Update September 10, 2009

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Phone outage scheduled for Sept. 14
On Monday, September 14, from 12:01 a.m. - 2:00 a.m., the phone system will have the following outages due to necessary tiered maintenance:
Callers may hear ring-no-answer and not have access to voice mail.

Please call the I.T. Support Center (ext. 5050) if you experience problems after 2 a.m. on Monday, September 14.

40,000th graduate to earn diploma on Friday

Dr. Barbara R. Nicholson, executive director of the King Arts Complex, will speak at the Summer graduation.

Less than a half century since the very first students signed up for classes, the 40,000th student will receive a diploma during the Summer Quarter Commencement Ceremony tomorrow at Veterans Memorial.

The college was founded in 1963 as the Columbus Area Technician's School (CATS) with just a few dozen students enrolled. The first class graduated with 67 students in 1965.

Sometime during Friday’s ceremony, graduate number 40,000 will be given a diploma. He or she will be recognized on stage and will be given four tickets to the September 15 Taste the Future event.

Dr. Barbara Nicholson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex, will be the keynote speaker for this graduation. Her honors include the 2003 YWCA Women of Achievement Award, 2005 recipient of the Governor’s Award for Arts Administration in Ohio and United Way of Central Ohio’s 2006 Community Leadership Award. Nicholson holds Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

The graduation ceremony begins at 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial, 300 W. Broad St. Ceremonies are free and open to the public.

Testing Center associate is solutions-oriented

Aisha McGrapth

Aisha McGrapth, office associate in the Testing Center, loves all things technical and enjoys finding solutions to faculty or staff problems. “Her ability to research, troubleshoot and present new ideas is to be applauded,” says Michelle Parks, her supervisor in the Testing Center. “Instead of simply presenting information, she goes to the next step to make it fully functional.” For her work above and beyond duty, McGrapth was presented with the September Staff Employee of the Month Award on Wednesday.

“Aisha is a kind and cheerful person who knows how to have fun and when to be serious. She is a role model for the rest of the staff, leading by cooperative example.”

“Aisha has a leading role in updating testing services, technology and forms,” says Corbin Casarez, a coworker who also nominated McGrapth. “She facilitated the transition to Internet COMPASS testing this past quarter. She also updates the Testing Center Web site to reflect changes in processes and policies. She is focused on student, staff and faculty satisfaction!”

“As enrollment into Distance Learning courses increases, Aisha is driven to enhance her own knowledge in the field so as not to send students somewhere else for help. She has taken time to learn Blackboard technology to assist students,” says Parks.

Although McGrapth has worked at Columbus State for 12 years, she only recently became fulltime in the Testing Center, and she says it’s the technology that keeps her excited about the job. This closet technology “geek” enjoys learning about Web development and even spends her time at home learning new techniques and helping friends and relatives with their graphic projects.

Adds Casarez, “Aisha is a kind and cheerful person who knows how to have fun and when to be serious. She is a role model for the rest of the staff, leading by cooperative example.”

Volleyball Cougars already No.1 in national poll volleyball team
On the heels of a winning weekend where they trounced the defending national champions, the Columbus State Cougars vaulted to the top as the new No. 1 team in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll. A preseason poll had put the team at No. 13.

The Cougars went 5-0 in the women’s volleyball tournament at Owens Community College in Toledo this past weekend where they also knocked off the preseason No. 1 team Kishwakukee (Ill.) College by scores of 15-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22. Kishwakukee College is a three-time national champion and the defending champion.

“We struggled through the opening weekend, and we knew coming into this past weekend that we needed to start playing at the level we are capable of,” said Head Coach Scott Nichols. “The challenge for the rest of the season will be maintaining that level of competitiveness against all of our opponents and earning a return trip to the NJCAA D-II National Championships.”

The Cougars finished last season in 6th place at the NJCAA Division II tourney—their first season after advancing from Division III.

Memorial Service for Robert MoellerA memorial service for Robert Moeller, husband of President Val Moeller, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 19, at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 404 S. Third St., Columbus. The family will receive friends from 10:00–11:00 a.m. Reverend John Rosenberg will be officiating. Contributions in Robert’s memory may be made to the Campos-Moeller Scholarship Fund, c/o Columbus State Community College Foundation, 550 E. Spring St., Columbus 43215, or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Donor Services, P.O. Box 4072, Pittsfield, MA 01202. Visit www.schoedinger.com to share a favorite memory of Robert. Arrangements are being made by Schoedinger Midtown Chapel, 224-6105.

He passed away at age 78 on August 30 at his home. Robert Moeller was a retired higher education administrator from Minneapolis Community College, where he held the positions of Associate Dean of students and Director of Financial Aid. Prior to moving to Minneapolis, he was Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook. He also was the Assistant Director of the Wisconsin Union Theater at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He taught at the high school level at Concordia College in Milwaukee, and earlier he had taught at elementary parochial schools in Richmond, Calif., and Milwaukee. He was involved with the Senior Center in Westerville, CORR, the Literacy Council of Columbus.

He is preceded in death by a brother, David Moeller. In addition to Dr. Moeller, Robert is survived by sons, Paul A. (Linda) and John R. Moeller; daughters, Kathleen E. (Hank) Giclas and Kristin A. (Gunther Hofmann) Moeller. Also surviving are 8 grandchildren and a sister, Bonnie Levo.

Reminder to complete the Environmental ScanThe Office of Knowledge Resources and Planning is asking all college employees to complete an environmental scan, which should take about 15 minutes to complete and is completely online. Just go to the link titled: “Environmental Scan-Columbus State Community College,” on the college’s intranet home page to access the survey. (The intranet can only be accessed from campus). Directions are provided. The environmental scan will be available through September 18.

H1N1 Update bottle of sanitizer Planning is under way to provide dispensers of alcohol-based hand gel and/or wipes throughout the campus for Fall Quarter. Small, individual containers of hand sanitizer are now on sale at the bookstore for 75 cents each.

Soap? Or Sanitizer?
According to research by the Centers for Disease Control, hand sanitizer is considered as effective at killing germs as washing your hands with soap and water. However, the alcohol content of the hand rub should be at least 60 percent to be effective. Old-fashioned hand washing should be done for 20 seconds using warm water.

Refresher on symptoms
Fever
Cough
Sore throat
In addition, a significant number of people have reported diarrhea and vomiting.