State college four-year degrees under fireSPC wants to continue growing In less than a month, high-level Florida education officials will indirectly debate the future of St. Petersburg College and other state colleges when they consider a recommendation by the Florida Council of 100 to put a moratorium on any more four-year degrees at state colleges. The historic meeting – a joint gathering of the State Board of Education and the university system Board of Governors – is scheduled for Nov. 12. SPC has asked to be on the agenda. “We’ll explain why this move is ill-advised,” said SPC President Carl M Kuttler Jr., adding that if the moratorium happens, it will be “the beginning of dismantling this great movement of creativity.” Kuttler said it’s strange that the university four-year programs would not be under the moratorium. “Even stranger,” he said, “is the fact that while our programs are growing, the universities continue to limit enrollments and charge higher fees. Something’s wrong in the kitchen.”
The movement to curtail state college growth surfaced last year during the appropriations process when the University Partnership Center model was placed at risk, Kuttler said. Those attacks were defeated. As Catherine Kennedy, associate vice president of the UPC, pointed out, the University Partnership Center actually helps our university partners. “This gives them the opportunity to increase their student enrollment at an affordable operational cost,” she said. To protect the UPC from new legislative attacks, SPC has realigned some responsibilities to better withstand the challenges as well as poise the college for more growth. The goal for the UPC, for instance, is another 25 percent enrollment increase, according to Anne Cooper, Senior Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs. Both Cooper and Kuttler agree that one of the few people who can successfully pull that off is Kennedy. The best way to position Kennedy and the UPC for continued success, Cooper said, is to let her focus 100 percent on the UPC rather than asking her to continue splitting her time between the UPC and international programs. In addition, the UPC will get additional financial and staff resources, Cooper said. And Kennedy has her running shoes on. National University of Health Sciences, for instance, joined the UPC in Fall 2009. Plus, partnership programs now have classes on the Downtown site and Clearwater Campus. Just around the corner, in January, is a new degree from the University of South Florida: The Professional Science Master’s Degree in Biotechnology. That’s not all: “We’ve already secured a new graduate program from InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico,” Kennedy said. It will be delivered in Spanish starting next fall. While Kennedy continues growing the UPC, Cooper will continue giving broad oversight to international programs, where the position of Director of International Studies is being re-titled Director of International Programs (with no change in classification or compensation). Other accountabilities Cooper has been given include coordinating college legislative activities and chairing the college-wide arts group. Later, if the Consular Corps College is approved by the Board of Trustees, Cooper will have that accountability along with oversight of the Government Institute when it opens. Some day at least part of the international program may be housed in the government institute. Professional Development Day is Oct. 23St. Petersburg College, in the business of changing lives, is celebrating its faculty at the annual Professional Development Day next Friday. The theme: Making a difference. To underscore how much of a difference SPC’s faculty and staff make, college employees are the key presenters at what amounts to a mini professional conference. “Our colleagues run these sessions, so faculty members are more likely to try these strategies,” said Earl Fratus, Social Science instructor at the Seminole Campus and Faculty Senate President. “Often times, we go to conferences and learn new ideas and methods for classroom delivery, but they get lost or forgotten because we do not have anyone to turn to for help when we try to implement them.” Occurring at Clearwater Campus, Professional Development Day is a required duty day for budgeted faculty. Administrative & Professional staff also may attend. The day will feature three breakout sessions in the morning, each offering about 14 separate options. Session topics include incorporating technology in the classroom, utilizing library services, dealing with difficult or hostile students, and many more. A brochure with all the details will be e-mailed soon. “One goal is to give all of us a sense of SPC as one college pursuing common goals that benefit the entire community as well as the college family,” said SPC President Carl M. Kuttler Jr. The opening session starts at 8:30 a.m. Name tags may be picked up as early as 8 a.m. outside the auditorium. Departments have scheduled discipline meetings for the afternoon. For more information, contact Matthew Stewart at Ext. 3116 or at stewart.matthew@spcollege.edu. 2009 Apollo Award winner receives state award
Melinda Thackrah, SPC’s 2009 Apollo Award winner, has won the LeRoy Collins Distinguished Community College Award, presented by the Florida Association of Community Colleges. Thackrah, who was nominated by St. Petersburg College in the category of Against All Odds, will be honored at the 2009 FACC President’s Banquet on Nov. 19 in Orlando. Thackrah came to the college after recovering from a motorcycle accident that led to an 11-week stay at Bayfront Medical Center and one year of rehabilitation. The accident also marked the end of her career as a welder and fabricator. Upon the recommendation of a counselor, Thackrah decided to explore the opportunities offered at SPC. After taking the college placement test, she was invited to enroll in the Honors Interdisciplinary Studies program. “That brought me back to life,” Thackrah said. Once at the college, she became active in Phi Theta Kappa (becoming a member of the Phi Theta Kappa All-Florida Academic Team) and was elected president of the Honors College Student Consortium. Eventually she received the 2008 SPC Honors College Scholar of the Year award. On a whim, Thackrah decided to take a ceramics course. She wasn’t sure if she could succeed in the class because she didn’t have full use of her left hand, but she tried anyway. Her instructors were impressed with her work. “They said, ‘Wow, just think what you could do with two good hands,’” Thackrah said. After taking Ceramics II, her instructors suggested she apply to different summer arts programs. Although she was accepted into two arts programs, she only attended one – the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. She now attends New College of Florida in Sarasota. “I dropped out of school in the 11th grade and was accepted into one of the pre-eminent liberal arts colleges in the country,” Thackrah said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that without St. Petersburg College and the open-door policy of community colleges. “I often have said that my family and friends helped me survive the accident, but SPC gave me back my life.” President warmly received at Chicago presentation
President Carl M. Kuttler Jr. inspired hundreds during his keynote address at the annual National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship conference in Chicago Monday. The presentation, “Entrepreneurship: Practice What You Preach,” captured SPC’s chronicle of creativity, innovation and success. Those entrepreneurial success stories include:
Chronicle of Higher Education now available onlineThe online edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education is now available to all faculty, staff and students. The Chronicle is one of the leading sources of news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty members and administrators. Access is via IP recognition, so if you’re on campus, you can simply go to: chronicle.com. No password required! For off-campus access: 1. Go to SPC Library Online www.spcollege.edu/central/libonline 2. Click on Articles & Databases 3. Log in with your borrower ID (employee ID) and PIN (last four 4. Click on Education, then select The Chronicle Academe Today, the Chronicle’s daily e-mail report, summarizes the latest news in higher education, career advice, and essays published in the current issue, and provides links to the full text.
Please note: Individual subscriptions are no longer necessary as our site license offers all of the advantages of a single subscriber. Should you have a renewal coming due, you may cancel and continue to enjoy uninterrupted service through the Libraries’ subscription. For further information, call Rebecca Frank at Ext. 3759. Critical Thinking Institute draws more than 100More than 100 faculty and staff attended the Fall Critical Thinking Institute at SP/G on Oct. 9. After a welcome by SP/G Provost Karen Kaufman White, the event featured a presentation on the value of critical thinking by QEP Faculty Chair Gail Lancaster, as well as a panel discussion with Faculty Champions featuring Holly Hoopes, Sarah Moseley, Cathy King, Chad Mairn, and Bonnie Jefferis that was moderated by SGA President Leja Apple. During this discussion the Faculty Champions outlined their endeavors to improve learning and shared insights about teaching for critical thinking. Event participants were able to choose from a variety of presentations during two breakout sessions, which featured topics including Library Support, Nursing’s Perspective, Critical Thinking Assessment Test, Graphic Organizers, Jing, Paralegal Case Briefing, Text Books & Critical Thinking, Google Documents, and the Assessment Rubric for Critical Thinking in Ethics. There also was an optional information session for those whose disciplines are slated to begin the critical thinking initiative in January. If you missed this event, please consider attending the break-out session that will present institute highlights at the upcoming Professional Development Day on Oct. 23. SPC faculty are invited to ‘Orange Grove’
The Orange Grove houses many types of resources, from single video, audio, or image files to complete lessons. The materials are peer-reviewed for quality assurance, tagged for easy searching, and can be easily integrated into your current course. You can also contribute learning objects to the Orange Grove for use solely by other professors at SPC or to be used by individuals throughout the state. The Orange Grove is now partnering with the University Press of Florida to form “Orange Grove Text Plus,” a collection of texts that will be downloadable free or available in print-on-demand formats at lower costs. If you want to explore the Orange Grove on your own, visit: www.theorangegrove.org. Be sure to request an account so you have full access to the repository. For more information, contact Vicki Greenfield of the College of Nursing at Ext. 3698, or Mark Billiris from the Seminole eCampus Mathematics Department at Ext. 6121. Multi-cultural club members recognized in statewide event
SPC’s United Nations Integrating Together (UNIT) multi-cultural club not only made its Florida Model United Nations’ annual conference debut, its members received a few recognitions as well. SPC students Tony Martinjak and Zabrinna Panesso were awarded the Honorable Delegation Award for their representation of Japan at the conference – Martinjak at the Security Council and Panesso at the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. It was the first time SPC had representatives at the event, held earlier this month at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. Founded in January, the Clearwater Campus’ UNIT Club’s mission is to establish a bond between students of different cultures through community service, social and educational programs. Members strive to break social fears and ignorance. The Florida Model U.N. is a mock United Nations session in which university and community college students prepare and conduct research on countries in advance, focusing on current issues such as nuclear weapons, living conditions in refugee camps, and the situation in Somalia. “UNIT club students learned about the Florida Model U.N. while they were attending an SGA leadership conference in Miami over the summer,” said Club Advisor Paula Bagwell, Clearwater Librarian. “They felt it would be of particular interest to officers of a multi-cultural club, and would allow them to learn about other nations and the global issues affecting them. “The Florida Model U.N. helped the club leaders learn skills such as public speaking and about international relations. But it also gives them the opportunity to share the information with other members of the club.” SPC Engineering Society chapter wins state awards
The St. Petersburg College chapter of the Florida Engineering Society (FES) won third place for its presentation on its activities and plans, during the Florida Engineering Society/Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers Summer Conference and Exposition held recently in Palm Beach. SPC was the only two-year college to place in this event, coming in behind the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida. In addition, the chapter, Delta received an Honorable Mention for Most Active Student Chapter, (among two-year engineering programs). FES, the only society representing licensed professional engineers, supports engineering education, advocates licensure, promotes the ethical and competent practice of engineering, and enhances the image and well-being of all engineers in the state of Florida. The SPC chapter was founded in 2007. Its purpose is to foster students’ understanding of the professional aspects of engineering, direct graduating sophomores toward good upper-level engineering programs, andencourage steps to obtaining professional status through certification and registration. Though it is based on the Clearwater Campus, the chapter has members from all college sites. The club has been active in numerous events, including tutoring high school and fellow SPC students in math, and building a wooden trebuchet (a form of catapult) to launch Halloween pumpkins for a class of emotionally disabled students at an area elementary school. “We’re proud of the fact that we even have an FES chapter,” said John Williams, Academic Chair, Natural Science, Clearwater and the chapter’s advisor. “Our student club is just a dynamic chapter.” Meeting noticesOn Nov. 4, the St. Petersburg College Foundation Inc. will hold a Finance & Investment Committee Meeting at 10:30 a.m. and a Board of Directors Meeting at noon. Both meetings will be at The Palladium at St. Petersburg College, 253 Fifth Ave. N, St. Petersburg. These meetings will consider routine business of the St. Petersburg College Foundation Inc. The St. Petersburg College Foundation Inc. will have a Planned Giving Committee Meeting at noon on Nov. 17 at District Office, 6021 142nd Ave. N, Largo. This meeting will consider routine business.
This month’s feature: Presentation SkillsYour supervisor says: “Would you give a presentation at our next department meeting?” You don’t want to say no. You also don’t want to flop. You are not alone (just ask many of our faculty about anxiety they see in the classroom everyday). You can do it. First, some quick tips:
So how do you get there from here? Consider any of three online videos available through the Video Streaming Library:
Interested in enrolling? First, make sure it relates to your work and that you have your supervisor’s approval. Then, fill out the Video Streaming Library Application and indicate which course(s) you would like to enroll in. Wait for an e-mail response and then you are on your way. It’s that simple. For more information, contact Matthew Stewart in Staff and Professional Development (Human Resources) at Ext. 3116,or at stewart.matthew@spcollege.edu. This article and other health information are available on our Wellness blog.
Honors College and PTK members remove invasive vegetation from park
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SPC faculty are invited to utilize “Orange Grove,” an online library of free, high-quality learning resources where Florida’s educators discover, contribute, store, manage, and electronically share content. 
The Fall 2009 Wellness Challenge has started. Hundreds have signed up, either as teams or on their own. What are you doing to make it a success?
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Members of SPC’s Honors College and the Tau Zeta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa donned gardening gloves and devoted a day to removing Dioscorea bulbifera (air potatoes), an invasive species of vegetation, from a clearing at Moccasin Lake Nature Park in Clearwater.
Invasive species such as air potatoes cause an imbalance in Florida’s ecosystem by encroaching on the growth and life of Florida’s native species of flora. Air potatoes have vines that can quickly engulf native vegetation, using the native species’ height as a ladder to the top of mature tree canopies to then absorb sunlight with their broad, heart-shaped leaves, leaving the native foliage to wither from deficient sunlight as a result of lessening the photosynthesis process.
To stop this process, the SPC students cleared air potatoes from an area in the park named Teaching Meadow, which soon will be dedicated in memory of a park volunteer and turned into a memorial garden.
Left, SPC Honors College member Spenser Reed helps clear air potatoes, an invasive species of vegetation, from a clearing at Moccasin Lake Nature Park in Clearwater.
Sustainability Coordinator Explore our Sustainability Web site or our Sustainability blog for additional articles. |
SPC TV
Here is the broadcast schedule for the original cultural programs recorded by SPC for broadcast on the college station. SPC-TV can be seen on Bright House 620, Knology 19 and Verizon 47 in Pinellas County.
NEW – Art of Fashion: 50 Golden Years of Style - WATCH THE VIDEO: (2 mins)
» The Music Center Presents : Faculty Recital
Sunday at 3:30 p.m.; Thursday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 11:30 a .m.
For details on other Department of Music events, visit the Department of Music Web site.
» The Music Center Presents: SPC Summer Chorus
Sunday at 4 p.m.; Tuesday at 8 p.m. and Friday at 8 p.m.
» A Night at the Palladium: La Traviata Opera
Sunday at 11 a.m.; Wednesday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 8 p.m.
For details on other Palladium events, visit the Palladium Web site.
» Frontline: Behind the Lines
Sunday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 9 p.m.
For details on other Palladium events, visit the Palladium Web site.
» The Music Center Presents: Rebecca Penneys
Monday at 9 p.m.
For details on other Department of Music events, visit the Department of Music Web site.