PRESIDENT’S REPORT | September 2013
New format, focus highlight All College Day
SCC receives $15,000 grant from GM Foundation
President Ron Chesbrough (right) accepts a $15,000 check from Jim Riffel, GM Wentzville Plant controller, at a Sept. 4 event on campus.
Throughout the year many inspirational stories are told about SCC students’ hopes, dreams and perseverance. At the 2013 All College Day, SCC faculty and staff were given the opportunity to share their stories. “These stories were every bit as inspirational and enriching as those of our students,” said Kasey McKee, vice president for college advancement, who with Donna Davis, vice president for human resources, organized the event. The morning session featured a video of employees sharing their educational journeys. Faculty and staff at each table then engaged in a group activity to share their educational stories. College President Ron Chesbrough spoke to the importance of the college team’s purpose in the higher education continuum and reminded us about how we hold the power to unite or divide a team.
Breakout sessions included information on the state of the college, college planning, and campus buzzwords, as well as time to provide feedback through a biennial survey. The afternoon featured the annual financial outlook, and celebration and reflection. The remainder of the day included department meetings and the option to participate in the Before I Die project. The day wrapped up after-hours with the annual faculty-staff softball game. Despite strong at-bats, the staff defenses were just too strong and secured another victory, winning 8-1. “The day allowed us to reflect on the level of passion, professionalism, dedication, and sincerity exhibited across this campus each and every day so community members continue to have access to a high-quality college education. It is no wonder SCC is a great place to work,” McKee said.
Fall Semester Enrollment Update SCC enrollment for the Fall 2013 Semester outpaced budget predictions of -5 percent. As of Sept. 12, which is the college census date used for state reporting,
enrollment for the term stood at 7,477 headcount and 72,906 credit hours, a decrease of -3.2 and -4.3, respectively, compared to the Fall 2012 Semester.
The General Motors Foundation announced grants totaling $54,000 to five area organizations including SCC at an event on Sept. 4 hosted by GM’s Wentzville Assembly facility on campus. “This year, the GM Foundation will provide $1.6 million in funding to nearly 200 organizations in 45 plant cities where GM employees live and work,” said Vivian Pickard, president of the GM Foundation. “Wentzville is not only where our employees come to work each day, it is where our families, friends and neighbors live, and we are proud to be part of this community. Part of our commitment is to help support local agencies that do so much good work here,” GM Wentzville Plant Manager Nancy Laubenthal said. Laubenthal presented $54,000 in grants to representatives from United Way of Greater St. Louis ($19,000), SCC ($15,000), Make-A-Wish Missouri ($10,000), Greenway Network ($5,000) and Earth Force ($5,000) at an event during SCC’s annual Fall Fun Blitz. “We would like to thank the GM Foundation for this donation and the employees at GM Wentzville Assembly for their commitment to invest in our community,” said Ron Chesbrough, SCC president. “We’re proud of our educational and training partnership with GM Wentzville Assembly and are positive that the benefits that this donation will provide to the five community organizations represented here today will have a lasting impact.”
Despite temperatures in the mid-90s, the heart of campus fills with students, faculty and staff at midday during Fall Fun Blitz.
Fall Fun Blitz
BY THE NUMBERS
Clear skies, good music, plenty of food and lots of activity could be found at the annual two-day Fall Fun Blitz held Sept. 4-5. Consumed over the two days …
156
veggie burgers
1,840
hamburgers
1,062
hot dogs
3,018
bags of chips
2,640
drinks
CALENDAR NOTES Sept. 16-20 – Democracy Days, SSB Auditorium, stchas.edu/calendar Sept. 18-22 – American Theatre Festival, Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story and The Meeting, SSB Auditorium, stchastickets.com Sept. 24 – Kevin Michael Connolly’s The Rolling Exhibition: A Snapshot of Curiosity, SSB Auditorium, stchas.edu/calendar Sept. 25 – SCC Coffeehouse, SSB Student Lounge, stchas.edu/artsoncampus Sept. 27 – Food Trucks and a Film, Monster’s University, TECH Building lawn Sept. 30-Nov. 8 – Photography Invitational and Brian D. Smith: Works From a Sabbatical, Art Exhibition, FAB Art Gallery Oct. 2 – #SuccessFest, College Center, stchas.edu/successfest Oct. 2-6 – Center Stage Theatre, The Grapes of Wrath, FAB Theater, stchastickets.com Oct. 2 – Mental Health Programming, Call Me Crazy: A Five Film, SSB Auditorium Oct. 16 – Mental Health Programming, Intimate Partner Violence and Technology Safety, SSB Auditorium Oct. 18-20 – Young People’s Theatre, The Legend of Sleeping Beauty, FAB Theater, stchastickets.com
Snapshots of BeReadyForTheFuture.com, an interactive, new website launched by SCC, show tools made available to K-12 students so they can better prepare for college and life after college.
New community website helps K-12 students ‘Be Ready’ for college, career selection Regardless of a student’s choice of college or career, readiness is the message to St. Charles County students through a new website, www.BeReadyForTheFuture.com, launched by SCC to help students successfully transition from K-12 to college and then a career. SCC created the community-wide site to fill a need, by connecting students and parents to information about college and careers, whether or not a student plans to attend SCC. Students will find resources to plan, prepare and succeed in college, with tips
on choosing the right college, keeping college affordable, studying and note taking. They also will learn how to choose a career path and be job-ready. “We realize it can be difficult to know what questions to ask about college and career, particularly if this is the first time down that path,” said Ron Chesbrough, SCC president. “The website provides helpful information to students so they can make good choices.” For more information, contact Martha Toebben at 636-922-8243 or email mtoebben@stchas.edu.
SCC students participate in summer 2013 archaeology field school SCC students found evidence of houses, refuse pits, burned limestone and food processing activities, including items like projectile points, pieces of pottery and tools. The students were studying archaeology in SCC’s field school, Anthropology 201, in the 2013 Summer Semester, digging at an archaeological site known as the Bruno site in the St. Peters Sports Center Park, located north of Interstate 70. “The artifacts they found are from the Mississippian time period, around A.D. 1300,” said Anne Griffith, adjunct instructor of archaeology. “The Mississippian culture is one that has a really strong foothold in the Midwest, especially in Missouri and Illinois.” Griffith said the findings were similar to previous excavations at the site. “On a large scale, around this time, people had been settling down into larger groups or communities and they were also interested in more exotic goods for trading,” Griffith said. “There’s a source of chert, the type of rock used
Harlee Custer, of St. Ann, washes some of the artifacts she found during SCC’s summer archaeology field school.
to make a lot of stone tools, near the Bruno site, plus its location near the river bottoms made it a likely and strategic place for trading to occur on a local level, exchanging tools, crops or even raw materials like chert.” Griffith also pointed out the field school is a great opportunity for community college students because they get hands-on experience at an affordable cost. “When the students actually get to be out shoveling dirt every day, they can tell if the field of archaeology is right for them,” she said.