Thank you for all you are doing to make the Fall 2023 semester great for our students!
MISSION STATEMENT Kalamazoo Valley Community College creates innovative and equitable
opportunities that empower all to learn, grow and thrive.
Oct. 2, 2023
Greetings,
Thank you for all you are doing to make the Fall 2023 semester great for our students! As I travel to our four campus locations, I see your dedication to helping our students achieve their educational goals. Your work is appreciated.
With so many of our students relying on scholarships to attend Kalamazoo Valley, it was wonderful to see so many of you at last week's Opportunities for Education fundraising event. It was a fantastic event with great food featuring some of our own culinary students and chefs. The event raised more than $108,000 for student scholarships.
Activity continues this month, with a number of events for you and those in our community to enjoy.
The college will host the Greater Kalamazoo Area College Night on Oct. 9 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Please encourage anyone you know who is thinking about going to college to stop by.
Jennifer Wimbish, Ph.D., former provost and chief academic officer at Lansing Community College, will visit the Marilyn J. Schlack Culinary and Allied Health Building on Tuesday, Oct. 10 to talk about the second edition of her book "Leadership Wisdom for All Generations." The book talk will start at 5:30 p.m. in Room 107 and a book signing to follow. Additional details are below.
Kalamazoo Valley's "About Writing" Visiting Writers Series returns this month. The schedule includes author Sara Lupita Oliveres on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. in Room 4240 on the Texas Township Campus.
Information about these events and many others can be found on the college calendar and within this newsletter.
I know that your schedules are busy! Thank you to those who are able to attend these and other important and varied college-related events. Please remain resilient and positive. Our work is very important to our students, their families and all the communities we serve.
L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D.
President
OFE 2023 Thank you to everyone who helped plan last night's Opportunities for Education fundraising event. It was a huge success - raising more than $108,000 for student scholarships. See pictures from the event here.
Staff and Administrator Excellence Awards Ceremony take Place this Week The Staff and Administrator Excellence Awards ceremony takes place Thursday, Oct. 5 from 8 - 9:30 a.m. in Room 4240 (TTC).
Congratulations to this year's winners: Russell Barnes, Yvonne Cooley, Renee Daudert, Erin Dominianni, Sarah Hubbell, Evan Pauken and Kelly Sparrow.
Game Time Meetup Whether you're a reigning card champ or are interested in learning a new game, join us for some fun (and sometimes food). We play various games at various times and in various locations. Connect with Bethann Talsma for more info or to be added to the email notification list: btalsma@kvcc.edu or x4270.
Breathing Space Dedicate some time in your week for self-care. The 30-minute session follows this agenda:
Brief check-in (5 min.), special topic (10 min.) and guided and silent meditation (15 min.).
Oct. 4 | 12:30 - 1 p.m. (Self-Compassion)
All sessions will be held via Zoom. Email Cathy Colella for the direct Zoom link. Step Challenge Update The Wellness and Fitness Center's Step Challenge is well underway! There are 114 participants - 54 competing as individuals and 60 people on 20 different teams. There are 22 faculty and 92 administrators and staff in the the competition. Devon Byrd, gym facilities coordinator, reports that after week one:
The top six individuals are all within 6,000 steps of each other
The top five teams are within 30,000 steps of each other
The competition runs through Oct. 14. Winners will be announced in the Nov. 1 newsletter. New College Collateral Available New college collateral is available and should be used going forward. All old letterhead, envelopes, note cards and notepads will be collected the week of Oct. 16. Please box up anything to be recycled and place near your mail pick-up/drop-off location.
The schedule is as follows:
Tuesday | Oct. 17 (morning) | Texas Township Campus
Wednesday | Oct. 18 (afternoon) | All other locations
Thursday | Oct. 19 (morning) | Texas Township Campus (second collection)
Friday | Oct. 20 (afternoon) | All other locations (second collection)
If you have large amounts of outdated materials to be collected, please make arrangements by contacting Erin Bishop or Nathan Rickey.
To request new letterhead, envelopes and note cards, click here. The form is also located in the employee portal under "Business Resources" > "Paper-Other Supplies Request Form." Please only request enough for the fall semester.
An editable PDF of the new letterhead can be downloaded here. It is also located in the employee portal under "Marketing" > "Templates."
Branded notepads will be delivered when old letterhead is picked up. Additional notepads can be ordered through Printing Services by clicking here. The form can also be found in the employee portal under "Marketing" > "Documents" > "Notepad Request Form."
Updated email signatures templates, including the option of listing preferred pronouns, is available by clicking here. The information can also be found in the employee portal under "Marketing" > "Templates." Early Employee Registration Employee registration for the Winter 2024 semester is Oct. 6 - 8. Full and part-time employees may request access to online registration for themselves and/or their dependents through 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6.
To request access:
Forward this message from your Kalamazoo Valley employee account to arr@kvcc.edu. You may also send a new message with "Employee Registration" as the subject. It must be from a "@kvcc.edu" address.
List the name and Valley number or birth date for each admitted person who will be registering.
We will add authorization to each person's record and reply to confirm.
Beginning Oct. 6, each authorized individual may log into MyValley, select "Register or Drop Classes" from "My Links" and register.
If you miss this opportunity, you may still register following the standard registration schedule for all students beginning Monday, Oct. 9.
Employees are responsible for any fees associated with registration (not tuition) and must be paid by the start of the semester. Please email the Admissions, Registration and Records office at arr@kvcc.edu or call x4281 if you have questions.
Updates from IT The college takes seriously its responsibility to secure your personal information as well as the college's technical systems and resources. To improve cybersecurity the college has implemented additional security features and practices, such as multi-factor authentication, system log alerting, and engaging security partners to establish constant threat monitoring and response. We are planning more security and infrastructure enhancements to further strengthen our cybersecurity defenses.
The college will continue to enhance our cybersecurity tools, but user activity remains the most commonly exploited method of attack. Kalamazoo Valley will be starting a new KnowBe4 security campaign in October, and all employees are strongly encouraged to participate.
Please take the time to look at some of the cybersecurity resources linked below to help you stay cybersafe:
Unfortunately cybersecurity threats are constant, and attacks directed against the college's IT resources are an everyday reality. We will continue to use the resources at our disposal to safeguard the integrity of our computing environment.
Loaner Laptop Program Kalamazoo Valley's student laptop checkout program has been very successful in providing needed technology for our students. To date this program has provided laptops for hundreds of students, removing a barrier to learning and improving the chances of student success.
This semester the demand for checkout laptops has been significantly higher than previous semesters, with 525 laptops issued. While this is a testament to the success of the program, the increased demand has exhausted the available supply and we currently have no more laptops to issue to students.
Kalamazoo Valley is pursuing options to address this need, including increasing our laptop numbers and making further efforts to retrieve overdue laptops. We will send an update when we have additional laptops to issue.
Club Advisors Needed The Soccer and Business clubs are both looking for advisors. Advisors must be a full-time faculty or staff member and act as mediators when differences surface between organization members. They serve as organization/club historian, budget control officer and expert resource person. An advisor also accepts a dual responsibility: to the student organization/club and to the college. The advisor's responsibility to the student organization/club is to facilitate an active, impactful program and provide direction and their responsibility to the college is to assure that organizations comply with procedures and policies established by the college. Click here to learn more or contact Miranda McDowell, coordinator of student onboarding and organizations.
Welcome New Employees The following employees were hired or promoted to full time between July and September 2023. Join us in welcoming them.
Devon Byrd, gym facilities coordinator
Tyler Coughlin, custodial services manager
Christopher Duchesneau, financial aid advisor
Donald Florinchi, assistant director of financial aid
Jason Garza, faculty-HVAC, industrial electricity
Jeffrey Harms, brewery operations and maintenance coordinator
Thomas Hunt, Food Hub flex � technician
Beth Keith, horticulture lab coordinator
Demond Jackson, Kalamazoo Promise coordinator
Kevin Lavender, interim director, Early/Middle College
Allison Lay, office manager,Student Development Services
Ka Kit Leng, systems analyst/developer
Jessica Lutz, financial aid advisor
Ashley May, events coordinator
Miranda McDowell, coordinator of student onboarding and organizations
Vera Prince, administrative assistant in the president's office
Alisha Siebers, associate vice president of college advancement and executive director of the KVCC Foundation
Adam Westhouse, program coordinator, corporate training
Nicholas Yahr, systems analyst/developer
Flu Shot Clinics Scheduled for Employees Kalamazoo Valley Community College is hosting flu shot clinics for all employees. The first clinic will be held at the Texas Township Campus on Wednesday, Oct. 11 from 1 - 4 p.m. in Room 5740. Reserve your spot by clicking this link and completing the required information.
A second clinic will be held at Anna Whitten Hall on Oct. 13 in Room 204. Sign up here.
Space is limited, so please sign up as soon as possible and be sure to keep your appointment. If you have health insurance, bring your insurance card for billing purposes. Those without insurance may sign up.
If you have questions, contact Becky Craft, employee benefit manager.
Many Informational Sessions Available through TIAA Yolanda Hines from TIAA, Kalamazoo Valley's dedicated financial advisor, is available for virtual one-on-one sessions. Sign up at this link. Live webinars are also available. Attending a live webinar can help boost your financial know-how. Find webinar times below and register for upcoming sessions at www.tiaa.org/webinars. Topics include maximizing your health savings account, investing for success, cyber security and more.
Mug Club Memberships Now Available Kalamazoo Valley's sustainable brewing program is now offering Mug Club memberships. Available starting this week for $40, Mug Club members will receive the following benefits for Taps On Tuesday events for the 2023-2024 school year:
A 20 oz. numbered, Kalamazoo Valley Sustainable Brewing branded mug
$1 off all draft beer food and specials
Priority registration for special events and membership renewal
There are 50 available membership positions, so come grab one while they last.
Film, Panel Discussions and Trainings Planned this Fall Expect important programming this fall from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Highlights include:
Mental Health First Aid training | Nov. 1 | 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | TTC Room 4380
Jennifer Wimbish Visits Kalamazoo Valley on Oct. 10 Jennifer Wimbish, Ph.D., former provost and chief academic officer at Lansing Community College, will visit the Marilyn J. Schlack Culinary and Allied Health Building on Tuesday, Oct. 10 to talk about the second edition of her book "Leadership Wisdom for All Generations." The book talk will start at 5:30 p.m. in Room 107. Afterwards, there will be books for sale and Wimbish will be available for signing. more
Featured Item: Hewlett-Packard Laptop, $646.79 Looking for an inexpensive, thin laptop with long battery life? Employees and students alike might be interested in knowing that Hewlett Packard 15.6" laptops are sold for $646.79 at the Texas Township Bookstore. This model has a drive capacity of 256 GB. Payment can be made using financial aid, credit card, cash or a combination thereof. The Bookstore also sells a number of computer accessories, such as keyboard protectors and laptop sleeves, carrying cases, hard drives and chargers. Buy in person at the Bookstore between 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., or online anytime. Web orders may be picked up at TTC or the Anna Whitten Hall Library at the Arcadia Commons Campus in downtown Kalamazoo, or mailed to any address. Shipping is $5. Visiting Writer Sara Lupita Olivares Kalamazoo Valley's "About Writing" Visiting Writers series is coordinated by English instructor Julie Stotz-Ghosh, Ph.D., and offers students and community members the opportunity to talk with professional writers and to listen to their work. 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.
Sara Lupita Olivares
Oct. 19 | Student Commons Theater, Texas Township Campus
10 a.m. craft talk | 2:15 p.m. reading
Olivares is the author of "Migratory Sound" (The University of Arkansas Press), which was selected as winner of the 2020 CantoMundo Poetry Prize and the chapbook "Field Things" (dancing girl press). Her poems have appeared in The New York Times, "Hayden's Ferry Review," "Black Warrior Review," "Salt Hill Journal," "Quarterly West" and elsewhere. She is an assistant professor of English at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Kalamazoo Valley Libraries: Resources for Health and Wellness Visit us at the Texas Township Campus (TTC) or at the Arcadia Commons Campus (ACC) on the third floor of Anna Whitten Hall.
Why should students study in the library?
Research shows that viewing green plants and landscapes benefits mental health.
TTC Library: 96 enormous windows (or 3,024 square feet of glass) overlook the woods
ACC Library: 39+ eclectic potted plants provide a green environment downtown
Database Spotlight: MedlinePlus
Are your students seeking reliable, accurate health and wellness information? MedlinePlus is a consumer health database published by the National Library of Medicine that covers all areas of medicine and dentistry. Learn about new treatments, look up information on a drug or supplement or get links to the latest medical research. You can even find healthy recipes and safety information. Access MedlinePlus through our Health Sciences Databases.
Be Well with Library Research Guides
In addition to books and databases, the Libraries have online guides dedicated to topics, both academic and personal. Point your students to these research guides that promote good health and positive habits with links to videos, books and websites.
Super Heroes at the Center for New Media Art instructor Aubrey Rodgers has invited some special guests to her animation class this semester so the students could draw them. The Olivia Grace & Company characters stopped by Anna Whitten Hall last week and posed for some photos.
Study Tips Session Offered for Valley Athletes
Valley athletes from all five sports last month attended the "Student-Athlete Study Table Kickoff," a first-ever event to hear from representatives from Kalamazoo Valley Community College departments with resources to assist academic success, including the Learning Center, Office of Student Access, the Libraries and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. They also received study tips from Aaron Williams and Jeff Stone, pathway advisors for Student Development Services, which organized the program. The event allowed athletes in different sports to get to know each other better.
Valley Basketball Teams Volunteer at Beyond the Backpack
Thank you to Kalamazoo Valley's women's and men's basketball players for volunteering at the Beyond the Backpack school readiness fair held Saturday, Sept. 9 at Bronson Park in downtown Kalamazoo. Nearly 800 families attended! We enjoyed meeting many of them at the college's information table. Kalamazoo Valley Community College was one of the sponsors of this annual program. More photos can be found here.
Proposals Wanted Submit your proposals now for the Winter 2024 Summit. It takes place on the morning of Jan. 4, 2024 and includes the Board of Trustees breakfast and employee years of service recognition. Proposals are due Oct. 31.
New Exhibit Showcases Furniture from the last 200-Plus Years Explore the Kalamazoo Valley Museum's furniture collection that spans over 200 years of history, from one-of-a-kind items to mass-produced pieces made by local and international craftspeople and manufacturers in "Off the Shelves: Exploring the Kalamazoo Valley Museum's Furniture Collection." The exhibit will run Oct. 31 through Jan. 21. The museum, which has a wide-ranging collection totaling around 60,000 items, is currently undergoing a large-scale project in collections storage. As a result, many larger objects which are often not in the exhibit limelight are freed up for viewing. The exhibit will display a range of objects the museum has, including trunks, chairs and other pieces that all tell stories. Learn some of their stories and find out more about the museum's collection.
