Commencement

Thanks to all for helping make the 44th Annual Grossmont College Commencement Ceremony among the best ever! Last Wednesday we celebrated with graduates, and their families, and our entire Grossmont College community. We were moved by our student speaker, Dawn Monday, as she reminded us of the pivotal role we all play in our students' futures. Dr. Michael Vidal told us how much we are valued in our community, and Debbie Yaddow provided a refreshing perspective on teaching at Grossmont. We honored our retirees, our Distinguished Faculty member Zoe Close, and our graduates. Congratulations to everyone involved in this wonderful enterprise.

Kudos to Faculty, Staff and Students

	Tom Gamboa was appointed to the California State Board of Education, Instructional Material Advisory Panel where he will be reviewing the History curriculum for grades K-8. His focus will be on how California Indians and Indians in general are covered. The Viejas Education Center will be funding his travel to Sacramento when they meet in April and July.
	Each year the California Community Colleges Classified Senate (4CS) and the Community College League of California (CCLC) offers two scholarships to attend the annual Classified Leadership Institute. We annually award one to the Northern region and one to the Southern region. The Classified Leadership Institute was established to promote leadership and strengthen classified staff participation in shared governance. There are many classified staff throughout the state who are active in shared governance at their colleges. Choosing only two applicants is a challenging process. We are pleased to announce that Pat Murray has been awarded one of these scholarships.
	Congratulations to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Forensics Team for receiving the Dan Miller Perpetual Sweepstakes Award given by the Pacific Southwest Forensics Association. UCLA was in second place behind the GCCCD team, which is coached by GC’s Roxanne Tuscany and CC’s Nancy Jennings.

Science Laboratory Building Groundbreaking

Get set for a series of groundbreaking events! Our chemistry and biology faculty helped set the pace for a series of groundbreaking events for new and upgraded facilities with the ceremonial turning of the earth for the new Science Laboratory Building. At the invitation of Trustee Wendell Cutting, everyone who will occupy the new building in 18 months had the chance to help 'dig in' and celebrate this monumental achievement for the Grossmont College science program.

Department Chair Tom Olmstead, who also co-chaired the building's planning committee with Tim Flood, introduced student speaker Susan Austin. Austin, who hopes to enter the GC nursing program, spoke about the limited opportunities she, and legions of other students, have faced in landing coveted places in the 'gateway' science classes. The new building will double, and in some cases, triple, the available seats in these critical courses.

A set of ceremonial shovels, painted gold and adorned with special bows, was inaugurated at the event. These shovels will be stored and used for subsequent groundbreaking events as the college celebrates the new facilities in the pipeline.

Coach Olson Caps Career  With Fabulous Send Off

It was my pleasure to witness a wonderful farewell celebration for baseball coach Ed Olson, who retires this year recently held on campus. During his 22-year coaching history at Grossmont, Ed scored five conference championships and was named Pacific Coach Conference of the Year four times. In 2004, he celebrated his 500th win at Grossmont College, versus College of the Canyons. Over the years, 189 of Coach Olsen’s players transferred to play baseball at 69 different colleges. He is certainly a legend and it has been my pleasure to help honor his career.

Griffins Excel on the Courts, Fields, and in the Pool

It’s been a great season for Griffin teams this spring.  Men’s Tennis finished the Pacific Coast Conference with a perfect 14-0 record, and three players advanced to the state championships. Men’s Volleyball made it to the first round of the state play-offs, and Badminton Team advanced to the State Tournament.  Congratulations to the Men and Women’s Swim/Diving team for reaching the state championships.  In softball, three lady Griffs made the all-PCC team. In Baseball, led by Coach Olsen in his final season, produced three players for the fist team PCC and three more were named Honorable Mention PCC for the Pacific Coast Conference.

Governing Board Highlights

• Grossmont College Student Trustee Peter Anderson received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Board for his past years of serve as student trustee.
   

• Public Works Projects: Approved notice of completion for the Learning Resource Center Expansion and Library Remodel/Technology Mall; awarded bid for the Chiller Water Loop project; and notice of completion for the Life Safety Road Provision of Dry Utility Trenching and Vaults.
   

• Approved the Child Development Center Agency Self-Evaluation Report and Action Plan, as required by the Child Development Division of the California Department of Education.
   

• Approved the following classified and academic personnel actions

  • Kerri Etzel, Admissions & Records Assistant

  • Kathleen Gustafson, Associate Dean, Learning Resource Center

Letters to the President

Dear Dr. Martinez:

This letter is to inform you about one of your exemplary adjunct faculty members, Linda Snider (BOT department) who recently chaired the California Business Education Association (CBEA) state conference held in San Diego recently. She coordinated the conference committees consisting of the Program, Hands-on Computer Workshops, Professional Tours and Transportation, Entertainment, Publicity, Food and Beverage, Exhibitors, Hospitality and Registration.

In addition, Linda serves as the State Service, Recognition Chair, honoring those outstanding business educators demonstrating service to our organization, recognizing honorary life memberships, and paying tribute to state legislators who have supported business/career and technical education in California. For her hard work and dedication, I presented her with the President’s Award, an honor bestowed on a members who supported my office throughout the year.

I hope you realize what a hard working individual you have on your staff. We’re grateful for her volunteerism to our professional organization.

Ms. Rosalie DeMarco
CBEA President

Dear Dr. Martinez,

We are pleased to announce that Beta Theta Chi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at Grossmont College received special commendation during the Nevada/ California Regional Convention. Your Phi Theta Kappa chapter fulfilled all requirements to the distinction of being named a “5 Star Chapter.” This commendation recognizes your chapter’s successful attainment of goals as presented in the Society’s Five Star Chapter Development Program.

In addition to the recognition received regionally, your chapter and college will also receive international recognition. Your chapter’s achievements will be cited on the Phi Theta Kappa Society website at www.ptk.org and in the Phi Theta Kappa Chapter Progress Report mailed to all college presidents in the summer.

Your support and the support of your administration and faculty are key to unleashing the potential success of your Phi Theta Kappa members. On behalf of the outstanding chapter members and advisors of the Beta Theta Chi Chapter, we express appreciation for efforts given toward providing rewarding educational experiences inside and outside the classroom.

Rod Risley, Executive Director
Phi Theta Kappa
International Honor Society of the Two-Year Colleges
 

Dear Dr. Martinez:

Publicly funded Early Care and Education Programs in California are the first steps for many low-income children in the world of education. The joy of learning, the excitement of interacting with a larger world outside their immediate home environments, and the journey of understanding for these children beings in preschool.

The job of administering these programs belongs to a group of dedicated professionals who daily meet the challenges of managing budgets, curriculum, personnel and facilities. California Child Development Administrators Association has been the professional organization in the State that has provided leadership to this administrative group since 1943. CCDAA provides leadership in advocating for high quality, accessible, and affordable early childhood care and education programs that support all children and their families.

This year CCDAA is indeed fortunate to have Sheridan DeWolf serving on our State Board. Sheridan’s dedication to improving the Early Care and Education System in California has led her colleagues to place her in a position of trust and leadership.

Bruce Ramet
California Child Development Administrators Association

Dear Don Ridgway:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the students from Grossmont College’s Cardiovascular Technology Program for performing the P.A.D. Screening for our CLUB 65 members on Friday, September 24th and the Carotid Screening on Saturday, November 13th. As you can see from the enclosed evaluation summary sheets, the participants really appreciated the student’s efforts as well.

Don, I really appreciate you organizing these and mentoring the students. At the PAD Screening we screened 43 people and found five who were referred to their physician for follow-up. That’s about 11% of the tested population.

At the Carotid Screening we screened 54 people and found three who were referred to their physician for follow-up. The only negative comment involved the length of waiting time, which we discussed on the phone.

Thanks again Don. You’re a joy to work with and I appreciate your giving spirit.

Shelly Buono
Specialist, Sr Resource Center
Grossmont Hospital Sharp