Imprint Johnson County Community College
Late
Spring
2011
Patient Care
Contents
Imprint Imprint at JCCC is published five 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
Workshop
Jeanne Walsh, RN, MSN, is the director of nursing at JCCC and is serving her second four-year term on the Kansas State Board of Nursing, currently as board president. She continues to implement methods to improve the performance of RNs – from current students to entry-level nurses to nurses returning for the RN Refresher Academy.
4 Walsh combines knowledge, compassion
6 Gap helps students style their futures Marsha Chesmore, district manager, Gap, (right) and Annie Merrifield, general manager, Lawrence Gap store, led workshops, part of the White House community college initiative, Skills for America’s Future.
Jeanne Walsh, director, nursing, has headed JCCC’s nursing program for almost 22 years. She has been a registered nurse for 40 years. Caring is the essence of both.
Math
Art
Math
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Learning and art combine in sculpture
Summit helps solve math problems
Actress is ‘proof’ that girls do math
When Bhaswati Ray, a member of Kansas City Bengali Association, needed a Saraswati sculpture for an annual Saraswati puja celebration, karma led her to associate professor Laura-Harris Gascogne, ceramics coordinator.
The Eastern Kansas Math Education Summit scheduled July 14 and 15 at JCCC will bring middle-school through university-level math teachers together to talk about the vertical integration of math courses.
Danica McKellar, best known as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years and Elsie Snuffin on The West Wing, has authored three books about the mastery of math in an effort to reach young people.
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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.
Students
10 Students change lives, one dress at a time This year JCCC’s fashion merchandising and design students combined expertise and philanthropy to sew cotton dresses for Little Dresses for Africa, a nonprofit organization that distributes simple dresses through the orphanages, churches and schools in that underdeveloped continent.
Faculty
11 Norwood in book Lafayette Norwood joined the staff at JCCC in 1982, spending nine years as head basketball coach and 19 as golf coach. He has guided some of the best teams and top athletes in both programs’ history, but Norwood’s coaching legend came to light in Acrophobia 1977 written by Mark Nale.
Art
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Sustainability
15 Class from trash Five students in Mark Cowardin’s Sculpture II class had their works selected for display on campus May-October in the first-ever Student Sustainability Committee sculpture competition. Themes for the public art center on recycled materials or sustainability issues, according to Sarah Carpenter, SSC co-chair.
Reda Carr found the paper for her Spirit Tree at a swap meet.
New Program
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Kent Smith is HITECH fills passionate about art – industry need In March, 20 students completed the day and night pilot class of JCCC’s Health Information Kent Smith is the coordinator of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, where he oversees the museum store, guard staff and day-to-day operations of the facility and assists with installations campuswide. That’s his day job, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) program, part of an initiative to develop a national health information network that provides secure exchange of information among health providers.
Back Cover
JCCC graduations scheduled Johnson County Community College will have commencement exercises at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, in the JCCC Gymnasium. GED graduation is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, in the JCCC Gymnasium.
After family time in the evening, Smith has another job, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., the job of studio artist. Late Spring 2011 | Imprint
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Walsh combines knowledge, compassion
Jeanne Walsh makes a point with Dr. Terry Calaway at the spring semester Nursing Advisory Committee meeting.
Jeanne Walsh, director, nursing, has headed
JCCC’s nursing program for almost 22 years. She has been a registered nurse for 40 years. Caring is the essence of both. “Jeanne exudes compassion,” said Rachel Fleming, RN, JCCC graduate and telemetry nurse at St. Luke’s South Hospital. “Just seeing her is a constant reminder of how we are supposed to be as nurses.” When Walsh started her nursing career, she had two passions – taking care of high-risk neonates and neurosurgery patients. As she continued her academic track through a master’s degree in nursing, she was on a parallel rise as a supervisory nurse and educator. Finally, she had to decide which path to follow. “As people wanted me to take more supervisory roles in nursing, I felt like I was being pulled away from patient contact. I found that education was a great mix for me. I could teach students but still had time individually with patients,” she said. Walsh left her home state of Illinois and started the nursing program at Pratt Community College 1982-87. She became an assistant professor of nursing at Wichita State University and started at JCCC in July 1989, following in the footsteps of Dr. Mary Lou Taylor. “Our nursing program has a strong, proud heritage,” Walsh said. “One of its cornerstones was to build a strong program so students would get jobs based on the school’s reputation. We still have that commitment.”
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JCCC’s nursing program admits 64 students each year. More than 300 students apply each January. Based on academic qualifications, approximately 110 are interviewed by faculty and ranked by academics, interview scores and county residency. The graduation rate is high with an attrition rate of 10 percent or less, usually due to a life circumstance like a spouse moving or birth of a new baby. There are 17 full-time nursing faculty and between eight to 10 part-time faculty. “The faculty speak to the quality of this program,” Walsh said. “They are outstanding practitioners with years of patient-contact experience.” Another testament to the JCCC nursing program is its number of clinical affiliations. There are 40 nursing schools that compete for clinical sites in the metropolitan area. JCCC has close to 35 to 40 clinical sites, counting community agencies like Don Bosco Centers. “To get a clinical spot is very competitive. The better reputation of the program and the higher quality of our students and faculty contribute toward our program being invited back to a clinical site,” Walsh said. Walsh believes she took the correct fork in the road – nursing education. “If one student a year graduates with a commitment and love of the profession, that one nurse is going to touch the lives of so many people. In turn, those people are going to reach many more. The influence of a nurse is exponential.”
JCCC graduates are staff nurses and managers in hospitals across the metro. “Just being around Jeanne reinforced the idea that nursing was the right path for me,” said Jimmy Greenlee, RN, cardiac floor, Olathe Medical Center. “She is one of those people who makes you want to be better as a nurse and as a person.” Approximately 65 to 70 percent of JCCC graduates continue toward a BSN or higher degree. Some have been accepted into a streamlined program of RN to MSN. Because JCCC’s program is rooted in evidence-based nursing, Walsh says JCCC students have no difficulty continuing their education. Recent milestones are significant for JCCC’s nursing program. (See sidebar.) Walsh is serving her second four-year term on the Kansas State Board of Nursing, an appointment made by the Kansas governor. Currently, she is board president. At that level, she has been made aware of issues that face nursing nationwide. She has goals for JCCC’s nursing program to help with some of those. n One is to implement better ways to evaluate RNs through exams and performance, not just at graduation but as nurses begin entry-level jobs. Walsh wants to ensure national standards for hands-on and criticalthinking skills. With JCCC’s resources, its program could be a leader. n Reach out to students from any nursing program who have failed their NCLEX-RN exams, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing licensure exam. In the metro area, only private companies offer those studies. n Create an emergency medical science-to-RN bridge so paramedics can move directly into JCCC’s RN program for dual degrees. With more than two decades of dedication, Walsh continues to focus on making the JCCC nursing program as strong as it needs to be. “Jeanne’s leadership here at JCCC over the past 22 years has had a direct and profound effect on the growth and success of our nursing program. Her reputation in the community, as well as
Jeanne Walsh shares a moment and a hug with Keri Phillips at a civic honors reception in May 2008.
her leadership at the state level serving as president of the State Board of Nursing, has led to the subsequent high reputation of our nursing program,” said Karen LaMartina, associate professor, nursing.
Recent Milestones 1998 Nursing faculty and students participate in first service-learning project in Las Pintas, Mexico, continued annually twice a year. 2005 RN Refresher Academy begins, allowing RNs to re-enter the workplace. 2005 St. Luke’s South and JCCC job partner so that one position is half-time faculty, half-time staff nurse. 2006 OneKC Wired (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) three-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Labor helps fund salaries for RN Refresher Academy faculty.
2008 Healthcare Simulation Center opens. 2009 Application of electronic medical records is implemented in the Healthcare Simulation Center to better prepare graduates. 2010 One faculty nurse helps develop HITECH curriculum and one teaches, as part of the health information technology workforce training funded by federal stimulus monies. 2010 OneKC Wired $90,700 grant allows RN Refresher Academy to expand. 2011 Two JCCC nursing faculty participate in exchange with the nursing school, Lacor Hospital, Uganda. 2011 Program chosen to participate in NCSBN’s The National Simulation Study.
2006 Kansas Board of Regents 10-year $2 million grant enables JCCC to train more nurses. Late Spring 2011 | Imprint
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Workshop
Gap helps students style their futures Marsha Chesmore (right), district manager, Gap, addressed JCCC students during a Gap for Community Colleges workshop. Annie Merrifield (left), general manager, Lawrence Gap store, also spoke.
Eleven JCCC students attended the first of
three Gap for Community Colleges workshops held this spring in JCCC’s Campus Center. Marsha Chesmore, district manager, Gap, and Annie Merrifield, general manager, Lawrence Gap store, led the workshops, part of the White House community college initiative, Skills for America’s Future. The majority of the workshop participants were students in Cathy Lykens’ Fashion Seminar: Career Options, whose class objectives dovetail exactly with Gap’s goals – defining career goals and strategies for success in the workplace. In their introductory remarks, students shared a single purpose for participating in the workshops – finding a good job in the fashion industry. Gap, a national retail chain, was one of six charter companies to initiate Skills for America’s Future, an industryled initiative to improve industry partnerships with community colleges and build a nationwide network to maximize workforce development strategies, job training program and job placement. Gap chose to partner with students at seven community colleges across the country. According to LeAnn Cunningham, employment relations/ internship coordinator, JCCC’s Career Development Center, who helped coordinate the workshops, JCCC was chosen because of its outstanding fashion merchandising and design program, chaired by Joan McCrillis Lafferty.
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“Hearing the need for workplace skills from people in the industry adds an extra level of credibility,” McCrillis Lafferty said. “Plus the students receive current information on what it takes to get a job in the 2011 job market.” The three Gap workshops covered job search preparation skills, such as interview skills and résumé writing; communicating effectively; and time management. Students also had the opportunity to take advantage of individual mock job interviews and on-the-job experience shadowing a Gap manager for a day. In addition to providing tailored workshops, Gap is offering 10 $1,000 scholarships to qualified JCCC students and job placement opportunities. Nationwide, Gap expects to hire up to 1,200 community college students in 2011. Fashion merchandising and design students are not the only ones to benefit from the workshops. Cunningham said the skills transfer to students in business, communication and marketing. Workshops are open to all JCCC students. “This partnership gives students the opportunity to learn from real-world experience,” Cunningham said. “It is a unique opportunity to have a business offer this kind of workshop on campus.” A series of three Gap workshops will be offered again in the fall 2011 semester. For more information about fall workshops, contact Cunningham at 913-469-3598 or lcunningham06@jccc.edu.
Faculty
Learning and art combine in sculpture Laura-Harris Gascogne and Bhaswati Ray are shown here with Gascogne’s sculpture of Saraswati, a gift to the Kansas City Bengali Association.
In the Hindu religion, Saraswati is the goddess
of art, learning and culture. Beautiful and wise, Saraswati is honored every year on the fifth day of the Indian month Magha, which occurred Feb. 8 in 2011. When Bhaswati Ray, a member of Kansas City Bengali Association, needed a Saraswati sculpture for an annual Saraswati puja celebration, karma led her to the JCCC fine arts department. Associate professor Laura-Harris Gascogne, ceramics coordinator, has had a longtime interest in Hindu sculpture and visited Hindu temples in India after completing her MFA in ceramics at Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Ray made her request right before the 2010 winter break, and Gascogne was up for the challenge. “I said I could do it,” Gascogne said. “The challenge with a clay sculpture is that it has to be hollow and has to be built in parts. A piece takes a couple of weeks to dry and two weeks to fire. It was a daunting task to pull it off without a glitch under the time constraints.” So Gascogne spent the winter break working between home and the cold JCCC ceramics studio, completing a piece that was more than 27 inches tall prior to firing. Members of the
Bengali community critiqued the sculpture before the second firing, asking for modifications to the face, pigment and feet. The piece went through an initial bisque firing and a second firing with a stained surface. “I was honored to do this,” Gascogne said. “It was humbling to me, a non-Hindu, to be trusted by this community to make an acceptable Saraswati.” During Saraswati puja, Gascogne was asked to be part of the ceremony at the Hindu temple, where Brahman priests blessed the statue. “At that point, they told me the piece of art was transformed into a goddess,” the artist said. In India, the required Saraswati sculpture is made of local unfired terracotta clay. Following the celebration, the sculptures are dissolved into the Ganges symbolizing the free flow of wisdom. Gascogne is not sure what use the Kansas City Bengali Association will make of the goddess she created. “It’s a gift. To Ray and myself, this whole process represents a bridging of East and West through a mutual interest in arts and culture. We both feel fortunate that JCCC served as a platform for this community effort,” Gascogne said.
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Math
Summit helps solve math problems Chelsea Morland writes a math equation while David Bedford and Jason Schulteis look on. The three are part of a Calculus III study group in the Math Resource Center.
Math equations are neat and tidy. There is one right answer. Not so in math education.
The Eastern Kansas Math Education Summit scheduled July 14 and 15 at JCCC will bring middle-school through universitylevel math teachers together to talk about the vertical integration of math courses. The four topics of the summit are: n What We Teach n How We Teach n Business and Industry Expectations n Supporting Teachers in the Field On July 14, Maria Andersen, math instructor, Muskegon Community College, and CEO of Andersen Algebra Consulting LLC, an educational consulting business, will be the keynote speaker. Considered a “learning futurist,” Andersen speaks nationally on methods to measure teaching and learning in math and publishes articles on teaching college math, especially with the use of technology. On July 15, a panel of business people will discuss the math skills required in the workplace, not necessarily the same skills as those assessed on standardized tests. Community conversations and breakout sessions are planned for both days. This is the first Eastern Kansas Math Education Summit. It is sponsored by the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Kansas City Kansas Community College and JCCC. The community colleges are promoting the summit to school districts in Wyandotte, Leavenworth and Johnson counties.
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As private foundations like the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Charles A. Dana Center, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have provided research to benchmark the skills students need for success in postsecondary education and the workplace, changes are occurring in high school, college and university curricula. “An assumption we make in this report is that substantive improvements in mathematics learning will not occur unless we can succeed in transforming the way mathematics is taught,” said authors commissioned by Carnegie to investigate what community college developmental mathematics students understand about mathematics and how to turn around the alarming statistics that show that an enormous number of those students drop out of college because they aren’t successful in math courses. “It’s a good time for math educators to talk,” said Jeff Frost, dean, mathematics, JCCC. “Teachers are aware of the problems and looking for help.” The summit will be in the Capitol Federal Conference Center of the Regnier Center, and its surrounding classrooms. Participants will receive a free one-year membership in Kansas Association of Teachers of Mathematics. Professional development credits are available, and graduate credit will be offered through KU. Cost is $100, which includes a ticket to Danica McKellar (see story page 9). For more information about the summit, contact Frost at jfrost@jccc.edu or 913-469-3104. Register under “conferences and workshops” at Shop JCCC, www.jccc.edu/shop-jccc.
Actress is ‘proof’ that girls do math
Math
Danica McKellar will speak July 15 in conjunction with the Eastern Kansas Math Education Summit.
If mathematics needed a high-profile
spokesperson, the solution came in Danica McKellar, actress, best-selling author and advocate for math education. McKellar, best known as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years and Elsie Snuffin on The West Wing, has authored three books about the mastery of math in an effort to reach young people. McKellar will be the star power behind the Eastern Kansas Math Education Summit held July 14-15 at Johnson County Community College, co-sponsored by Kansas City Kansas Community College, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas. McKellar will give a presentation at 6 p.m. Friday, July 15, in Yardley Hall of the Carlsen Center, JCCC. McKellar’s appearance is supported in part by the Norman and Elaine Polsky Family Supporting Foundation and JCCC’s Polsky Practical Enrichment Series. A summa cum laude graduate of University of California, Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, McKellar has been honored in Britain’s esteemed Journal of Physics and the New York Times for her work in mathematics, most notably for her role as co-author of a groundbreaking mathematical physics theorem which bears her name (The Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem).
parents how to master many of the tough math concepts introduced in middle school – the time when young girls begin to shy away from math. Next came Kiss My Math (2008) followed by the recent Hot X: Algebra Exposed! (2010). Her work in math was honored by an invitation to speak before a subcommittee of Congress about the importance of women in math and science in 2000. Her testimony to the science subcommittee on technology addressed the sociological factors contributing to women’s deficiency in mathematics. Hard core mathematicians can see McKellar’s published proof, Percolation and Gibbs states multiplicity for ferromagnetic Ashkin–Teller models on Z2, at http://danicamckellar.com/math/percolation.pdf. McKellar continues to enjoy her acting career with a guest appearance in CBS’s The Big Bang Theory and a recurring role in How I Met Your Mother in the role of “Trudy.” McKellar’s presentation is the culmination of a two-day Eastern Kansas Math Education Summit targeting math educators – middle school through university. Limited tickets to hear McKellar are available for $10 by calling the JCCC box office, 913-469-4445.
Her first best-selling book, Math Doesn’t Suck (2007), uses entertaining examples to teach middle-school girls and their Late Spring 2011 | Imprint
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Students
Students change lives, one dress at a time (left to right) Ramya Baker, Samantha Rhodes, Emani Baker and Ione Garrison model Little Dresses for Africa at Flaunt, the annual Fashion Merchandising and Design show.
Every female can tell you how good she feels in a
new dress. And if you are a little girl in Africa, a new dress brings more than a good feeling – it brings hope and self-esteem.
This year JCCC’s fashion merchandising and design students combined expertise and philanthropy to sew cotton dresses for Little Dresses for Africa, a nonprofit organization that distributes simple dresses through the orphanages, churches and schools in that underdeveloped continent. JCCC’s dresses are destined for Malawi, according to Nicole Mack, JCCC fashion design student who brought the idea of the Little Dresses for Africa to the attention of the fashion design and merchandising club. The club organized the project and enlisted students and faculty in the program. “I was thrilled everybody was so enthusiastic about the cause,” Mack said. “So often people send used or cast-off clothes to poor countries. With our help, girls will get brand new dresses.” The website for the organization includes a pattern on how to make dresses out of pillowcases. But since these dresses are made by fashion students, they took a few liberties with the pattern, using fun prints and colorful bows. “It was easy to involve student volunteers,” said Natalie Kelley,
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fashion design and merchandising club president. “We used cute fabrics that would be attractive to young girls and embellished the dresses with ruffles and trims.” “This nonprofit organization is a perfect match for the fashion merchandising and design program,” said Joan McCrillis Lafferty, chair/professor of the program. “We love bright colors, fabrics and little people, and we can sew. Our goal is to have 50 dresses and boys’ pants ready to send by the end of the semester. For fall 2011, we will incorporate the construction of these dresses and pants into the curriculum for Apparel Construction I.” Every designer who had a line of clothes in the annual fashion show included one of their sundresses. “I am very pleased with the number of students who made dresses,” Kelley said. “If we continue this project, it has the potential to grow each year.” And what about the girls in Malawi who receive the dresses? “We hope the bright cheery colors will make their day,” Kelley said. Among the glitz and the glamour of the fashion show, the simple sundresses made a statement about good wishes for children who need the basics of clothing.
Norwood touted for heights, old and new
Coach
has mentored many outstanding teams and individual athletes since joining the coaching profession in 1957 when he took over the Wichita Biddy Basketball team. He joined the staff at JCCC in 1982, spending nine years as head basketball coach and 19 as golf coach. He has guided some of the best teams and top athletes in both programs’ history. And now Norwood’s coaching legend comes to light in a book, Acrophobia 1977, written by Mark Nale.
Lafayette Norwood
In 1969, Norwood took over the boy’s basketball program at Wichita Heights High School and quickly established himself as one of the top prep coaches in Kansas. He guided Heights to a 109-56 record in his eight years, winning three city titles. His 1975-76 squad finished runner-up in the state tournament, but his 1976-77 team is still revered as the greatest high school boys team in Kansas history. Norwood guided a star-laden team that featured five future NCAA Division I athletes and three future professionals to a 23-0 mark, capped by an amazing 40-point win in the state championship game. That title enabled Norwood to share with coaching legend Ralph Miller the distinction of being the only two people in Kansas history to have played on and coached a boy’s state championship team. The title of Nale’s book refers to a banner that once was attached to a wall in Heights’ gymnasium, “CITY LEAGUE SCHOOLS HAVE ACROPHOBIA,” which means fear of heights. His idea for writing the book began in the spring of 2007, shortly after the 1976-77 team had its 30-year reunion. The book provides shared memories from the players and people associated with that team. It also is a tribute to the man who guided this group through that magical season – Lafayette Norwood.
Lafayette Norwood
me early in my life, and I found it was easier to be myself than to try to copy someone else.” One of the key players from the team was Darnell Valentine, who was an All-American, two-time Academic All-American and the first four-time All-Big Eight pick at the University of Kansas. Valentine remains close with Norwood today, and expressed his respect and admiration for Norwood in Nale’s book:Coach Norwood set examples in life that any man would be able to follow. He’s a man that whatever possible traits that you can acquire from him, they will push you to the uttermost of your capabilities in life. He practices what he preaches, so that every man can face the reality of life. And yet, this man is modest, sharing the good that life can bring, and fighting defeat by himself, never looking for an excuse or accusing anyone of fault. This is a man I want to be, and this is the man that I shall become. Story by Tyler Cundith
“I have a passion to coach youngsters, and this book really brought out what it means to me to influence others in a positive way,” Norwood said. “Someone had to work with Late Spring 2011 | Imprint
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Staff
Kent Smith is passionate about art – day and night “I endeavor to present a world that is not only susceptible to the poetics of ambiguity … but one that thrives within these unknowns. One in which rhythmic design, sinuous forms, volatile bursts of color, as well as an awareness of the light and darkness of our lives, can take hold of each of us and give perpetual breath to our imaginings.” – Kent Smith
Kent Smith is the coordinator of the Nerman
Museum of Contemporary Art, where he oversees the museum store, guard staff and day-to-day operations of the facility and assists with installations campuswide. That’s his day job, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. After family time in the evening, Smith has another job, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., the job of studio artist. “It’s a rigorous schedule, but being able to do it all is what makes life worth living,” Smith said. If you don’t know Smith as a painter, you will. Smith has his first one-man show, Split-level, from March 4 to April 30 at Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art in the Crossroads Arts District, Kansas City, Mo. Two of his 11 pieces sold the first night – one to Emprise Bank’s corporate collection, Wichita, and one to the Oppenheimer Brothers Foundation as a gift to the Nerman Museum. “It’s an incredible feeling as a painter to have a piece included in the Nerman Museum’s world-class painting collection,” Smith said. Smith works in epoxy resin and acrylics. Starting with a pencil drawing, Smith “builds” his paintings. Using paints for
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color, he pours epoxy between paint layers to create shadows and dimension. “There is actually a 3-D space although it’s quite thin,” Smith said. “I pour the resin between layers of paint, and the resin drips over the sides. It takes about eight hours to set up at which time the drips are frozen in time.” Smith started experimenting with epoxy resin during his third year in graduate school at Ohio University, Athens, where he earned his master’s degree in 2003. “Being a newer material, there are a handful of artists using resin, but there’s still a lot of aspects that have not been explored.” For the eight years since graduate school, Smith has been “addicted” to the possibilities afforded by a painting technique that doesn’t have to live on a completely 2-D space. “The majority of the color is acrylic. I also use a bit of alchemy – spray paint, oil paint, house paint and glitter. The resin is surfacing between the layers. The nice thing about art is there are no rules. There is a lot of experimentation.” Coincidentally, the week Smith opened his show at
Sherry Leedy’s gallery, the online magazine, Beautiful Decay, featured this critique of Smith’s works: “Gestural fluid abstraction and geometric patterns usually don’t go well together but Kent Michael Smith has figured out a way to make them live harmoniously on the same surface. By using resin in between layers of paint, he manages to combine these two disparate forms of markmaking that reference NASCAR color schematics, hunting gear, camouflage and graffiti.” Abstraction has a been a mainstay of Smith’s art since his undergraduate days at Emporia State University, where he was named “most outstanding graduating senior in the arts” in 2000, and studied under the staunch abstract painter Richard Slimon. Smith entered ESU on a track and field scholarship with the sole intent to compete as an athlete. His life was running – about 25 miles a day. A diagnosis of diabetes changed that. “All sorts of thing happen to put your life on a certain path,” Smith said. “After running was gone, I became completely consumed with art and very passionate about painting.” Especially abstract painting. “It is the ambiguities that happen in abstract painting I am attracted to. I am interested in things that don’t exist physically in the world and I can bring to life.” Smith has worked at three museums – the Kennedy Museum at Ohio University; Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park; and the Nerman Museum, where he started in August 2007 prior to the museum’s opening in October 2007, allowing him the opportunity to be with the museum as it has defined itself in the first five years. Smith says the museum work complements his art.
“I can’t think of a better type of environment to be around. The collections and shows at the Nerman are cutting-edge, at the forefront of what’s going on in the art world. If I worked in an historical museum, it would be a juxtaposition of what I’m doing at home. With my position here, I have a lot of the same issues and interests in my work life and art life.” While keeping his day job, Smith is ready to expand his painting exhibitions to other cities. “I want to continue to make work that I feel excited about.”
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New Program
HITECH fills industry need Bob Rumbach (left) and Glenn Mills work on their final project for the Health Information Redesign Management Specialist class.
In March, 20 students completed the pilot class
of JCCC’s Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) program, part of an initiative to develop a national health information network that provides secure exchange of information among health providers.
One of 17 colleges in the Midwest Community College Health Information Consortium, JCCC has been designated to deliver two certificate programs – Health Information Systems Specialist and Health Information Redesign Management Specialist. Of the first 20 graduates, eight completed the first certificate, 12 the latter. Community colleges in other parts of the Midwest consortium provide training in four other HIT career roles – clinical/practitioner consultants, implementation support specialists, implementation managers and trainers. JCCC is the only college in Greater Kansas City and Kansas to deliver HIT systems training, although JCCC has recently partnered with Hutchinson Community College to assist with online delivery across Kansas. JCCC’s first six-month training programs began two nights a week in September 2010. Thirty-one students enrolled in the second set of JCCC’s HITECH training, scheduled for completion in June. A third set of classes begin in May. In the fall semester, HITECH students will be eligible to take the classes as continuing education or information systems credit classes. Deb Elder, HITECH program director, JCCC, anticipates 70 to 80 HITECH graduates by the end of 2011. According to Elder, the job outlook for program completers is “tremendous.” “The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology estimates that hospitals and
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physician practices will need an additional 50,000 HIT workers nationwide during the next five years. We are providing the workforce to make that happen,” Elder said. U.S. community colleges are the ones in charge of training students to meet requirements by the HITECH Act (2009), which mandates that every U.S. citizen have an electronic health record by 2014. JCCC will receive $292,247 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009) from April 2010-2012 to implement its two components of the health information technology workforce training. Five of the 20 students in JCCC’s pilot classes received Workforce Investment Act monies, targeted at displaced IT/IS workers, and 15 students in the second set of classes. “Most of our students are between the ages of 40 to 55, and 90 percent of them have bachelor’s or master’s degrees,” Elder said. “They are experienced professionals with backgrounds in IT and/or health care who have come to us for specialized training.” “This experience can be used in many ways,” said Bob Rumbach, a HITECH graduate who worked in the IT banking field for 36 years. “Health care and IT are a good mix; the two complement each other.” In order to assist students with employment, Elder and a HITECH advisory board implemented a HITECH workforce panel informing students about potential jobs and oncampus employee interviews. Future goals include developing internships, field experiences, class field trips, mentoring, shadowing and other hands-on EHR systems training. Elder says the HITECH program demonstrates the unique ability for community colleges to respond quickly to the needs of industry.
Sustainability
Class from trash Katherine Jennings cleans beer bottles for her sculpture Raising Glass.
JCCC student Katherine Jennings collected beer
bottles from a Lawrence bar and transformed them into Raising Glass, 15 windmills with beer bottle arms mounted on steel poles. “I want people to see that you can make something beautiful out of discarded bottles you often see broken by the side of the road,” Jennings said. “Light coming through glass has a nice effect, and the windmills are meant to convey a peaceful feeling of the wind.” Jennings is one of five students in Mark Cowardin’s Sculpture II class who had their works selected for display on campus May through October in the first-ever Student Sustainability Committee sculpture competition. Themes for the public art center around recycled materials or sustainability issues, according to Sarah Carpenter, SSC co-chair. The five winners and their works are Reda Carr, Shawnee, Spirit Tree; Katie Dallam, Spring Hill, Tired Beast; Jennings, Chicago, Raising Glass; Daniel Johanning, Olathe, Almost Trash; and Reuben Stern, Prairie Village, Joshua Tree. Johanning recycled boxes from trash containers behind the restaurant where he works to create a series of small dumpsters filled with his own trash. “The interactive portion of this sculpture is me reusing this almost trash and creating works of art,” said Johanning, whose work is to be displayed on pedestals near the hydration station outside of the Craig Community Auditorium. “Reusing is far more important than recycling, and this station is a great step in that direction. I want to draw attention to this area by having my pieces on pedestals along the wall, drawing attention to the recycle bins and hydration station.” The other piece for interior display is Carr’s large tree made
out of paper she salvaged at a swap meet. “The challenge of sustainable art is finding the right trash can with the materials you need,” Carr said. “We are working with materials that are not readily available in retail stores. You have to go out and collect discarded materials. It is rewarding to see something beautiful made out of trash.” Jennings, Dallam and Stern’s pieces are all sited for the out of doors. Dallam’s Tired Beast is a 3-foot tall, 5-foot long half man/half pony made out of what else? – recycled tires. “The recycled tires create a texture for the creature that is almost prehistoric or snake-like,” Dallam said. “Recycled tires were chosen as a way to be proactive for recycling tires. As an artist, it is exciting to go down a new path and embrace changes, combining sustainability and sculpture.” Stern had no problems finding the materials for his Joshua Tree – a 10-foot tree fashioned from woven plastic bags and a 10-foot steel rod. “My goal is to raise people’s consciousness about the fact that there are lots of plastic bags out there. They represent the use of a lot of oil and water and don’t degrade readily in landfills.” “In judging, we weighed half the merit on the environmental concept and half on aesthetics,” Cowardin said. “We got a nice balance and good results.” There were eight judges composed of four fine arts faculty, three Center for Sustainability staff, and Carpenter as the SSC representative. Carpenter says she hopes the SSC will be able to fund the sculpture competition annually. Cowardin also had two Sculpture II students whose works were selected for temporary display in the Overland Park Arboretum. The students are Chad Hull, Kansas City, Mo., and Michael Leister, Lenexa. Late Spring 2011 | Imprint
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JCCC graduations scheduled JCCC police officer Larry Ealy, now retired, presents his wife, Rose, with her diploma in May 2010.
Johnson County Community College will have its commencement exercises at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, in the JCCC Gymnasium. GED graduation is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, in the JCCC Gymnasium. Other JCCC graduations are: n Respiratory Care Recognition Program, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, Polsky Theatre n Nursing Pinning, 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, Yardley Hall n Honors Graduation, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 19, Carlsen Center 211
n Dental Hygiene Graduation, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19, Polsky Theatre n Polysomnography Recognition Ceremony, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19, M.R. and Evelyn Hudson Auditorium, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art n Cosmetology Graduation, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, Polsky Theatre n LPN Graduation, 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, Polsky Theatre A reception follows each graduation. For more information about commencement exercises, contact the Student Information desk at 913-469-3807.