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MISSION STATEMENT
Kalamazoo Valley Community College creates innovative and equitable
opportunities that empower all to learn, grow and thrive.

Jan. 16, 2024

In 1947, during his final year at Morehouse College, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in the college newspaper, �Intelligence plus character�that is the goal of true education.� One of our core values at Kalamazoo Valley is integrity. I see every day how you are all earnestly working, in your own spheres on campus, to do the right things for the right reasons. You are excellent models for our students of honesty, strong morals and a commitment to justice. Thank you for your goodness and for your commitment to our mission.

Thank you for persevering through these cold and windy days as we work together to help our students grow � in both intelligence and character.

L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D.
President
Upcoming Payroll Due Dates & Approval Dates
Due to the campus closure on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observance, we wanted to make you aware of the modifications to the normal time sheet completion and approval deadlines to assist you in ensuring accurate and timely completion of the time sheet submission.
 
2/15/2024 Payroll:
  • Employee time sheets are due Friday, Jan. 26 at 5 p.m.
  • Manager approval of time sheets is due Monday, Jan. 29 at 5 p.m.
  • This pay covers the period 1/14/24 - 1/27/24; full-time hourly employees should enter time off paid (TOP) for the college holiday of Jan. 15.
Please make the necessary arrangements to ensure that your time sheet approvals are completed prior to the deadline. As a reminder, the Banner Self Service application can also be accessed off campus by logging in to your MyValley account at www.kvcc.edu. Please contact the Payroll Department with questions. You may call Anita Gonzales at x4872 or send an email to payroll@kvcc.edu.

2023 W-2s Available 
The 2023 W-2s are now available via Banner Self-Service.  As a reminder, if you wish to view them electronically, you will need to electronically consent when you try to view it. By doing so, you acknowledge you will not receive a paper copy in the mail and you will print any copies necessary to file your various tax forms. If you consented previously, your consent remains in effect and you will not receive a paper copy of your W-2 in the mail. If you wish to continue to receive a paper copy of your W-2, please do not consent to receiving it electronically. Please see the document on the Employee Portal > Human Resources > Payroll Training Resources > W-2 Electronic Consent Information for details regarding electronic W-2 consent, including instructions on how to sign up. For employees who prefer to receive a paper copy of their W-2, the forms will be printed and mailed no later than January 31, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact Sara Hermann at sherrmann@kvcc.edu or x4068.
Volunteers Needed!
Valley Food Share distribution continues for the winter 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 pack the shares on Thursday mornings, 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.
 

Updates from Public Safety Director Sean Gordon
Public Safety would like to introduce a newly hired officer. Public Safety Officer John Garwood was recently hired as a full-time officer. He has over 25 years of experience in the police, fire and medical service and is a certified fire inspector and CPR instructor. The department looks forward to using his abilities to keep everyone safe and provide training. Additionally, Andy Sanford has been hired as a new security guard, working primarily at the Texas Township Campus.

The department has a new a full-time officer at the Bronson Healthy Living Campus, Public Safety Officer Nicole Cheadle. Feel free to stop in to the Public Safety offices and say hello. If you need to contact the office during business hours, call x4575. A security officer is also now stationed at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum each Saturday and Sunday.

Winter driving tips:

  • Make sure you check the weather the day prior to a trip or work.
     
  • Drive at a safe speed; four-wheel drive still does not work well on ice.
     
  • Remember, that slow driver in front of you may be a young driver not confident in his/her abilities. A van full of carpool kids coming home from practice or someone who was recently in an accident may be taking it slow due to the weather. Please drive at a safe and responsible speed in the snow and ice and leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicle ahead.
     
  • Now is a good time to check the tread on your tires. This can be done easily using a penny. Insert the penny between the tread, if you can see �Abe�s� entire head, there is not enough tread on your tires.
     
  • If you warm up your car in the driveway before heading to work, make sure you at least lock the door.  Police see an uptick in stolen vehicles in the cold months due to vehicles left running while unlocked.
     
  • Stop by the Public Safety office and check out the Public Safety informational board outside the office for more helpful tips.

Announcing: Standing Ovations
Standing Ovations is a new yearly internal publication that celebrates professional achievements completed within the scope of your profession. Not only will it give us an opportunity to celebrate our work, but it will enable us to learn more about our colleagues.

After you have uploaded your professional headshot you will be able to submit your achievements. You may submit up to three entries per publication. The description should be no more than 250 words. For our first publication, you may go back five years (years 2019 - 2023). Submissions will be reviewed by President Washington. The current publication will be available for submissions through March 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please email Cathy Colella. Submission Form


Taps on Tuesdays Returns for Winter Semester
Taps on Tuesday events are returning this winter at the Marilyn J. Schlack Culinary and Allied Health Building in downtown Kalamazoo. Join us for these happy hour-style events hosted by our culinary and brewing students and staff. Enjoy student crafted beer and food pairings as well as appetizers and wine. To join the fun, simply walk-in, no reservations required. Taps on Tuesdays run from 5 - 7 p.m. and take place on the following dates:
  • Jan. 16, 23, 30
  • Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27
  • March 5, 19, 26
  • April 2, 9, 16


Do You Have Something to Share with the Community?
Attention faculty and staff! Do you have a talent, hobby or skill you'd like to share with the community? The Career and Continuing Education department is planning life enrichment and community education classes and is looking for programming ideas and instructors. Please reach out to Charmelle Abdullah if you have an idea or would like to teach a class at x1268.


Photographer at TTC for Headshots Are you in need of a free professional headshot? A photographer will be available between 9 and 11 a.m. in the lower level of the Student Commons at the Texas Township Campus on Jan. 19 to take photos. Appointments are in 10-minute increments. If interested, please sign up here. Questions? Contact marketing@kvcc.edu.

Kalamazoo Valley Libraries:
Open Houses, Technology Loan, FREE Book, Local Libraries
Encourage your students to visit the Libraries and Learning Center for two Open Houses at TTC:
  • Tuesday | Jan. 16 | 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Wednesday | Jan. 24 | 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Students will receive information about our academic support, as well as snacks, giveaways and activities.
 
Borrow a Laptop, Wi-Fi Hotspot or Calculator
Remind your students to bring their Valley ID and borrow the technology that will help them succeed. Technology is available on a first-come, first-served basis. All loans are for the entire semester.
 
FREE Book: 'Yellowface' by R.F. Kuang
"Yellowface" is the new Reading Together book, a community reading program sponsored by the Kalamazoo Public Library (KPL). Pick up a free copy of the book when the KPL Mobile Library visits the Texas Township Campus on:
  • Monday | Jan. 29 | 1 - 3 p.m. | Flagpole Entrance
Local Libraries
Rely on the Kalamazoo Valley Libraries for resources that support academics, as well as personal development.  Find additional resources, such as audiobooks and streaming videos, at area academic and public libraries. Check out our new Kalamazoo Community Library Resources webpage for more information.
 
Hours and Contact Information
Ready for Some Basketball? Home Games in January
Cheer on the men's and women's basketball teams at their home games in the main gym at Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Texas Township Campus in January. Admission is free. Find the full season schedule at athletics.kvcc.edu.
  • Women's dates: 5:30 p.m. Jan. 17 | 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22
  • Men's dates: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 | 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22

Register Now for Valley�s Feb. 1 �MLK � Beyond the Dream� Event 

Kalamazoo Valley Community College is registering now for its lunch discussion exploring the theme of "MLK - Beyond the Dream: Beloved Community." It will be held noon to 1:30 p.m. in Room 4240 on the Texas Township Campus. Lunch is included. RSVP to Trice Batson, director of Valley's Office of Diversity and Inclusion, at tbatson@kvcc.edu. In February 2023, the college asked attendees to define a "beloved community" and identify how their organizations work to serve our communities. Please join us in continuing this work on Feb. 1, 2024, to reflect upon and organize around the work that needs to be done to further create a beloved community in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kalamazoo Valley student Gracie Give will perform spoken word.  

How to Address Microaggressions Explored Feb. 6  

Learn about what microaggressions are, and small steps you can take to increase justice, equity, diversity and inclusion at work, school and society when Emily Williams, executive director of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, returns for a free talk on Tuesday, Feb. 6, from 1 - 2:30 p.m. in TTC Room 4240, titled �Small Acts Toward JEDI: Naming Microaggressions - Part II.� Lunch is provided. Please RSVP with Trice Batson at tbatson@kvcc.edu.  


Financial Literacy Presentations Planned for February
Get the new year off to a strong start by increasing your knowledge about financial literacy. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion hosts local businessman and Valley alum Tevyn Grayson for two free presentations, on Thursday, Feb. 8, from noon to 1:15 p.m., at the Texas Township Campus, Room 4240, and on Thursday, Feb. 29, from 2 to 3:15 p.m., at Anna Whitten Hall in downtown Kalamazoo, Room 129. Both sessions include lunch. To register, contact Trice Batson at tbatson@kvcc.edu. The Kalamazoo native received his associate degree in accounting in 2015 at Kalamazoo Valley, and now owns several businesses, with his most successful being Grayson Accounting Service, which he started in 2020. He is especially passionate about helping Black youth succeed.

Center for New Media to Host Black Artists Exhibit in February
In collaboration with community partners, Kalamazoo Valley Community College�s Center for New Media will host an exhibition of works by local black artists in February 2024. The exhibit's opening will conincide with the city of Kalamzoo's Feb. 2 Art Hop. Tom Hamann, director of ambient learning environments and coordinator of campuses said, �The community�s great response to this annual event has proven that there is a large and enthusiastic regional audience for this type of programming and exhibition.� more

Snacks Available at the Bookstore!
Get your snack at the Texas Township Bookstore! In addition to books and supplies, did you know you can buy munchies, including small candies for as little as 10 cents, 25 cents and 89 cents? All your favs are here, from Laffy Taffy, Sour Patch Kids, Gummy Bears, Andes Cr�me de Menthe Thins to so much more! There�s a wide array of snacks from which to choose, ranging from chips, Welch�s fruit snacks, Pop-Tarts, crackers, chocolate-covered pretzels to peanuts and cashews. The Bookstore is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Thursday.
  

 
Talk and Film Screening Featuring Award-winning Author Bonnie Jo Campbell
Hear nationally acclaimed author Bonnie Jo Campbell and director Haroula Rose discuss their collaboration to make Bonnie Jo�s bestselling book �Once Upon a River� into an award-winning movie at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2 at Kalamazoo Valley Community College�s Dale B. Lake Auditorium on the Texas Township campus. A FREE film screening and a book signing follow, with sales of �Once Upon a River� and new release �The Waters� planned. The event is free, but tickets are required and can be obtained here, or at the Texas Township Campus Bookstore.
 
A pre-talk with Bonnie Jo is scheduled at 2 p.m. that same day in the Student Commons Lounge. Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum and the Kalamazoo Film Society partnered for her campus visit, as part of the college�s Visiting Writers Series. Be sure to check out the Kalamazoo Valley Museum�s Bonnie Jo Campbell mini pop-up exhibit on display from Jan. 20 through June 30, 2024, which is also free. More details at kalamazoomuseum.org.
 


�Off the Shelves� Exhibit Wraps up on Jan. 21
LAST CHANCE! The Kalamazoo Valley Museum�s highly popular furniture exhibit, "Off the Shelves: Exploring the Kalamazoo Valley Museum's Furniture Collection,� ends Jan. 21. The collection spans over 200 years of history, from mass-produced to one-of-a-kind pieces, like a replica of King Tut�s throne once on display at the former downtown Kalamazoo Gilmore�s department store. Admission is free to the museum and exhibits. Learn more about the exhibits at kalamazoomuseum.org.


Museum�s Next Adult Discovery Series and Retro Caf� is Feb. 13
Join the Kalamazoo Valley Museum for its new monthly adult series. It starts at 2 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m. Guests on Feb. 13 will enjoy engaging cosmic chemistry demonstrations. It includes a $3 presenter-led planetarium experience, and concludes with light refreshments. Pre-registration is required at kalamazoomuseum.org or 269.373.7990. 
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Kalamazoo Valley Community College
6767 West O Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49003-4070






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Kalamazoo Valley Community College · 6767 W O Ave · Kalamazoo, MI 49009-7402 · USA