archives | submit an article | contact us| printable version
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Blue & White is published weekly for St. Petersburg College employees and interested visitors. It is designed for you to be able to scan the headlines quickly. If you are interested in an article listed below, click on the link and you will be directed to that article. You can also view the paper version locations or the printable pdf.
| IN THIS ISSUE: News stories Calendar items Regular columns Board of Trustees |
Remembering Cecil B. Keene |
SACS reaffirms SPC’s accreditation
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) has reaffirmed SPC’s accreditation and says no additional report from the college will be required.
The good news was contained in a letter dated July 10 to SPC President Carl M. Kuttler Jr. from Belle S. Wheelan, president of the association’s Commission on Colleges.
“We are delighted that SACS has reaffirmed our accreditation,” Kuttler said. “Everyone in the college family worked very hard on the reaffirmation process, and this result is a tribute to them.”
Approval of the SACS findings by the commission was the final step in the rigorous reaffirmation process. The commission could have asked for information on any aspect of the report, but did not.
The president and the Board of Trustees on Tuesday praised Tom Furlong, senior vice president for baccalaureate programs and university partnerships, and the entire planning team for their work. “We want to issue a team thank you, and we celebrate you for work well done,” Kuttler said.
Furlong said he was honored to lead the effort.
“I was pleased to be asked to undertake this assignment and even more pleased the college did so well on each criteria. To have such an outstanding conclusion – while still being such an entrepreneurial college to meet the community’s needs – is amazing,” he said. “I feel that what allows SPC to take on so many new partnerships and challenges is that the faculty and staff provide such an outstanding academic base for our students. This reaffirmation action affirms that our academic programs and support services are indeed reflective of the quality standards expected by the colleges and universities in our region.”
The preliminary SACS report released seven months ago contained no recommendations in 74 compliance areas, and the college’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) was affirmed.
Meanwhile, the Quality Enhancement Committee, under the leadership of Faculty Chairman Gail Lancaster and QEP Director Lynn Grinnell, continues its work implementing the QEP, which is on the development of critical thinking skills.
The SACS reaffirmation process takes place every 10 years. This most recent review was embraced by the college and viewed as an opportunity for renewal and improvement. It also involved every single member of the SPC family – every employee underwent training to better understand exactly what the reaffirmation process was about.
The SACS steering committee:
Chairperson
Dr. Kuttler
Senior administrators
Tom Furlong,
Anne Cooper,
Stan Vittetoe
QEP
Jim Olliver,
Earl Fratus,
Angela Picard Carney,
Gail Lancaster
Institutional Effectiveness and Finance
Conferlete Carney,
Carol Weideman,
Jesse Coraggio
Baccalaureate
Kay Burniston, Leigh Goldberg-Hopf, Kathleen DeSousa
HR
Doug Duncan, Patty Jones, Karen Altieri
Compliance
Lynn Grinnell
Gibbons named chair of Board of Trustees
At its July meeting, the college Board of Trustees named Deveron Gibbons chairman and Kenneth P. Burke vice chairman for the coming year.
Gibbons, of St. Petersburg, was named to the board by Gov. Jeb Bush effective May 31, 2006. He is vice president of public affairs for Amscot Financial Corp.
Burke, of Seminole, was named to the board by Gov. Bush in May 1999. A certified public accountant, he is clerk of the court for Pinellas County. He is an SPJC graduate, and has served twice as president of the SPJC Alumni Association.
Cecil B. Keene Sr. of St. Petersburg, who served for many years as a trustee of the college, died July 10 after a long illness. He was 84.
Mr. Keene had served as a trustee since 2001. He resigned just a month ago because of ill health.
“Cecil Keene served the college for many years, both as a staff member and as a trustee,” said SPC President Carl M. Kuttler Jr. “He cared deeply about St. Petersburg College, and he leaves a record of service and caring that students, faculty and staff will point to with great pride for years to come.”
The Board of Trustees last month honored Mr. Keene as Trustee Emeritus. At its meeting Tuesday, board members observed a moment of silence in his memory.
A native Floridian, Mr. Keene was born in Clearwater and was a product of the Pinellas County school system. He held a bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee Institute – now Tuskegee University – and a Master of Arts degree from Atlanta University. He alsostudied at Florida A&M University and at the University of Miami.
He served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army during World War II and saw combat duty in Italy.
He worked as an instructor at Knoxville Veterans School and Miles College. He served as principal of Pinellas and Gibbs high schools, and was dean of students/admissions at Gibbs Junior College.
At St. Petersburg College, he was an academic counselor at the Tarpon Springs Center and the Clearwater Campus. He coordinated the TOPS program at Clearwater, served as articulation officer at the District Office, and as the director of special projects collegewide.
He was on the Board of Regents of the Florida University System (1987-1993), appointed by Gov. Bob Martinez. He also served as vice chairman of FAMU’s Foundation Board, as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Nominating Commission, and as a member of the District Six Grievance Committee of the Florida Bar.
He was a past president of the Southside Republican Club, the Suncoast Tuskegee Alumni Club and the St. Petersburg Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa.
He leaves his wife, Bernice and sons Cecil Keene Jr., of Antioch, Calif. and Chauncey and Cedric Keene, both of St. Petersburg. He also is survived by his sister, Candice Keene, of Palm Harbor, and three grandchildren.
State senators tour SPC facilities
Senate Majority Whip Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, left, and Sen. Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, tour Congressman C.W. Bill Young’s office on the Seminole Campus with President Carl M. Kuttler Jr.
The Senate leaders spent three hours touring college sites and said they were impressed with the breadth of the college’s partnerships and programs.
InfoFest draws crowds to five sites
About 200 potential students attended InfoFest 2008 on July 10 at the Clearwater, St. Petersburg/Gibbs, Seminole, Tarpon Springs and SPC Downtown sites. At Tarpon Springs, Tami Scherrman, left, and her daughter Molly Scherrman get assistance from academic advisor Junetta Smith. The college received 100 applications during the events.
Accolades for SPCHS continue
In the Florida School Grades data released last week, St. Petersburg Collegiate High School was one of only three high schools in Pinellas County to earn an A. The others were East Lake High and Palm Harbor University High.
The charter school, based at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus, has earned an A four years in a row.
SPCHS was one of only two Pinellas County high schools to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. East Lake High was the other.
The school has met the requirements in three of the last four years.
Give your ideas on the area’s growth
One Bay, a partnership of private and public leaders in the Tampa Bay area, is asking for residents’ thoughts on growth. One Bay’s Voice It! Campaign encourages you to complete a short online survey on alternative growth scenarios. The information will be used to help prioritize the Guiding Principals (values) most important to our community. Find the survey at www.myOneBay.com.
The partnership’s five regional organizations: Southwest Florida Water Management District, Tampa Estuary Program, Tampa Bay Partnership Regional Research & Education Foundation, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and Urban Land Institute Tampa Bay District Council.
Library staff is reorganized
SPC Libraries made some leadership changes, effective July 1:
- Tracy Elliott assumes leadership for the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus library and library services for the Allstate and SPC Downtown sites.
- Kim Wolff assumes leadership for the Clearwater and Seminole campus libraries.
- Dorothy Bell has been named the college archivist and will move to the Library Administration offices at District Office. She will begin working this summer on organizing the congressional papers of Congressman (Ret.) Michael Bilirakis.
Searches are under way for program directors for the Caruth Health Education Center and the Tarpon Springs libraries, and a faculty librarian at Tarpon Springs. Jorge Perez, Clearwater librarian, will be temporarily assigned to the Tarpon Springs library, pending filling of the new positions.
New student fees approved
At its July 15 meeting, the college Board of Trustees approved a new schedule of student fees. They include:
- Initial application fee: $35.00
- Fee per credit hour, lower division courses, Florida residents: $77.54, Non-Florida residents: $280.39
- Fee per credit hour, upper division courses, Florida residents: $85.20,
Non-Florida residents: $322.70
Need help with your hurricane plan?
Pinellas County has a new Web site, www.pinellascounty.org/emergency, with checklists of things you should know and do now, as a storm approaches, and after a storm. It also features a link to real-time weather information and allows you to sign up to have hurricane alerts sent to your computer or cell phone.
Graduation is Saturday
The college’s 107th commencement ceremony is Saturday at 10 a.m. at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater. Judy Genshaft, president of the University of South Florida, is the featured speaker.
The St. Petersburg Times last week published the story of Marien Elizabeth, a 45-year-old single mother of four who receives her bachelor’s in international business on Saturday. She is headed to the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University in New Jersey where she will pursue a master’s degree in diplomacy.
Elizabeth credits the college’s Women on the Way program with helping her reach her goals. An anonymous donor gave her a car after reading about her. Read these stories at SPC In the News.
Reminder about texbook deadlines
A new law, aimed at giving students more time to comparison shop for the best prices on textbooks, mandates that state colleges and universities post textbook requirements and ISBN numbers online no later than 30 days before the first day of classes for each term.
All book orders need to be submitted by Friday, July 25, to comply with this law. Follett will post courses and book requirements on its Web site at www.efollett.com Saturday, July 26. This locks in the selection of books and materials that students are required to have for those classes and enables them to have ample time to shop.
This also means that, after July 25, textbooks cannot be changed. This applies even if the instructor for a class changes after the lock-in date; if there is an instructor change, the new instructor must use the same textbook and materials that were advertised for the particular course section.
Required textbooks can be added after July 25 only if a class is added to the schedule after July 25.
Leepa-Rattner meetings
The Board of Directors of the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art will have committee meetings on Aug. 6, followed by the board’s quarterly meeting to discuss general business. The governance committee meets at 2:30 p.m. in the director’s office and the collections committee at 2:30 p.m. in the associate curator’s office. The board meeting is at 3:30 p.m. The museum is at 600 Klosterman Road, Tarpon Springs.
Cultural Corner
This weekly column features arts and entertainment events presented by St. Petersburg College and its partners. NEW items are noted for your convenience.
Continuing through Aug. 3
Exhibition: “California Dreaming: California Fibers at Convergence 2008” and “Tapestries of Abraham Rattner: Created at the Mambush Artists’ Village in Israel,”Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art. Tarpon Springs Campus. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, extended hours 5- 9 p.m. Thursdays, 1-5 p.m. Sundays. $5 adults, $4 seniors, free to students and SPC staff. Free admission Sundays.
Continuing through Aug. 10
“Souvenir: A Fantasia On The Life Of Florence Foster Jenkins,”7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. American Stage. $22-$35. Student rush tickets, sold 30 minutes before curtain, are $10.
Sunday, July 27
Summer Film: “L.A. Story,” 1991, 3 p.m. Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art auditorium. Free.
Sunday, Aug. 10
Opera Video: “Dinorah,” Giacomo Meyerbeer, 1:30 p.m. Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art auditorium. Free.
Saturday, Aug. 16
Members Opening Reception: “Mel Finkelstein: Playing a Hunch,” 7 p.m. Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art. Members free; guests $10.
Sunday, Aug. 17
Exhibition: “Mel Finkelstein: Playing a Hunch,”Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art. Tarpon Springs Campus. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, extended hours 5- 9 p.m. Thursdays, 1-5 p.m. Sundays. $5 adults, $4 seniors, free to students and SPC staff. Free admission Sundays.
Sunday, Aug. 17
Gallery Talk: “Mel Finkelstein,”Jonathan Tilove, journalist and guest essayist, 3 p.m. Changing Exhibition Gallery, Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art. Members $3 members, $5 nonmembers.
Sunday, Aug. 24
Summer Film: “Riding Giants” (2004), 3 p.m. Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art auditorium. Free.
Message from the Palladium Executive Director
It’s going to be a long, hot and not-too-entertaining summer for our loyal audiences. The Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College is closed until early October for major renovations.
When we reopen next fall, the Palladium will boast a state-of-the-art air conditioning and heating system. You no longer will need to use your program as a fan during sold-out shows. This renovation also will bring us a new electrical system, which will make our theater operations more efficient and reliable.
The new chillers and the new power boxes will be housed in a new building in our east parking lot. That building also will include a new elevator to provide better access for our handicapped patrons and give us the ability to load larger shows directly to our second floor theater. The building also will provide some much-needed storage and a covering for our stage door.
These improvements complement the redesign of our concessions area and our dressing rooms, completed in January. St. Petersburg College will continue to make major investments to the Palladium in years to come, all designed to make this landmark theater even more of a community asset.
The Palladium’s grand reopening concert on Saturday, Oct. 11, features the Statesmen of Jazz from Arbors Records and the Nate Najar Trio.
The concert kicks off the Palladium’s 10th anniversary season, which promises to be our biggest and most ambitious ever. We will announce our season lineup in August.
See you at the theater in October!
Paul Wilborn,
executive director
The Palladium Theater at
St. Petersburg College
Wellness update:The benefits of walking
Walking may be the perfect exercise. We all know how to do it. It’s safe, and it does not require a lot of money or equipment. A regular walking program (at least 30 minutes, three or more days a week) can improve your overall health and wellness. Finish reading this story and find more helpful information on our Wellness blog.
 |
|---|
The full month’s list of July birthdays and July anniversaries is available as a pdf.
The lists will run a week in advance so that you have proper notice of a milestone.
SPC Employee Birthdays (7/25-7/31)
Date/Name
07-25 Anyan, Mary I.
07-25 Bohrer, Allan
07-25 Call, Ian H.
07-25 Cesta, Jeffrey L.
07-25 Goree, William K.
07-25 Hofman, Maciej J.
07-25 Steele, Jonathan E.
07-26 Ford, Kadell
07-26 Jenkins, Bradley E.
07-26 Lulek, Mark R.
07-27 Derzypolski, Thomas W.
07-27 Donohue, Sharon E.
07-27 O’Hare, Patricia A.
07-28 Bluhm, Lisa A.
07-28 Falgoust, Debbie L.
07-28 Gregory, Thomas E.
07-28 Hanna II, Paul J.
07-28 Smith, Nancy F.
07-28 Van Buren, Frances Z.
07-29 Binalay, Amber L.
07-29 Hand, Christina L.
07-29 Norton, Wilma
07-30 Castle, Marcia Ann
07-30 Coley, Myrtle L.
07-31 Casebier, Kenneth T.
SPC Employee Anniversaries (7/25-7/31)
Years/Name
38 Smith Pitts, Barbara A.
31 Reiter, Susan M.
21 Perez, Jose J.
15 Giar, Linda
14 Roundtree, Johnny
12 Nieves, Sandra
11 Raditch, Paula J.
9 Diaz, Oscar F.
7 Browne, Ann A.
7 Crew III, Seward Benjamin
7 Golden Jr, Nathaniel
7 Torres, Carmen
5 Cinquegrana, Linda
5 Connolly, James L.
5 Sullivan, Laquata J.
4 Graham, Jacquelyn G.
4 Henning, Andrea A.
4 Trimble, Jeanne C.
4 MacDonald, Micheal S.
2 Best, Harold L.
2 Brandt, Carol L.
2 Howard, Nicole Shalonda
2 Le, Ca V.
2 Woods, Vonda L.
2 Yungaitis, Chester John
1 Miller, Lavester P.
1 Wilson, Denise A.
Onward and Upward
Tom Loveland, a professor in the College of Education on the Clearwater Campus, recently returned from a two-week educational tour of Japan, where he gave numerous lectures. He was there as a Fulbright Senior Specialist on a scholarship.
Sandra Jones Campbell, a professor of nursing in the R.N.-B.S.N. program, portrayed Florence Nightingale as part of the Nurses’ Week events at Largo Medical Center on May 12th, the 188th birthday of Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Campbell assisted in the “Blessing of the Hands” ceremonies.