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Presidential Report March 21, 2006

Trustee Designee

I would like to introduce our new Trustee Designee, Christopher Dorworth. Chris will be joining our Board in June. Chris has been a resident of Central Florida for 20 years. He graduated from Colonial High School and was a dual-enrollment student at Valencia Community College.

He is an alumnus of the University of Florida, where he served in leadership roles including President of the Student Body and was selected as the Outstanding Male Leader Graduate of his class. At UF, he chaired the Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Committee and served as a member of the Boards of Directors for the University Athletic Association, the UF Foundation, and the UF Alumni Association. Chris was twice elected Chairman and CEO of the Florida Student Association, an advocacy firm in Tallahassee representing the needs of the 220,000+ students of the State University System before the legislature, the Cabinet and the Florida Board of Regents.

Chris was the Chairman in 2004 for the Bush-Cheney Campaign in Seminole County and has served as a Commissioner on the Seminole County Planning and Zoning Commission from 2003-2005. He is married to the former Elizabeth Dusinberre and has two children, Madison and Chris, Jr. He is a principal in several residential development companies including the Stellworth Development Group. Chris will be completing his MBA from Duke University this May.

Welcome, Chris!

Also, congratulations are in order for Dr. Charles English who has been re-appointed for a 2006-2010 term. We will be saying more about Sid Miller at a future meeting and his transition from the Board when we celebrate all the successes that he has helped to bring to the College.

By the way, Dede Schaffner is at a Seminole County School Board meeting tonight and Sid Miller is in Michigan on business.

First Annual Office Support Workshop

The Arts and Sciences Office Supervisors, Administrative Assistant, and Title III Specialist hosted the first annual Office Support Workshop on March 10. They organized the workshop, secured guest speakers, procured door prizes, and produced an office manual listing SCC procedures. The speakers included: Linda Cowels, who spoke on the "Changing Trends of Office Supervisors and Administrative Assistants;" Yolanda Williams, who spoke about Conflict Resolution; Tom O'Hern, who spoke about SCC's Policies and Procedures; and Adriana Linares, who gave the latest about Email. Congratulations to Dr. Refoe and her staff for hosting such a successful conference!

Congratulations to Arts and Sciences Faculty

• Webb Harris' short story, "If We Could Read Its Signal," appears in the current issue of the The Cream City Review.
• Martha Goshaw was nominated for inclusion in the 2006 edition of Who's Who Among America's Teachers by two of her Honors Statistics students. This is the fourth time she has been included in this publication.
• Shaindel Beers won third place in the Eleventh Muse poetry contest for "What Will We Do With You? This Bone Has Almost No Flesh Protecting It." Additionally, she was awarded Honorable Mention in the Dorothy Prizes for 2005 for her poems, "Because You Are In It" and "Give You Words."

Men's Basketball

Congratulations to Houston Wright, SCC Men's Basketball, for signing a National Letter of Intent to further his academic and athletic career at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. While we hate losing someone with a 3.6 GPA, he has signed with a team that is ranked 1st in the country by the National Athletic Intercollegiate Association. Congratulations to Mr. Wright and Coach Bobbie Washington.

Legislative Update

The news from Tallahassee continues to be conflicting. The Governor recommended a healthy $83 million increase in community college funding; however, the Senate is $41 million below that number based on declining enrollments in Florida's community colleges and a robust employment market. It is still a long way until the end of the session. Don Payton continues to live in Tallahassee as our eyes and ears and I continue to make weekly trips to meet with legislators.

UCF Relationship

We are continuing to solidify our relationship with the University of Central Florida and there will be an "announcement ceremony" on April 4th at noon at Church Street Station hosted by the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce. At this ceremony, the presidents of the regional community colleges - Brevard, Lake-Sumter, Valencia and Seminole - will join with Dr. John Hitt from UCF to announce an "enhanced" partnership that will help to make admission for local students easier and more seamless once they complete their AA degree at a regional community college partner institution. Please let Linda know if you can attend.

Also, tomorrow the presidents will be meeting with the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board to help generate some media excitement for what we believe is a national model.

Diversity Days

As you know, SCC has placed an emphasis on celebrating diversity. This week, we are proud to host a series of events based on the experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen. The three days of events will culminate with an appearance by Judge Robert Decatur, a Tuskegee Airman, from 7-8 p.m., on Wednesday, in the Fine Arts Concert Hall. I would like to invite everyone to attend.

District Board of Trustees Scholarships

You should have the dates of the DBT Scholarship Ceremonies at the local high schools at your places. Please let Linda know if you plan to participate.

Graduations

GED Graduation will be held Wednesday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. The Adult High School Graduation is Thursday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. Commencement will be held Friday, May 5, at 8:00 p.m. All events are in the Health Building. We will also host the usual Graduation dinner at 6:30 p.m. on May 5th. immediately preceding Commencement.

Spring Break

We have just returned from a week's break, which I hope everyone enjoyed. I was privileged to spend three days last week in Atlanta as a guest of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). This is the national fundraising organization which is chaired by Dr. Rita Bornstein, president emerita of Rollins College. CASE is composed of 33 Board members, mainly from colleges like Harvard, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, Georgia Tech, etc. There are only 3 community college representatives on the Board and it is a great joy for me to be included with a group that is discussing topics like ethics in fundraising, fundraising around the world and the latest in fundraising techniques.

And since the SCC Foundation was the preliminary tonight, you can see that this is very timely. Matt and I also spent last Tuesday making a pitch for a million dollars for the Heathrow facility. Keep your fingers crossed! Congratulations also to Matt for hosting an excellent SCC Foundation Board Retreat on March 10 at the Heathrow Country Club. We have a powerful and dedicated Foundation Board!

Leadership Legend

When you see Dede Schaffner, please congratulate her on being selected by Leadership Seminole as this year's Leadership Legend! The ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 18, at the Orlando Marriott in Lake Mary. Please let Linda know if you can attend.