Vol. XXXVI, No. 01

January 16, 2007

This Week at Valencia

Tuesday, January 16

Student Affairs Leadership Team, 10 a.m., Osceola Campus, 3-319H

Wednesday, January 17

College Operations Team, 9:15 a.m., East Campus, 3-113

Alumni Association Board mtg., 5:30 p.m., West Campus, 6-202

Thursday, January 18

Collegewide Staff Council, 11:30 a.m., off campus.

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

District Board of Trustees Meeting Summary

At the start of the Dec. 12, 2006, District Board of Trustees meeting, Valencia President Sanford Shugart recognized Dr. Silvia Zapico for her leadership as 2005-2006 chairman of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).

Reports

Strategic Learning Plan Status - David Rogers, professor of English and special assistant to the Learning-Centered Initiative, provided an update to the board on progress made on four of the goals of the Strategic Learning Plan (Learning First, Start Right, Learning Leaders, Learning by Design). Dr. Shugart commented on the enrollment management plan and it's "drive" impact on all action items within the SLP. It was announced that Fiona Baxter has been charged with a new staff development initiative as part of the Learning Leaders goal.

Achieving the Dream (ATD) Update - Dr. Julie Phelps, Achieving the Dream project director, gave a report on the status of Achieving the Dream, a grant-funded project targeting student mastery and success in preparatory classes. The project, now in its second year, has two priority components: priority one involves academic activities which have entered into phase two, with expanded implementation of LinC courses, Student Success and supplemental learning. Dr. Phelps said that currently the biggest challenge to increasing student participation lies in getting the word out about these initiatives and communicating with parents as well as students. With faculty, staff and budget dollars supporting them, Dr. Phelps said that these measures have the greatest opportunity for improving the success rates of our students. Priority two for ATD is the continuation of community outreach meetings. The ATD group is currently putting a proposal together for next steps.

Strategic Planning 2008-13 Progress - Susan Kelley, vice president for Institutional Advancement and co-chair of the College Planning Council, said that work on the creation of a new college strategic plan for 2008-13 is well underway. Progress has been made in the following areas:

1) The Data and Situational/Needs Analysis Task Force has developed an analysis of the external and internal conditions and changes that are of importance as we plan the college's future. The narrative analysis is being finalized this week, and it will be shared collegewide for comment and discussion in January and February,

2) On Learning Day, which was October 31, the Vision, Values and Mission task force launched a collegewide conversation about our Vision, Values and Mission statements. The task force is in the process of finalizing proposed revisions for collegewide consideration in January and February, when additional conversations will be arranged on all campuses.

3) The Communications Task Force has formed teams that are sharing information about the strategic planning process on each campus, on a collegewide basis, and with the external community. The aim is to keep everyone informed about opportunities for involvement and to make sure all voices are heard in the process. The Task Force will unveil a new web page very soon.

4) The Evaluation Task Force has developed a set of evaluation questions for use by the work groups in evaluating their work processes and products.

5) The College Planning Committee met at the end of November, and approved an initial outline for the strategic plan for 2008-13, and it will convene again in late March to consider recommended statements of Vision, Values and Mission , as well as the strategic issues and goals suggested at a collegewide Big Meeting set for March 2.

Southeast Campus Options - Dr. Shugart, Keith Houck, vice president, Administrative Services, and Dr. Thomas Greene, special assistant to the president, led a discussion on campus plans for the southeast service area, starting with a presentation on population growth and future developm

The board discussed a variety of potential locations and campus models to serve those locations. A special February meeting is planned for further discussion by the board, with a final recommendation expected to come in March.

Construction - Mr. Houck provided information to the board on a short list of firms and a recommended finalist that responded to the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Construction Management at Risk for Building 10 on West Campus. The selection committee identified Welbro Building Corporation as the top firm, pending contract negotiations.

Faculty Association Report - Tom Byrnes, president of the Collegewide Faculty Council, reported that several policies related to faculty were under review including valuation of tenure, code of conduct and grievance procedures. Also underway were changes to the faculty constitution to allow for current and past members to vote on the election of a faculty council president. The council also hopes to have a professional development plan in place by the fall.

Valencia Foundation Report - Valencia Trustee Raymer Maguire informed the board that the October Taste for Learning event at the Royal Pacific Resort was a huge success. He also said that the foundation's capital campaign has reached the halfway mark of its $20 million goal. Valencia Foundation's endowment is currently the number one community college endowment in the country according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

President's Report - Dr. Shugart began his report by stating that the land purchase for the planned southwest campus had officially closed. He also discussed existing West Campus property that fronts Kirkman Road which the college has determined is a "non-performing asset," yet has exceptionally high market value. The recommendation, therefore, is to maximize its value to the college by putting on the market outlying parcels located south of the south entrance and north of the north entrance.

In a separate initiative, the president announced a plan by the Central Florida Higher Education Consortium (which includes Valencia, UCF and Seminole, Brevard and Lake Sumter community colleges) to seek funding from the Florida legislature that would support innovative and collaborative solutions to expanding access to the baccalaureate degree. The group will make a legislative request for $5 million recurring dollars for the partnership, to be administered by a joint council. Monies will be used for baccalaureate program expansion on community college campuses, concurrent advising and student services, outreach and communication, scholarships, and collaborative development on strategic projects.

New Business

Construction Management at Risk, Building 8, West - The board approved college plans to commence negotiations with Welbro Building Corporation for construction management at risk services for Building 8, with the understanding that college staff look to find economies of scale in the design and construction of buildings 8 and 10 which will occur in a similar time frame.

Consent Agenda - Approved under a consent agenda were the following items: resolution of appreciation for Governor Jeb Bush, budget amendment request, additions, deletions or modifications of courses and programs, Valencia Enterprises courses and fees, Human Resources agenda, submission of grant proposals and property deletion.

Human Resources News

Effective January 1, Florida 's new minimum wage is $6.67 per hour. This will only affect the following part-time hourly and student positions, which are currently paid at $6.40 per hour:

- Security Escorts
- Student Assistants
- Compliance Aides
- Institutional/Federal Work-Study Students

HR has taken the necessary action to comply with new regulations. Please note there is nothing that needs to be done on the part of either the employee or department. Should you have any questions, contact Dannette Johnson at ext. 8010.

Sick Leave Pool Update:

Assessment - current sick leave pool members will be assessed two(2) days of sick leave on January 26. Information on the assessment has been sent to all current members.

Board of Directors Election - Nominations are now being accepted from sick leave pool members for the Board. To nominate yourself or someone else, send an email or memo to Sue Bouchard, Human Resources, mailcode 3-33, or fax to extension 8202, by close of business January 19.

Any questions may be directed to Sue Bouchard, ext. 8080.

News from Procurement

When entering your account and general ledger number on the distribution form in Oracle, be careful to choose the correct GL code in the 6 or 7 series when ordering service or supplies. It is very easy to enter the first, highlighted GL code 101010 in the List of Values which is a cash operating account. Unfortunately, we can not block those GL's in this form, so we are relying on your input and our checking to ensure the correct GL is used.

Minority Efforts - Valencia Procurement continues its efforts in seeking new relationships with local and minority owned companies in accordance with established college policies 6Hx28:02-05 Minority and Women's Business Enterprise Program and 6Hx28:02-06 Developing Business Program.

To encourage departments to utilize local, small and minority business neighbors, Procurement Services presents awards for top dollars spent with local developing businesses and minority/woman owned businesses. These awards are presented on a quarterly basis to the well deserved department(s). Please contact Procurement Services at ext. 5532 to find out how your department can help support minority/woman owned and local developing businesses.

Suppliers for Banner Database Update - Thanks to your response, we have notified over 900 suppliers for new supplier business profiles & W-9 forms. Only suppliers that have completed and signed the new forms will be entered into the new Banner supplier database. We will share this list with you prior to our July 1 go-live date. Thanks for your help!

Food Services Update - More renovations to the café locations on Osceola, East and West Campuses were completed over the break. A new hood was installed by the college in the West Campus Café. This new equipment will enable our food service provider to prepare your orders on the front line as opposed to in the back kitchen as they had to do last semester. This will help to speed up filling orders during peek times. Also look for a new Little Bean location coming to the Osceola campus soon.

If you have not yet tried the food at our new café locations, please do so ASAP. The staff at Cabin Creek Foods is very sincere about bringing the very best of variety, quality and service to all students, faculty and staff. The more we support them, the better they will be able to provide foods and services at an affordable price. Please feel free to e-mail any food service kudos or suggestions for improvement to valenciaprocurement@valenciacc.edu.

Attention Procurement Cardholders - If a transaction appears in PaymentNet under your account and you have not received the items and/or an invoice, please contact the responsible vendor immediately to rectify the problem. In good practice, a vendor should not charge your account until the items have been shipped. If this is a continued problem for you, despite attempts to remedy the situation, you may want to consider obtaining your items from another vendor.

Upcoming Leadership Valencia Workshops

Formation is For Everyone - Bring your lunch and join us for ongoing, relaxed conversations around Parker Palmer's essay, "13 Ways of Looking at Community."  The first meeting will introduce you to Parker Palmer and Formation.  We will then meet every other week on the East Campus to talk with others about one of the 13 ways. This is a time for faculty, staff and administrators to practice ways of speaking and being heard that allow a group to become a deeply respectful and caring community-in-learning where each person has a voice. Tuesday, January 16 or 30, 1-2 p.m., East Campus, Room 4-212B, Please use registration code: LFORM1 for January 16 and registration code: LFORM2 for January 30.

Circles of Belonging - Ever wonder what makes a person tick?  Individual experiences play a huge part in shaping the way we interact with others and view the world around us.  This in-depth interactive workshop will examine how diversity of experience impacts our interpersonal communications and relationships.  Through discovery and discussion, learn more about yourself and the people around you. Participants will leave the session with an increased understanding of and appreciation for similarities and differences.  Thursday, January 18, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Osceola Campus, Room 2-219B, registration code: PCOB1.

Word Styling Online - Go beyond word processing to word styling.  Avoid the common word-processing mistakes most people make, such as multiple spaces, poor use of tabs, and too many fonts.  By making use of styles in Microsoft Office, you can easily change the look of your document, coordinate your fonts and appearance across multiple documents, and increase compatibility with the web.  With word styling, you will soon be creating documents with a consistent and professional look.  Note: This is a four-week online course, requiring approximately 60 minutes each week.  You will be required to log on and participate with assignments and interactive learning tools.  Once you sign up, you will be e-mailed additional information regarding how to proceed.  January 22 through February 19 with access online anytime during this time, registration code: TWSOL.

AccuTrack9 Overview - This powerful database software automates the collection of data and creates reports as required. Its unparalleled functionality allows great flexibility to meet the needs of various types of academic centers.  AccuTrack9 can be used by tutoring centers, advising centers, writing labs, computer labs, financial aid offices, gyms, student support services and learning centers to name a few.  Wednesday, January 24, 1-2:30 p.m., Osceola Campus, Room 2-116, registration code: TAT91.

Tips & Idea Exchange for Support Staff - Valencia employees hold a wealth of information and ideas.  Come share and exchange these ideas and tips with your co-workers.  Note: Sponsored by the Collegewide Career Staff Council.  Friday, January 26, 9-11:30 a.m., East Campus, Room 3-113, registration code: PTIES1.

Help, How Do I Transfer This Call? - Do you notice that Nortel telephone sitting on your desk? Do you know how to use all of its features? Have you ever lost a call? What are all those buttons for anyway? Spend a little time with Ted, our telephone guy and learn how to use the phone's many features that will make your job easier. Find out about other resources you may not be aware of. Wednesday, January 31, 3-4:30 p.m., Winter Park Campus, Room 221, registration code TAT91.

To register for any Leadership Valencia workshop go online to http://www.valenciacc.edu/leadership/.

Visions & Voices , Valencia 's Distinguished Artist Series, offers you an afternoon of spoken word and expressive verse with novelist and former North Carolina Poet Laureate Fred Chappell .

Come sit for a while and listen to the unique experiences of this acclaimed author. His personal nature has a unique way of drawing the audience in and allowing them to experience his tales on a visceral level. Fred Chappell's writing styles are rich with unexpected paradoxes and a range that takes you from light to dark in just a few sentences.

Fred Chappell's works cover a literary landscape that ranges from the existential idea of choice and its impact on his main characters, to a horror story that mixes Puritan values with hedonistic cult practices. On Thursday, January 25, he will read selections from his poetry to his novels and relating his experiences on a personal level. Make sure to set aside some afternoon time with one of our generation's most intellectual writers and poets.

Where: Valencia 's West Campus Library 1 st Floor

When: Thursday, January 25, 1-2:30 p.m., reading, Q&A, book signing

Thank you

Thank you, my Valencia family, for your calls, cards, emails, and prayers for the recent death of my father. Your thoughtfulness during this difficult time is appreciated. God bless.

    - Gisela Acosta