KV FocusPlus

August 15, 2022
 
Greetings Colleagues,

In just a few short weeks, students will be back on our campuses for fall semester. I am looking forward to the energy they bring!

As we prepare for the new academic year, I look forward to your full attendance and participation in Summit activities on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. A number of practical and inspiring sessions are being planned and I thank all who have stepped forward to help plan the event and those who will be providing workshops. Information about the two-day event is provided below. College buildings will be closed through 1 p.m. on Aug. 31, so that all can attend the sessions designed for the entire campus community.

Many other initiatives are underway as we plan for fall, including our continued response to helping prevent the spread of disease. Over the last two-and-a-half years, the college increased the cleaning of high-traffic areas and high-touch surfaces such as handrails, benches, tables, handles and restrooms. Cleaning kiosks and hand sanitizing stations are available in or near all classrooms and labs. The college has provided free COVID-19 at-home test kits and a number of distribution dates for at-home kits are planned for the fall semester. Thanks to the purchase of advanced bipolar ionization technology, all seven of the college 's buildings on its four campuses will have improved air quality. You can read more about this technology in this publication.

Vaccination continues to be a best defense against the transmission of COVID-19 and its variants. I strongly urge you to protect yourself, those you care about and the community by seeking out and receiving the vaccine and boosters. I am looking forward to the final days of summer and to seeing you in person during the Fall Summit.

Sincerely,


L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D.
President

 

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COVID-19 At-Home Test Kit Distribution
On Aug. 16 and 17, the college will once again be hosting free COVID-19 at-home test kit distribution events. Faculty and staff are welcome to register and receive one COVID-19 at-home test kit (containing two tests). 

Visit the Texas Township Campus on Aug. 16 outside of the Bookstore between noon and 2 p.m. to get your free kit or stop by the lobby of Anna Whitten Hall on Aug. 17. Registration is required. Please complete the registration form by 9 a.m. Aug. 16.

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Register Now for the Fall 2022 Summit
The Fall 2022 Summit will take place Wednesday, Aug. 31 and Thursday, Sept. 1. The college-wide Summit is the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 31 while Wednesday afternoon and Thursday are specifically for faculty. The theme "Compassionate Community" will be continued into the 2022-23 academic year. Register now for the college-wide Summit. Due to the recent security incident, a new registration system is being used. Please contact the Faculty Success Center at facultysuccesscenter@kvcc.edu or x4107 with any questions.

Please note the schedule for Wednesday, Aug. 31:
8 a.m.                Check-in at the Gallery Hallway 
8:15 a.m.           Welcome remarks in the Gym 
8:30 a.m.           Break 
8:45 a.m.           Breakout session I 
9:45 a.m.           Break 
10 a.m.              Breakout session II 
11-12:30 p.m.    Lunch service provided in the Cafe and Student Commons 
1 p.m.                College open for business 

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'Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art'
by Cathy Colella
A few pages into "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art" by James Nestor, I realized the pandemic had changed the way I breathe. I 'd been having headaches, jaw pain, wondering if the bags under my eyes were permanent. I attributed this to stress, and I picked up "Breath" looking for techniques to help me relax. But when I began to pay attention, I realized that I 'd been mouth-breathing inside my mask for two years. I set out to close my mouth and breathe through my nose, and over time my jaw relaxed. The headaches receded. My anxiety eased. I felt like I 'd uncovered a big secret. Breathing through my nose was such a small change, but every single minute of my day was better. 
 
Nestor is a journalist with breathing issues, not a scientist, and "Breath" is a chronicle of his research and experimentation to improve his own troubled breathing. It 's heavy on anecdote, but it 's hard to argue with its central recommendation to breathe slowly, deeply, and through the nose as much as we can. Breath contains instructions for many different breathing techniques and recommendations for apps and further reading. It 's available to check out with your Valley ID through the Kalamazoo Valley Libraries.
 
From 'Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art':
Resonant (Coherent) Breathing
 A calming practice that places the heart, lungs, and circulation into a state of coherence, where the systems of the body are working at peak efficiency. There is no more essential technique, and none more basic.

• Sit up straight, relax the shoulders and belly, and exhale.
• Inhale softly for 5.5 seconds, expanding the belly as air fills the bottom of the lungs
• Without pausing, exhale softly for 5.5 seconds, bringing the belly in as the lungs empty. Each breath should feel like a circle.
• Repeat at least ten times, more if possible.

Several apps offer timers and visual guides. My favorites are "Paced Breathing" and "My Cardiac Coherence," both of which are free.

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Sign up Now to Volunteer for Valley Food Share
Valley Food Share, an initiative designed to meet the immediate food needs of Kalamazoo Valley students, couldn 't be possible without the help of volunteers. Thank you to the following people who helped out during the summer semester:
 
Nancy Young
Lisa Peet
Sara Hubble
Amy Gill
Chris Stroven
Carol Fillenworth
Julie Burkey
Cheryl Jones
Stephanie Moats
Erin Shufro
Kristina Pudassaini
Jerry Lentz
Kendall Walker
Craig Jbara
Amy Mulhall
Terri Zirkle McDonald
Colleen Olsen
Apryl Sheffler-Martin
Dana DeLuca
Lynn Grammel 
Ashley Bergkamp
 
Valley Food Share distribution continues for the fall semester as a drive-thru service alternating between the Food Innovation Center and the Texas Township Campus on Thursdays between 2-4 p.m. Volunteers are needed to unload the truck and distribute shares to students. With supervisor approval, please sign up to help!
 
If you have any questions, please email foodshare@kvcc.edu.

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Time to Return Summer Book Rentals and Get Fall Books
Summer book rentals are due Aug. 23. Starting Aug. 25, students can use fall financial aid to make purchases at the Texas Township Bookstore. Both in-store and online purchases are eligible.

The Bookstore is now open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Or, if you prefer, buy items online. Online orders may be picked up at TTC or the Anna Whitten Hall Library at the Arcadia Commons Campus in downtown Kalamazoo, or mailed to your home or other address. Shipping is $5.

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Fun at the Douglass Community Center
A big thank-you to our Cougar women 's and men 's basketball coaches and players for helping with Kalamazoo Valley Community College 's free sports clinics this summer for middle-schoolers at the Douglass Community Association in Kalamazoo. The hope is that the pilot program grows and that even more students will have the opportunity to join us during these half-day events. This is one of many efforts to advance the college 's new mission statement: "Kalamazoo Valley Community College creates innovative and equitable opportunities that empower all to learn, grow and thrive." For more photos, visit our flickr account.
 
Have You Seen Our Summer Youth Sports Camp Photos?  
Click here to check out the photos from the multi-day summer sports camps in volleyball, softball and boy 's and girl 's basketball that we held on the Texas Township Campus. If you or someone you know is interested in registering a child for next summer, visit www.athletics.kvcc.edu, email athletics@kvcc.edu or call 269.488.4393 to find out how.

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Visiting Writers Series Begins on Oct. 6 with Tom Montgomery Fate
Kalamazoo Valley's "About Writing" Visiting Writers series is coordinated by English instructor Dr. Julie Stotz-Ghosh and offers students the opportunity to talk with professional writers and listen to their work. Retired English instructor Rob Haight established the series and began bringing noteworthy authors to the college in 2001. The visits take place in the Student Commons Theater, Room 4240, at the Texas Township Campus. All events are free, open to the public and include a craft talk and a reading by the author.

The lineup for the 2022-2023 Visiting Writers Series:
 
Tom Montgomery Fate | memoir | "The Long Way Home & Cabin Fever: A Suburban Father's Search for the Wild" | tomfate.com
Thursday, Oct. 6 (in person) | Craft talk at 10 a.m., reading at 2:15 p.m.
 
Nancy Eimers | poetry | new chapbook: "Human Figures" | www.whiting.org/awards/winners/nancy-eimers#/
Thursday, Nov. 3 (in-person) | Craft talk at 10 a.m., reading at 2:15 p.m.
Eimers is a retired Western Michigan University professor and local writer
 
Ada Limón | poetry | "The Hurting Kind" | www.adalimon.net
Wednesday, Jan. 25 (virtual event) at 3 p.m.
Limón was just appointed the new U.S. Poet Laureate | www.pbs.org/video/poet-laureate-sot-1658960090/
 
Angeline Boulley | fiction  |  "The Firekeepers Daughter" |  angelineboulley.com
Tuesday, April 4 (in person) | Craft talk at 10 a.m., reading at 2:15 p.m.
Boulley is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. She is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She is a former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Boulley lives in southwest Michigan, but her home will always be on Sugar Island. "Firekeeper's Daughter" is her debut novel, and was an instant #1 New York Times Bestseller.

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'Mother of Modern Medicine ' Henrietta Lacks ' Life, Contributions Chronicled in Exhibit and Play Debuting in September

We can thank one woman for many of the major medical breakthroughs of modern times. Her name is Henrietta Lacks, and she is a great aunt of Kalamazoo resident Jermaine Jackson. For more than 70 years, her cells have been used in experiments, but she never gave her consent.
 
"Without her cells, we would not have had many advances in the medical field," said Jackson, while noting Lacks is more than just her cells. "I want people to know who she was as an individual, as my aunt, as a mother, as a grandmother, as a sister and as a wife."
 
Her cells, which were harvested during a medical procedure at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951, led to the COVID and polio vaccines, advances in AIDS and cancer treatments and more. Researchers continue to utilize her cell line known as HeLa cells, because, unlike other human cells, hers have the unique ability to multiply on their own outside of the body.
 
This fall, the story of Lacks, an African-American woman who died in October 1951, will be explained through "A HeLa Story: Mother of Modern Medicine," a play and mini exhibit coming to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. It is a joint project between the museum and Kalamazoo Valley Community College in collaboration with Jackson. Both are free. The educational initiative is funded in part by the KVCC Foundation.
 
The exhibit opens Sept. 1, 2022, and runs through Feb. 27, 2023. The original play, written by Buddy Hannah, will be presented live in the museum's Mary Jane Stryker Theater three times: at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, and at 2 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1. Seating for the play will be limited. It will be first come, first served. Admission to all events is free. more

Alumna Dacia Bridges' Kalamazoo Boxing Academy Film Debuts Sept. 10


Dacia Bridges
The long-awaited documentary about the famed Kalamazoo Boxing Academy is finished and will debut at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum in September. It was a passion project of Kalamazoo Valley Community College alumna Dacia Bridges, who died before it was done. Lawrence Productions Inc., a Kalamazoo-based video production company, had been working with Bridges on the documentary and recently completed the editing of her raw footage, steadily working on it since her death in 2019 from a brain aneurysm. The community can view "The Forgotten Fighters of the Kalamazoo Boxing Academy" documentary for free at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, where there has been an exhibit about the KBA on display for several months. The exhibit ends Sept. 18. more

 

Kalamazoo Valley Museum 's Prestigious Accreditation Renewed 
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum has again achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition for a museum. With only about three percent of the nation 's museums possessing this designation, AAM accreditation is a significant achievement and much coveted. "It 's highly regarded and makes sure we 're doing everything right in maintaining a well-run cultural asset," said Bill McElhone, who directs Kalamazoo Valley Community College 's Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, governments, funders, outside agencies and the museum-going public. This is the fourth accreditation for the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, since its first one in 1991. All accredited museums must undergo a reaccreditation review at least every 10 years.
 
Egyptian Diplomat Visits �Mystery of the Mummy ' Exhibit

Left to right: Museum Director Bill McElhone; Deputy Bassel Taman; Mohamed Sultan, Ph.D., Ambassador Aboul-Enein; Museum Collections Manager Regina Gorham; and Kalamazoo Valley Community College Provost Paige Eagan, Ph.D.

What did a visiting Egyptian diplomat want to see when he came to Kalamazoo? Ambassador Sameh Aboul-Enein, Ph.D., asked to stop by the Kalamazoo Valley Museum! He toured the longtime "Mystery of the Mummy" exhibit and the museum 's permanent science and local history galleries on Sunday, Aug. 7. "He was interested in our conservation work and ongoing stewardship of the mummy," said Museum Director Bill McElhone. McElhone said Aboul-Enein was fascinated to learn how museum staff applied forensics science methodology, along with scholarly research, to confirm, among other details, that the mummy was a woman in her early 40s when she died and had given birth at some point. The museum is operated by Kalamazoo Valley and governed by its Board of Trustees.

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Kalamazoo Valley to Host Sept. 22 Opportunities for Education Fundraising Event
Good food, beer and wine, and a good cause are all on the menu during the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Foundation 's Opportunities for Education Scholarship Fundraising event on Thursday, Sept. 22.

This event is the KVCC Foundation 's primary source of funding for student scholarships. The need for financial aid among students continues to rise steadily. Each year, Kalamazoo Valley Community College processes nearly 10,000 requests for financial aid. Of those requests, 40% receive some form of financial aid. This student scholarship fundraiser helps the KVCC Foundation provide the highest level of financial support for students at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

This event will take place under a big tent and will feature hearty and delicious tastings from area restaurants, faculty chefs and graduates from Kalamazoo Valley 's culinary arts program. A selection of Bell 's beer and a variety of wine will be available. Ticket holders will enjoy a walk-around tasting to sample signature dishes provided by the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Culinary Arts program, Brick and Brine, Bell 's Brewery, West Michigan Pasta and Provisions, WL SocialHouse and Cove Lakeside Bistro. Self-guided tours among the vegetables, flowers and herbs growing in the Food Innovation Center's hoop houses and greenhouse will be available. more

Traverse City 's Historic Wind Turbine Retired, Makes Way for Solar Panels
 
Wind Turbine Deconstructed, will be Replaced with Solar Panels