Dr. Sharon L. Blackman
Once again we are halfway through another semester. I hope that those who were able to take a spring break were able to recharge their batteries.
Several weeks ago the newly renovated student lounge and TreeTop Café, with our new SUBWAY® restaurant, opened with grand success. If you have not taken the opportunity to visit the student lounge, I encourage you to do so. The final design of this renovated space was selected from student and staff votes and reflects a great choice.
Business has been booming for SUBWAY and we are all grateful to have an on-campus place to eat and visit with our colleagues and students. The restaurant is open until 6:30 p.m. to provide service to our evening students and staff (SUBWAY’s hours.) We are asking that you share the news about this eatery and space, so that we can continue to offer choices for students who want to take advantage of our college's resources.
This month we enter the base year for acquiring contact hours that will be used as a basis for our budget fund allocation. Our ongoing retention efforts are important as we assist our students to stay on track to reach their higher education goals. You have received announcements about our spring semester “Take Care of Business Week” schedule for March 24-28. This is a time when all employees’ focus is on working with students to encourage them to continue their pursuit of earning an associate’s degree, certificate or completion of the Core Curriculum. As you may know, students completing the Core at Brookhaven College are “Core Complete” at their receiving institution when they transfer to a Texas, public four-year institution.
This semester, the staff members of the Scholarships and Financial Aid Office are conducting their second annual Pay for College Fair in conjunction with “Take Care of Business Week.” Special financial aid workshops will be conducted to assist students with completing the FASFA as well as informing them about financial resources to assist them with their education. In addition, a Majors Fair will be conducted concurrently to inform students about careers associated with various areas of study in which they can major. This is a collegewide effort and we are asking all employees to encourage students to take advantage of all the additional services and events during this week of focus on retention of our students.
In April, the All-College Service Project committee has planned for our second event of the academic year. This is a time when students and employees participate in “our” service learning to give back to “our” community. We have 11 teams ready to work with the Senior Adult Services of Metrocrest Social Services to assist with the Group Home Repair Program. Our participation will consist of helping seniors in our local community remain in their homes safely as we provide needed home maintenance and repair. If you have not joined a team and would like to do so, please contact Aaron Ostrom, executive dean for special programs, who will put you in contact with a team captain.
The search committee for the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Success is conducting initial interviews with candidates this week and next week. Once the finalists are determined, each will be invited back for a second visit that will include forums and selected interviews with college staff. The plan is to have a recommendation prepared for no later than the June meeting of the DCCCD Board of Trustees.
Congratulations to the Alpha Delta Pi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society who won several awards at the 2008 Region II Texas Conference last week in Fort Worth. The chapter received four award certificates, including the Scholarship Hallmark, Chapter of Service, Pinnacle Chapter and Five Star Level awards. In addition, Amber Valentine, chapter president, and Anil Patel, chapter webmaster, were both presented with plaques in recognition of their induction into the 2007-2008 Phi Theta Kappa District II Hall of Honor. DeAnna Golsan, chapter president, was presented with the Distinguished Chapter President Award and Dr. Aaron Ostrom received the Distinguished Chapter Advisor Award. I was honored to receive the Chief Executive Officer award and we were inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa-Texas Region Hall of Honor at the Awards Gala. Tuesday evening, more than 20 new students were inducted into the Alpha Delta Pi Chapter.
Congratulations to Roy Allen, music professor, and six music students who attended the Texas Music Educators' Association Convention in San Antonio. The students earned several awards, which is a great acknowledgement of the fine teaching they have received.
Thank you to all of the workgroups who reviewed the results of the Modern Think® (50 Best Companies) Survey. A draft of Brookhaven College’s Action Plan has been sent to all employees through their employee groups. Your input and feedback is requested no later than March 28, so that the final plan for the college can be developed. It will take all of us working together to address the college issues as we improve our college environment.
May you continue to have a successful semester!
