Bert's Alerts—May 1, 2020
In the Spotlight
Among the quiet stillness at the Nampa Campus Academic Building, Wednesday, April 29, Dusty Perkins, Associate Professor of Biology, completed some spring upkeep in the Native Plant Garden. Dusty and his students, along with the Horticulture Technology program, work in the garden throughout the year.
News Highlights
Mom’s Next Move 2020
This month, College of Western Idaho (CWI) and Townsquare Media are teaming up, once again, to share a message of opportunity through college education with Mom’s Next Move – a scholarship giveaway designed to help mom’s in the Treasure Valley pursue their dreams of going back to school with a 1-year, full-tuition scholarship.
The creation of Mom’s Next Move, first launched in 2018, was the inspiration of Audrey Eldridge, CWI’s Executive Director of Communications and Marketing, and a mom herself.
“I wanted to bring visibility to the possibility of going to college and help our community, especially moms, believe it can be a reality,” Eldridge said. “With the partnership of Townsquare Media and the heart and soul of Michelle Heart supporting this promotion and inspiring her listeners to believe in themselves – the response has been overwhelming!”
Over the past two years, hundreds of moms have submitted nominations or have been nominated.
“The nominations we receive are so heartfelt and real,” Eldridge said. “It’s amazing how opening up this topic of “moms and their next move” stirs up so much emotion and desire to pursue a dream. The nominations are submitted by an awesome variety of family, friends, bosses, co-workers, and even self-nominations where the moms write about their dream of pursuing an education and how much that would mean to them, ‘It’s my turn!’ is a common theme throughout the nominations. We would love to help everyone in taking their turn!”
Are you, or a mom you know, ready to make the move? Nominations for this year’s Mom’s Next Move giveaway open Monday, May 4. Visit 107.9 Lite FM online to submit your nominations and read about how one CWI student made her move from a stay-at-home mom to a full-time student.
Mom’s Next Move is Coming: Is now the right time to think about going back to college?
COVID-19 Presents Special Challenge for B2B Fellows
Now more than ever, the importance of biomedical research is taking center stage in our national conversation. This summer, 10 College of Western Idaho (CWI) students are transitioning to Boise State University through the Bridges to Baccalaureate program Summer Research Experience and will begin their careers in biomedical research.
As COVID-19 shuts down colleges and communities nationwide, the value of the B2B program has never been more obvious. The need for an effective vaccine to fight the virus has been the subject of much ink – read a recent review from the scientific journal, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. These conversations shine a light on the importance of biomedical research in this country and the path our students have committed to. COVID-19 has even effected our students’ summer research experience! It will still continue, but similar to nearly every person in the nation, we will be changing what this looks like due to the global pandemic. Students will be meeting virtually with their faculty mentors at Boise State, conducting research from their homes, and participating with the summer research community at Boise State to a lesser degree than last year’s Bridges Fellows. Much will depend, of course, on how Idahoans help to slow the spread of the virus and when Boise State can safely reopen their research laboratories. Nevertheless, the program will continue, and this year’s B2B Fellows will have a keen sense of their role in the future of medicine and science in a global context.
Congratulations to this year’s Fellows! If you know them, please join me in wishing them luck – from a safe social distance! We need science, and this group of students is our latest contribution to the fight. Go get ‘em Otters!
The Bridges to Baccalaureate program is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Staff of the Month—March 2020
Congratulations to Kris Monroe, College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Staff of the Month for March 2020. Monroe is a Sponsor Billing Coordinator in Accounts Receivable and has been with the College for nine years. Prior to CWI, Monroe’s first career was right out of high school as a retail manager for Radio Shack. She later worked at Micron for 20 years operating and programming inspection equipment and training new technicians and engineers.
“I was laid off after the economic downturn of 2008 and needed to make a career change,” she said. “This led me to the Applied Accounting program at CWI. The wonderful instructors and students in the program helped me to enjoy every day. With so many positive experiences, CWI was one of the first places I considered when seeking employment after graduation.”
As a student at CWI, Monroe was a work study for Tutoring Services and in the computer labs. Upon graduation, she was hired as a Financial Aid Specialist. She often jokes she is on her third career and still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up.
“Kris exemplifies what it means to be a collaborator, a critical thinker, and a constant advocate for students,” said a coworker. “She sees processes in ways that many of us do not and can find efficiencies to better improve how we all work together. I appreciate her candid approach, her honesty, and how she strives to make all of us better at what we do. In all of her work, she sees the students as the most important factor.”
Keeping students first is a desire Monroe shares with all the faculty and staff at CWI. As a former CWI student herself, Monroe remember how much she appreciated the care and attention she received from staff as she began her educational journey, namely from Judith Orwig, an administrative assistant in the President’s Office.
“I think back to my early days as a student and trying to bypass the long waits on the phone. She would always get me to the person I needed,” Monroe said. “Judith is an unsung hero of the College. Her constant positive attitude and assistance with anything that is needed is valued more than I can say. Judith has been part of my journey from the very beginning. Dedication like hers is what makes CWI such a great place to be.”
Originally from Oregon, Monroe moved to the Treasure Valley when she was 11 years old. She and her husband have been together since 1983. In current pursuit of her bachelor’s degree from Boise State University, she stays very busy.
“Between work and school, I unfortunately don’t have a lot of time for hobbies, but when given the chance I do enjoy fishing, camping, and road trips. Vacation to me is a road trip and the opportunity to share trips of my childhood with my own son which has been one of the great joys of my life.”
Entangled Solutions to Host Virtual Town Halls
In January, College of Western Idaho (CWI) engaged Entangled Solutions, a higher education strategy and innovation group, to advise the Board of Trustees on opportunities and challenges facing higher education, in order to inform the Board’s thinking about CWI’s future.
In late February, the Entangled Solutions team conducted interviews, focus groups, town halls, and a post-visit survey with CWI staff, faculty, and students. This May, Entangled Solutions will be returning to campus virtually to share key insights from this listening tour and validate what they learned from the CWI community.
Entangled Solutions will conduct three virtual town halls to share the results. Each virtual town hall will cover the same information. Based on the dates and times outlined below, please select one, click on the link for the appointment, and follow directions to register. You will then be emailed a confirmation with the Zoom link, and you can choose to add this event to your calendar. The Entangled Solutions virtual town hall options are:
Wednesday, May 13
3 - 4 p.m. MT
Register for the May 13 Virtual Town Hall
Friday, May 15
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. MT
Register for the May 15 Virtual Town Hall
Wednesday, May 20
3 – 4 p.m. MT
Register for the May 20 Virtual Town Hall
We hope to see you there, and thank you for your time. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Sara Beth Hoffman with Entangled Solutions at shoffman@entangled.group.
Open Enrollment Ends May 15
Open enrollment for medical, dental, and flexible spending accounts will be held April 27 through May 15, 2020, for all benefit-eligible College of Western Idaho (CWI) employees.
The open enrollment period is the only time benefit changes as listed below can be made. Forms for open enrollment will be available Monday, April 27, on Human Resources Employee Resources site on myCWI. Exceptions will not be made for those who miss the May 15 deadline.
Flexible Spending (FSA)
- Enroll or re-enroll in the FSA program for the 2021 fiscal year.
- FSA plans do not automatically renew year-to-year.
Medical and Dental Plans
- Change your medical plan type.
- Add dependents to dental care coverage.
- Switch premium deductions from post-tax to pre-tax or vice-versa.
- Dependents can be added or removed from medical coverage at any point during the year.
Learn more about benefits you are eligible for by attending CWI's Virtual Benefit Fair, April 24 – May 14. View informative videos, attend webinars, access FAQs and forms, and enter a drawing to win prizes! Attend from anywhere and at any time throughout the fair.
Contact Gwen Dawson in Human Resources at gwendawson@cwi.edu with questions.
