Bert's Alerts - August 28, 2015
In the Spotlight
Students at College of Western Idaho (CWI) are benefiting from a valuable undergraduate research opportunity made possible thanks to the efforts of CWI’s Biology Club to work in conjunction with the Peregrine Fund’s American Kestrel Partnership. During the 2014-15 school year, the club took on a research project that focuses on studying the American Kestrel; a small falcon. Students have built nest boxes, installed the boxes at CWI’s Nampa Campus for monitoring, and are recording data on Kestrel’s that inhabit the boxes. Watch the video to learn more about the project and how it is impacting students.
For more information on how to get involved in the CWI Kestrel Project, please contact Assistant Biology Professor Dusty Perkins at dustyperkins@cwi.edu.
News Highlights
Ada County Campus Insight Sessions
CTA Architects is kicking off its conceptual campus design process for the College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Ada County Campus with an invitation to provide thoughts and ideas.
The first step is gathering community insight which includes CWI faculty, staff, and students. They have scheduled two community drop-in sessions at Whittier Elementary - 301 N 29th St., Boise:
- Tuesday, September 1 | Drop in any time from 4:15 – 7:15 p.m.
- Thursday, September 3 | Drop in any time from 4:15 – 7:15 p.m.
Input can also be provided through an online survey at www.CWIAdaCoCampus.com.
Additionally, the CTA Architects team will be visiting CWI’s Ada Campus Campus Pintail Center from 9 -11 a.m. and Nampa Campus Academic Building from 1-3 p.m. on September 2 for the convenience of faculty, staff and students who cannot attend the public sessions. These sessions will take place in the common areas.
As part of its due diligence, CWI contracted with CTA Architects Engineers to develop a conceptual campus design for land being considered for purchase as the College's permanent Ada County Campus. The 10-acre property is located at the corner of Main Street and Whitewater Boulevard in Downtown Boise's West End.
The goal of the conceptual campus design is to determine what is possible and what is preferred for this property as CWI's Ada County Campus.
“As a community college, community interest and input are an important part of our development process. The Trustees and Administration want to ensure students, faculty, neighbors and the general public have multiple opportunities to share their insights and ideas during this process,” said Guy Hurlbutt, Vice Chairman of the CWI Board of Trustees. “As part of our 180-feasibility period on this property, it is important that we hear what is not only possible, but what is preferred by the community.”
Following the insight sessions, the CTA team will meet with governing agencies and use the information gathered to develop multiple conceptual approaches for the property. Visioning Workshops will be held on Tuesday, September 22 at Whittier Elementary from 6-8:30 p.m., and on campus September 23 for faculty, staff, and students as the next opportunity for the public to provide feedback.
VIDEO: 2015 CWI College Address
College of Western Idaho (CWI) President Bert Glandon delivered CWI’s 2015 State of the College Address on Aug. 19 at the Nampa Civic Center. President Glandon’s presentation can be viewed by watching the 2015 College Address Recording or downloading a copy of the speech transcript.
CWI Introduces Invite Forward Initiative
Invite Forward
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Retention Taskforce is excited to introduce a new initiative this semester; Invite Forward. The goal of the initiative is to share how small gestures, comments, and acts employees make to encourage students can change the course of their life. The taskforce invites you to watch a short video produced by CWI employee and alumni, Jessica Argyle, which explains the motivation and rationale of the initiative. Employees can expect more communication on the initiative as well as the distribution of Invite Forward cards near the end of October. The primary push for this initiative will take place in November, but anyone who wants to get started early is encouraged to start making a difference today.
CWI Bookstore Blowout
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Bookstore would like to welcome students, staff, and faculty back to campus with a Blowout event on Thursday (Sept. 3). Be sure to stop by the Micron Center for Professional Technical Education location for a chance to score some incredible giveaways from the Bookstore. Starting at 11 a.m., the first 25 people through the door will receive a mystery gift card valued between $5 and $50. At noon, the giveaways will continue with a drawing for one lucky student to receive a free semester of textbooks. Students can stop by any time to enter to win.
Thursday will also be a great chance to see all the awesome deals the Bookstore has on items including notebooks, CWI gear, and even computers. Don’t forget, through September, if you purchase a $599 Dell computer, you will receive a $200 Dell gift card. Be sure to stop by the CWI Bookstore Blowout event for your chance to win big and stock up on everything you need to start the semester off in style.
Haslam Honored with August Staff Award
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is pleased to name Heather Haslam its Staff of the Month recipient for August.
Haslam has been with CWI for almost eight months. She began her tenure at CWI as an Administrative Assistant I and currently serves as Administrative Assistant III for Academic Affairs at the Canyon County Center. Haslam was nominated for displaying the core values of Acting with Integrity and Serving All in an Atmosphere of Caring. Her nomination notes, “she is creating bridges and opportunities for developing relationships.” It also states “she emanates positivity. She has created a more inviting break room for faculty and staff, implemented activities and social events to bring employees together, and provides thoughtful and regular communication to the occupants of [Canyon County Center]. She is one of our shining stars!”
Haslam says she loves her job and is blown away by the incredible people she works with, and for. She enjoys being the messenger and implementer of her colleagues’ awesome work. She stays, “there are more than a dozen people who should be named here with me, if not instead of me. It’s their ideas, support, influence, participation, and guidance that I simply get to put into action. I have a front row seat to greatness and I get to watch it happening around me all day long.”
She has been married for 18 years to her husband Randy. She has a 24-year old stepdaughter, Bree, who lives in southern California. She’s lived in Idaho, Montana, California, and Texas. One interesting fact she was willing to share is that she loves to eat ice cream when it’s really cold outside.
Please join in congratulating Heather for her Staff of the Month recognition. Thank you for all your hard work as a member of the CWI family.
Sharing in Bert's Alerts
Each semester at College of Western Idaho (CWI) means the return of a number of wonderful activities occurring throughout the College. The Marketing and Advancement Department encourages employees to share these happenings through Bert’s Alerts. Activities may include events, recognition of employees and students, changes in processes or policies that affect employees, or simply letting peers know what is going on in departments or campus locations.
Bert’s Alerts requests can be submitted through Help Desk, by selecting “Marketing” under the Request Type drop down menu. Bert’s Alerts is distributed every Friday and the deadline for submitting content is end of day Thursday. Please direct all questions regarding Bert’s Alerts to communications@cwi.edu.