Bert's Alerts - March 18, 2016
In the Spotlight
College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) four-time national champion Speech and Debate team traveled to Lexington, Kentucky this week to defend its title. Fifteen CWI students made the trip to participate in the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament, March 16-20. The team is seeking to bring home CWI’s fifth community college title in six years.
News Highlights
CWI Students Score Big at BPA Competition
College of Western Idaho (CWI) enjoyed a big day at the 2016 Idaho Business Professionals of America (BPA) Leadership Conference, March 4, earning 32 top-five finishes at the event. The awards were earned by 14 CWI students, who have all qualified to compete at the BPA national competition in May. CWI will be represented at nationals in 11 different events thanks to the outstanding showing at state.
CWI students excelled in a number of accounting and information technology competitions. The College took home four awards in College Accounting while also finishing first through third in College Payroll Accounting. On the Information Technology side, CWI swept Computer Network Technology and Network Administration Using Microsoft. The College also earned four of the top five spots in PC Servicing and Troubleshooting, and Systems Administration Using CISCO.
Michael Morrison, Pam Roemer, Troy Wilson, and Daniel Clemmens will lead the way for CWI at nationals; qualifying in three events each. The 2016 National BPA Leadership Conference will be held May 5-9 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Unique Project Captures True Spirit of Collaboration
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is preparing to celebrate the arrival of a unique work of art. For the past several months, Boise artist Alma Gomez and students taking Art classes at CWI have been working to create a one-of-a-kind painted mural. The artwork will be the College’s first public piece of art, and will be a significant addition to CWI's campus.
“The idea (for this project) came from our Visiting Artist program—a program that brings an artist every year to our campus to have a lecture and hold a workshop,” Goran Fazil, CWI art instructor, said. “Knowing that in the past Alma painted murals at different locations, including Boise State University, we decided to ask if she would be interested in painting a mural for our College.”
Called Spirit of Collaboration, this project has been a true learning process for students from beginning to end. Students in Fazil’s drawing and design classes started working with Gomez in her studio in October. Every other week, new groups of students visited the studio to work side-by-side with her. They participated in the process starting with the very first pencil stroke.
“We were able to see the initial stages of work on the full-scale project,” one student wrote on a classroom discussion board. “It was an excellent real-life preview of what a professional artist does.”
The mural is comprised of three separate panels. It depicts actual students in the Liberal Arts and Professional Technical Education programs. By the time the mural is complete at the end of March, approximately 100 CWI students will have helped Gomez with the painting.
“I have been to galleries before… but I have never been to an artist studio,” another student wrote. “To see inside (her studio) was really cool. I loved how she incorporated many aspects of CWI into one painting, and her different uses of perspective… it was an experience I will always remember.”
“This has been a great experience for the students,” Fazil said. “They got to work on something that will be here forever.”
Funding for the mural came from grants from the Idaho Women’s Charitable Foundation, the Idaho Humanities Council, and a private donor. The artwork, which will have a permanent home at CWI’s Micron Center for Professional Technical Education, will be officially unveiled in a ceremony on Thursday, April 14. The event starts with an artist lecture at 6 p.m. The mural unveiling and a reception will immediately follow. For more information, contact communications@cwi.edu.
Classroom Opportunities Educate IDoTeach Students
This spring, 17 students from College of Western Idaho (CWI) are learning first-hand what it takes to be a teacher thanks to invaluable partnerships with local elementary and middle schools. The students are enrolled in IDoTeach classes at CWI, which are designed to encourage Math and Science majors to consider teaching. Thanks to opportunities at Hunter Elementary School, Peregrine Elementary School, Chaparral Elementary School, Meridian Middle School, and Falcon Ridge Charter School these students are gaining vital exposure to the profession which will hopefully help them decide whether or not to pursue a career in education.
Students in IDoTeach classes, Education 101 and 102, are required to design and teach three lessons this semester. The student teaching partnerships provide an opportunity to conduct their lessons, as well as observe teachers in a real classroom setting. All but one of the students is conducting their lesson and observation in a group, giving students a support system to help navigate a process that can be very intimidating.
The CWI Education Department would like to thank all of the schools that are helping provide this valuable learning opportunity for IDoTeach students, as well as the teachers who volunteer as mentors.
CWI’s Heavy Duty Truck Students Join Inspections at Port of Entry
Students from the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Heavy Duty Truck Technician program experienced a valuable field trip Wednesday, March 9, to the East Boise Port of Entry. CWI was hosted by the Idaho Department of Transportation (ITD) and Commercial Enforcement Division of the Idaho State Police (ISP). The purpose of the trip was to view firsthand how ISP and ITD work together to keep commercial vehicles and drivers safe and operating under correct weights and lengths for highways. This supports the student’s current course, Advanced Preventative Maintenance, where they are doing detailed inspections and repair training on Class 8 semi-trucks. These are the same vehicles that would travel through these Ports of Entry and be inspected by State Police after the technicians have done repairs and inspections in industry repair facilities.
Students were given a quick overview of the operations at the east and west Ports by ITD’s Senior Inspector Caleb Forrey followed by ISP Specialist Shawn Staley who discussed inspection procedures and safety. Students observed the ISP conduct a full Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspection on random vehicles pulled from the line of trucks and trailers traveling through the port. Students then spent time with ITD’s weigh masters to learn how the trucks and trailers are measured for length, weight, registration, hours of service, and registrations.
The students were impressed with ITD’s and ISP’s concern for the safety of the public on the roadway with commercial vehicles and for the drivers and fleets. Some of the comments from students include:
“Specialist Staley was very professional, and did a fantastic job showing and explaining to us how the Idaho State Police conducts a DOT inspection. I believe this was the best part of the trip my class took. It was good and reassuring that the DOT inspection he was conducting mirrored the type of inspection that we have been taught to do.” Ryan Chinnock
“Thank you so much for allowing us to see the inner workings of the P.O.E. It was neat to see what goes on, I have many friends and some family that drive truck and hear mostly bad things about going through weigh stations. After spending the morning there I was able to give them some insight into why you all do what you do! Not picking on people but making the roads a safer place for all.” Julie Montgomery
“I understand now how much ISP and ITD are concerned with safety above all. I really think that being educated is the greatest way to help drivers be safe and for us as mechanics to be more aware of the importance of our jobs.” Brent Waller
Nursing Students Seek Donations for Homeless
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Student Nurses Association is rallying to support the local homeless population by hosting a sock donation drive throughout March. The effort is part of a collaboration with Mosaic Ministries, which the students have been helping feed homeless people at Ann Morrison Park in Boise on Sundays. All sizes of socks are need for men, women, and children. The socks can be delivered to CWI’s Canyon County Center in room 211.
All donated socks will be distributed at a free foot care clinic that CWI Nursing students will participate in, April 17. Volunteers at the clinic will wash feet, give light foot massage, trim nails as needed, and also provide basic first aid. At the conclusion, everyone will receive a couple pairs of socks. For people with more serious foot issues, volunteers will help direct them to resources in the community.
Please email jeremiahstuart@my.cwi.edu with any questions.
English Department Presents Visiting Writer Event
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) English Department is proud to announce it will welcome renowned writer, Anne Panning, to campus for the next installment of its Visiting Writers Series. Panning is this year's fiction headliner at Storyfort in Boise. She will visit CWI's Nampa Campus Academic Building on March 28 for a free, public event in room 102E. She will open with a reading at 7 p.m. with a reception and question and answer session to follow.
Panning's novel, Butter, was published in 2012 by Switchgrass Books. Her short story collection, Super America, won The Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and was selected as a New York Times Editor's Choice. Panning’s fiction has been described as warm and original by Publishers Weekly, intelligent and humorous by the Boston Globe, graceful and wry by Booklist, and infectious and enchanting by the New York Times.
Please contact Malia Collins at 208.562.3323 or maliacollins@cwi.edu for questions and more information.
Transfer Fair Returns March 29
College of Western Idaho (CWI) invites students to attend the Spring 2016 Transfer Fair. Several college and university representatives will be on-campus to discuss programs, majors, and transfer requirements.
This one-day event will be split between two different locations and times:
Tuesday, March 29
10 a.m. to Noon
Ada County Campus Pintail Center
Common Area
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Nampa Campus Academic Building
First Floor Common Area
Please send questions to Brittney Hernandez at brittneyhernandez@cwi.edu or Erica Compton at ericacompton@cwi.edu.
CWI to Host First Comic Con
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Student Life department is happy to announce the first-ever CWI Comic Con is coming to campus on Saturday, April 2. The free event will take place from 1-8 p.m. at the Micron Center for Professional Technical Education. Activities will include an artist alley, a costume contest, gaming rooms, and more. Visit the CWI Comic Con Facebook Event for more information.
Car Show Fundraiser is Back at CWI
The fourth-annual Skills on Wheels Car Show will return to College of Western Idaho (CWI), April 16. The event is a fundraiser to help send CWI students to the SkillsUSA national competition each summer. The car show will take over the Micron Center for Professional Technical Education in Nampa to showcase muscle cars, stock cars, eighteen wheelers, motorcycles, and more. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include music and food. Admission is free.
Registration is currently open and entries are needed for all categories. Vendors are also invited to join the event. For registration and entry fee information, or to sign up for a booth visit cwiautoshow.com.
Facilities Update: Nampa Campus Parking Lot Closure
On Friday, March 25, the east parking lot at College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Nampa Campus Academic Building will be closed. The CWI Facilities Management Department will be using a crane to relocate equipment. Security will place barricades at the parking lot entrance Thursday (March 24) night. Please contact Facilities Management with any questions.
Business Office 101 Training Set for March
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Business Office has set the dates in March for its Business Office 101 sessions, which has replaced Deep Dive Training. Each month during the academic year, the Business Office will offer three classes at rotating locations based on the attached schedule. Each class will last an hour and will provide more hands on training with the ability to venture into specific topics of the audience’s choice. In addition, special sessions can be scheduled by request.
Classes in March will be held at the Micron Center for Professional Technical Education in room 1701B:
P-Cards – March 23, 3:00-4:30 p.m., RSVP susankodesh@cwi.edu
Budgets – March 30, 2:00-3:15 p.m., RSVP philvarrick@cwi.edu
Contracts – March 30, 3:15-4:30 p.m., RSVP janetgonzalez@cwi.edu
The following information will be covered in each class:
P-Cards
Presenter: Susan Kodesh
Topics: Getting Started, Accessing US Bank, Purchasing and Card Usage, Documentation, and General Information
Budgets
Presenter: Phil Varrick
Topics: myCWI Budget Access, Using myCWI, The Budget Process, Completing a Budget, Budget Adjustments
Contracts
Presenter: Janet Gonzalez
Topics: Types of Contracts, Pertinent Clauses, Signature Authority, Contract Management, Contract Submittal, Purchasing, and Ethics in Purchasing
Business Office 101 will offer six or more different classes on a reoccurring basis throughout the academic year. This will allow all faculty and staff to choose which classes they would like to attend. These trainings will help employees learn new policies and procedures as well as provide a refresher on need-to-know topics. The Business Office is very excited to offer this new opportunity and hopes that employees will utilize it to grow professionally. Please email BusinessOffice@cwi.edu with any questions.
Haviland Receives Staff Award
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is happy to recognize Michelle Haviland as CWI’s Staff of the Month recipient for March.
Haviland is currently a financial aid manager and focuses on student financial aid services. She started her journey at CWI in November 2009 as a financial aid advisor and was promoted to her current position in July 2014. Haviland attended the University of Idaho where she obtained a degree in Sociology.
Haviland is a great example of the core values – “Serving all in an atmosphere of caring”, “Respecting the dignity of opinions”, and “Acting with integrity”. Her nomination notes: “Michelle is a good representative of CWI’s core values in her work and her interactions with staff and students. Michelle is a great educator not only to students regarding financial aid but to staff as well. She takes her time to be sure that everyone involved understands the core answer so that next time you will be able to answer the student directly and more accurately.” Additional notes made about Michelle are: “She is super helpful and caring; and will make sure students get taken care of and treated fairly. She is a rock star, I know she will always get the job done and is super dependable and knowledgeable. Michelle has been awesome on the front lines of the One Stop as a resource and deserves to be recognized for her efforts.”
Haviland has been married to her husband Drew since 2009. Her first child is Black Betty—a lab pound puppy—and second is Sydney, who was born October 2015. They keep her pretty busy. In her “free” time, Haviland enjoys cooking, camping, gardening, going to concerts, and a good patio beverage in the summer time. A fun fact about her is that before she dies, she plans to be on Price is Right and win big at Plinko.
Please join in congratulating Michelle.
Help Recognize Outstanding Faculty
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Faculty Recognition Committee would like to remind employees that it is continuously accepting nominations for the monthly Faculty of Distinction award. Faculty, staff, students, and administrators are encouraged to nominate a faculty member that they feel is doing an outstanding job of meeting one or more of CWI’s Core Values:
- Acting With Integrity
- Serving All in an Atmosphere of Caring
- Sustaining our Quality of Life for Future Generations
- Respecting the Dignity of Opinions
- Innovating for the 21st Century
- Leaving a Legacy of Learning
Please submit nominations through the You Rock form. Please note, every field in the You Rock form does not need to be completed as nominees aren’t expected to necessarily meet every Core Value. Meeting one Core Value very well is sufficient.
