swic.edu/athletics.
THE OFFICIAL EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER FOR SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS COLLEGE • FEBRUARY 2008
LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING OPENS ITS DOORS
At the recent dedication ceremony for the new Liberal Arts Building, more than 150 faculty, staff, students, elected officials and community members gathered for the event. Pictured at the ribbon cutting are Liberal Arts Division Secretary Chris Hayden; President Elmer H. Kirchoff, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor of Psychology Catina Scott, Ph.D.; Liberal Arts Division Dean Paul Wreford, Ph.D.; Professor of Psychology Barbara Hunter, Ph.D.; Professor of Political Science and History Kevin Monroe; Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Karen Jobe; and Liberal Arts Division Secretary Shawn Vratney.
he new 46,000-square-foot Liberal Arts Building, funded in part by $7.7 million from Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns program, opened its doors Jan. 8 at the Belleville Campus.
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College officials hosted a dedication ceremony. SWIC trustees, college administrators and dignitaries including local, regional and state elected officials participated in the ceremony. “First and foremost, we are most appreciative of the governor’s ‘Opportunity Returns’ funding, and the efforts of all of our area legislators who helped us secure that financial assistance,” said President Elmer H. Kirchoff, Ph.D.“As SWIC continues to attract an ever-increasing number of students, including 26,000 annually and one in every four high school graduates from the eight counties we serve, the need for more and better classrooms also will continue to rise.”
The new building, which stands to the west of the Information Sciences Building, completed in 2001, will serve approximately 4,500 students and 248 Liberal Arts Division class sections primarily from nine social science and related programs. The facility includes 16 faculty offices, seven adjunct faculty workstations and two secretarial workstations; 16 new classrooms equipped with the latest technology; a computer lab; an expanded Barnes and Noble Bookstore; and a loading dock and receiving area. Accompanying the building is a new 120-space parking lot. NEW FACILITIES OFFER MORE TO STUDENTS
The bookstore opened its doors at its new location Nov. 13, 2007 to accommodate fall semester textbook buyback and the availability of Spring 2008 Semester textbooks.
“This new Liberal Arts Building not only addresses our near-term growth needs, it conveys to future generations of students that they, too, will be able to rely on SWIC for a high-quality, affordable education in the best possible learning environment,” Kirchoff added. In December 2005, members of the Illinois Capital Development Board and local legislators announced state funding for the project. The college broke ground on the new facility in August 2006. The project cost $10.3 million. Construction of the building was overseen by the state’s Capital Development Board, which manages the construction, repair and renovation of state facilities across Illinois including colleges and universities, mental health facilities, veteran’s homes and historic buildings.
CTI is now Selsius™ Born in 1987 as the Business Assistance Center for Belleville Area College, the SWIC unit formerly known as Center for Training Innovations is now Selsius™ Corporate and Career Training at www.selsiustraining.com. “Selsius™ is a memorable brand name that helps us reinforce a contemporary business message that ‘One Degree Makes All the Difference,’” said Director Lynette Rienbolt. “In a modern business world, productivity improvement starts with the Internet.” Besides being a dynamic marketing tool, the new Selsius™ Web site delivers: Online Registration…Selsius™ offers customers “24-7” access to seminar information and registration, including payment online. Enhanced Online Presence…Selsius™ is a unique and memorable domain name; “Corporate and Career Training” are more likely to be searched for as key words; and the site has been designed for Search Engine Optimization, including links to other public training resources. Direct-Mail Economy…Selsius™ is planning to mail more postcards more often versus quarterly distribution of fewer seminar schedules, which cost more to produce and mail. Selsius™ helps companies translate business strategies into performance and sales results through customized training for corporate groups, and open-enrollment seminars for individual employees…because “one degree makes all the difference.”
CAMPUS BRIEFS BELLEVILLE CAMPUS Darwin Day will be celebrated Friday, Feb. 15. with a display of Darwin and evolution-related material in the library, a birthday cake in the MC-Theatre lobby at 10 a.m., and three guest speaker presentations in the MC-Theatre at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. Don’t miss your chance to see “Dinoman” with your children or grandchildren. The 2008 Spring Children’s Series kicks off at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 20 in the Theatre. Get your tickets, $15 for the four-program live theater series, in the College Activities office or by calling ext. 5561. SAM WOLF GRANITE CITY CAMPUS
FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES At the December and January meetings the SWIC Board of Trustees approved recommendations to: • Accept Career and Technical Education grants from the Illinois Community College Board; College Activities grants from the Children’s Home and Aid Society of Illinois and St. Louis Cardinals Care; a Southern Arts Fund grant for Art du Jour at the Red Bud Campus; and a continuing PSOP grant from the Illinois Department on Aging. • Approve an agreement with Uni-Pres Kindercottage in East St. Louis for the facility to provide practicum opportunities for Human Services Technology students. • Appoint Christopher Farmer as assistant professor of Mathematics (BC); Kyle Donaldson, Ph.D., as assistant professor of English (SWGCC); Brad Nadziejko as assistant professor of English (RBC); Deborah Joseph as systems analyst/programmer; Suzanne Sutton as counselor (RBC); Barbara Sydnor as secretary/special events coordinator for SWIC Foundation; and Candice Moore as coordinators’ assistant and student liaison for Allied Health and Public Services. • Renew a Tech Prep support grant from the Illinois Community College Board for the fifth consecutive year; and renew a grant from the St. Clair County Board for the PSOP Multi-Purpose Senior Center. • Approve partnership agreements with Belleville’s Professional Therapy Services, St. Clair County CASA, and Whiteside Elementary School; the Defense Information Systems Agency; and the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing. • Award tenure to Faculty Counselor Patricia Keller.
The curtain rises Tuesday, Feb. 19 in the Campus Commons with “Dinoman.” In the first show of the Family Night Out series, Dinoman tells a dinosaur tale through song, story and magic. The show is free and open to the public. RED BUD CAMPUS Want to be the eyes and ears of the National Weather Service when severe weather strikes? Take part in the upcoming Severe Storm Spotter Training Seminar at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 4. Call Karen Stallman, ext. 8133, to register. Submit your best work for this year’s Poetry Contest. Entries are due no later than 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 20 in Room 175. Students, faculty and staff can compete and prizes will be awarded. Contact Jessica Seders, ext. 8113, for an entry form. Enjoy the artworks of area high school students beginning at 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 24. Winners from the 2008 Art du Jour competition will be announced. Learn about the Freedom of Information and Open Meetings acts at a 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 25 seminar by Stephen J. Rotello, senior assistant attorney general in the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access and Opinions Division. Call Karen Stallman, ext. 8133, to register.
ART APPRECIATION - Community Education Director Jody Lauf presents Board of Trustees Chair Nick Mance with the East-West Gateway Council of Governments 2007 Outstanding Local Government Achievement Award. Community Education received this award in recognition of the time, work and personal commitment it devoted to the betterment of the region for its work as a partner with Art on the Square.
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT In his role as “an economic development mentor to communities across the United States,” Boomtown USA Author and Effingham, Ill.-based Jack Schultz is a road warrior who spent the past four years touring 300 towns in 44 states. Recently on boomtownusa.blogspot.com, Schultz reported the following trends “that will grow in importance in 2008 and beyond.” Here are a few that particularly apply to SWIC: The Millennial Generation … Ages 10 to 27,“this generation dwarfs the Baby Boomers in size. These young people are going to be the most entrepreneurial in the history of the USA.” His statement:“you need to be recruiting and retaining the ‘Millenials’” seems to be a bulls-eye perspective for SWIC. Young Retirees … At the other end of the age spectrum,“the oldest Baby Boomer turned 60 in 2006; several communities are actively recruiting young retirees; and these young retirees aren’t going to be passive.” Schultz’s deduction that aging Boomers will be starting new businesses, volunteering and “transforming communities that are able to attract them” represents another SWIC opportunity. Education … 21st century jobs are increasingly going to go to the well educated; towns that have world class schools are going to be the big winners; and “entrepreneurial education is going to increasingly be pushed down to kindergarten.”
FEBRUARY CALENDAR 4-7 Rolling Pool Tournament: Faculty vs. Students, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., RBC Student Commons 4
Consumer Fraud Prevention and Identity Theft presentation, 12:30-1:45 p.m., RBC Performing Arts Room Severe Storm Spotter Training Seminar, 6:30 p.m., RBC Performing Arts Room Groundhog Job Shadow Day, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., BC MC First Floor Lounge
14 Happy 6th Birthday, noon-6 p.m., BC Schmidt Art Center 19 Family Night Out! “Dinoman,” 6:30 p.m., SWGCC Commons Concert in the Café: 4 of a Kind, 7 p.m., BC Café 20 LEGACY: Kick-off Banquet, 5:30 p.m., BC Café Children’s Series:“Dinoman,” 6:30 p.m., BC Theatre 21 Cultural Diversity Bingo, 9:30 a.m., RBC Performing Arts Room 24 Art du Jour, 3 p.m., RBC Performing Arts Room 26 Birthday Celebrations: Cake, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., RBC Lobby 27 Blood Drive, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., BC Varsity Gym 28 Was Audubon a Black Man? Lecture and presentation by Adelia Parker Castro, 7 p.m., BC Schmidt Art Center College Life Workshop, 5:30-8:30 p.m., BC MC Room 1410 29 Leap Year Birthday Party, 11 a.m.to 1 p.m.,BC MC First Floor Lounge
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CALENDAR
As a Result … “Community colleges will be the key to the constant retraining of the work force due to the rapid changes taking place in our economy.”
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Motown Review, SWIC Choir, noon, BC MC First Floor Lounge Library Display begins, SWGCC and RBC
While this last point is not “new” news to us, it is welcome additional confirmation that we are on the right track with our strategic plan to meet traditional and entrepreneurial instruction needs; to “reach out” to the entire geography of District 522 with course offerings at our three campuses and more than 20 Off-Campus Sites; and to simultaneously address the educational needs of The Millennial Generation, Baby Boomers, and all age groups in between.
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Film Series,“4 Little Girls,” BC MC First Floor Lounge
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Trivia, BC Café A Taste of Soul, SWGCC
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Diversity CHAT, 12:30 p.m., BC MC Theatre
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A Taste of Soul, BC Café Gospel Fest, 7 p.m., BC MC Theatre
It’s a big challenge … but an even bigger opportunity.
11 Trivia, SWGCC 13 SIUE Jazz Band, noon, BC MC First Floor Lounge 14 Faculty Symposium,“Black Student Movement,” 11 a.m., BC MC Marsh Room
IT AWARENESS WEEK
15 A Taste of Soul, BC Café
Are you able to protect yourself from identity theft, online predators and other criminals determined to make your life difficult in this electronic era? Join College Activities and Information Technology for IT Awareness Week Feb. 25-29 and find out!
16 Apollo Nite, 7 p.m., BC MC Theatre
The week kicks off with a 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 25 presentation by Internet Safety Expert C.L. Lindsay. The session will focus on the types of information that students put online about themselves and their friends, and how that personal profile can haunt and hurt them. The program will be held in the Belleville Campus Theatre.
20 SIUE Jazz Band, noon, BC MC First Floor Lounge
You'll learn all about Phishing, the practice of snatching personal information via the Internet, from Jim Watkins with Infraguard at noon, Wednesday, Feb. 27. In addition, College Activities and IT will bring in Patrick Hayden from MasterCard to talk about Online Credit Card Security at noon, Tuesday, Feb. 26 and Chris Wyrick from the American Society for Industrial Security to talk about “Computer Forensics” at noon, Thursday, Feb. 28 Watch iSTORM for complete details.
19 Formula for Success Speakers Panel, BC IS Room 2009 Film Series,“Pride,” BC MC First Floor Lounge Brown Bag Discussion, SWGCC
21 Health Education Day, BC Jazz and Poetry Open Mic Nite, 6 p.m., BC Schmidt Art Center Diversity CHAT, 9:30 a.m., RBC Performing Arts Room 22 Reader’s Writer’s Rap Session, noon, BC MC Marsh Room 23 Jazz Concert, jazz percussionist Terri Lyne Carrington performs, 1, 2 and 7:30 p.m., BC MC Theatre 26 Film Series,“Eye on the Prize,” BC MC First Floor Lounge Symposium,“Black Student Movement” with Michael Smith, Ph.D., SWGCC 28 FINALE, Live Jazz Concert, 7:30 p.m., BC MC Theatre
FROM THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Vice President for Administrative Services Rob Hilgenbrink will continue to serve on the Board of the Central Association of College and University Business Officers (CACUBO) and serve on its St. Louis Workshop Committee. Controller Tammy Clark has been appointed chair of the CACUBO St. Louis Workshop Committee. CACUBO is a nonprofit association representing chief business officers at more than 700 institutions throughout the north central region of the United States. Associate Professor of Chemistry Steve Gentemann, Ph.D., recently had a paper, titled “Molecular Motion of a Nickel-bis(dithiolato) Complex in Solution,” published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B; 2007; 111(47) pp 13404-13409.
ON-SITE WELLNESS SCREENINGS SET FOR FEBRUARY B Y S H E R RY FAV R E J O H N S O N
Please mark your calendars for the upcoming wellness screenings being offered this month at the Belleville and Sam Wolf Granite City campuses. These screenings are offered free of charge to all employees and spouses in the SWIC health plan as part of the insurance plan design. All other employees and spouses not covered by the plan may participate at the cost of $160 (an estimated $500 value). Payment is due at the time of the appointment. Cash, personal check (payable to Interactive Health Solutions), VISA and MasterCard are accepted. Screenings will feature a blood test to assess cardiovascular disease risks; diabetes; liver and kidney disease; anemia; blood, bone and muscle disease; prostate cancer; and thyroid testing. Within three days of the screenings, participants can go online for a confidential review of their blood test results. Within one to two weeks, participants will receive by mail a concise health report that outlines the health evaluation results, reviews potential health risks, and gives personalized strategies to address current health problems and future wellness. Wellness Screenings will be offered from 7-11:30 a.m. and typically take 20 minutes or less. Note: Fasting is recommended prior to the blood test.Please make sure your
emergency contact information on S-net isFeb. up to date in the Self Service Feb. section. 26–27 28 This information can be of the utmost importnce in the event of a medical emergency. Belleville Campus, MC Room 2260
Sam Wolf Granite City Campus, Wilmsmeyer Room
Please call IHS directly to schedule your appointment.
800-840-6100
ART AND ANTIQUES FROM THE HEART TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS Treat your sweetheart to something different this year. How about an evening of fine dining and auctions, both verbal and silent, of vintage items, antiques and exquisite works by local artists? Southwestern Illinois College Foundation is hosting Art and Antiques from the Heart, a black-tie-optional affair, Saturday, Feb. 16 at the St. Clair Country Club in Belleville. Proceeds will benefit children’s programming at the Schmidt Art Center. Doors open at 6 p.m., with a cash bar and commencement of the silent auction. The meal will feature chicken modiga and roast pork loin. Tickets are $50 each and must be purchased in advance. For reservations or information, contact Susan Schultz of the SWIC Foundation at
[email protected] or 618-235-2700, ext. 5546.
THE GREAT DIVIDE – Sam Wolf Granite City Campus Evening Supervisor Jill Lorance shows off one of the SWIC grocery lane dividers at the Shop ‘n’ Save in Granite City. She is pictured with Janet Price, Shop & Save office checker. The dividers, which advertise the college name, campus, telephone number and Web address, are part of a pilot marketing campaign to reach area residents on a grass-roots level. Other dividers are in use at the Schnucks stores in Swansea and Belleville’s Carlyle Plaza. The campaign also includes MetroLink platform displays at Metro East stations. BEST DEFENSE – SWGCC Public Safety officers Anitra McIntyre, right, and Jose Brackins try out new equipment for women’s and children’s selfdefense classes. An enhancement grant from the Foundation enabled Public Safety to purchase the student and aggressor suits, which are used for protection during the intense physical training. McIntyre recently earned Rape Aggression Defense certification to lead women's and children’s self-defense programs.
Southwestern Total Online Records Management
February
Making Life Easier for Faculty and Students Life is about to get a little easier for “We have a massive number of faculty and students at SWIC. When students needing verification each eSTORM is fully implemented, it will semester for such things as insurance and financial aid.” offer the gifts of convenience and efficiency. Gone will be the days of faculty driving to campus to submit rosters and final grades, explained Business Division Dean Janet Fontenot. With the eSTORM Faculty Self-Service Center, they will be able to log in anytime, anywhere for roster and grade submission.
“This knowledge can allow faculty to develop course material and activities to provide a more meaningful learning environment for the students,” she explained. A benefit for both students and faculty will be student e-mail. “The ability to communicate electronically with all members of a class will help keep students engaged with their classmates and assist the faculty member in distributing information in a timely manner,” Fontenot said.
“This is particularly significant for those instructors who teach at the extension centers or online,” Fontenot said. Submitting grades online is not only a benefit to faculty, students will be able to view their grades the moment they are posted, said Registrar Sherri Patterson. But even more convenient for students is the online enrollment verification.“The ability of students to print enrollment verification themselves, rather than requesting it from our office is a huge advantage,” Patterson said.
While students can get verification of enrollment, faculty can track it. Tracking enrollment is a feature faculty can use to both monitor the number of students enrolling in their classes and identify each student’s declared program of study, Fontenot said.
SWIC Registrar Sherri Patterson has been working on the eSTORM team helping with the
There are many more features, such as online dropping, adding and swapping classes, that will save both students and faculty time and energy, so they can concentrate on their work in the classroom.
features students will use.
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Working With a Clear Cache Can Make All the Difference Nobody’s perfect. And neither are computers. When working in iSTORM, if you run into problems such as suddenly being kicked out and not being able to log in, the first step toward a remedy is to clear your computer’s cache. The cache stores copies of Web pages you’ve visited so that when you go back to one of those pages, it is retrieved more rapidly. Cache can cause problems with secure systems, like iSTORM or eSTORM, because it brings up a page you’ve recently visited. This can signal a red flag to the system that someone else might be trying to access your account. Or the cache could simply be forcing the Web browser to return to the logged-out page. The reason isn’t as important as knowing how to “fix” it. Windows Users Open Internet Explorer. Make sure there are no other Internet Explorer windows open. Click the Tools drop-down menu to the right and below the address bar. Select Internet Options. From the General tab, find Browsing History and click Delete. A new window will open. Delete Temporary Internet Files, Cookies and History, or Delete All. A Delete Files Window will pop up for each button. Click Yes. Mac Users Look for the Tools menu on your browser and select Clear Private Data. If a window opens, make sure Browsing History, Cache and Cookies are checked and click ok. If you are using Safari, click Safari on the tool bar and select Empty Cache. If after clearing your browser’s cache, you still can’t log in, try restarting the computer.
Schedule and Catalog Browsing Features Launch This Month Beginning Feb. 11, eSTORM will be available for class searches and catalog browsing. Initially, the summer 2008 schedule will be online, as will the class descriptions from the SWIC catalog. Obviously students will benefit from these online services. However, this evolution offers an advantage to the college as a whole. “One of the major benefits of having the catalog and schedule in eSTORM is that now we have one central location to keep course descriptions and requisites up-to-date,” said Scheduling Coordinator Jennifer Ray. “In the past each division had one version, the college catalog possibly had another, and then I had the ICCB approved/master version.” eSTORM offers the ability to make changes to course descriptions and schedules throughout the year. “By keeping everything up-to-date in eSTORM, we can use it as the basis for creating our college catalog descriptions and schedule of classes,” Ray explained. “This will not only be time saving, it will also help us be more consistent with the data we are giving the students, which is extremely important. If students notice that our data doesn’t match, it could change how they perceive SWIC as a place of higher education.” Online schedules and course descriptions also offer the possibility of allowing SWIC to become a little more “green.” “It is our hope that with expanded online services, we can slowly begin to decrease the number of printed schedules we produce. This may be a slow process, but we feel that it can happen over time,” Ray said. “Ultimately, we would like to see a reminder postcard mailed and if students want a hard copy of the schedule they can notify us and we ‘ll produce one.”
Stay tuned for STORM Watch updates on S-net (iSTORM) and in all future issues of Insider Chat.
