Bert's Alerts—Sept. 8, 2017
Spotlight
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Law Enforcement Program recently took part in a relief effort to help victims in the Houston area after Hurricane Harvey. The class participated in a program called I Cleaned Out My Closet for Houston, an organization that distributed clothing donations to victims of Hurricane Harvey. Please contact LeRoy Forsman if you would like to donate funds to help pay for shipping of the ten boxes of clothes collected.
News Highlights
President Glandon Addresses Changes to DACA
To the amazing team of CWI employees,
“I want to take a moment and reach out to all of you regarding an issue that has been on many of our minds this week; DACA.
DACA or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Earlier this week President Trump, through his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, announced that he was rescinding the program enacted by then President Obama in 2012. The program, which was put in place through executive order (more on that later), helped children younger than 16, who came to this country with their parents, legally obtain a driver’s license, go to college and even pay federal income taxes.
That is where we at CWI get involved.
We always say that we are a transformational institution of higher education. We say that mainly to remind us to be nimble, to be embracing of change, to be looking for ways to transform our operation to be the best it can be in terms of delivery and effectiveness and efficiency. It’s also to remind us that we are here to help our students transform their lives. Access to education is key to transformation. When a student comes to us, they put their trust in us to help them change their lives. This is true for all students: Students who grew up here in Canyon and Ada Counties, students who grew up in the southern part of our country, the northeast, or any other place. It also applies directly to those who came here with their parents; Dreamers as they are known. They dream of a better life, a life path that is available to them through access to higher education.
So, what now? We are bound to operate within the law; there is no question in that point. We can and will work directly with our federal delegation to help them understand what is at stake with this issue. President Trump has said there is a six-month lead time for Congress to legislate a better solution than the total abolition of the program, which he believes was enacted illegally through an overreach by President Obama with his executive order.
I want to be clear on this final point: The College of Western Idaho (CWI) is a place that values each and every student, their desire and commitment to learning and bettering themselves. We will work with our locally elected federal delegation to ensure that our ability to honor that commitment is preserved. This is an issue that invokes many strong emotions and I want us to all be respectful of each other as we work within the lawful process to help steer this outcome to something that keeps the best interest of all our students intact.”
Thank you all for your interest and passion on this topic. Many of you have reached out offering support, I appreciate your willingness to go above and beyond and do what is needed to be there for our students. We will continue to keep you informed as discussions surrounding this topic continue, progress is made towards a solution, and we do our best to continue to serve and support our students.
Sincerely,
President Bert Glandon, Ed.D.
STEM Blog: Earthquake Swarm
This past weekend, on Sept. 2, a small swarm of seismic activity sprang up near Soda Springs, Idaho. The shaking was significant enough to register on our recently acquired seismometer in the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Geology lab. From Sunday to Monday afternoon we measured seven individual events ranging in magnitude from ~3.8 to the largest event of mag. 5.3. We also managed to capture North Korea’s detonation of a hydrogen bomb which was measured at mag. 6.3. Our TS1 seismometer is a very simple version of “research grade” seismometers but will accurately detect local events larger than about mag. 3 and global events higher than mag 6.5 or 7 (depending on distance). Tectonically Soda Springs is within the “Yellowstone seismic parabola” so events such as this come as no surprise to geoscientists. The stresses and geodynamics involved here are not likely capable of producing a massive earthquake, but we might see something similar in magnitude to the 6.9 mag Challis, Idaho earthquake in 1983. We will all be keeping an eye on the seismometer over the next week or so!
CWI Student Research Fair and MASH Kickoff
College of Western Idaho (CWI) School of Math and Sciences in conjunction with the CWI INBRE, LSAMP and MURI undergraduate research programs will hold the Fall 2017 CWI Student Research Fair on Sept. 13.
The research fair is a student poster symposium highlighting the amazing work that CWI students and alumni have engaged in through various undergraduate research programs. The event will also be used to promote INBRE, LSAMP, and MURI internship programs and to engage more students in undergraduate research opportunities.
Undergraduate Research Fair
Wednesday, Sept. 13
Nampa Campus Academic Building
Second-floor Atrium
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
MASH Kickoff
Wednesday, Sept. 13
Nampa Campus Academic Building
Room 201
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Fall Resource and Club Fair
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) will host a Resource and Club Fair in September. CWI has 38 clubs to choose from, so make sure to stop by the Ada County Campus on Sept. 12 and the Nampa Campus on Sept. 19, to learn more about these exciting opportunities!
Tuesday, Sept. 12
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Ada County Campus Pintail Center (APIN)
Student Commons
1360 S. Eagle Flight Way
Boise, ID 83709
Tuesday, Sept. 19
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Nampa Campus Academic Building
Second-floor lobby
5500 E. Opportunity Drive
Nampa, ID 83697
Fall 2017 Transfer Fair
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) invites you to the Fall 2017 Transfer Fair! College and university representatives will be on campus Tuesday, Oct. 3, to discuss programs, majors, and transfer requirements. Times and locations are listed below.
Tuesday, Oct. 3
9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Ada County Campus Pintail Center (APIN)
Student Commons
1360 S. Eagle Flight Way
Boise, ID 83709
12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Nampa Campus Academic Building
1st floor lobby
5500 E. Opportunity Drive
Nampa, ID 83697
For questions, please contact Brittney Hernandez, brittneyhernandez@cwi.edu, or Erica Compton, ericacompton@cwi.edu, in Student Advising and Success.
CWI to Host Public Job Fair on Sept. 22
College of Western Idaho (CWI) will help students and community members connect with job opportunities during a job fair on Friday, Sept. 22. The event is open to the public and will focus on seasonal employment and jobs ideal for students working their way through school. The fair, presented in partnership with the Idaho Department of Labor, will take place:
Friday, Sept. 22
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
CWI’s Nampa Campus Aspen Classroom Building
6002 Birch Lane, Nampa
Over 50 employers have registered for the job fair, including organizations in the following industries:
- Health care
- Caregiving
- Food Service
- Manufacturing
- Law Enforcement
Job seekers at the event will also have the opportunity to learn about resources such as resume writing, networking, educational opportunities and more from CWI and Idaho Department of Labor. Attendees are encouraged to take their resume and be prepared to interview with employers.
Road to College for New Americans
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) is excited to partner with Boise State University and TRiO Educational Opportunity Center to present The Road to College for New Americans at CWI’s Ada County Campus Pintail Center (APIN) on Friday, Sept. 15.
The event is a terrific opportunity for refugees and immigrants to learn more about attending college in the Treasure Valley. Staff and faculty from both colleges will be available to field questions about obtaining a college degree, GED, and learning about English classes.
In addition, financial aid representatives will be on hand to help prospective students complete paperwork. Future learners should bring educational documents and tax forms from 2016 to apply for classes and financial aid.
“I serve all students, but I have a passion for helping refugees and immigrants navigate the educational system,” said Erica Compton, manager at Student Advising and Success, who is helping to organize the event. If you have questions, contact Compton by email: ericacompton@cwi.edu.
Friday, Sept. 15
Ada County Campus Pintail Center (APIN)
Student Commons
1360 S. Eagle Flight Way
1:45 – 4:45 p.m.
New Application Resource Center Available on myCWI
The myCWI Committee is excited to announce the creation of a new resource center on myCWI for all employees. The new Application Resource Center (ARC) contains information and training materials on the enterprise wide applications that are used at CWI. The site also includes access to the four application user groups already established:
-Business Objects User Group
-Colleague User Group
-myCWI User Group
-Perceptive Content User Group
The new ARC will be a great learning tool for employees using our enterprise applications. As all myCWI sites, the site will continue to evolve as new applications are implemented and more information is collected.
To access the site please visit the quick links menu on the main myCWI Employee homepage.
Please send any feedback or questions to the myCWI Committee at mycwicommittee@cwi.edu.
Volunteers Needed for 2017 Semana Cultural
In 2016, College of Western Idaho (CWI) hosted the very first Fiesta Cultural. This year, CWI has partnered with Radio Rancho to celebrate the conclusion of Hispanic Heritage Month with a bigger, and better, Semana Cultural! Semana Cultural will kick-off with Fiesta Cultural on Saturday, Oct. 7, which will include dancers, boxing, martial arts demonstrations, and activities for kids. Lectures and presentations on various topics pertinent to the Hispanic community will take place the following week on the second floor atrium of the Nampa Campus Academic Building.
Semana Cultural needs your help! We are looking for employees to help staff the Fiesta Cultural event, on Oct. 7, in two-hour shifts between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Those wishing to volunteer must obtain permission from their supervisor.
Visit semanacultural.signupsheet.com to sign up. Volunteers will receive a confirmation email and additional details will be provided as the date approaches.
Employees unable to volunteer that day are encouraged to support the event in other ways including:
- Attending the event and encouraging others to attend
- Offering extra credit to students for participating in lectures throughout the week
- Encouraging students to participate in Fiesta Cultural via a group project or assignment (for example, Anthropology Club hosting a booth to discuss Mayan Culture)
Please contact Luis Caloca at luiscaloca@cwi.edu for additional questions or concerns.
