MARCH 2007
THE SWIC FOUNDATION
INVITES YOU TO "PLAY BALL"
CELEBRATE
WOMEN'S HISTORY
It's Women's History Month and the Herstory
Committee wants you to join them in honoring
women and their accomplishments during
a monthlong celebration including speaker
presentations, performances and the annual
Wellness Fair.
Also, beginning Monday, March 5, Herstory tote
bags, $15 each, and travel mugs, $5 each, will be
sold to benefit the Herstory Scholarship for single
parents.
For a complete calendar of Herstory events, or
how to purchase your Herstory tote bag and
mug, visit www.swic.edu, or contact Herstory
Chairwoman Winnie Kenney at extension 5430.
HERSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
Diane DiTucci, program coordinator for Web Development and Administration and Electronic Publishing
Specialist programs, left, and Sharon Banjavcic, professor of Computer Information Systems, right, get bear hugs
from Izzy, the Gateway Grizzlies’ mascot at the Foundation’s “First Pitch” kick-off event.
The World Series Champion St. Louis
Cardinals team is not the only squad in
spring training.
The SWIC Foundation kicked off its
baseball-themed Annual Employee Giving
Campaign for “Team SWIC” in late February
and wants you to join its lineup of donors.
During its first warm-up event, the
Foundation hit a homerun collecting pledge
forms. Thank you! We have several innings
to go.
Throughout the campaign, which runs
through Friday, April 13, employees will
receive a “signing bonus” of two Grizzlies
tickets for any donation of $10 or more.
You can even designate the “position” your
contribution will play...
• Unrestricted Funds have been a major source
of special grants.
• Restricted Funds can only be used for the
purpose specified by the individual fund. Types
of funds include Adult Education, Blue Storm,
Fine Arts, Library Fund, PSOP, Schmidt Art
Center and much more!
• Annual Scholarships/Awards support
traditional and nontraditional students in
occupational and transfer programs.
• Endowed Scholarships/Funds are named
scholarships funded by endowment gifts.
Check your pledge form for a list of all
fund categories.
Gifts can be made through payroll
deduction or a one-time payment in cash,
check, MasterCard or Visa.
Deliver or mail your pledge form to the
Foundation Office at the Belleville Campus,
MC Room 2240. If you need a form, you can
find and print one from the Foundation Web
site, www.swicfoundation.com.
Stay tuned for game updates from your
announcer, Alumni/Online Development
Coordinator Denise Keller. For more
information, contact Keller at extension 5546.
5
Leslie Goddard: Illinois Women and the
Winning of Women's Suffrage, 10-10:50 a.m.,
BC Theatre
6
Susan Fadem: Getting What You Want Out
of Your Business Communications, 7 p.m.,
BC IS-Room 2141
7
Ingrid Porton: Lemurs of Madagascar,
11 a.m. to 1 p.m., RBC Performing Arts Room
21 Wellness Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
BC Varsity Gym
31 Public Reception:“Women Artists,”
6-8:30 p.m., SWGCC Wilmsmeyer Room
CAMPUS BRIEFS
BELLEVILLE CAMPUS
FOUNDATION
WELCOMES
NEW BOARD
MEMBERS
DARRYL COLLINS
SWIC Foundation recently added three new
members to its board of directors: Darryl
Collins, senior vice president for Commerce
Bancshares Inc.; Dana Howard, Merrill
Lynch financial adviser and former Rams
DANA HOWARD
CHARLES UNGER
football player; and Charles Unger,
community bank president for the
Granite City and Pontoon Beach locations
of The Bank of Edwardsville. Their terms
began in February.
ANNOUNCING A
LOGIN-FREE S-NET
ONE FISH, TWO FISH, RED FISH,
BLUE FISH – Assistant Professor of
Biology Michael Marlen recently read the
Dr. Seuss classic to the children of Kids’ Club
in honor of the author's birthday and Read
Across America celebration. Phi Theta Kappa
sponsored the week of featured readers.
FREE! That's what you'll be soon when
you don't have to log in to S-net to get
forms, announcements, calendars and
much more!
Beginning in late March, you'll be free
to browse and get the information you
need without having to remember yet
another ID and password.
Don't worry, your personal information
and financial reports are still secure. These
pages must require a login because of the
private information they contain.
Look for an “Everybody” e-mail
announcing the login-free S-net later this
month!
NEW on S-net! What's happening in
The Cove? The Quest for Pearl – or in
layman's terms, the transition from the
Student Information System to PeopleSoft
Student Administration – is under way.
You can follow the progress on S-net.
Look for the box on the S-net home page,
or click on Committees & Projects from
the left-side navigation.
FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
At the February meeting, the Board of Trustees
approved recommendations to:
Web Development and Administration, and
JSP ($60 per course).
• Increase tuition $5 per credit hour to $68,
effective summer term 2007, FY 2008.
• Include fees for the new High School
Summer Academy courses, including Water
Ecology ($60 to cover site-visit costs); and
Biology I ($10 per semester for supplies).
• Amend Administrative Procedure
#4006AP, Academic Standards, regarding
Academic Probation, Academic Suspension
Warning and Academic Suspension procedures and protocols.
• Include computer lab fees for Survey of
Music Computer Technology ($10); and Web
Usability and Design, Intro to Web Servers,
• Adopt a five-year compensation plan for
the college's non-union, part-time hourly
staff with provisions identical to the recently
approved SWIC Educational Employees
union contract.
Get your tickets for George Portz and the Roots
of Bluegrass Friday, March 23. The show features
Portz; Sullivan,Mo.'s Windy Ridge; Country Singer
Brenda Cook; and a Junior Fiddle Jam! Tickets,
available in College Activities, are $6 each. Call
extension 5561 today!
Internationally known illusionist, magician and
motivational speaker Jim Passé will take center
stage at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 28 in the
Varsity Gym during the Special Services Center's
annual Student Transition Day and Disabilities
Awareness Program. His visit is made possible by
a grant from the SWIC Foundation.
Kids will rule the Schmidt Art Center Saturday,
March 10. Color 1.0 sessions are at 11:30 a.m. and
1:30 p.m. The cost is $5 per child, per event.
Advance reservations, with payment, are required.
For more information, call the Schmidt Art Center
at extension 5278.
SAM WOLF GRANITE CITY CAMPUS
Watch men split boards with their bare hands,
rip phone books in half and bend metal bars as
the Conqueror's International Strength Team
performs for Family Night Out at 6:30 p.m.,
Tuesday, March 6 in the Commons. A noon
presentation for students will focus on academic
excellence. For more information, contact Mandy
Robinson at extension 6642.
Tickets are available now for “The Return of
the King,” the Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre
scheduled for 7 p.m., Saturday, March 24. Tickets
are $17.50 per person and include a buffet dinner
and show. To purchase tickets, call the SWGCC
Business Office at extension 6640.
RED BUD CAMPUS
St. Louis Zoo Primate Curator Ingrid Porton will
turn the spotlight on the lemurs of Madagascar
and conservation efforts under way to keep the
primates from extinction. Her presentation,
"Lemurs of Madagascar," runs from 11 a.m. to
1 p.m., Wednesday, March 7 in the Performing
Arts Room.
PSOP
Join the SWIC Travel Program May 18-22 at
the Lilac Festival in Rochester, N.Y. Enjoy a Castles
and Gardens tour, sightseeing cruise and more!
Cost per person, based on double occupancy, is
$1,590, which includes roundtrip transfers from
Belleville to Lambert, hotel accommodations for
four nights, 10 meals, admissions to scheduled
events and more. For more information or
reservations, contact Trip Coordinator Nancy
Bauer at extension 7020.
FROM THE DESK OF
THE PRESIDENT
General-studies or field-specific, which is the better
track? It depends on who you ask.
Fact is, a two-year associate's degree is worth
$500,000 more in salary over an employment lifetime
than a high school diploma alone; and students who
go on to earn a bachelor's degree can expect to earn
$23,000 more annually than a high school graduate.
Employment statistics also show community college and university graduates
have more savings, make better purchase decisions, and have greater job security.
But is the cost of tuition catching up with these clear-cut benefits?
Presumably, college is steadily more expensive – up from $10,000 at most
Ivy League schools 25 years ago to more than five times that amount today –
because its benefits are steadily more visible, according to a Feb. 25 New York
Times Magazine article,“What a College Education Buys.” For example:“In 1979,
a 30-year-old college graduate earned 17 percent more than a 30-year-old high
school grad. Now that gap is over 50 percent.”
Some economists are going beyond those numbers to say that, besides
expertise in a given field,“a college degree is partly a 'signaling' device - it
shows not that its holder has learned something but rather that he/she is the
kind of person who could learn something. Colleges sort as much as they
teach.” So, in recent decades, it's no surprise that “the biggest rewards have
gone to those whose intelligence is deployable in new directions on short
notice, not to those who are locked up in a single marketable skill.”
As a result, some educators argue it's best for students not to specialize too
much because “the old ideal of a liberal education has had a funny kind of
resurgence,” notes author Christopher Caldwell.
Where does a community college like SWIC fall in this debate? We proudly
cover the entire spectrum, since SWIC offers trade-industry certificates and
two-year transfer degrees for students who want to become specialists; and a
comprehensive general-studies curriculum for students who have yet to find
their special-interest niche.
What isn't up for debate? Be it a general-studies or field-specific degree,
educated adults earn more. You can bank on it.
60TH ANNIVERSARY FUN FOR EMPLOYEES ONLY!
If you're an employee and love to collect
anniversary memorabilia, then the 60th
Anniversary Employee Subcommittee has a
collector's item for you – long-sleeve denim
shirts available only to SWIC employees. The
commemorative shirts will sport the 60th
Anniversary logo. Orders for the shirts, $20 each,
will be taken through Friday, March 23. Call
Committee Member Marcia Boone at extension 5496 to place your order.
Are you a SWIC employee who's completed an associate's degree here at
the college? If so, then let us know! The 60th Anniversary Committee and its
Employee Subcommittee want you. Share your name, department, associate's
degree, area of concentration and graduation year with Committee Member
Debby Politsch, extension 5211, or e-mail [email protected].
How well do you know SWIC? Test your knowledge later this month when
SWIC's 60th Anniversary Employee Subcommittee introduces “Swixtieth
Trivia.”You could win valuable and semi-valuable prizes. Watch S-net and the
Bulletin Board for details.
MARCH CALENDAR
Letter of Appreciation Week - U.S. Troops, RBC
Baseball vs. McKendree, 2 p.m., BC
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Community Program, 7 p.m.,
Schmidt Art Center
Softball vs. Florissant Valley, 2 p.m., BC
2
4
Baseball vs. Florissant Valley, noon, BC
5
Allied Health Job Fair, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., BC MC Second Floor Hall
Baseball vs. Fontbonne, 2 p.m., BC
6
Conqueror's International Strength Team, noon,
SWGCC Commons
Family Night Out: Conqueror's International Strength Team,
6:30 p.m., SWGCC Commons
Concert in the Café: The "You Can't Beat Experience" Band,
7 p.m., BC Café
7
Music Student Performance Seminar, 3 p.m., BC Theatre
Mini Job Fair, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., RBC Lobby
8
Softball vs. East Central College, 2 p.m., BC
10
Kids Rule: Color 1.0, 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Schmidt Art Center;
Reservations required - $5 per child
12-17 Spring Break, college closed
Baseball vs. Lincoln Trail, 3 p.m., BC
16
20
SWIC Idol, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., SWGCC Commons
Softball vs. Lincoln Trail, 2 p.m., BC
Concert in the Café: Four of a Kind Band, 7 p.m., BC Café
23
Baseball vs. Kaskaskia, 3 p.m., BC
George Portz and the Roots of Bluegrass, 7 p.m., BC Café.
Limited tickets on sale in College Activities, ext. 5561: $6
24
Murder Mystery Dinner Theater, 7 p.m., SWGCC Commons
25
Softball vs. Washington University, noon, BC
27
Baseball vs. Forest Park, 2 p.m., BC
28
Motivational Speaker: Jim Passé, 10:30 a.m., BC Varsity Gym
29
March Birthday Cake, RBC Lobby
National Something on a Stick Day Celebration,
8 a.m. to 10 p.m., RBC Lobby
Softball vs. Rend Lake, 2 p.m., BC
Music Student Performance Seminar, 3 p.m., BC Theatre
Public Reception: Annual High School Student Art Show,
6-8 p.m., Schmidt Art Center
Author Happy Jack Feder Presentation, 7 p.m., BC Theatre
30
Author Happy Jack Feder Presentation, 10 p.m., BC Theatre
Baseball vs. Southeastern Illinois, noon, BC
31
Softball vs. Olney, noon, BC
1-7
1
2007 AG SUMMIT
– Red Bud Campus
Provost Mike
Reed, right, and
Math and Science
Department Chair
Amanda Starkey,
far right, take a
minute to speak
with State Rep.
Dan Reitz,
D-Sparta, center, during a break at this year's Agriculture Summit
hosted at the campus. Reitz and Illinois Department of
Agriculture Director Chuck Hartke presented legislative updates
on issues of importance to farmers and agribusiness leaders.
TO
HILGENBRINK
BO
KA
L
A
T
UT
CLARK
Vice President for Administrative Services
Rob Hilgenbrink has been elected to serve
as a member of the Central Association
of College University Business Officers
(CACUBO) Board of Directors. The board
provides oversight for all professional
development activities sponsored by the
organization.
Controller Tammy Clark has been
appointed vice chair of the CACUBO St. Louis
Workshop Committee that will plan, supervise and evaluate the annual professional
development workshop.
HUTCHISON
CHAMBLIN
MORAN-HUNTER
ROSSI
Medical Assistant Program Coordinator
Cheryl Hutchison has been elected to serve
on the curriculum review board of the
American Association of Medical Assistants.
Associate Professor of Speech Mac Chamblin
is serving on the St. Louis Air and Space
Museum Board. The organization works to
commemorate the contributions
of the St. Louis area in the development of
aviation and space exploration.
Assistant Professor of Mathematics Melissa
Rossi is the proud, new mother of Sophia
Maria born Jan. 2.
AMANN
The SWIC Nursing Education Program
earned eight additional years of
accreditation, the highest that may be
earned by the program. Leadership, faculty
ownership, proud students and much more
were cited as strengths.
As SWIC representatives at Scott Air Force
Base, Enrollment Specialist Chris MoranHunter and Registration Clerk Joyce
Amann are part of the SAFB Education
Center team that was awarded the Best
Education and Training Flight award for
the second straight year. There are 12 Air
Mobility Command bases.
FROM THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
ELECTRONIC TIMESHEETS COMING APRIL 2007
TEAM BUILDING – Roles were reversed recently when
faculty members became the students during Faculty
Development Day. Participating faculty members had
opportunities to get tips on motivating students, learn
more about WebCT and more. During Matt Swinford's
and Mary Lutz's “Motivation Magic” presentation, groups
worked on team building. Pictured, from left, are Carla
Thorpe, SWGCC Adult Basic Education faculty member;
Denise Keller, Liberal Arts adjunct instructor; Leslie Wolter,
East St. Louis Success Center English specialist; and Marletta
Webb, Liberal Arts adjunct instructor.
Have a fun and safe
SPRING BREAK!
March 12-17
Once again, technology is going to
improve the way we do business. The
HR / Payroll software system was
upgraded recently. With this enhanced
software comes the ability for employees
to enter timesheets and leave usage
electronically. The change to our
business process has a target date of
April 2, but this comes after months of
planning and focus group discussions,
that continue even now. Much care is
being taken to allow for input!
Employee groups that will submit
electronic timesheets and leave usage,
where applicable, include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Part-time SWIC EE
Part-time Public Safety
Part-time Physical Plant
Non-union Part-time
Student Employees (Regular and FWS)
Full-time SWIC EE
Full-time Public Safety
Full-time Custodial and Maintenance
Full-time Office and Technical
• Part-time Counselors
• Librarians
Full-time faculty and full-time APS will
continue to be paid on a salary basis, but
will utilize the new system to report the
use of paid leave.
No other employee groups
will be impacted at this time. It
is possible, however, that our practices
may be amended in the future to reflect
Ethics Act time reporting requirements.
In addition to eliminating paperwork,
computation errors, filing and storage
issues, the new system will allow for
better communication flow and easy
access to more information. It also will
greatly improve the way payroll data is
recorded and stored.
Say goodbye to the blue pens and
hello to the enhanced world of great
technology. More detailed information
on how employees will access and use
the system will come later this month.