Third presidential candidate visits SPC
Thomas Keegan will visit SPC March 30, 31 and April 1. Check the Presidential Search Web site for specific dates, times and locations for each candidate's visit and how you can make your voice heard.
Videos of the Board of Trustees interviews for each candidate will be posted online April 8. The final decision on who will be SPC's next president will be made at a Board of Trustees public meeting at 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 13 in EpiCenter Room 1-453.
Giving support by the gallon
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Blood supplies are always in high demand, and Florida Blood Services continues to draw support from SPC employees and students through campus blood drives.
In 2009, St. Petersburg College students, staff and faculty made 572 donations. FBS Bloodmobiles, or mobile blood banks, typically visit most of the college’s campuses three to four times per year. The St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus is host to about 10 blood drives each year.
“Our usage in the first quarter of the new year is the highest of the entire year,” said Dan Eberts, Corporate Communications Manager for FBS. “There are more surgeries, accidents, treatments of diseases; all of the things blood gets used for. And usage is outpacing donations.”
Eberts said a number of factors can increase the blood donation usage and lower donation rates, including cold and flu season and increased season populations. FBS has been called upon by the U.S. military as one of seven blood center hubs to ship blood and frozen plasma overseas to treat injured soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The community must have an ample supply of blood on hand,” said Tammy Cappleman, an Administrative Specialist II in Enrollment Management. “It’s important; not only for regular emergencies that come around but also catastrophes.”
Cappleman, who has been giving blood since the early '80s, has donated more than 10 gallons. When the Sept. 11 attacks occurred in 2001, she was one of more than 500,000 people nationwide who stood in long lines to donate blood in a relief effort.
“I usually donate when someone I know passes away,” she said. “It is my way of helping to save a life in remembrance of that person.”
Her father was an avid platelet donor, giving the small cells in his blood that help control bleeding. These are primarily given to cancer patients and infants combating infections. When he died, Cappleman began donating platelets in honor of him.
“I donated whole blood until he passed away and then I started donating platelets,” she said. “I carried on the tradition, and I will donate until they tell me that I can’t anymore.”
Judy Sipes, who worked as a Senior Staff Assistant in Central Records from 1995-2009, said, “It’s such a big need and it’s a very simple thing for me to do. I like being able to help other people.”
She has given more than 13 gallons of blood, 10 of which were collected through college blood drives. She intends to start donating platelets now that she is retired and has more time available.
“Platelet giving takes a couple of hours, but it’s more useful and you can give more often,” Sipes said.
2009 aggregate donations by campus
- Clearwater Campus: 135 donations
- Health Education Center: 47 donations
- St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus: 159 donations (out of 10 blood drives)
- Seminole Campus: 54 donations
- Tarpon Springs: 78 donations
- EpiCenter: 99 donations
Dean Mitchell Family Day at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art
Dean Mitchell Family Day is on March 27, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. This FREE event features children's activities, docent tours of the exhibition, workshops, entertainment and refreshments. Entertainment by the SPC Jazz Ensemble.
Read the St. Petersburg Times article.
Events throughout the day include:
- Guided tours of the exhibition at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m.
- Dean Mitchell’s story at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. featuring the children’s book Against All Odds: Artist Dean Mitchell’s Story
- The Artist Speaks at 2 p.m. features a dialogue with Exhibition Curator Leslie Hammond and Dean Mitchell.
- Wet Paint from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., a watercolor workshop for all ages with artist Taylor Ikin.
- A Salute to Family and Friends from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. features a sketching activity for all ages.
Dean Mitchell: Visions with Heart and Soul is on exhibit at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art through May 2.
Allstate and Clearwater campuses to display human trafficking awareness exhibit
SPC’s Center for Human Trafficking Awareness is sponsoring two visits by The Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum.
The museum consists of a cargo truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in a recent slavery operation (U.S. v. Navarrete, 2008), in which farm workers were manacled, locked each night in a truck, beaten and forced to harvest tomatoes in Florida’s fields. The replica will be accompanied by displays on the history and evolution of slavery in Florida.
The Clearwater Campus will host the mobile museum on April 1 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m, in the Language Arts parking lot. The display will visit the Allstate Center on April 7 from 1-5 p.m. at its main entrance.
This event is free and open to the public. The Center for Human Trafficking Awareness Web site is maintained by personnel from the Center for Public Safety Innovation at the Allstate Center.
Read recent St. Petersburg Times story.
Graduation reminder to faculty and staff
Spring graduation is at 10 a.m., Saturday May 8, at Tropicana Field. The deadline to order rentals or purchase graduation regalia is March 31.
Processional participation is mandatory for all full-time faculty who did not participate in the fall 2009 ceremony, and for all Administrative and Professional staff. Adjuncts and percent-of-load faculty are not required, but are welcome to participate. Required faculty and staff may seek to be excused by submitting a written request to the president by April 23 with the purpose clearly stated.
Regalia can be ordered from Follett’s Bookstore on any campus. Follett’s will need your name, height (with shoes), weight, cap size (or head measurement, in inches), full title of your degree, the institution which conferred your degree along with its location (city and state), and a phone number where you can be contacted.
Orders received after March 31 will incur a $20 late fee. Questions should be directed to your campus bookstore.
Podcast training and the new SPC iTunes U
The Web and Instructional Technology Services (WITS) department conducted a second round of podcast production training in February. Podcasting is a popular Internet technology that allows faculty to provide students with subscribable audio and/or video course materials that can be utilized any time and place, even when not connected to a computer.
Watch an introduction to iTunes U
The purpose of the training is not only to teach instructors the technical aspects of creating a podcast, but also to explore the application of fundamentally sound educational pedagogy in the podcast creation process. Coinciding with the push to create new, pedagogically sound podcasts is the unveiling of SPC's new public iTunes U. To explore for yourself, log in at www.spcollege.edu/iTunesU/.
The new public SPC iTunes U provides flexibility and a concise general structure through which SPC presents its podcasts to the world. The new site accentuates easy navigation, has Featured Content and Top Downloads sections, and strong aesthetic appeal. Participants who attended the first podcast training session offered in October 2009 have created a number of excellent podcasts that now can be viewed in the new public iTunes U site, specifically in the Featured Content section.
Future faculty podcast training
The WITS department is dedicated to helping SPC faculty create quality podcasts by providing the tools and training to do so. Additional training sessions have been scheduled for next month:
- Thursday, April 22, 1-4 p.m.
- Friday, April 23, 9 a.m.-noon
Both sessions will be held at the EpiCenter. If you would like to register for this upcoming training, please complete this survey: https://it.spcollege.edu/cfsurveys/survey.cfm?su_id=4463.
Webcast to air about drug and alcohol abuse
Exploration and discovery are part of experiencing college life. And for many college students, it also is a time of drug and alcohol experimentation.
On Thursday, April 29, the SPC Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training program will air “Higher Learning? Drugs on College Campuses,” a broadcast about drug and alcohol abuse in higher level institutions. The free program, produced in partnership with the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, will be available through satellite feed and an on-demand Webcast at 1 p.m.
The program will explore why college partying is not a rite of passage, debunk myths about performance-enhancing drugs, explore how colleges can be a significant ally in substance abuse prevention and how students can become involved with anti-drug activities. It will discuss how educators try to persuade young people about possible side effects of drug use, how students deal with peer pressure and ultimately who shares responsibility for protecting them.
Critical Thinking Institute
The Spring Critical Thinking Institute was held in conjunction with the 11th annual Narrowing the Gulf Conference on March 18-19.
About 170 attended from SPC and other institutions throughout Florida including FSU, HCC, Miami Dade College, UCF, USF and Valencia Community College.
Dr. Barry S. Stein, chairperson and professor of psychology at Tennessee Technological University and developer of the Critical Thinking Assessment Test (CAT), conducted the keynote presentation at the Opening General Session.
Stein examined the importance of critical thinking in higher education and in our general society. Following his keynote, Stein met with the QEP Faculty Champions focused on the critical thinking initiative, sharing his insights about assessing critical thinking and fielding questions about strategies for improving critical thinking skills.
The conference also featured a track of critical thinking breakout sessions, including:
- “Perceptions of Critical Thinking – Is Critical Thinking Important to Employers and Employees”
- “Improving Student Critical Thinking Skills Using Google Tools”
- “Top 10 Classroom Strategies to Get Your Students to Think”
- “Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking”
A full listing of critical thinking sessions, including electronic handouts, presentations and other accompanying materials, is available online.
Also, mark your calendars for the Fall Critical Thinking Institute, at the Health Education Center on Friday, Oct. 8.
Solar panel installation begins
Workers have installed a photovoltaic system on the roof of the LEED Gold Natural Science, Mathematics and College of Education building at the Clearwater Campus.
The 3.5 kilowatt thin-film solar blanket will generate power for the electric grid, and is the first commercial installation of the new generation of solar collection systems in the area.
The system was selected because of its tolerance to hurricane-force winds, harsh environments, better performance in lower light conditions and flexibility.
FACC newsletter gives legislative update
Curious about what is happening during the current Florida legislative session? The Florida Association of Community Colleges publishes Perceptions, a weekly legislative update that covers news of interest to Florida's community colleges.
Lifelong Learning spring getaway
Make plans now for a spring getaway with SPC. Join Lifelong Learning for:
- Winter Park - Tiffany Museum, antiques and Leu Gardens, Saturday, April 24
- Savannah, Ga. - Southern arts and historic tour, May 12-15
Get details on other Lifelong Learning trips.
Meeting notices
The Board of Directors for the St. Petersburg College Alumni Association meets on Monday, April 5, 6 p.m., at the District Office, Consular Corporate Conference Room 102, 6021 142nd Ave. N., Largo.
The Development Committee for the Board of Directors for the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art will meet on Wednesday, April 21, 3 p.m. in the Interactive Gallery of the museum to discuss general business.
The St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees will meet on the following dates at the EpiCenter, 13805 58th Street North, Largo, Florida:
April 1, 3:30 p.m.
Interview presidential candidate Thomas Keegan
Room 1-453
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April 7, 3 p.m.
Interview presidential candidate B. Kaye Walter
Room 1-453
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April 13, 4 p.m.
Final decision on selection of next president for SPC
Room 1-453
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April 21, 8:30 a.m.
Routine business
Room 1-453
View legal notice