CAMPUS DIGEST - Merced College€¦ · CITD was the first such program to be established in...

CAMPUSDIGEST

The 8 Keys President Taylor commits College to supporting White House veterans education initiative. Page 2

Notable Quotables The Merced College Foundation marks several successes and contributions to the Col-lege from 2012. Page 3

Making the Grade MC professor lauds achieve-ments of student veterans in a profile of one such scholar. Page 7

AUGUST 2013A Merced College News Magazine Published by the Office of Institutional AdvancementVol. III Edition 1

Portrait of the Artist

Madison Toel, who was enrolled in Professor Louisa Benhissen’s acrylic painting class during the spring semester, studies her image in a mirror as she works on her first self-portrait using the ‘alla prima technique.’ See story on page 4.

Photo by Louisa Benhisson

Welcome Back Staff and Students!

It is very ex-citing to be start-ing the 2013-2014 academic year.

We have a great deal to be proud of as we head into the year. After some very hard work on the part of many individu-als, we succeeded in removing the Col-lege from an accreditation sanction. This is an achievement to be celebrated. We also are beginning to pull out from under the grievous effects of the worst state budgets within memory.

Things are not all roses, but they cer-tainly are getting better—and it is no small thanks to the hard work and advocacy of our student leaders and our faculty and staff who advocated for the passage of Proposi-tion 30 last fall.

In 2012-2013, we also celebrated the College’s 50th anniversary with many events. We gave our alumni wonderful op-portunities to reconnect with us through the Homecoming celebrations and inaugu-ration of the first-ever Sports Hall of Fame.

As classes started a couple of weeks ago, and the bright, hopeful faces of new and returning students greeted us, I was

A New Year Begins with New Challenges Planning for Institutional Effectiveness Remains One of Our Key Goals

CAMPUS DIGEST AUGUST 2013

By Dr. Ron TaylorSuperintendent/President

Dr. Taylor

MC Affirms Support for New White House Veterans Initiative

reminded just how student-oriented this college is.

I participated at one of the August Rush information tables on the Mer-ced campus, and it was a great learn-ing experience—where particular rooms are, where to pick up books ordered online, and whether there will ever be room in cer-tain classes for those who desperately need to complete a prerequisite class.

Yes, it was great learning a few of the de-tails that our staff and our faculty deal with daily, but the big thing for me was just how positive our students are, how full of hope, and how much faith they put in the educa-tion we provide. Seeing the staff respond to students reminded me of the consistency of our customer service and our student ori-entations (remember – “Students are our focus, and we are known by their success”).

This year promises to be an exciting one, as we strive to improve student success un-der somewhat better circumstances.

Now it is the time to look into the fu-ture. The coming year holds great promise for continuing the beneficial changes that have been started under the onus of ac-creditation recommendations. We will im-prove on our strategic planning and trans-parent budgeting. We will continue our progress in documenting student learning, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of our courses and programs. We will bring our

budget into ongoing balance. We will de-vote resources to activities that hold prom-ise for improving student success. We will address new enrollment challenges through enhanced marketing and outreach.

This year, we will be updating our stra-tegic plan. In doing so we will chart the goals that give direction to our work for the next several years. We will also update our educational and facilities master plans, anticipating further improvements to our infrastructure.

Our new technology plan will also help us stay on the frontiers of learning for our time, thanks to the hard-working members of the Technology and Research Master Planning Committee last year for making our technology plan a thoughtful, valuable document.

This year, we are looking into a future in which we will come together around the over-arching need of our time: improving student learning in a complex, changing world. Our ongoing work on institutional effectiveness will begin to pay off, and we will become more confident as we deliver high quality education to our students and our community.

“Now it is the time to look into the future. The com-ing year holds great promise for continuing the beneficial changes that have been started under the onus of accreditation recommendations.”

Merced College has announced its sup-port for a White House initiative designed to foster postsecondary educational op-portunities and improve employment out-comes for veterans.

“We are committed to helping our vet-erans successfully complete their studies at Merced College,” said President Taylor, commenting on the Obama Administra-tion’s “8 Keys to Success” initiative.

The “8 Keys to Success” include the fol-

lowing: create a culture of trust and con-nectedness across the campus community to promote well-being and success for vet-erans; ensure consistent and sustained sup-port from campus leadership; implement an early alert system to ensure all veterans re-ceive academic, career, and financial advice before challenges become overwhelming; coordinate and centralize campus efforts for all veterans, together with the creation of a designated space; collaborate with local

communities and organizations, including government agencies, to align and coordi-nate various services for veterans; utilize a uniform set of data tools to collect and track information on veterans, including demo-graphics, retention and degree completion; provide comprehensive professional devel-opment for faculty and staff on issues and challenges unique to veterans; and develop systems that ensure sustainability of effec-tive practices for veterans.

CAMPUS DIGESTAUGUST 2013

CITD Director Jeannette Benson is joined by Dr. Kevin Kistler (right), and Chancellor Brice Harris (left)

Merced College’s Center for International Trade Develop-ment (CITD), under the direction of Jeannette Benson, was recognized recently as making important contributions to the increase of American exports.

The CITD earned the “E Award,” the nation’s top award for export services from the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.

There are nine Centers for International Trade Develop-ment across the state that assist thousands of companies each year in conducting international business. Merced College’s CITD was the first such program to be established in Cali-fornia.

The free or low-cost programs and services include one-on-one technical assistance and consulting, market research, training and educational programs, trade leads and access to special events. The centers are supported by grants through the Chancellor’s Office’s Workforce and Economic Develop-ment division. Those investments power California’s economy and its global competitiveness through industry-specific edu-cation, training and services that contribute to a highly skilled and productive workforce.

“The Center for International Trade Development has been a big part of our workforce training focus for two decades and we’re proud of what we have accomplished over that time,” Chancellor Brice W. Harris said. “We know that helping businesses get their products to foreign markets means providing them with training and access to funds. I believe we provide that service better than anyone.”

The Presidential E Award was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, to recognize persons, firms, or organiza-tions that contribute significantly to increasing United States exports.

CITD Earns National Award

The Merced College Foundation has made some notable ac-complishments in the last year. Below are the highlights of the Foundation’s activities and successes in 2012-2013.

The Merced College Foundation:• Established a committee system to operate/run the Founda-

tion.• Revised its By-laws.• Welcomed new member Vinton Thengvall.• Welcomed new Merced College President Dr. Ron Taylor

with an invitation-only reception.• Hosted a Board-oriented Christmas party.• Held two Saturday Board retreat sessions.• Developed a strategic plan for the next three years.• Provided funding for Business students in the CEO Club to

attend a national conference in Chicago.• Honored its Emeritus Directors with scholarships given in

their names.• Outlined an orientation program for new Board members.• Put plans in motion to energize the employee giving program.• Celebrated 50 years of Merced College with a Homecoming

BBQ and car show, alumni concert; gave 50th Anniversary pins to friends of the Foundation; co-sponsored the Merced County Courthouse Museum 50th Anniversary display and reception; helped to create a historical timeline banner, and assisted with the installation of a time capsule in the Learning Resources Center.

• Hosted four luncheons with President Taylor and key com-munity members.

• Inaugurated our new President and hosted a luncheon in his honor and gave commemorative coins to all attendees.

• Introduced the first President’s Medallion honorees and cel-ebrated their contributions to Merced College.

• Co-hosted the First annual Merced College Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony and dinner.

• Allocated $7,200 in start-up dollars to the Sports Hall of Fame project.

• Began the processes for a redesign of its website.• Contributed 45 flowering plants for landscaping.• Compiled an up-to-date mailing list of over 5,000 people.• Awarded more than $127,000 in scholarships to 148 stu-

dents.• Held a special donor/scholarship reception for a recipient

unable to attend the ceremony.• Has taken a supporting role in the Rotary Field of Honor

project.• Has begun plans for the 2014 District/Foundation Annual

Report and the 2014 President’s Medallion awards.• Has had a positive four-quarter performance of better than

10 percent on its investments, and its total assets have grown by about $300,000.

For more information on the Foundation, call executive direc-tor Robin Shepard at Ext. 6470.

MC Foundation Accomplishes Major Tasks in 2012-2013


Drafting Program Ventures into World of 3D Printing

Madison Toel, who is featured on the front of this issue of Campus Digest, was in my Art 25B - Acrylic Painting II class last semester. In the photograph she is working on her first self-portrait using the “alla prima technique,” a tech-nique which she had learned at the end of Painting I in our portraiture project.

The technique involves direct painting and the goal is to observe the subject more than the surface, helping to sharpen the artist’s eye, thus improv-ing speed in applying directional and economical brushstrokes.

This is “wet-in-wet” painting in which layers of wet paint are applied to previous layers of wet paint, therefore it

By Louisa BenhissenProfessor of Art

Professor Explains Painting Technique

requires a fast way of working. Drawing and painting from life is

crucial for the student and is intrinsic in furthering technical skill and focused observation.

It has been practiced alongside other techniques since the invention of oil painting, and was used by several of the best Early Netherlandish painters in parts of their pictures, such as Jan van Eyck in the Arnolfini portrait, and Rogier van der Weyden.

Among the many Baroque painters who favored it were Diego Velázquez and Franz Hals. In the Rococo era, connoisseurs appreciated bold alla prima painting, as exemplified in the works of artists such as Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Francesco Guardi, and Thomas Gains-borough.

Merced College Draft-ing program instructor James Thornburgh is excited about the rapidly emerging world of 3D printing.

First introduced in 1984, 3D printers have become less expensive and are moving out of industry into people’s homes. Through the College’s Drafting program, students can explore the process of creating three-dimensional objects from computerized models. This allows people to physically create any object that they can draw on the computer.

“We now have in the Drafting Depart-ment a Dimension uPrint and an ObJet 24 3D printer,” said Professor James Thorn-burgh. “These printers can be used to cre-ate a physical model from any solid model-ing program. Our program gives students an understanding of rapid protyping and its use in industry.”

In a process known as additive manu-facturing, successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes to form the

desired object. Traditional machining tech-niques rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling, and have limitations based on the technique that is used.

Additive manufacturing takes virtual blueprints from computer aided design (CAD) software and “slices” them into digital cross-sections for the machine to successively use as a guideline for printing. The material is deposited on a platform un-til the layering is complete and the final 3D model has been “printed.”

“In order to print your own designs, you need to have an understanding of comput-er-aided drafting, or CAD,” Thornburgh said. “Our in-structional program includes 3D CAD software such as In-ventor, SolidWorks, and Creo.

The only prerequisite for the Introduction to Paramet-ric Modeling class (DRFT-4C), which covers the basics of 3D Modeling & Printing, is knowing how to use a com-puter, Thornburgh said.

Merced College’s Draft-ing programs teach students

how to use current CAD programs to de-sign either mechanical, commercial com-ponents or buildings. Upon completion of the program students will be able to take a project from concept to prototype.

Several career fields are open to drafting students. Students completing an associ-ate of arts degree or certificate of comple-tion can be employed in various businesses as a drafting technician, CAD operator, engineering assistant/technician, or home designer.

Community Services is also offering two bus trips in September.

A DAY AT APPLE HILL – Every fall, an apple festival takes place as apple grow-ers open their ranches to the public. Fol-lowing a delightful tour of the Apple Hill loop, you will be treated to a delicious hot chicken and apple pie lunch. You’ll also have plenty of time to browse the arts and crafts booths. Saturday, September 7, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. $75 includes transportation, refreshments, tour & lunch.

SF GIANTS VS. SAN DIEGO PA-DRES – Root, Root, Root for the home team! We’ll arrive with plenty of time to find your seat, have lunch, watch batting practice, visit the gift shop, and try for au-tographs from Giants players. This trip sells out early! Saturday, September 26, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. $90 includes transportation, refreshments, and ticket to the game.

Bus Trips Set for September


School Leaders Confront Active Shooter Scenario ParticipantsGet Taste of Threat Potential

Though it was only a training drill, sev-eral Merced College staff members learned first-hand what law enforcement officers may face and how they might react when confronted with an active shooter.

The College was used as the staging area for the August 2 Rapid Tactical Deploy-ment exercise conducted by the Merced County Sheriff ’s Department. Dozens of teachers and administrators from through-out the county participated, including our own Rick Souhrada, Jim Andersen, Donya Avila, and Jill Vierra.

“The active shooter training we received was, without a doubt, the most intense, hands-on experience I have had in my 13 years of various Health & Safety trainings at Merced College,” said Student Health nurse Donya Avila. “To be placed in the middle of the situation and experience just a small taste of what law enforcement goes through in the midst of this type of event was very illuminating.”

With sirens blaring, police lights flash-ing, and with the sound of gunfire and heli-copters overhead, teams of educators made their way through the Bizzini IAC complex and the Vocational Building to engage and neutralize the threat. They had to instantly recognize the difference between students fleeing a classroom and an armed assail-ant. With the natural stress of the situa-tion compounded by deputies yelling out instructions through megaphones, the par-ticipants, armed with airsoft AR-15-style weapons, had to react quickly and surely.

“This is a great way for the school of-ficials to get a first-hand view of the stress-ful situations that law enforcement officers have to be prepared to engage at a mo-ment’s notice,” said MC law enforcement director Sgt. Frank Swiggart.

Quoted in the Merced Sun-Star, Sheriff

By Robin ShepardPublic Information Officer

Mark Pazin said the drill was meant to give participants the experience of a real-time active shooter scenario.

“We wanted it to be as real-life as pos-sible. You can have all the classroom experi-ence you want, but it’s different when you taste it, feel it, hear the sirens,” he said.

County Superintendent of School Steve Gomes underscored that by saying, “Pre-paring for this is not like preparing for a fire drill.”

Echoing Gomes’ comments, Sgt. Swig-gart said, “Do what you must to survive, to make it home that night.”

Should a shooter burst into their class-rooms, the teachers were told to fight back, if possible, by throwing desks, computers, anything at hand at the shooter to knock the shooter off-balance.

“There is no specific job to do,” Sgt. Swiggart said. “The situation keeps chang-ing, but you have to think ahead of time what you would do in these situations.”

With preparation, Rapid Tactical De-ployment teams can improve the outcome of active shooter incidents by 25 percent,

Photo by Robin Shepard

Faced with the threat of an armed assailant (above), several local teachers prepare to enter the Bizzini IAC while sheriff’s deputies issued instructions. Below, Rick Souhrada and Jim Andersen examine a Sheriff’s Department tactical robot.

according to the Sheriff ’s Office.“This event really helped us see the ‘big

picture’ of an active shooter incident, from protecting our students, to neutralizing the threat.” said Dean Jim Andersen.


Merced College welcomes the fol-lowing faculty members for the 2013 Fall Semester:

Claire Alvarez (Nursing), Gregory Brown (English), Lindsay Davis (Li-brary), Jennifer Gardner (History/Political Science), Aaron Hamilton (Electronics),

MC Welcomes New Faculty for Fall

Merced College provides numerous programs and services that promote learn-ing and support student success. Many of these are located in the Lesher Student Services Center.

The Center had previously served as the college’s main library and was remodeled after the completion of the new Learning Resources Center. The major benefit of this remodel was that services that were previ-ously scattered around campus were now centralized in one location. That means Merced College students can complete vir-tually everything in one building.

The services and activities that fall un-der Student Services include Application; Orientation; Assessment; Counseling; Registration; Advising and Educational Planning; Personal Counseling; Student Health Services; Disabled Student Servic-es; Extended Opportunities Programs and Services (EOPS); Financial Aid; Associ-ated Students of Merced College; Veterans Resource Center; Office of Relations with Schools; Career and Transfer Center; In-ternational Student Services; CalWORKs; and, Articulation (in cooperation with the Office of Instruction).

The majority of the programs are locat-ed in the Lesher Student Services Center in the middle of the campus. Although not a student services program, Student Fees is also located in the Center, which is a convenience for students. Student Health, Associated Students, the High Tech Cen-ter, and the Veterans Resource Center are housed in the Student Union. The Interna-tional Student Services program is located in the Communications Building.

Online technology has proven to be an

Student Services Promotes Successasset. Due to a concerted effort on the part of Information Technology Services and Student Services, students can complete most tasks online including completing an application, orientation, assessment, finan-cial aid, registration, dropping and adding classes, payment of fees, and ordering text-books and transcripts. An emerging source of help is the provision of eAdvising and educational planning.

Merced College students vary greatly in terms of their access to, and skills in, the utilization of technology. Increasing effort is being made by staff to assist and encour-age all students to use available resources.

Poverty is a major concern for a large number of our students. Approximately seventy percent of our students receive some type of financial aid, and the amount and number of recipients has doubled over the past several years. Our financial aid office has done a remarkable job of serv-ing many more students than ever before. Programs such as CalWORKs and EOPS also strive to help first generation college students succeed.

Our students often lack other basic re-sources, such as medical insurance, trans-portation, child care, and stable housing. All of these problems impact their suc-cess and progress at the college and many experience high levels of stress. To help them with these issues, a full-time personal counselor is available to students.

Student Services has teams of dedicat-ed and capable staff who work many extra hours to meet student needs. The programs receive good support from many academic departments, particularly those that serve basic skills students.

The benefits of Merced College’s stu-dent services programs have been recog-nized across campus.

By Toni McCallAdministrative Assistant

The 2nd annual Student Success Symposium, sponsored by the Stu-dent Success Committee, was held August 5 in Study Central.

The symposium featured keynote speaker Dr. Joe Cuseo, a renowned expert on the first-year experience, student persistence, and student success. The symposium focused upon strategies to enhance student learning.

Dr. Cuseo exemplified an enthu-siasm for student learning that was warmly received by a packed house. The symposium was filled with 35 full- and 15 part-time professors, the vice president of Instruction, instruc-tional deans, directors, and staff.

Dr. Cuseo’s high energy and focused presentation on student learning provided motivation for the beginning of the 2013-2014 Academic Year. The presentation il-lustrated a number of obstacles often found in community colleges and offered myriad strategies to engage students, improve student learning, and enhance the student experience.

Moreover, the symposium fea-tured two guest speakers from among our own faculty: Taylor Lankford and Mike Barba who provided insight on the benefits of learning communities, detailing the intense curricular and personal connections fostered in their design and delivery.

The Student Success Symposium included productive teaching and learning strategies designed to help faculty improve their students’ suc-cess, while particularly addressing at-risk students and creating an environ-ment conducive to their success.

By Mike McCandlesIntermin Dean of Instruction

Symposium a Good Start to Semester

Martina Marquez (Child Dev.), Kevin Nelson (English), Denise Rempel (Eng-lish), Kristen Rieg (Math), Stefani Shea-Akers (English), Mark Sutterfield (Math), Gee Yang (Nursing).

Congratulations to all and welcome to Merced College!


Professor Notes Accomplishments of Student Vet By Cary CoburnProfessor of Biology

Officers Receive New Badges in Ceremony

Merced College President Ron Taylor hands Officer Leo Lopez a new campus police department badge during a ceremony on August 7, as Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin and campus law enforcement director Sgt. Frank Swiggart look on.


As a Merced College instructor, one of my greatest privileges is working with our student veterans, many of whom are using their GI Bill benefits to prepare themselves for an increasingly competitive job market.

Although some veterans experience a variety of difficulties when transitioning back to civilian life, many others thrive by using the discipline they received in the armed forces to focus on their academic tasks.

I would like to share the story of one very special student who has recently ben-efitted from several generous scholarships funded by local veteran organizations.

Xochitl Tilley has been attending Mer-ced College for the past 2½ years and as-pires to become a registered nurse. Her name, Xochitl, (pronounced “Soshee”) is taken from the Aztec word for flower. Xo-chitl served in the US Army for four years and was deployed to Bosnia where she

served as a com-puter adminis-trator attached to military intel-ligence. While there, she met her husband of 12 years, Eugene, who serves as a Merced County deputy sheriff. The couple has one daughter.

In May, this Army veteran received three generous scholarships at the annual Merced College Foundation Scholarship Sunday awards ceremony. Xochitl was awarded $500 scholarships sponsored by the American Legion Post #83, the Dis-abled American Veterans, and a scholarship awarded by the American Legion Riders. She is planning on using the funds for text-books, school supplies and if all goes well, nursing uniforms some day in the near fu-ture.

As an Allied Health major, Xochitl plans to transfer into the registered nursing

program. She is currently maintaining a 4.0 grade point average, which is no easy feat considering that the pre-nursing curricu-lum includes a string of chemistry, math and biology classes. Xochitl will complete her A.S. degree in Allied Health next year at which time she will apply to the nursing program.

Outside of the classroom, Xochitl works in the Veterans Resource Center and also serves as a biology tutor on campus. In preparation for a career in nursing, she also works as a medical assistant for a local physician.

Although spare time is scarce, Xochitl enjoys watching movies with the family and target shooting with her husband.

Xochitl’s “can do” attitude, pleasant na-ture and drive to succeed make her a model student and an asset to the Merced College and the community at large.

Perhaps someday soon we will see her in uniform once again, this time deployed to the hallways of Mercy Medical Center packing a stethoscope instead of an M-16.

Xochitl Tilley

CAMPUS DIGEST

President Ron Taylor presented the coveted President’s Blue and Gold Award to staff of the Community Services program during the August 9 Convocation. Congratulations to (left to right) Dean Karyn Dower, Deanna

Jennifer Bartlett, Becky Barabe, Ranjana Bhasin, and Sarah Nelson Bravo for a job well done!

Community Services Earns Blue and Gold

AUGUST 2013


Are you thinking about conducting a survey of students, faculty, staff or volunteers? The Office of Grants and Institutional Research (OGIR) can help with timely, comprehensive survey research sup-port services that produce valid results for use in program review, outcomes assessment, planning and more.

OGIR’s survey research support services include clarifying re-search approach, determining sample size, developing your ques-tionnaire, designing and administering your survey, collecting and analyzing data, and reporting and presenting survey results.

Using a consultancy approach, OGIR can help refine your re-search question(s) and design, schedule and administer your survey to ensure optimal response rates and valid data. The Office has a secure, unlimited SurveyMonkey subscription for on-line surveys, and provides survey research support services regardless of modal-ity, including on-line, paper, telephone or in-person interviews.

Judy Rose, Diagnostic Radiologic Technology program direc-tor, moved all of her former hard-copy surveys to an electronic, on-line format with the help of OGIR.

“I used to send hardcopy surveys to faculty, students and em-ployers several times each year to evaluate student and program outcomes,” she said. “Working with the Office of Grants and In-stitutional Research, now everything goes so much more smoothly. I spend a lot less time, get better response rates and the survey results write-ups and presentations are really informative. I shared the results with our area faculty and they were so impressed.”

OGIR adheres to high professional standards and provides guidance to facilitate compliance with college policies and state

Here’s How to Get High Quality Survey Research Resultsand federal regulations concerning confidentiality, privacy and hu-man subject protections in research.

“There’s such an increased emphasis on data and evidenced-based decision making,” said Research Director Cherie Davis. “Surveys have become a popular information-gathering method, but if they’re not done well then they can be of limited benefit and even potentially harmful. Well-designed and appropriately admin-istered surveys can provide compelling and reliable information that can be really valuable to decision-makers.”

Recently, the Student Success Committee wanted to know why more students were not visiting the Tutorial Center. The commit-tee and Student Success Director Tomasia Drummond worked closely with the OGIR to develop and administer a student survey during spring 2013.

“We learned through the survey results that students were not clear about how to access Student Success Program services, and that many students incorrectly thought there was a cost to receive services,” Drummond said.

Survey results were then used to develop marketing strategies to help demystify the Center, which included highlighting how to access its free services more efficiently.

“Of course, we plan to work with the Office of Grants and In-stitutional Research to evaluate the effectiveness of our marketing strategies,” she said.

For further information and assistance, contact the Office of Grants and Institutional Research at [email protected] or call Cherie Davis at Ext. 6786.

CAMPUS DIGEST - Merced College€¦ · CITD was the first such program to be established in...

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