CWI Compass Connect - October 29, 2021
Spotlight
Alex Beal, Department Chair of Diesel Technology, led a tour on Wednesday, Oct. 20, for legislators during a visit to the Nampa Campus Micron Education Center. The visit gave lawmakers an opportunity to explore programs offered at CWI and speak with all four community college presidents in Idaho.
President's Message
Our community was rocked by the news of a shocking act of violence at the Boise Towne Square shopping mall this past week. Our hearts and most sincere condolences go out to the families of those who lost their lives, and our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured. We are grateful for the employees and first responders who acted quickly to prevent more senseless tragedy, and we are filled with respect for the bravery of the Boise Police Department, first responders, and security officers who put themselves in harm’s way to protect others.
While mass shootings are a tragic reality, Idaho is fortunate to have been spared events like these. We are not accustomed to having to reconcile the horror of these scenes on television with the reality that, given a different time or day, any one of us could have been there. In times like these, it is natural to feel fearful, confused, uncertain, and hesitant to trust.
Employee Support
If you or a family member are struggling to process yesterday’s events, I would encourage you to reach out to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The phone number is 877.427.2327 and can also be found on the back of your insurance card. They will connect you with a counselor for up to five free counseling sessions. CWI also maintains a list of local counseling services. You don’t have to be present, or know someone who was, to be impacted by this situation, and sometimes the best first step is to talk with someone who can help you process through the situation.
Student Support
Our students are also likely to be struggling with yesterday’s events. If you notice a student who may need assistance, please encourage them to reach out to Counseling & Wellness Services and speak with one of CWI’s licensed counselors at counselor@cwi.edu or at 208.562.2200. If you are concerned about any member of the CWI community, whether it is in connection to yesterday’s events or not, I urge you to submit a CARE report so that we can reach out and offer support.
Let's come together as a community of support and as a community that cares for one another. By coming together to boldly support one another through dark moments like these, the hard times become more manageable and the joyous moments are all the better because we share them as one CWI Family.
CWI In the News
Idaho Ed News: CWI narrows presidential search
Idaho Statesman: Who are the four finalists to become College of Western Idaho's next president?
News Highlights
CWI Announces Presidential Search Finalists
College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Board of Trustee and Search Committee Chair, Molly Lenty, has announced the four finalists selected through the College’s presidential search process.
The announcement was the culmination of a very extensive national search. The CWI Board of Trustees is working with Summit Search Solutions to assist with the comprehensive and inclusive search process. Focus groups were held in the spring to help provide input on the presidential profile, and individuals were identified to participate on the search committee.
“On behalf of the Presidential Search Committee, we are excited to announce our slate of final candidates that will be invited to meet with the CWI community both on campus and via virtual platforms as appropriate,” said Chair Lenty.
Finalists consist of:
- Denise Aberle-Cannata, Interim President and Provost at College of Western Idaho
- Gordon Jones, Dean of the College of Innovation and Design at Boise State University
- Abby Lee, Associate Vice President of College and Public Relations at Treasure Valley Community College
- Todd Schwarz, Provost at College of Southern Idaho.
“We had a tremendous response from a broad field of well-qualified candidates from across the country,” continued Chair Lenty. “The search committee, representing various stakeholder groups both internal and external to the College, put in very thoughtful work and hearty dialogue in identifying these finalists who each bring their own diverse backgrounds, skill sets, and vision for the future of CWI. We hope you will be able to participate in the upcoming candidate forums, as stakeholder feedback will be greatly appreciated.”
Candidate interviews will take place the week of Nov. 15. Additional information, resumes, and links to candidate forums may be found on the CWI Presidential Search page.
CWI Needs Your Input!
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is excited to announce it has initiated a Campus Development, Visioning, and Planning process to inform, guide, and prioritize campus improvements to meet the needs of students and our growing community.
The College needs your input! As part of the assessment phase, it is crucial to obtain internal and external stakeholder involvement as part of the visioning process. An eight-question survey will help to capture this input. Please take a few minutes to participate in the survey. Your input is greatly valued and will help inform the future of CWI.
Information collected from the survey will assist a CWI Planning Team that has begun preliminary visioning work with Cushing Terrell, a local planning, architecture, and engineering firm. The Planning Team’s objective is to provide a recommendation to the CWI Board of Trustees and receive approval of strategic direction and priorities for campus development and capital projects. Recommendations will include programming priorities, space requirements, campus focus areas, funding sources, and timelines.
Visit CWI’s Campus Development Visioning & Planning webpage to learn more.
Thank you for completing the survey by the deadline on Nov. 15, 2021.
Investing in Her Future with Confidence
BROOKE WARTHEN
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Major: Marketing Communications
Graduation: 2024
Scholarships: CWI Foundation, Brandt Bridge
Brooke, a graduate of Timberline High School, began attending College of Western Idaho (CWI) during the Fall 2020 semester. This year, she is the proud recipient of a CWI Foundation and Brandt Bridge scholarship.
“Scholarships like these help me achieve the things I want to and do so with confidence,” she said. “I started college to get the information I need to continue in my desired career path. Having this kind of support has helped motivate me knowing others believe in me and the things I do. It’s an amazing feeling! Because of CWI, I can invest in my future and have a quality education at a reasonable cost. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
Upon completion of college, Brooke has set her sights high.
“Right now, my ultimate goal is to work in marketing for a Formula 1 race or in Hollywood promoting movies. I am keeping my options open. I have a whole wide world in front of me!”
Scholarships are now open for the Spring 2022 semester! Complete your application by Nov. 30, 2021.
Scholarships Open for Spring 2022 Semester
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation scholarship application period for the Spring 2022 semester opens Nov. 1. One application makes applying for scholarships at CWI easy providing students automatically-generated scholarship matches, in addition to allowing students to self-select scholarships of interest. More than 200 scholarships have already been awarded to students in both academic and career-technical programs at the College for the 2021-2022 academic year!
Students interested in applying for scholarships must have the CWI admission application completed, be accepted, and have myCWI login information. The application closes Nov. 30, 2021.
Visit the Grants and Scholarships page to learn more or apply.
Dickinson Named 2021 Innovative Educator
Congratulations to Charles Dickinson, Professor of Sociology at College of Western Idaho (CWI), who was presented a GEM award for Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing by the Idaho State Board of Education and CapEd Credit Union during the 2021 GEM Innovative Educator Awards ceremony Thursday, Oct. 21.
Professor Dickinson has taught Sociology at CWI for the past 13 years. His goal in teaching is to create courses that are transformative and help his students develop a better understanding of complex issues and their own assumptions and viewpoints. In class, his students work in teams, think critically as they evaluate information, form persuasive arguments, and learn to listen and communicate with one another. Dickinson encourages active dialog in a respectful and challenging way. He is fair and advocates for all students to receive the benefits of an education, regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, religion, or political views.
Students of Dickinson say his teaching is life changing.
“If we take what we learned in his class and make an attempt to teach it to others,” commented one of his students, “then perhaps our world will become less judgmental or kinder to one another.”
Discussing his view of success in higher education, Dickinson asserted, “If a student only completes one general education course, from any discipline, it will have a positive impact on their lives, making them a better person, a better neighbor, a better citizen – empowering them to engage in a world locally and globally. In short, one completed GenEd course improves us all.”
The GEM awards for General Education classes in higher education were initiated in 2017 by Dr. John Bieter at Boise State University and are endorsed and supported by the General Education Committee.
2021 Innovative Educator Award Winners:
Amy Minervini, Written Communications
Lewis-Clark State College
Andy Orr, Oral Communications
College of Southern Idaho
Cindy Dickinson, Math
College of Southern Idaho
Samantha Blatt, Science
Idaho State University
Fatima Cornwall, Humanistic and Artistic
Boise State University
Charles Dickinson, Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing
College of Western Idaho
Opening Doors Event Raises Nearly $80k for Student Scholarships
Thank you to all who joined the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation’s eighth-annual Opening Doors Benefit Event and auction, Sept. 29 through Oct. 10, to raise nearly $80,000 for student scholarships!
The livestream event, hosted Oct. 6 from CWI’s Powersports and Small Engine Repair Technology lab at the Nampa Campus Micron Education Center, featured 2015 CWI Communication graduates, Shane Larson and Andde Mendez, as emcees, and special guest, Dr. Tommy Ahlquist, a prominent business leader and developer in the Treasure Valley.
“The minute CWI Foundation Board President, Ivan Castillo, asked me to speak at this event, it was a very easy yes for me,” commented Ahlquist. “I sincerely appreciate what CWI does for this community in providing a line of site connecting Idaho people to Idaho jobs. This is significant!”
“The impact your donations to CWI make is amazing,” said Foundation Board President, Ivan Castillo. “For our students who receive scholarships, sometimes this gift is all it takes to help them reach their goals, empower their dreams, and believe the sky is the limit!"
It is never too late to give the gift of education. Visit the CWI Foundation online to learn more and donate today.
Next Steps Idaho Month Encourages Higher Education
Thousands of Idaho high school seniors will be submitting their college applications to various Idaho institutions, including College of Western Idaho (CWI), through Apply Idaho on the Next Steps Idaho website during the month of October.
Idaho Governor Brad Little has proclaimed October at Next Steps Idaho Month to help raise awareness about high school students being able to apply to any of Idaho’s higher education institutions in a matter of minutes and do it free of charge.
CWI is participating with Apply Idaho in October to support Idaho high school seniors in taking advantage this opportunity in their school while learning about their college opportunities and the process to apply for college in Idaho. Embedded in these efforts will be CWI representatives at many Treasure Valley high schools over the next few weeks assisting students with questions about applying for college and helping students with additional opportunities from financial aid to understanding program offerings.
No matter what lies ahead, students can find support for their journey through higher education at CWI. Students may also find resources for life after high school at Next Steps Idaho.
Future Student Resources
Cybersecurity Awareness: Holiday Shopping Tips
Just like food and decorations, deep discounts and bargain prices have become a huge part of the holidays. As shoppers go online to find good deals, they are also exposing themselves to cyber criminals seeking to exploit the festive season.
Scammers and spammers view the holidays as a golden opportunity to take advantage of unsuspecting online shoppers. Hackers may use tactics like preying on popular keyword searches to lure shoppers to malicious websites, with the goal of collecting financial and personal information.
To help keep you and your bank account safe, it is important to learn how to shop securely during the holidays. These simple tips from the Department of Homeland Security’s STOP.THINK.CONNECT.™ Campaign can help protect your personal information and transactions throughout the holiday season:
- Watch out for deals that look too good to be true. Scammers often try to trick shoppers by offering extremely low prices on hard-to-get items. Don't open suspicious email attachments or follow unsolicited web links in email messages.
- Consider using a credit card instead of a debit card. There are laws to limit your liability for fraudulent credit card charges, and you may not have the same level of protection when using your debit card. Check with your providers to see what protections they provide for each card you have.
- Avoid financial transactions on public Wi-Fi, which is often not very secure. Save your online shopping, banking, or sensitive transactions for your home network.
- Keep your computer, browser, anti-virus, and other critical software up to date.
- Check privacy policies. Before providing personal or financial information, check the website's privacy policy to ensure your safety.
- Beware of fake URLs. Malicious websites look like legitimate sites, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different domain (e.g., .com vs .net). Also look in the address box for the "s" in https:// before any transaction. That "s" tells you that the site is taking extra measures to help secure your information.
- Keep a record of your purchases and copies of confirmation pages in case there are unauthorized purchases on your bank statements. If there is a discrepancy, report it immediately.
For more holiday shopping tips, check out the Federal Trade Commission. Additionally, the STOP.THINK.CONNECT.™ provides advice and resources to help you stay safe online all year round.
Contact Mike Wilson at michaelwilson1@cwi.edu or 208.562.3193 with questions or for more information.
