THIS WEEK@NCC - Norwalk Community College

THIS WEEK@NCCSeptember 10, 2012Volume 21, Number 4IN THIS ISSUEGovernor Signs BillPage 1Fall ConvocationPage 3Ice Cream SocialPage 4Abe Lincoln Needs YOU!Page 5Early ChildhoodEducation AccreditationPage 5Voter RegistrationPage 6Upcoming EventsPage 6SUBMISSIONSto Madeline Barillombarillo@ncc.commnet.eduNext issue published:September 17, 2012Deadline for submissions:September 12, 2012Copy Editor and WriterMadeline Barillombarillo@ncc.commnet.eduGraphic DesignerCindy Zarefczaref@ncc.commnet.eduThis Week @ NCC is published bythe Public Relations Office, Divisionof College Advancement, andis available on the NCC website athttp://www.ncc.commnet.edu/publicrelations/thisweekGovernor Signs CollegeReadiness Bill at NCCGovernor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by legislators and state higher education officials,came to NCC on August 29 for a ceremonial bill signing of Public Act 12-40, An ActConcerning College Readiness and Completion.This new state law will add extra support for college students who need help in theirregular courses and ensure that graduating high school seniors are better prepared for therigors of higher education.“We do a disservice to our college students when we burn through their financialaid to pay for remedial learning which doesn’t fulfill graduation requirements,” GovernorMalloy said. “The strength of our economy depends on the skill of our workforce. Themore our college students spend their time and their financial aid preparing for entryinto the job market, the better trained our workforce will be.”Public Act 12-40, requires the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (ConnS-CU), under the governance of the Board of Regents for Higher Education, beginning bythe 2014 fall semester, to offer students remedial support embedded with correspondingentry-level courses, and/or an intensive college readiness program.It also requires public high schools and ConnSCU institutions to align their curriculaby the fall semester of 2016 and to use multiple assessments for placement.The new procedures will ensure that students are spending their time and moneyearning college credits that will help them graduate, as opposed to taking remedialcourses that don’t count towards graduation requirements. PA 12-40 provides for a changefrom the current practice that requires as many as three semesters of course-basedremedial work before students enroll in courses carrying college credit and substitutes(continued on page 2)

(Governor cont’d.)instead an innovative intensive college readiness experiencethat lasts no longer than one semester.“There is no question that the connection between aquality education and the ability to get a quality job hasnever been as important as it is today,” Lieutenant GovernorNancy Wyman said. “This bill will help prepare our youngpeople entering college to focus on their goal of graduatingin a timely fashion with the skills that are needed in thischallenging job market.”“This isn’t a problem that our K-12 education systemor our public higher education system can fix alone,” saidRobert A. Kennedy, president of the Board of Regents forConnSCU. “Working together, we must ensure that studentsare coming to our community colleges and universitiesbetter prepared, and that when they do need extra help, weprovide it to them without exhausting their financial aid,and extending the time it takes to earn a degree.”Governor Dannel P. Malloy and NCC President David L. Levinson, Ph.D.From left to right: Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, State RepresentativeBob Duff and Moira Lyons, NCC Director of Community andGovernment RelationsGovernor Malloy cites the benefits of the new bill, while LieutenantGovernor Wyman and NCC President Levinson, look on.From left to right: NCC President Levinson, Elsa Nunez, president ofEastern Connecticut State University, and Robert A. Kennedy, presidentof the Board of Regents for Higher Education2

Fall Convocation Kicks Off SemesterFaculty and staff were welcomed back to campus at the FallConvocation held in the West Campus cafeteria on August 27.After friends and colleagues bonded over a hot buffetbreakfast of eggs, sausages, and bagels, President Levinsonintroduced Ben Engel, newly elected president of the StudentGovernment, and nine new faculty and staff members(see sidebar).He also gave an update on new Board of Regentstechnology initiatives, including student email addresses tobe implemented in October, plans to use social networkingtechnology for teaching, and the rollout of NCC’s new emaildomain “norwalk.edu” (which replaces the cumbersome“ncc.commnet.edu”).Topics discussed also included the growing use ofe-Portfolios (3,749 e-Portfolios have been created by studentssince 2009) and the impact of rising enrollment. Fortypercent of new students this fall are Hispanic; up four percentsince last year. The 2012 graduating class was 28 percentlarger than the previous year; the largest increase of anycollege in the 17-college ConnSCU system.President Levinson reported that an intensive collegereadiness program held over the summer for nearly 100 highschool students transitioning to NCC was very successful.The students enrolled in activities to improve their placementin Math/and or English. More than 50 percent of participantsimproved sufficiently to eliminate at least one level ofremediation.President Levinson also noted that $3.7 million in Statefunding has been approved for Phase III of the redevelopmentof the West Campus. Plans are underway to redesign thecafeteria and parts of the West Campus, and to build a longawaitedpedestrian bridge over Richards Avenue.John Shields withdaughter MollyMeet New Faculty and StaffWilliam A. Key, Jr., ESL InstructorRiaz Lalani, Mathematics InstructorChristine B. Mangone, Music and TheaterInstructorCatherine Brackettand Susan MontezRoger Silva andSheila JenkinsAnthony Brown, Full-time Lecturer inBiology (one-year appointment)Bennyta L. Claytor, Associate Director ofFinancial AidJack Knight, AmeriCorps VISTA(one-year appointment)Thalia Moshoyannis, Path ScholarshipProgram Success CoachLaurel Peterson and Susan Gebhardt-BurnsCoral Presti, Interim Director of Nursingand Allied HealthCynthia Zaref, Graphic Design Associatein Public Relations Office3

Ice Cream SocialThe ice cream was from Baskin-Robbins; the scoopers camefrom NCC.NCC President David L. Levinson Ph.D. and hisExecutive Assistant Tommi Calise served ice cream to thecollege community at an afternoon Ice Cream Social partyon August 13.The event was a salute to NCC Staff for their hard workover the summer, but everyone on campus was welcome toqueue up for a bowl of their favorite flavor.For those who wished to gild the lily, a table was spreadwith toppings including sprinkles, whipped cream andchocolate sauce.From left to right: Tommi Calise, executive assistant to President Levinson, and PresidentLevinson himself, scoop ice cream for Kristina Testa-Buzzee, director of the Family EconomicSecurity Program (FE$P) and Coral Presti, interim director of Nursing and Allied Health.Dean of Students Robert Baer and JillFoster, FE$P financial coachFrom left to right: Maria Grayson, director of Respiratory Care, Deysy Pelaez,clinical coordinator of Respiratory Care, Wendy Mendes, administrative assistantfor Nursing and Allied Health, and Joe Dervil, program assistant for Nursingand Allied Health4

Abe Lincoln Needs YOU!The NCC Everett I.L. Baker Library is seeking students,faculty and staff to volunteer as docents for a travelingexhibition on “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War”to be hosted by the library from November 2 to December12, 2012.If you’re already a Lincoln fan, or would like thechance to learn more about him, NCC has a place foryou. Volunteer docents will staff the exhibition during theOpening Celebration on Wednesday, November 7, and atother special events as need.Docent training will take place from 10:30 a.m. to12:30 p.m. Friday, November 2 in the NCC library.“Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” examineshow President Lincoln used the Constitution to confrontthree intertwined crises of the Civil War—the secessionof Southern states, slavery and wartime civil liberties.Lincoln is widely acknowledged as one of America’s greatestpresidents, but his historical reputation is contested. Was hea calculating politician willing to accommodate slavery, or aprincipled leader justly celebrated as the Great Emancipator?This exhibition provides no easy answers. Rather, itencourages visitors to form a nuanced view of Lincoln byengaging them with Lincoln’s struggle to reconcile his policypreferences with basic American ideals of liberty and equality.This exhibition develops a more complete understandingof Abraham Lincoln as president and the Civil War as thenation’s gravest constitutional crisis.For information about becominga docent, contact Gunnar Sahlin,docent coordinator, at gsahlin@ncc.commnet.edu or (203) 857-7209.For information about the Lincolnexhibition and to sign up, contact:Kimberly Bryant-Smith, Lincoln Exhibit assistant,at kbryant-smith@ncc.commnet.edu or (203) 857-6895.Early ChildhoodEducation AccreditationCongratulations to the Early Childhood Education degreeprograms for achieving accreditation by the NationalAssociation for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).NCC’s A.S. degree programs in Early Childhood Education—Transferand Early Childhood Education—Careerboth received NAEYC accreditation for demonstratingsignificant compliance with national professional standardsfor early childhood education for the period of July 2012through July 2019.5

Voter RegistrationForms AvailableAre you registered to vote?In compliance with The Higher Education Act (HEA),NCC makes Voter Registration forms widely available tostudents during election years. Voter Registration forms areavailable at the Records Office counter in E Room 102. Theforms also are available in English and Spanish in the EverettI.L. Baker Library.For more information on the upcoming election,visit the League of Women Voters Education Fund websiteat http://www.lwv.org/our-work/educating-voters. This siteprovides non-partisan information to the public with bothgeneral and state-specific information, including the locationof polling sites.Upcoming CampusEventsFriday, September 14Performance: Marc Antonio de la Parra’s play“Monogamia”Presented by the Estudio Sur theater company and directedby Walter Dionisio, “Monogamia” stars actors MarioGaleano and Juan Manuel Sanabria. Performance is notsuitable for children. Free admission.7:00 p.m.PepsiCo TheaterMonday, September 17Celebrating Constitution Day at NCCDiscussion: “Presidential Elections in the Constitutionand in History”10:00 to 11:20 a.m.Room W115Debate: “Second Amendment and Gun Rightsin America”11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.GenRe ForumDiscussion: “American Democracy’s Attempted Suicide:The Civil War as a Four-Year Constitutional Crisis”11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.Room W220Voter Registration Drive sponsored by StudentGovernment1:00 to 3:00 p.m.East Campus AtriumFriday, September 21Professional Development Day“Keep Calm and CARI On: Improving Student SuccessOutcomes at NCC”9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.West Campus CafeteriaMonday, September 24Panel Discussion: “A Raisin in the Sun: Is the DreamStill Deferred?”Moderated by President Levinson10:00 a.m.GenRe ForumWednesday, October 3Ninth Annual History Symposium:The Emancipation ProclamationCelebrating the 150th anniversary of President AbrahamLincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, this interdisciplinaryprogram will feature faculty presenters.10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.PepsiCo Theater6