Nursing program shifts into High Gear - Dona Ana Community College

contact!
N M S U | D o ñ a a n a C o m m u n i t y C o l l e g e
doña ana communit y college Contact! • september 2009
s e p t e m b e r 2009
A newsletter for the faculty and staff of
Doña Ana Community College
in this
issue:
page 2
• message from the president
• piña becomes division dean
of general studies
page 3
• Kristian chervenock heads
community education
• a youth with a calling
page 4
• important dates
• spotlight on ron taylor
• photos from Fall convocation
doña ana community college
Contact! is published by the
marketing & communications
unit. reader input is always
welcome.
editor, Writer,
pHotograpHer
melissa bollschweiler
(575) 527-7523
mbollsch@nmsu.edu
pHotograpHer, Word
processing specialist
gloria dominguez
(575) 528-7066
gdomingu@nmsu.edu
unit coordinator
John paulman
(575) 527-7649
jpaulman@nmsu.edu
NMSU | Doña ana
Community College
575.527.7500
http://dacc.nmsu.edu
Las Cruces Sun-News photographer Norm Detlaff is poised to capture the precise moment of the ribbon cutting
for phases III and IV of the East Mesa Campus. In the front row, from left, are John Muñoz, site director for Sitel
in Las Cruces; Chuck Davis, DACC Advisory Board president and LCPS Board vice president; Dr. Connie Phillips,
LCPS Board president; Dr. Margie Huerta, DACC president; Dr. Manuel Pacheco, NMSU interim president; Conquistadora
Sarah Stegall; Toby Rue, Hispano Chamber past president; and Conquistador David Telford.
Nursing program
shifts into High Gear
Vicky Kingsbury, new director of the nursing
program, shares a big dose of confidence with
her faculty in the program’s robust health. a clinical
nursing instructor at dacc since 2006, she is
among those justly proud of the 00 percent pass
rate on the ncleX licensure exam achieved by december
2008 graduates. nursing graduates, who
receive a temporary permit to practice, must take
the exam within six months after receiving their
associate’s degree.
behind the graduates’ success is a faculty Kingsbury
describes as “a wonderful team” responsible
for “a lot of hard work.”
For this Contact! story, faculty members were
asked to characterize their program: “strong,” “on
track,” “moving forward,” they agreed.
they have applied
an apg model
— a systematic approach
to admissions,
progression
and graduation —
to select and guide
students. the admissions process, for instance,
identifies students most likely to succeed. a nursing
capstone course is tied to the licensure exam,
and each student gets 80 hours of on-the-job
experience under a mentor’s guidance.
“We’re striving for excellence and meeting our
goals,” Kingsbury emphasizes.
See “Nursing” on page 3.
Nursing Program Director
Vicky Kingsbury, MSN, RN

doña ana communit y college Contact! • september 2009 2
Message
froM the
President
august was full of exciting events
and there will be no slowdown in the
months to come.
First, i’d like to express my appreciation
to all those who helped make Fall
convocation so special. it was fun to
reconnect as a family at the beginning
of a new school year. i, personally,
was invigorated by your contagious
enthusiasm and feel well assured that
this school year is going to be one of our
best ever.
Just a few days ago, many of you joined
us in the dedication of the brand new
academic resources building on the
east mesa campus, which is the third edifice
to go up at that site. and construction
never ceases. at this very moment,
the ground is being prepared for phases
V and Vi, which include a long-awaited
auditorium that will seat 400.
on september 7, amado peña will
again join us in the annual scholarship
fundraising event bearing his name. a
number of local artists will be featured,
as well. art will be available for direct
purchase and also at the silent auction.
contact the dacc development office
at 528-7060 for tickets.
then on october 6, we’ll be having the
celebrity golf tournament and dance,
featuring sunny ozuna and ruben
ramos. tickets for this event are on sale
now and may be purchased through the
development office, as well as ticketmaster
outlets.
the semester is starting out to be a very
busy one. With enrollment up by nearly
8 percent at the time this newsletter is
being published, classrooms are packed,
as well as the parking lots! so the great
energy everyone is exhibiting will need
to be tempered by a little patience, too.
i’m excited about this semester, and just
as you are, i’m looking forward to great
things happening at dacc.
piña Accepts General studies
Division Dean position
dr. bernard piña has accepted the position
of division dean for the general studies division.
He comes to the position with a wide
breadth of educational experience. dr. piña
has 9 years of post-secondary teaching experience
within dacc’s mathematics and
physical sciences department and 6 years
of administrative experience within the same
department.
piña completed his ph.d. in educational
administration from new mexico state university
in may 2005, and has achieved the
rank of professor, piña also has served as interim
division dean and acting division head.
“i started at dabcc — back then we were
still a ‘branch’, — during the fall semester of
989 as a non-tenure-track, full-time college
instructor in developmental studies,” he said.
other titles at dacc include math coordinator
and department chair.
His wife of 7 years is lori piña, and the
couple has two children — 9-year-old brandon
and 6-year-old olivia.
piña enjoys distance running, ping-pong
and chess. He has participated in Karate and
was new mexico champion in amateur boxing.
continued growth is what piña sees for
the future of his division.
To Be Held at the N.M. Farm &
Ranch Heritage Museum
ticket information:
$50 per person
$500 for corporate table of up
to 0 persons
to purchase, call 575.528.7060
Dr. Benard Piña, new dean of General Studies
Division
“currently, we have twice the enrollment
compared to the other divisions. i foresee that
our division will continue to provide many
more students with the first two years of their
education before transferring to nmsu or another
four-year college,” he said.
“With continued collaboration with institutions,
we can provide a seamless transition
for students in 2 + 2 degree plans. also, as
more and more students have access to the
internet and technology improves, we will
expand the number of Web-based classes to
students. “
program:
6:00 p.m. no-host cocktails
6:00–8:30 p.m. silent auction, art exhibit and sales
7:00 p.m. student scholarship presentation and live auction
8:30 p.m. silent auction results and closing

doña ana communit y college Contact! • september 2009 3
Chervenock brings broad background to Community education
as director of community education at dacc, Kristian chervenock
— originally from Vancouver, british columbia, canada;
then bellingham, Washington — is passionate about establishing
community education as one of the premier sources for lifelong
learning in the area.
“through the tremendous support of my colleagues in community
education and guidance from an experienced group of
instructors, we are working steadfastly to raise awareness and
increase participation in our programs,” he said. ”From personal
Kristian Chervenock, right, with Dr. William Glenn, dean of Workforce and
Community Education
“Nursing,” from page 1
this semester 98 students are studying nursing.
Kingsbury was herself a dacc nursing student, earning her
associate degree in 200 . she went on to earn her bachelor’s
in nursing in 2005 from nmsu and her master’s in nursing and
healthcare administration from the university of phoenix this
year. she brings to dacc experience as a director of nursing
services in long-term care facilities, nurse manager of medical-surgical
and telemetry units, and extensive work in home
health and hospital emergency care.
as a group, Kingsbury says, the dacc nursing faculty has a
wide range of expertise in such specialties as critical, emergency,
perinatal, mother-baby, pediatric, geriatric and psychiatric
care.
A calling that cannot wait
Angelica Avalos, right, is on a mission. “I am 9 years old and I go
to Loma Heights Elementary and I am in 4th grade,” she said. “The
reason I want to be a nurse is because I like to help people when they
get hurt. Once a kid at P.E. had a seizure like 4 feet away from me and
I did not get scared. Recruiting is fun.”
This charismatic, PRE-, pre-nursing student is the daughter of
DACC’s own Jodi Avalos, an instructor in the Nursing Program.
enrichment to professional development and certificate programs,
community education works hard to uphold the mission,
vision and values of dacc. i’m very grateful to be a member
of the dacc team and look forward to continuing to grow
community education’s presence within our community.“
chervenock joined dacc in march 2009. prior to that, he was
employed as a graduate student at nmsu in international programs.
He was responsible for the coordination of the studyabroad
program for outgoing nmsu students and incoming
international students. before that, he was employed as a 4-H
agent with the university of Florida at cocoa beach, where he
coordinated after-school programs, summer programs and
many volunteers.
“prior to Florida, i was employed as a 4-H agent in otero county.
before that, i taught english in Japan,” chervenock said.
chervenock can trace his involvement in agriculture back to
boyhood when he raised and showed pygmy goats.
degrees include a ba in international relations from the university
of Washington, and an m.ed. from Western Washington
university. He currently is a doctorate student within the college
of education at nmsu (dept. of curriculum and instruction).
He enjoys mountaineering, running with his dog, sailing,
traveling, surfing, kayaking, bicycling (road and mountain),
cooking, npr, watching documentaries, gardening, road trips,
and eating Japanese, indian and thai food whenever possible.
Future plans include continuing to travel as much as possible,
finishing his dissertation, finishing the remodeling of his
house, and climbing more mountains.

doña ana communit y college Contact! • september 2009 4
spotlIght on ron taylor of the building technology program
nmsu alumnus ronald F. taylor joined
dacc in august of 2007 as lead instructor for
the building technology program.
taylor worked extensively in both the
residential and commercial construction industries
for approximately 6 years prior to
coming to dacc. He is the owner of global
concepts construction.
“i enjoy working with others, and providing
guidance in their lives. some people
need inspiration from others to realize their
full potential. Working for dacc, and sharing
my knowledge of education and building has
been a great chapter in my life,” he said.
taylor holds a b.s. degree in elementary
education with a minor in physical education
and an endorsement in Vocational education.
He currently is pursuing a master’s degree in
education.
according to dr. larry sharp, coordinator
of counseling and services for students with
disabilities, taylor is credited with increasing
the participation of students with disabilities
in programs at dacc and nmsu.
He also serves on the board of directors
for the new mexico association for career
and technical education (nmacte).
His current position introduces students
to the construction industry and assists in the
Important Dates
tuesday, september
Fall deadline for registration; last day to
add a course
Friday, september 4
Fall deadline to cancel a class without
class appearing on transcript; last day
to request 00% refund
monday, september 7
labor day Holiday
nmsu/dacc offices closed
Friday, september
deadline to submit tuition remission
benefit authorization forms for Fall
thursday, september 7
”an evening of art,” featuring santa Fe
artist amado peña, 6:00 p.m. at nm Farm
& ranch Heritage museum
Friday, september 8
student event featuring amado peña
with live interview :30 a.m.– :30 p.m.
at east mesa campus
tuesday, september 22
Fall semester – last day to request 50%
refund
development of skills through industry-specific
learning and preparation for entry into
the workforce.
taylor is also an advocate for sustainability
efforts and currently is incorporating them
into the program’s curriculum.
originally from artesia, he returned to las
cruces in 200 to complete his education degree
and has since made it his home. He enjoys
spending time outdoors and some of his
hobbies include running, hiking, kayaking,
camping, swimming, cycling and photography.
in the future, taylor is planning on becoming
a tenured faculty member at dacc and
continuing to bring growth and excellence to
the program as an educator.
Ronald F. Taylor, instructor, Building Construction
Technology Program
Fall Convocation builds team spirit at DACC