Colleague 4.3 User Interface Session, 2 p.m., WD 206
23-year employee welcomes new interactions on campus
Shona Wainwright has worked quietly and effectively in the Educational Resources Center as office associate for more than twenty years, serving as the go-to person—doing everything from scheduling meetings and ordering supplies, to setting up artist exhibits and compiling library statistics.
Shona Wainwright
So when the opportunity to jump into something totally new and different presented itself—she took it!
“The digital Capital Equipment process (CERC) is a system where cost center managers enter their equipment request for the coming Fiscal Year,” said Bruce Massis, Wainwright’s supervisor and director of the ERC. “Shona went over and above her daily duties by serving as the primary contact for managers to use the system. She was accessible to all cost center managers to ensure proper used of the CERC system and guided many of them through the process,” he said.
For her outstanding efforts, Wainwright was awarded the August Staff Employee of the Month award at a ceremony held Wednesday, August 10.
“Shona could have moved many of the requests to a more technical area of the IT division, but she learned to use the CERC system to a high degree and thus was able to assist cost center managers, even going so far as to visit them in t heir offices to walk them through the process when necessary,” added Massis. “Many of the phone calls came at a critical time when the beginning of Summer Quarter and the continued renovation of the ERC had impact on the workflows in every department,” he said.
“I have worked with Capital Equipment for the past three years but every year some portion of it changes,” said Wainwright. “I really enjoy talking to so many different people from many departments on campus, but this year was just exceptional as I tried to fulfill every request. I plan on working with CERC again next year and look forward to talking to many people that I rarely get the chance to interact with otherwise!”
Semesters advising information rolling out soon
Thanks to the monumental course modification work completed by faculty, staff and administrators over the past year, the college is just about ready to begin semesters-related advising for students. Students will begin receiving “See an advisor to get ready for semesters” messages sometime in mid-to-late August. These communications, which also remind students of the start date for semesters (August 29, 2012), will go out via email, the college website, the Switch2Semesters website (cscc.edu/semesters), Blackboard, college-related social media, flat-screen monitors, the website, tickers, classroom posters, etc.
Included in the longer messages will be information on why it is so important for students to see an advisor to prepare for semesters and how to access semesters-related advising. In some communications, there will be a link to pre-advising tips that will help students get the most out of their advising session. (Hand-out cards of these tips will be printed for future distribution.) The email and other advising messages will be posted on the faculty/staff semesters website (http://intranet/Switch2Semesters/) and Wikispace site (http://csccs2s.wikispaces.com/) so that you can reference what information students are given.
With the start of student advising, the college has reached a major milestone on the road to semesters. We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s dedication and expertise. Now it’s time to put that milestone to work for the students. If you have suggestions regarding the semesters advising process, please contact semesters@cscc.edu.
Mary Berman
Memorial service planned for Mary Berman
A gravesite memorial service for Mary Berman, office associate in Business Programs who died June 19, will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, August 28 at the City of Dublin Cemetery (Monterey Drive entrance off W. Bridge St. in downtown Dublin). Rabbi Sharon Mars will officiate. All members of the Columbus State community are welcome to attend.
DiPietro forms “cell phone orchestra”
Rocco DiPietro, adjunct faculty member in Humanities, has formed a “cell phone orchestra” this summer in his electronic music program. The class uses a "Jam Link" device that allows his electronic music students to play live with Stanford University and Polytechnic Institute in New York students who have a similar program! DiPietro and the cell phone orchestra are currently planning a couple of concerts for the end of quarter, so if you are intrigued with the concept of music by cell phone, stay tuned for those concert dates!
Read names at graduation this summer
Dr. Rick Bartlett waits to lead his line of students into the auditorium at last quarter’s ceremony.
Graduation coordinators are in need of two faculty members to read the names of graduates as they cross the stage at the Summer Quarter 2011 Commencement Ceremony, Friday, September 9 at Veterans Memorial. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. but our faculty readers are asked to arrive by 8:30 a.m. in order to check on the pronunciation of the names in their section. Please email smay@cscc.edu if you are interested in reading names at commencement next month!
TECHie Camp participants to visit Columbus State Monday
While the technology industry has made incredible advances in recent years; drawing women into the field unfortunately, is not among them. In 2008, women accounted for 57% of the U.S. workforce yet only 25% of technology-related occupations were held by women.
TECH CORPS is an organization that assists K-12 schools by delivering in-person technology support and programming. The group has developed a new program to encourage and support girls’ aspirations in computing, called TECHie Camp: Girl Power.
The camp is a 14-day camp for rising 3rd-5th-grade girls living in Franklin County. Girls will take a “deep dive” into subject matter focused on programming and robotics. The camp participants will visit Columbus State’s Information Technology Support department and “Cougar Geeks” students on August 15, where they will trade stories and try some hands-on electronics activities. Debra Dyer, assistant professor in ITST will coordinate the visit.
“Through this camp we seek to elevate girls' confidence with STEM-related concepts and skills in a safe and supportive environment; expose them to tech-savvy women, and increase their awareness of STEM-related educational and career pathways,” said Lisa M. Chambers, national director of TECH CORPS.
New women’s basketball head coach ready to roll
Marrita Porter
Columbus State has found a new inspirational leader for the Cougar Women’s Basketball Program in former All Big Ten Academic Conference Ohio State Women’s Basketball player Marrita Porter. Not satisfied with simply filling the Lady Cougar’s Basketball head coaching role, Coach Porter intends to radically transform the program with a special emphasis on academics.
At the first team meeting, Coach Porter said, “This is my first head coaching position at the collegiate level but I know the game of basketball and what it takes to perform in the classroom and on the court.” She also went on to emphasize the importance of perseverance and that her new team should focus on completing their degrees so they have a future beyond sports.
With responsibilities ranging from coordinating study table, specific position teaching, playbook scheming and strategy, plus scheduling demanding team conditioning sessions and practices—Columbus State’s newest head coach is hoping to raise the academic and athletic performance standards of the Lady Cougars!
Try some mango at the ERC?
The ERC/Library is pleased to announce that the Mango Language Learning Center is now available as a one-year pilot project.
Mango is an online language-learning system that can help you learn languages like Spanish, French, Japanese, Brazilian, Portuguese, German, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Italian, Russian and more!
It has been made available through funding provided by Libraries Connect Ohio, a collaborative effort of OhioLINK (college/university libraries), OPLIN (public libraries), INFOhio (school libraries) and the State Library of Ohio. This means Mango is available to all Ohioans.
Mango is now available through the ERC/Library website:
www.cscc.edu/library > Research Databases > Quick Reference tab > Mango Language Learning Center
The direct links to Mango are as follows: On campus go to: http://libraries.mangolanguages.com/ohiolink/start or OFF CAMPUS.
Why not try it out yourself and share it with your students? For more information, please contact the Reference Desk at ext.2460.