IMprint - Late Fall 2010

Imprint Johnson County Community College

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Let it rain

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Imprint Imprint at JCCC is published four times a year by Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS 66210-1299; 913-469-8500, fax 913-469-2559.

Imprint at JCCC is produced by College Information and Publications and the Office of Document Services. Imprint is located online at http://www.jccc.edu/Imprint.

Editor: Peggy Graham • Photographer: Bret Gustafson • Designer: Randy Breeden When planning your estate, remember Johnson County Community College. For more information, call the JCCC Foundation at 913-469-3835.

Cover

Faculty

Jay Antle, executive director, JCCC Center for Sustainability, sits at the stormwater treatment site on the southeast corner of campus.

6 Three JCCC faculty LEED the way Ben Perry (left), Jo Randolph and Darla Green have LEED Accredited Professional certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

4 Sustainability reaches a watershed moment JCCC completed its $700,000 green stormwater treatment project on the southeast corner of campus in August.

Sustainability

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JCCC plows Michael Rea finds a new calling in rubbish, a campus farm When the northwest corner of campus waste and compost is plowed to create a vegetable farm Michael Rea began his duties Sept. 7 as JCCC’s first-ever recycling and waste minimization coordinator in the Center for Sustainability.

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this fall, the land will have come full circle after more than 40 years – from farm to suburban landscape back to farm.

Notice of Nondiscrimination – Johnson County Community College does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, sexual orientation or other factors that cannot be lawfully considered in its programs and activities as required by all applicable laws and regulations. Inquiries concerning the college’s compliance with its nondiscrimination policies may be referred to the Dean of Student Services or Director of Human Resources, Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS 66210, 913-469-8500; or to Office for Civil Rights, 8930 Ward Parkway, Suite 2037, Kansas City, MO 64114, 816-268-0550.

JCCC College Scholar

Faculty

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Arjo gives two talks on Western childhood

Student learning is faculty-driven assessment

As a PhD philosopher, Dr. Dennis Arjo can expound upon ethical theory, the philosophy of psychology, Asian philosophy and comparative philosophy. But as JCCC College Scholar, he will talk about something everyone can relate to – child rearing.

Assessment of student learning outcomes is now in the hands of JCCC faculty. Dr. Lori Slavin, co-director, Office of Outcomes Assessment, works in the new office.

Faculty

11 Harvey adds insight to America’s history Dr. Doug Harvey, adjunct associate professor, history, recently authored The Theater of Empire: Frontier Performances in America, 1750-1860.

14 Career Development Center transforms an iceberg into a tornado The Career Development Center is a place to do self-evaluation and explore majors and careers.

Back Cover

JCCC Interpreter program receives accreditation JCCC’s interpreter education program is one of only seven programs in the United States to receive accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education and only one of two community colleges.

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Sustainability reaches a watershed moment Installation of drainage from the “Clock East” parking lot began in March.

its $700,000 green stormwater treatment project on the southeast corner of campus in August, paid for by stimulus money from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and a 20 percent match by the college, including funds from a student green fee.

“This is one of the most ambitious green stormwater projects in the Kansas City metropolitan area,” Antle said. “Our engineers with Burns & McDonnell and lead designer Scott Bingham, landscape architect, Bowman Bowman Novick, are excited about making this a demonstration project for others in the area to look at and emulate.”

The project allows water runoff from 502,500 square feet of impervious parking and driving surfaces to drain to a constructed wetland on the south side of the parking areas.

Before entering the wetland, the stormwater runoff filters through a sequence of treatment systems, planted with native vegetation, designed to treat diverse pollutants – manufactured filtration tanks, bioswales, bioretention cells and a rain garden.

The wetland, incorporating native plants to promote ecological activity and provide habitat for animals and beneficial microbes, will be used for student education and for the community as a recreational and learning environment. Students will test the quality of water as the water goes through the entire system, and an interpretive sign describing the system to the public is in the works.

Two rows of limestone seats are available as an outdoor classroom, and a pervious concrete walkway lines the wetland perimeter.

JCCC completed

“The process both filters the water from pollutants and slows the release of stormwater into the city’s stormwater system,” said Jay Antle, executive director, JCCC Center for Sustainability, who secured funds for the project.

Previously unfiltered rainwater, containing vehicle oil and residue, would go into drains around the four parking lots, enter the city’s stormwater pipes and dump into Indian Creek.

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The wetland is at the site of an old farm pond that was later converted to a detention basin. By expanding the basin’s footprint and adding gravel, topsoil and native plantings adaptable to such conditions, water is allowed to stand under a layer of gravel to avoid the problems of an exposed pool of water and to provide one last cleaning before the water leaves the campus and makes its way to Indian Creek.

A sign identifies the project for the public.

Two rows of limestone seats create an outdoor classroom.

A dry spell leaves the wetland ready for rain.

Native grasses assist in stormwater filtration.

“The project is significant in the metropolitan area by the mere fact of the amount of surface area addressed and by the number of best management practices utilized at a location accessible to the public,” Bingham said.

Agri Drain Corporation donated a series of wick drains, specifically designed so as not to plug with debris, as field-inlets for water. Native and

drought-tolerant plants were custom grown by KAT Nurseries, Olathe.

Depending on funding availability, Antle says the college would like to pursue stormwater treatment projects at other sites.

University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, visit the Center for Sustainability’s website at www.jccc.edu/sustainability.

For a complete list of JCCC’s Center for Sustainability initiatives to reduce JCCC’s carbon footprint, recycle, implement sustainability curriculum and meet the goals of the College and Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

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Faculty

Three JCCC faculty LEED the way Darla Green (left), Ben Perry and Jo Randolph are three faculty who have earned LEED AP certification.

Jo Randolph, adjunct professor, interior design;

Darla Green, assistant professor, interior design; and Ben Perry, adjunct assistant professor, architecture, have LEED Accredited Professional certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and they all consider it the norm – nothing extraordinary. Not that the preparation and test weren’t difficult, but they say being sustainable is intrinsic to their professions.

“My hope is that the LEED rating system becomes the standard for all buildings, instead of something special,” said Green, whose LEED AP is in new construction.

The three incorporate sustainability into their profession and teaching. For them, the essence of sustainability begins in design with space planning, product choice and building orientation, structure and landscaping.

“Green design should fundamentally inform the shape of a building,” said Perry who has an AP BD + C (building design plus construction). “The intent of building design should be saving energy, saving resources, maintaining the health of its occupants and being good stewards of the Earth.”

While interior design offers a one-hour credit Sustainable Design class and Perry devotes a class to methods to design for energy conservation, the three faculty say sustainability is woven throughout their teaching. Every semester, Perry takes students to visit local buildings that promote green architecture.

“I incorporate sustainability teaching into every one of my classes and hit it hardcore in Issues in Interior Design, Interior Textiles, Commercial Design and Space Planning,” Green said.

“I weave sustainability into my class wherever applicable – it’s one of the overarching principles of my Introduction to Architecture class,” Perry said.

According to Randolph, JCCC’s interior design program has been incorporating sustainable design into courses since

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2006. Green says students need to learn how to discuss sustainability with clients and learn how to evaluate products.

“I think students, and most people, are surprised to learn there is no perfect green product. I have students research a product to see whether it’s made from natural or recycled materials, how much fuel and degradation of air quality is used in its transportation, how safe a product is to the consumer – in its installation and maintenance, and what happens to them when you are done with them,” Randolph said.

An issue of importance to all three LEED faculty is “deconstructing” or “repurposing.”

“When you do a redesign, you have to think about what happens to a previously used item,” Randolph said. “Are you going to reuse it, repurpose it or throw it into a landfill?”

Perry, a project manager and director of sustainability at HMN architects, was a consultant on the new Olathe Health Education Center, which is anticipated to be LEED “Silver” certified at its fall 2011 completion. He says the building’s green features can be used as teaching tools for architecture students and the public.

“There are a lot of studies that show the increased cost of building in compliance with LEED standards is minimal if decisions are made early in the design,” Perry said.

Randolph was one of 30 educators selected to attend the Summer Sustainability Institute, Portland Community College. Her idea, echoed by Perry, is an introductory sustainability course that incorporates the expertise of many college disciplines like interior design; architecture; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); engineering and electrical technology.

LEED AP certification requires 30 hours of continuing education credits every two years.

“LEED certification shouldn’t be the possibility; it should be the norm,” Green said.

Michael Rea finds a new calling in rubbish, waste and compost

Sustainability

his duties Sept. 7 as JCCC’s first-ever recycling and waste minimization coordinator in the Center for Sustainability.

Michael Rea began

As coordinator, Rea will be responsible for creating and maintaining a recycling and composting program. He says his first order of business is to assess what is currently being done in those areas and coordinate activities campuswide.

He will also emphasize education through webinars and “green bag” sessions on topics like composting.

“I want people to see this as a position that will save the college money in the long run,” Rea said.

Rea had served as project manager of JCCC’s Ed Tech Center since 2003. In that position he assisted all departments with the design, development, training and technical support for instructional computing projects and technologies for classroom and online instruction; promoted the use of innovative instructional strategies; and provided primary support and training for JCCC’s learning management system to foster high-quality standards for online courses.

Committed to sustainability and on his own initiative, he proactively researched trends in sustainability and related government regulations and attended the 2009 Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education workshops. In summer 2010, he coordinated the recycling of 12 tons of paper, more than two tons of books and more than $5,000 worth of repurposed office supplies at JCCC. Before coming to the college, Rea had worked as multimedia developer, Muller + Co. Advertising; Web designer, Burns & McDonnell Engineering; and graphic designer, JE Dunn Construction. He earned a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism and advertising from the University of Kansas.

Michael Rea has the goal of a greener campus.

JCCC president Dr. Terry A. Calaway signed the College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in March 2008. In January 2009, JCCC established a Center for Sustainability and named Dr. Jay Antle as its executive director, setting goals to reduce the college’s carbon footprint, incorporate sustainability into the curriculum and become a regional leader in green-collar credit classes and workforce development training.

Most immediately, Rea wants to survey employees and students about their sustainability values, look at purchasing practices regarding items like Styrofoam and recycled paper, hire students to recycle cardboard at the Warehouse and transfer compost from Dining Services to application sites, create a website and establish “eco” reps in each building to respond to issues like full recycle containers and energy waste from lights or computers left on in vacant locations.

“I want people to call me or e-mail me whenever they have a concern about recycling or energy conservation,” Rea said.

Rea’s office is CC 305. You can contact him at mrea@jccc.edu or 913-469-3550.

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Sustainability

JCCC plows a campus farm Mike Ryan is the new campus farm and community outreach manager.

When the northwest corner of campus is

plowed to create a vegetable farm this fall, the land will have come full circle after more than 40 years – from farm to suburban landscape back to farm.

Mike Ryan began his duties as the campus farm and community outreach manager on Aug. 17, overseeing what will eventually be a two-and-a-half acre, four-season vegetable farm in support of the sustainable agriculture entrepreneurship certificate program, hospitality management program and the community.

Students in the sustainable agriculture entrepreneurship certificate program are required to complete three semesters of a practicum learning a broad range of tasks facing the market farmer – planning, planting, harvesting, delivering, marketing, selling and bookkeeping. Previously students completed their practicums at the Kansas State University Research and Extension Center in west Olathe, miles from the program’s classes offered at the main JCCC campus or Lawrence.

“Hopefully, having the vegetable farm on campus will be more convenient for students,” Ryan said.

Ryan, who helped to develop the KSU/JCCC student farm

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Sustainable agriculture entrepreneurship students prepare to plant fall vegetables in a temporary location south of the Horticultural Science Center as part of their practicum.

Stu Shafer, professor and chair, sociology, teaches a class on sustainability in the Horticultural Science Center.

site and sustainable agriculture campus produce market, is working with Stu Shafer, professor and chair, sociology, who teaches sustainable agriculture classes, and students to plant one acre of land south of the Horticulture Science Center this fall with garlic, onion seed, spinach, leafy greens and cover crop plants that will be used to enrich the soil. Fall practicum students are also moving a high tunnel from the KSU Extension Center to JCCC. “It is neat to see the students’ enthusiasm in their realization that the campus farm is a new operation and they are on the ground floor,” Ryan said.

Eventually, Ryan wants to see the farm become a four-season operation with crops available to JCCC’s Dining Services and to faculty, staff and the general public through a farmers’ market.

“We are hoping to expand our weekly farmers’ market sale, providing volume

allows,” Ryan said. “The market gives our students the experience of marketing produce and also provides people on campus with access to locally grown reputable food.”

Ryan also foresees the farm as a community outreach site for people interested in the local food movement to try different growing methods and for school districts interested in farmto-school lunches, a movement he has volunteered with in Lawrence. Ryan also has been involved in composting efforts with the KSU/JCCC farm and JCCC dining services.

Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Kansas and a sustainable agriculture entrepreneurship certificate from JCCC. “I would like to see the college establish a small local food community where consumers are face-to-face with the people who grow their food,” Ryan said.

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JCCC College Scholar

Arjo gives talks on Western childhood Dr. Dennis Arjo can expound upon ethical theory, the philosophy of psychology, Asian philosophy and comparative philosophy. But as JCCC College Scholar, he will talk about something everyone can relate to – child rearing.

As a PhD philosopher,

Arjo, professor and chair of philosophy and religion, JCCC, will give two presentations that are free and open to the public.

■ From Little Brutes to Equal Partners: A Philosophical History of Western Childhood will be from 7 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 3, in the Hudson Auditorium of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, JCCC. A reception precedes the lecture at 6:30 p.m. in RC 270.

■ The Politics of Moral Development will be from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, Nov. 4, in Hudson Auditorium.

In his evening presentation Arjo talks about the changes from ancient Greek philosophers who had no qualms in asserting that children come into the world in desperate need of civilizing to modern ideas about children as morally admirable. In particular, he looks at how today’s ideals of children’s equality and autonomy have led to profound changes in the process of education.

“While there can be no doubt that these changes have produced enormous benefits and much more humane methods of education and child rearing, they have also left us with a bundle of conceptual quandaries we are still trying to sort out, a state of affairs that does much to explain the continued anxiety stirred by matters of child rearing,” Arjo said.

The daytime presentation will examine psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg’s theories about children’s behavior, heatedly debated in the 1960s and 1970s, that pit “conservative” methods of teaching right and wrong with more permissive strategies allowing children to “think for themselves.”

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Looking back to the Greeks, Dr. Dennis Arjo will discuss child rearing practices as the November JCCC College Scholar.

“Kohlberg argued that neither approach provides a moral education that would produce freethinking but morally informed citizens capable of thriving in a diverse, modern democracy,” Arjo said. “Rather, Kohlberg took a middle road that has proved to be deeply influential, such as the everpopular stress on ‘critical thinking.’”

Arjo also will present a seminar, Education in a Morally Diverse Society: Some Dilemmas, for faculty and staff from 3 to 4 p.m. Nov. 8 in room 144 of the Regnier Center. He will place the two themes of his public lectures in the context of JCCC, looking at how philosophers and educational theorists sort through the question of how to teach controversial topics in a way that respects the rights and opinions of students holding a wide variety of beliefs and values.

Arjo received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of California at Santa Barbara. His dissertation was The Very Idea of a Naturalized Semantics. His main interests are in philosophy of mind, comparative philosophy and philosophical moral psychology. He has numerous publications and presentations on a wide variety of topics ranging from Confucianism and Our Duties to Animals to What Darwin Doesn’t Tell Us about Morality.

For more information about these presentations, contact Arjo at darjo@jccc.edu. For more information about the JCCC College Scholars program, contact Karen Martley, director, Staff and Organizational Development, 913-469-8500, ext. 3467.

Harvey adds insight to America’s history

Faculty

Dr. Doug Harvey, adjunct associate professor,

history, recently had his book, The Theater of Empire: Frontier Performances in America, 1750-1860, published by Pickering & Chatto Publishers, London. The Theater of Empire looks at how the new American Republic adapted an attitude of imperial expansionism as it crossed the Appalachians appropriating land and resources. Based on an assumption of Anglo-Saxon supremacy, English-speaking people in the new nation saw it as “good and right” to displace Indians and enslave blacks.

Harvey’s book contends that theater – the stock theater plays of the day, including blackface minstrels and so-called “redface” performances (whites caricaturing blacks and Indians onstage), worked as propaganda to shape public opinion.

“I have always had an interest in mythology and assumptions, things we believe and we don’t even know why. That is what got me interested in writing this book,” Harvey said. “One of the assumptions among the general population of the new republic was that America should expand.”

Harvey first introduced his study of colonial and early American theater in his dissertation at the University of Kansas. His 2010 book, however, adds materials about Native American and African-American performances, providing an enlightening comparison of entertainment from the same time period.

“It contrasts the indigenous performances of sustainable cultures with the land hunger and exploitation of a colonial culture,” Harvey said.

Sitting in his JCCC office, Harvey says that 1760-1860 American theater played the same role as 21st century radio and television does today in support of U.S. military presence in foreign countries.

“The U.S. has something like 700 military and diplomatic missions in more than 100 countries. That’s an empire. The media fosters the idea of empire today like theater did in the past.”

Being a writer is Harvey’s calling. But that is only one of his areas of expertise.

Dr. Doug Harvey is a writer, teacher, historian and musician.

Harvey worked in construction until age 32 when he began studies at Missouri State University, earning a double major in music and history in 1995. He received a master’s degree in history from Wichita State University, where his thesis was a history of the Cheyenne Bottoms wildlife area. For his doctorate at KU, he turned from environmental to cultural history and explored the expansion of the American frontier – a period traditionally dealt with by political, economic and military historians.

Harvey maintains his interest in music and is a founding member of the band Rowan, a Celtic and world music trio based in Lawrence for 12 years.

As an adjunct in JCCC U.S. history classes for more than five years and a lecturer at KU, Harvey says he has found balance in his life teaching, enjoying music and writing. He is currently working on three major projects – a historical monograph of the Whiskey Rebellion illustrated by two bande dessinée (French cartoons) artists, a screenplay version of the Whiskey Rebellion and a biography of Sol Smith, an itinerant theater manager, actor and lawyer based in St. Louis who traveled in the Trans-Appalachian West from 1815-1868.

Harvey is a true interdisciplinarian whose writing and teaching cuts across history, anthropology and performance.

“In the classroom, I try to present history from many points of view.”

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Faculty

Dr. Lori Slavin and Brenda Edmonds are the co-directors of JCCC’s Office of Outcomes Assessment.

Student learning is faculty-driven assessment Maybe not a culture shock, but definitely

a culture change – assessment of student learning outcomes is now in the hands of JCCC faculty. On Aug. 1, Brenda Edmonds, associate professor, mathematics, and Dr. Lori Slavin, associate professor, science, became the co-directors of JCCC’s first-ever Office of Outcomes Assessment, located in room 204A of the Office and Classroom Building.

The major goal of outcomes assessment is to improve student learning outcomes. These eight campuswide outcomes (see sidebar) are not related to specific class content, but broad goals related to higher education. To that end, all faculty are being encouraged to identify at least one of the eight student learning outcomes to assess.

“We have to do some kind of evaluation to demonstrate that students are learning the things we are attempting to teach,” Edmonds said. “The main role of this office is to encourage and assist faculty with assessment project initiatives and to

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form a collection point for data so people can use it.”

“We are looking to improve student success and curriculum.

It’s not faculty evaluation,” Slavin said. “The data is collected and analyzed by the faculty. The assessment process allows us to see what is working in the classroom and what is not.”

The directors say most faculty are already collecting data regarding at least one of the student learning outcomes using assessment embedded in common assignments, portfolios, performances, capstone experiences and commercial tests such as those purchased from the Educational Testing Service or American College Testing.

What’s been missing in the student learning outcomes assessment cycle has been collation of the data, faculty discussion of the data and action – the pieces needed to implement improvement strategies.

In 2010-2011, the office will determine the best way to archive data, establish an Office of Outcomes Assessment

Faculty attend a Brown Bag Brownie Break in September.

website and award up to 20 $500 mini grants to faculty for resources needed toward assessment such as equipment, software or books.

Slavin and Edmonds will serve as codirectors for a year as well as teach half time. They say the grant money and faculty-release time indicate the administration’s support for the facultydriven assessment.

A large focus of the co-directors’ efforts is outreach to increase awareness and participation. They have scheduled Brown Bag Brownie Breaks with a featured speaker or panel at 2 p.m. the first Thursday of each month providing soda and brownies; informal coffee breaks to facilitate discussion of successful strategies at 2 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month at javajazz providing coffee; and a newsletter eight times a year highlighting faculty who have participated in assessment and how those results have helped them.

Slavin, Edmonds and the eight members of the assessment council are willing to provide information and resources at Professional Development Days or individual class, course or program training sessions. They even have a template to kick-start planning.

Collection of data on a population of students and curriculum modifications are left up to the individual departments, divisions or programs.

“We have not encountered anyone who has gone through the assessment process who hasn’t learned something beneficial regarding their students’ learning,” Slavin said.

And that’s why assessment is not a once-and-done process. The directors say it is a continuous cycle of inquiry, assessment and improvement with eight guiding principles. And No. 1 on the list of those principles is “Assessment is a vehicle for improvement of student learning, not an end in itself.”

At the course, program and institutional level, JCCC is committed to cultivate in students the following student learning outcomes:

1. Access and evaluate information from credible sources

2. Collaborate respectfully with others 3. Communicate effectively through the clear and accurate use of language

4. Demonstrate an understanding of the broad diversity of the human experience and individual’s place in society

5. Process numeric, symbolic and graphic information

6. Read, analyze and synthesize written and visual material

7. Select and apply appropriate problem-solving techniques

8. Use technology efficiently and responsibly

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New Center

Career Development Center transforms an iceberg into a tornado Renee Arnett directs the Career Development Center on the second floor of the Student Center.

The Career Development Center was formerly

the last place a student stopped when leaving JCCC – a place to look for a job, write a résumé and practice an interview. Now, the Center is one of the first places a college student needs to visit – a place to do self-evaluation, explore majors and explore careers.

Formerly called Career Services, the Career Development Center, located in SC 252, opened under its new name in fall 2010 with an official open house planned the week of Nov. 15, National Career Development Week. Changes to the Center were implemented as the result of a career services summit involving 20 members from across campus in fall 2009.

Renee Arnett, director/career counselor of the Career Development Center, uses meteorological metaphors to summarize the Center’s shift in focus.

“Before the Center was an iceberg with only the jobs portion visible above the water, and underneath was the career development piece,” Arnett said. “Now I see the Center as a tornado where the open end of the funnel cloud is where the career planning process begins. As an individual goes through the process of learning more about themselves, looking at college majors and educational programs and participating in volunteer work and clubs, the process starts to funnel down into a decision about a job.”

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Arnett says the Center was formerly “enabling” students instead of teaching them skills to navigate a lifelong career planning process.

“Statistics indicate that during a lifetime, an individual will have two to three careers, five to seven career transitions and 10 to 12 jobs. You can’t make a decision and be set for life.

The process is ongoing,” Arnett said.

So the summit set the goal of teaching skills to decide on a college major, research and select a career, and learn how to find a job. The top priorities in 2010-2011 are reaching undecided students, developing relationships with liberal arts faculty and initiating outreach across campus. The Center serves students, alumni, prospective students, faculty and staff.

In spring 2009, 12 of the center’s staff went through 13 weeks of intensive career development facilitator training taught by the University of Wisconsin-Madison to become eligible as credentialed career development facilitators.

The transformed center is turning its website into a virtual front door where students can be guided through the career decision-making process. The center offers fee-based formal assessments (like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Profile) and many free informal assessments. Since January 2009, the center has tripled the number of offerings of its no-cost Choices Workshop offered to college or high school

This fall, Ron Frigault, counselor, Counseling Center, taught a Career and Life Planning class in the Career Development Center, where students could learn about its many resources.

second-semester juniors or seniors between ages 17 to 35 as a starting point for decisions about college majors and careers.

“Sometimes students come in and say, ‘I want to take that test that tells me what I should do, what I should be.’

There is no such test,” Arnett said.

“These tests give basic information about interests, personality, values, skills and strengths.”

JCCC data has shown that as many as 66.6 percent of students are in some phase of “deciding about a college major or career goal” and could benefit from career development intervention.

A sense of direction about majors and careers increases students’ retention and achievement, according to Arnett.

The website also directs students to 20 CareerSpots videos, five-minute videos that give tips on topics from interview mistakes to the perils of social networking. For the last three years, the former Academics Major Fair, showcasing college majors and transfer schools, has been part of the fall

Campus Kickoff in order to integrate the entire college experience.

“Our career counselors are not going to wait in their offices for students,” Arnett said. “We are going to make intentional connections through Campus Center workshops and collaboration with our peers across campus.”

The Career Development Center is open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Friday, on the second floor of the Student Center.

Contact the Center at www.jccc.edu/careerdevelopmentcenter or 913-469-3870.

At the end of the funnel cloud is the job decision. Students can visit the Career Development Center to learn job-search skills, explore job listings, meet with on-campus recruiters, research internships, receive a résumé critique and schedule a mock interview.

“Students who are witnessing the increase in unemployment are much more aware of how important it is to succeed with their career goals,” Arnett said. “We’re seeing more students who are determined to go to school and find a career that has longevity and one that satisfies their interests, values and supports the use of their natural talents.”

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JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE 12345 COLLEGE BLVD OVERLAND PARK KS 66210-1299

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Johnson County Community College

JCCC interpreter program receives accreditation JCCC’s interpreter education program is one of

only seven programs in the United States to receive accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education and one of only two community colleges.

Accreditation represents a distinguished accomplishment for the JCCC program and for Kansas. JCCC has the only interpreter education program in the state. JCCC’s program was one of the first in the country when it was established in 1980 with funding from a federal grant. JCCC accepts up to 30 students to its interpreter education program by selective admission each year. JCCC’s American Sign Language/English program is known for its high caliber of training, including a practicum of 270 field hours, and its outstanding faculty, which include three full-time deaf instructors, one full-time hearing instructor and a diverse team of eight adjunct instructors.

Accreditation by the CCIE was formalized in 2006. As of now, students with an associate’s degree can sit for the National Interpreter Certification performance exam. As of 2012, students will be required to have a bachelor’s degree to sit for the exam.

“Interpreter education has been an emerging field,” said Stacey Storme, associate professor and co-chair, interpreter education.

“There is a real misconception about interpreter education.

There is more to it than teaching sign language. Professionals have to be able to serve a diverse population in a variety of settings across a broad range of fields.”

Like the speaker of any language, Storme points out that

Darryl Luton (shown here) says the CCIE accreditation ensures the high quality of JCCC’s program.

people must be almost bilingual before they start to translate.

In addition to language skills, Darryl Luton, professor and co-chair, interpreter education, says that quality interpreters must have strong personalities, follow a code of ethics, know personal boundaries, be able to process information rapidly, remain unbiased, make good decisions in unexpected situations employing a demand-control schema and be good with people.

“We deal with people in very intimate settings from birth to job interviews to hospital visits,” Storme said.