WEEKLY COLUMNS » Wellness blog: » Board of Trustees notices
|
» Apollo and Alumni Achievement finalists announced » Open Enrollment for benefits moved to fall » LRMA art therapy program receives Silverberg grant » College shows support for Relay for Life » Faculty/A&P staff expected at graduation » April birthdays/anniversaries (pdf)
|
|
 Marathon ManDr. Bill Law, the Board of Trustees’ selection to be the college’s seventh president, stopped by the board meeting Wednesday at the EpiCenter. He was in town to begin negotiations on his contract. Monday he completed his fifth Boston Marathon in 4:30. He proudly displayed his finisher’s medallion. “I’m still a little sore but it’s such a good feeling completing a marathon,” he said Wednesday. He has targeted the Marine Corp Marathon in October for his 27th marathon. “I’ve never run it before and I’m told it’s really special when the Marines put the medallion on you.”Return to top of page |
Apollo and Alumni Achievement finalists announced
Apollo Award finalists
|
Four sophomores are finalists for the Apollo Award, the highest honor an SPC associate degree recipient can achieve. The award, given each year since 1966, is presented by the St. Petersburg College Alumni Association.
Two students are finalists for the first Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor a bachelor’s degree graduate can receive. The SPC Alumni Association, Inc. Board of Directors created this award in recognition of the talented students now graduating SPC at the baccalaureate level.
Alumni Achievement Award finalists
|
The recipient of each award will be named at graduation May 8.
Winners of both awards are chosen for their leadership abilities, scholastic standing, community service, honors and awards. Read the finalists’ biographies on the Alumni Web site.
Open Enrollment for benefits moved to fall
The college is changing its Open Enrollment period for employee benefits to this fall to coincide with a change in the benefits plan year.
- The new Open Enrollment period will be Aug. 23-Sept. 12.
- The new benefits plan year will be Oct. 1-Sept. 30.
The benefits plan year has coincided with the college’s fiscal year (July 1-June 30). However, this schedule wasn’t always convenient for faculty not teaching during the summer or other employees with vacation plans.
Another benefit of the calendar change is that it gives the college time to pursue different options for its medical insurance model. Changes are coming as a result of the recent federal health care legislation as well as the ongoing need to curb medical costs. In March, the college paid more than $1 million in medical and dental claims on behalf of employees.
Employee wellness incentives will continue to be a part of the employee benefits plan, said Patty Jones, Vice President of Human Resources and Public Affairs.
“How do you drive down costs? Help employees improve their own health,” Jones said, adding that on the horizon is an even greater emphasis on encouraging and rewarding wellness activities.
Wellness Coordinator Steve Malla said he has heard from employees who want the college’s wellness program to be even more relevant.
“That’s our plan,” he said. “We’ve taken those suggestions to heart.”
Ron Boyce, HR Program Coordinator for Benefits, said the College Insurance Committee is committed to reducing SPC’s costs while keeping health care accessible for employees. The committee, comprised of employees from throughout the college, meets periodically throughout the year.
As the college moves in these new directions, look for updates in future editions of the Blue & White.
LRMA art therapy program receives Silverberg grant
With the help of the Silverberg Endowment for Academic Excellence, the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art will continue to educate and meet the needs of youth in the community through its art therapy program for adolescents.
The $5,000 annual grant, first awarded in 1982, helps to support, enhance, enrich or develop programs of benefit to SPC and its students, as well as the local community. The proposals are submitted to the SPC Foundation before being handed off to the Silverberg family for review. Of the 23 endowment proposals submitted this year, it was the proposal submitted by LRMA’s Patti Buster and Janice Buchanan, titled “The Silverberg Creativity Grant for Children and Youth: ArtHaven”, that won over the Silverberg family.
“The Silverbergs prefer things that are creative and entrepreneurial,” said SPC Foundation Executive Director Paul Hanna. “They have been very pleased with the results of those grants over the years.”
“We’ve applied before for the Silverberg grant but we were not awarded it,” said Patti Buster, Education Coordinator at the museum. “We have received other grants for the program, but they ran out, and one of the primary funders was unable to fund us anymore.”
The grant will be used to employ the program’s psychotherapist, Lin Carte, and purchase necessary supplies for the museum program’s 16 semimonthly sessions.
“When we observe great art, we all can grow and we all may become better human beings,” said Janice Buchanan, Development and Grants Coordinator for the museum. “It is especially helpful for these particular students at this point in their lives.”
“The program is predicated on them truly looking at art, so it’s essential they are at the museum,” Buchanan said about the program’s student participants. “It’s a very active experience; it’s not somebody just walking by a painting. It’s observing and then it’s creating and discussing. They take what they have seen and then work on their own creations, which helps each person be able to discuss and then more fully use the benefits of psychotherapy in their lives.
“The special help these students can receive from St. Petersburg College through the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art because of the Silverberg grant can be highly significant both to the students and their families, and to us,” she said.
Return to top of page
College’s Haiti effort is ready for donations
SPC is part of a statewide initiative by colleges to offer financial support to the survivors of the Haiti earthquake. The program, called Dollars for Haiti, is still in the rescue phase and is taking donations through the business offices on all campuses.
Donors will receive a sticker with each donation to show their contribution.
“Florida is a major contributor to the Haitian crisis by assisting with health care, housing and other needs of Haitian refugees,” said Tonjua Williams, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.
“Currently, the governor’s organization, ‘Neighbors to the Rescue’, is in dire need of funds to support the Haitians coming to Florida,” Williams said. “This is our main effort, especially since they now are coming to the Tampa Bay area.”
The fund, as part of the governor’s effort, will provide long-term recovery funding to assist with relocation expenses, employment expenses such as job training and placement, amongst other things. Once the rescue phase is complete and college officials receive word from Gov. Crist, the recovery phase can begin. Recovery will include the collection of orthotics and prosthetic devices and aids for rescued Haitians, and students and staff volunteering their time to serve as translators for families.
For more information about this effort and how to help, visit the Dollars for Haiti Web site.
College shows support for Relay for Life
 Cancer survivors kick off the event by making the first lap around the track to the applause of other event participants. |
Though they proclaim themselves as a little “irrational,” the Math Counts team on the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus has been dedicated to raising funds for the college’s annual Relay for Life marathon for the past six years. They were joined by new and returning teams ranging from SP/G Facilities Department and Student Government Associations from Seminole and SP/G, as well as outside organizations such as BayCare. Twenty-seven teams participated to raise more than $25,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Math Counts, consisting of current and former members of the campus’ Mathematics Department, raised nearly $4,200 last month at the SP/G track for a “Bronze” rating, according to the scale set up by the ACS. In six years, the team has received four Bronze awards (for raising more than $2,500 each relay) and two Silver awards (for raising more than $5,000). This year, they were SPC’s highest-ranking fundraising team, placing third overall behind BayCare Sole Survivors and BayCare CBO teams.
 The St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus Mathematics Department “Math Counts” team makes it’s way around the track before nightfall. |
Fundraising for Math Counts begins each year in late fall with recipe jar sales. They also sell pies on or around “Pi Day” (3/14, for those who are not math-oriented), and host yearly yard sales in addition to participants’ individual fundraising efforts.
“I think that if it is going to be a college-sponsored event, and we really want our students to take that as a way of community service, then we need to model it,” said Karen Estes, who has been a part of the Math Counts team for four years and serves as co-captain. “Our students get to see us not as the person in the front of the class lecturing about boring algebra, but out there doing something helpful. They get to see their teachers in a different light.”
Relay for Life began in 1985 with one man who decided to raise money for the ACS by getting sponsors as he walked a college track for 24 hours. Twenty-five years later, the all-night event is inspired by the idea that cancer never sleeps. It is symbolic of being diagnosed with cancer by walking into the darkness, battling cancer as walkers struggle on through the night, then the cancer subsiding as a new day dawns.
According to the Relay for Life Web site, the event has grown worldwide. Relays take place in just about every community, and the funds raised not only help in cancer research but also to transport cancer patients for treatment, supply wigs for the aftermath of chemotherapy and radiation, provide college scholarships, send kids with cancer to camp, and fund many other programs. The goal is not only to find a cure, but also to comfort and help those battling and surviving the disease.
Math Counts team members:
David Allen, co-captain
Don Drew
Karen Emerson
Karen Estes, co-captain
Judy Fraser, original team captain (2005-07)
J.C. Campbell
Sharon Griggs
Alison Gonzales
Maurice Nott
Bill Rush
Jim Rutledge
Cora Wilkerson
Perception Matters
Like it or not, people form judgments about you based on your behavior, attitude and appearance. The perceptions you convey to others – positive or negative – can help you succeed or can ruin your credibility and hold you back.
Staff & Professional Development, in conjunction with professional image consultant Kelly Machbitz, is pleased to bring you “Perception Matters.” In this skill-building workshop, you’ll learn about:
- First impressions
- Appearance and success
- Image breakers
- Positive and negative communication
This event is open to all SPC faculty and staff, and there are five sessions from which to choose. All sessions are 8:30 a.m.– 11:15 a.m., with the exception of April 29, which will be from 12:30 p.m.– 3:15 p.m. To attend, get your supervisor’s approval and then register using one of the links below:
- EpiCenter – April 27 Register here »
- St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus – April 29 or June 4 Register here »
- Clearwater Campus – May 28 Register here »
- Health Education Center – June 7 Register here »
Faculty/A&P staff expected at graduation
Spring graduation is at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 8, at Tropicana Field. All full-time faculty and Administrative and Professional staff who did not participate in the fall 2009 ceremony are expected to participate. Commencement is an opportunity to exhibit to students and their families our respect for the work they have done and the sacrifices they have made to earn their degrees.According to college policy, May graduation day is considered an official duty day with pay for faculty, and participation in the ceremony satisfies the duty requirements for that day (for more information, contact your program director or campus provost.) If you have a circumstance that might require your absence, a written or e-mailed request with the purpose specifically stated should be submitted to the president (via Kim Corry and cc to your supervisor) no later than April 23. You will be notified of the status of your request by April 28.
Faculty excused from participating will be expected to complete the appropriate leave form or arrange for an alternate duty day as directed by their supervisor.
Those who need to order a cap and gown should do so immediately at any on-campus Follett’s Bookstore.
Adjuncts and percent-of-load faculty
Adjunct instructors and percent-of-load faculty are invited, but not required, to participate in the May 8 graduation ceremony. Participation includes marching in the faculty processional, along with full-time faculty and A&P staff, in full academic regalia. Program directors can provide further instructions as necessary for participation.
Those adjuncts and percent-of-load faculty who wish to take part are asked to inform their program directors immediately, and make any necessary arrangements for regalia.
For questions about graduation participation, please call Kim Corry at ext. 3260 in the President’s Office between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Meeting notices
The Collections Committee for the Board of Directors for the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art will meet on Wednesday, April 28, 2:30 p.m. in the Associate Curator & Registrar’s office in the museum to discuss general business.The Board of Directors for the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art will meet on Wednesday, May 5, 2:30 p.m. for the annual meeting and 3:30 p.m. for the quarterly meeting in the Fine Arts Auditorium on the Tarpon Springs Campus to discuss general business. On the same day, the Finance Committee will meet at 1 p.m. at the same location; the Governance Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in the Director’s office.
SPC Foundation Executive Committee Board of Directors Meeting will be Tuesday, May 11 at noon at the District Office, Consular Corps College conference room 102.
The St. Petersburg College Foundation, Inc. will have a Planned Giving Committee Meeting on May 18 at noon at the District Office, Room 102 of St. Petersburg College. This meeting will be to consider routine business of the St Petersburg College Foundation, Inc.
Board of Trustees Notices
The St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees will meet on the following dates at the EpiCenter, 13805 58th St. N, Largo, Florida:
May 18, 8:30 a.m. - View notice of meeting
Routine business, EpiCenter,
Room 1-453