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Miss a Brown Bag lecture?
Listen to the Brown Bag Lecture Series podcasts.
They're located on the college's Web site under community interests. |
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| JJC Events &
Announcements
02/16 at 11:00am to Noon
Main Campus
Center Bridge
Ash Wednesday
02/17 at Noon to 02:00pm
Main Campus
T-2002
02/18 at 09:00am to 04:00pm
Main Campus
F Concourse |
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JJC FAST FACTS |
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The Board of Trustees meeting summary for the Feb. 2 meeting is now available online.
Miss an edition of the weekly newsletter?
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Three Tuskegee Airmen Honored in Black History Month Event
L to R: First Lt. Quentin Smith, 91; Col. Julius Jackson, 90; and Dr. Welton Taylor, 89, all of Chicago, shared stories of their historic experiences in helping to break racial barriers that existed in the U.S. armed forces in the 1940s. (Photo by Mike O'Brien)
Three WWII veterans and Tuskegee Airmen were honored in an event held on the JJC Main Campus Feb. 5 to kick off the college's celebration of Black History Month. First Lt. Quentin Smith, 91; Col. Julius Jackson, 90; and Dr. Welton Taylor, 89, all of Chicago, shared stories of their historic experiences in helping to break racial barriers that existed in the U.S. armed forces in the 1940s. According to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Web site, most black soldiers during World War II were restricted to labor battalions and other support positions due to laws at the time, but an experiment within the USAAF showed that given equal opportunity and training, African-Americans could fly in, command and support combat units as well as anyone. The USAAF's black fliers, the Tuskegee Airmen, served with distinction in combat and directly contributed to the eventual integration of the U.S. armed services. JJC President Gena Proulx made opening remarks, along with U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, JJC Black Student Union President Vance Carter and Darren Newenhouse, JJC student trustee. Melvin Knazze, board member with the Chicago DODO Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, moderated the discussion. Several student groups contributed to the event, including the Black Student Union, History Club, Latinos Unidos, New Generation, Veterans Club, Gay, Lesbian or Whatever (GLOW) Club, Honors Program, Project Achieve, and the Brother2Brother Program. Photo gallery
Event video and Chicago Tribune story coming soon.
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Board Approves Tuition Increase
Citing several economic factors, including the state's financial crisis, the JJC Board of Trustees approved a measure Feb. 2 to raise the college's tuition rate by 13 percent, which equals an additional $9 per credit hour increase.
The new rate will go into effect for the fall 2010 semester.
"We don't want to sacrifice our quality of education and not meet the needs of our community," President Gena Proulx said. "We have a growing community. We don't want to be in the position of turning students away. No one likes to see tuition raised, including us, but the state's continuing decrease in support has put us in a difficult place."
Decreased or flat revenues in traditional funding sources, such as state funding and property taxes, combined with increased enrollments, have had an impact on the college's ability to meet student needs. The funding JJC receives from the state has steadily decreased since 1999, from 18.4 percent of the college's operating budget to 10.4 percent of its 2009 operating budget.
Conceptually, the college's budget should be funded in three equal parts by the tuition, the taxpayers and the state. Currently, 51 percent of the college's revenue comes from taxpayers, 38 percent from tuition, and eight percent from the state.
Increased enrollments have ultimately led to a demand for more course offerings and have strained student services areas like financial aid and counseling.
Read more about the college's fiscal plan
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Master Plan Automotive Renovation Renderings Released
The rendering above shows what the automotive area's renovation will look like after it is completed.
Renderings of the Automotive Technology Program area's renovation were presented at the Feb. 2 board meeting.
Representatives from Gilbane and Legat Architects also said that steel would be going up at the Campus Center construction site by the end of the month.
Construction Project Web Cam
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Natural Areas Restoration Continues
Taken on Feb. 5, this photo shows the areas around the J-Building parking lots, which have been involved in planned burns to clear the non-native species growing there. (Photo by Ericka Wellner)
A project that will dramatically alter the look of the Main Campus by restoring its natural areas to their pre-settlement state continues this month.
The three year restoration project, which began in January, received approval at the December Board of Trustees meeting, will ultimately clear out non-native plant species and return 65 acres to their original, pre-1820s state.
"Like the Master Plan, the ecological restoration project is one of campus renewal after decades of neglect," Andy Neill, natural sciences professor, said. "While the initial clearing will be shocking, it will be restored to a much higher quality native plant community that will be absolutely knock-out gorgeous once it starts to become established in three to five years."
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J-Building Parking Changes Starting at end of February
The college will be reconfiguring its north parking lots at the end of February to accommodate construction of the Facility Services building project.
This will affect both staff and student parking in those areas because the new building's location is directly in front of J-Building and extends into faculty/staff lot.
Affected parking spaces in the J-Building faculty/staff lot (North Lot 1) will be relocated along the easternmost rows of the J-Building student parking lot (North Lot 2) and designated as faculty/staff parking Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Signage will be placed in these areas to indicate the change.
These spaces will be open to students and the public after 6 p.m. and on the weekends.
In addition to North Lot 2, student parking is also available in the gravel area north of North Lot 1, in East Lots 1-4, in South Lot 1, and in the center and south sections south of the Faculty/Staff section in South Lot 2.
The college will be constructing a new parking lot on the south side of campus this summer that will create an estimated 340 parking spaces. The lot is scheduled to open for the fall 2010 semester.
"We appreciate everyone's patience during the construction, particularly that of the students who will have many of their spaces relocated," Dr. Proulx said. "Though construction is inconvenient, the end results will be worth it."
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Bottom row: Bette Conkin, Dr. Gena Proulx, Kelly Rogers, Stephanie Braun. Top row: Roxanne Munch, Dr. Betsy Oudenhoven, Dr. Ryan Smith, Susan Klen.
My Experiences at the 2009 AQIP Strategy Forum
By Stephanie Braun, JJC Academic Skills Center Manager
During the fall semester, I was part of a group of JJC employees who attended the 2009 AQIP Strategy Forum in Lisle, Ill.
While I had a general understanding that AQIP, the Academic Quality Improvement Program, was directly related to a number of quality improvement projects on campus, I was grateful for the opportunity to learn more about what this program entailed as well as how it directly impacts JJC and its decision making.
Prior to attending the conference, I read through the November 2008 "AQIP Systems Portfolio." This document provided a nice snapshot of JJC at that time and helped me as a fairly new employee gain a more holistic view of the college.
Not only does it provide statistical data about the college and its various stakeholders, but it also tracks improvement measures JJC has taken in each of AQIP's nine categories which include:
(1) Helping students learn
(2) Accomplishing other distinctive objectives
(3) Understanding students' and other stakeholders' needs
(4) Valuing people
(5) Leading and communicating
(6) Supporting institutional operations
(7) Measuring effectiveness
(8) Planning continuous improvement
(9) Building collaborative relationships
Read more about Braun's experience at AQIP
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Nominate a Member of Your Community for the JJC Service Award
Each year, JJC presents the J. D. Ross Extraordinary Service Award to a member of the community who exemplifies outstanding service to the JJC district.
The J. D. Ross Extraordinary Service Award is the highest honor bestowed by the college. The award has been developed by the JJC Board of Trustees to honor community members who have given outstanding service to Community College District 525.
The 2009 ESA winners were R. Dale Evans Sr. and Mohra Gavankar, both of Joliet.
Nominations for this year's award should be postmarked to the JJC President's Office no later than March 5 at 5 p.m.
Forms are available at www.jjc.edu/info/esa.
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Faculty, Staff Recognition
* Congratulations to Pat Van Duyne, facility services director, who recently received a graduation certificate from the APPA Institute for Facility Management. Van Duyne completed a four-track course of study over the last two years which included core programming in general administration, maintenance and operations, energy and utilities, and planning, design and construction.
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