Bert's Alerts - December 12, 2014
In the Spotlight
College of Western Idaho (CWI) music students provided some holiday cheer for local senior citizens last week with a live performance at the Spring Creek Manor in Boise on Tuesday (Dec. 9). Members of the CWI voice class shared a variety of performances for the residents, including art songs, music theater, folk music, and Christmas carols. According to Music Adjunct Faculty, Bonnie Salewski, the audience enjoyed the music and expressed appreciation to the students for the performance.
News Highlights
Winter Holiday Hours Update
College of Western Idaho (CWI) will be changing its public hours of operation surrounding the upcoming holidays. Here are some of the important dates and times to note.
- Dec. 24 – close at Noon
- Dec. 25-26 – closed
- Dec. 31 – close at 5 p.m.
- Jan. 1. – closed
For more information on CWI’s public hours of operation please visit cwi.edu/info/hours-operation.
CWI Alum Publishes Children's Book
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is celebrating the success of an alumnus who has published her first children’s book, Zeezee Goes to the Duck Park. Penned by Andy Jane Graves, the book is part of a children’s series about a two-year girl who is learning about the world. Graves graduated from CWI in 2012 with a Liberal Arts degree. She attributes much of her success to her experience at the College.
“Starting at CWI provided me not only the technical writing skills as part of the Liberal Arts program, but I gained confidence and inspiration from two science teachers. Todd Talley in Chemistry and Stephanie Sevigny in the Physics department believed in me and my work. For this, I am forever grateful.”
The book is scheduled to be on sale in stores on Feb. 17, 2015. It is currently for sale online through Tate Publishing.
College of Western Idaho Trustees Sworn in, Officers Appointed
Two College of Western Idaho (CWI) Board of Trustee members were sworn in to their elected positions on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the monthly Board meeting in Nampa. Stanley Bastian and Emily Walton took the oath after being elected by Ada and Canyon County voters on Nov. 4. Bastian, from Eagle, enters his third term serving as a CWI Board member. Walton, who lives in Boise, is serving her first term as Trustee.
Also during the Board meeting, Trustees held elections to appoint new officers resulting in the following:
Mary Niland, Chairperson
Guy Hurlbutt, Vice Chairperson
Stan Bastian, Secretary/Treasurer
College of Western Idaho is governed by a volunteer five-member Board of Trustees who are elected at large from within Ada and Canyon Counties for staggered, four-year terms. Trustees derive their authority from and hold office in accordance to the state of Idaho Code.
CWI Supports Rake Up Events Again
On Dec. 6, employees and students from the College of Western Idaho (CWI) joined forces to support the annual Rake Up Boise and Nampa events. In total, 21 volunteers helped pick up leaves at three area homes. The efforts were led by members of the employee Fun and Culture Committee and students with the Horticulture Club.
Administrative Specialist Program Secures Intern Partnership
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Administrative Specialist program is pleased to announce it has secured an important new partnership with the United States Department of the Interior, providing internship opportunities for CWI students. The Bureau of Land Management’s Fire and Aviation Directorate (FAD) contacted CWI recently with a need for an intern program, which resulted in an internship agreement set to begin in the fall of 2015.
Through the new partnership, students from the Administrative Specialist program will have the opportunity to apply for a yearlong internship position with the FAD. The organization has also committed to providing a $1,000 scholarship as part of the internship.
CWI would like to thank the Department of the Interior for providing such a valuable opportunity to its students and supporting the Administrative Specialist program.
Tech Talk: Upgrades to Technology and Service Continue
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Information Technology (IT) Department is presenting a series of Bert’s Alerts articles intended to share updates at CWI as well as relevant technology topics.
GoPrint Update
The GoPrint client has been installed on machines in classrooms and computer labs and has been providing print usage statistics to help the College better understand how printing services are being utilized. In just the few weeks since the client was installed, there has been a reduction in printing by 12 percent. This means, because students have the ability to view print jobs, they are deciding to cancel more print jobs that otherwise would have likely been discarded.
AceWare to Colleague Migration
CWI Workforce Development will be migrating to Colleague as their new student registration system on Jan. 1, 2015. Look for additional information in upcoming Bert’s Alerts as the changeover nears.
Office365 Upgrade for Employees
As part of the annual work plan for IT and continuing efforts to provide excellent service, the College will be upgrading the servers for Faculty and Staff email to Office365 in February 2015. Office365 is a cloud based service with Microsoft and will provide some advanced features such as built in spam filtering, among others. There will be no change to employee email addresses and Outlook will continue to be used as it is today. The major difference is that all email will be stored on the highly secure Microsoft Office365 cloud based service. More details will be forthcoming, including a migration schedule, to ensure employees know when migration occurs.
Scofield is December Staff of the Month
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is pleased to announce its December Staff of the Month honor has been awarded to Terri Scofield.
Scofield has been with CWI since July 2009 and this year received her five years of service star. She currently serves as an Advisor for Disability Services. In addition to her job duties, she also participates in a number of CWI activities. She is on the Ada Accessibility committee, the frazzle free finals team, and volunteers as a CWI representative at the West Valley Humane Society. She started working at CWI in the English as a Second Language Department and recalls how much joy she experienced in working with immigrants and refugees and seeing them succeed.
Scofield has an associate degree from Western Iowa Tech Community College and a bachelor’s degree from Boise State University.
She exemplifies CWI’s core value of “Sustaining our Quality of Life for Future Generations”. Scofield says that her experience working in Disability Services for the past two years has been amazing. She is thankful for the chance to “represent the College in the community, work with students to ensure an equal opportunity for education, and to make a difference for everyone I have contact with”.
Scofield has a beautiful family with three grown children, a daughter-in-law, and a future son-in-law. She is also blessed with a few dogs and cats that consider her mama. She enjoys volunteering, reading, hiking, cooking, walking her dogs, and spending time with family and friends. She has also participated in animal rescue for over 25 years, which has included rescuing a cougar and black bear.
Please join in congratulating Terri. Thank you for your commitment and continued dedication to CWI and its faculty, staff, and students.
CWI Ugly Sweater Contest is Dec. 19
It’s time once again for the College of Western (CWI) Idaho Fun and Culture Committee’s (FCC) annual Ugly Sweater Contest, which will be held Friday (Dec. 19). All employees are encouraged to dig through their closet, a friend's closet, or grandma's closet and wear the ugliest holiday sweater they can find. This year the top 10 ugly sweaters will win. Employees simply need to snap a picture in their sweater and email to fcc@cwi.edu with their name.
Happy Holidays from the FCC!
