Vol. XXXV, No. 46

December 4, 2006

This Week at Valencia

Monday, December 4

Professional Staff Leadership Team, 11 a.m., campus and location TBD

Career Program Advisors, 3 p.m., Osceola Campus, TBD

Wednesday, December 6

DOT-Deans, 1 p.m., West Campus, TBD

Thursday, December 7

Atlas Access mtg., 9 a.m., West Campus, TBD

College Learning Council, 2:30 p.m., DTC, 1st floor conference room

College Planning Council, 2:30 p.m., West Campus, 6-202

Class C Travel Update

Upon further research of the Florida Statute related to travel, it has been determined by legal council that the college is not able to reimburse meals for Class C travel defined as short day trips (no overnight stay) outside of Orange and Osceola Counties.

Effective immediately, Class C travel will not be reimbursed. If you need additional information, please contact Jackie Lasch at ext. 3300. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion caused by the Class C travel change.

News from Procurement

Holiday decorations, cards, food, parties, etc. - Authorized expenses vary by the type of funds being charged and the functions required by the department. There are exceptions by organization and situation based on fund type or emergencies. General operating funds (Fund One) are considered “state” funds and expenses should be limited to educational or administrative expenses. We are required by statute and rule to apply a fiduciary responsibility over the expenditure of tax payer funds. Items that are prohibited from spending from Fund One include:

• food or beverages
• party supplies
• coffee or coffee supplies
• personal items
• entertainment
• liquor, beer or wine
• departmental social functions
• promotional items
• holiday decorations for the office
• office decorations or wall hangings
• employee awards, gifts or recognitions

State funds can also not be expended to satisfy the personal preference of employees (an example is a department may not purchase more expensive office furniture/ equipment/supplies than is necessary to perform its official duties because the employee prefers a more expensive item).

Copy Paper Fun Facts - Every six months, the college solicits competitive bids for copy paper used throughout the college. Recent numbers show that the college has purchased 1,641 cases of white letter-size copy paper from July 1-Nov 30. This number translates to 8,205,000 sheets of paper consumed in a five month time period. Because the yearly cost is over $25,000 per year, we are required to formally bid this consumable item. Since the cost of paper is so volatile we solicit bids every six months in order to obtain the best possible price.

Humane Education - New Class Starting With the Spring Term

Pat Boyle, instructor of Fine Arts, Humanities, will teach a course in Humane Education beginning in January. Humane Education can be defined as "a process that encourages an understanding of the need for compassion and respect for people, animals and the environment, and recognizes the interdependence of all living things." Valencia is the first college in Central Florida to offer Humane Education. Despite its being mandated by Florida statute, Humane Education is only recently attracting local and national attention due in part to issues such as global warming and the euthanasia of millions of unwanted cats and dogs. Dr. Boyle has taught humanities at Valencia since 1997 and is president and founder of Buddies for Life, Inc., a nonprofit organization that rescues unwanted animals and finds them good homes. Humane Education (HUM2930) will be offered on Friday mornings beginning January 12. In addition to interesting reading selections, films and discussions, the class will visit the Orlando Humane Society and Orange County Animal Services. Anyone interested can contact Pat directly at 321-274-6043 or the West Campus Humanities Department office at extension 1300.

Achieving the Dream (AtD), Supplemental Learning (SL) Update:

The Supplemental Learning Leadership Team is looking for excellent student to be trained as Supplemental Learning Leaders. Many of our best SL Leaders have been recommended to us from instructors and staff such as yourself. For the Spring semester, we are offering SL in MAT0012C, MAT0024C, MAT1033C, MAC1105, ENC1101 and POS2041. We will need SL Leaders for each class that is offering an SL component (74 sections collegewide). SL Leaders participate in class, and they offer weekly “SL sessions” for students in enrolled SL courses.

Do you know of a great student who would make a great SL Leader? Want to learn more about Supplemental Learning or how you can get involved with Supplemental Learning? Contact your campus Supplemental Learning Coordinator:

• East Campus – Libby Gore, ext. 2385
• Osceola Campus - Al Groccia, ext. 4182
• West Campus – Russell Takashima, ext. 1724
• Winter Park Campus – Linda Hidek, ext. 6817

A Warm Valencia Welcome to These New Full-time Employees

Eva Cintron, payroll specialist, Payroll Services, CJI, room 229, mc 3-34, ext. 8122
Patsy Cochran, business office specialist, Financial Services, West Campus, SSB-101, mc 4-6, ext. 1112
Sharonda Francis, staff assistant, College Transition Programs, West Campus, SSB-248, mc 4-25, ext. 1057
Elisha Bonnewitz, account manager-Scenarios, Sand Lake Center, room 105-A, mc 8-1, ext. 6631
Phillip Graves, assistive technology specialist, Office for Students with Disabilities, West Campus, SSB-102C, mc 4-17, ext. 1539
Douglas LePelley, senior performance consultant, Business Solutions Group, Sand Lake Center, mc 8-1, ext. 6630
Jessica Morales, coordinator, Transition Planning, West Campus, SSB-201F, mc 4-17, ext. 1154
Jose Rivera, administrative assistant, Humanities, Foreign Language and Visual and Performing Arts, East Campus, 3-106, mc 3-2, ext. 2341
Karen Shores, staff assistant, Leadership Valencia, DTC, room 300, mc DTC-3, ext. 3338
Monica Quintero, instructional assistant, Mathematics, West Campus, 7-240, mc 4-23, ext. 1745

Kudos

Kim Long, interim dean, Communications, West Campus, recently joined more than 200 University of Wisconsin-Stout alumni, faculty and students to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The choir performed works composed and arranged by Dr. Patrick Liebergen. Kim had sung under the direction of Dr. Liebergen while attending the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie Wisconsin.

Submissions to the Bulletin are encouraged, so please e-mail your achievements, awards, recognitions, and relevant information for the college community to Mary Jane Jones in the Marketing and Media Relations office. Deadline for submission is 5 p.m. on the Tuesday preceding each Friday’s distribution. Mary Jane can be reached at ext.1017, mc 4-34 or mjjones@valenciacc.edu.