2009 Archive

• 01-26-09
• 02-16-09
• 03-30-09
• 04-20-09
• 05-11-09
• 06-22-09
• 07-20-09
• 10-19-09
• 11-16-09

• 2009 Archive
• President's Reports
• President's Office
• About Seminole State
• Seminole State Homepage

Want more info?

Seminole State College
100 Weldon Boulevard
Sanford, Florida 32773-6199
407.708.4722

General Contact Information

Did you know...

Presidential Report November 16, 2009

Thank You

Many thanks to Lisa Greer, Cindy Drago and Scott Howat for attending the Center for Public Safety Dedication on October 30th. I think you will agree that the facility was well-received by the law enforcement community. Many thanks to Michael Garlich and his marketing team for planning and coordinating such a great event!

Faculty Senate President Health Update

Dan Gilmartin is usually with us for our Board meetings. I am sorry to report that Danny took a tumble and has been hospitalized for what appears to be a broken rib and other tests. I know we all wish him well.

Nursing Successes

Seminole State’s nursing students continue to exceed State averages on their licensure exams, according to results released in October by the Florida Board of Nursing. This summer, 94% of our RN graduates passed the National Council Licensure Examination, exceeding the State average of 91%. Among Practical Nursing graduates, Seminole State’s rate was 94%, which also exceeded the State average of 82%. Our pass rates continue to demonstrate the high quality of our faculty, curriculum and students. Congratulations to Department Chair Cheryl Cicotti, all of the Arts and Sciences and Career faculty who have taught these students and, of course, our students!

Sharon Saidi and Sheron Rowe, nursing faculty members, recently won Second Place at the National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (NOADN) for their poster entry entitled “Using Clinical Simulation as an Evaluation Tool.” Congratulations Sharon and Sheron!

Cheryl Cicotti and Susan Ricci of UCF were also plenary speakers for the NOADN conference. They spoke on “Contemporary Models in Nursing Education.”

Brain Bowl News

Seminole State’s Brain Bowl students recently participated in the Delta Burke tournament - a high school and collegiate Brain Bowl competition. There were 33 teams from Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Ohio with Seminole State's team placing 5th. Student Tom Kunzen also competed individually and placed 5th out of 150 individual competitors. Many thanks to faculty members Jeri Rogers and Dee Boyette for assisting with the competition. And many congratulations to our students for their fine performances!

Math College Readiness Initiative

At the Florida College Systems Equity Officers Conference, Seminole State received applause for our Mathematics College Readiness Initiative that was instituted in conjunction with Seminole County Public Schools. Mr. Lane Vosbury, Department Chair for Mathematics, developed the readiness project and a special 12th grade math course in collaboration with SCPS to reduce the number of students needing math remediation. Oviedo High School was the first school to implement the program and reduced its remediation rate significantly. Two years ago, we expanded the project to all Seminole County high schools. Now, other school districts are interested in the program. St. Petersburg Times columnist Bill Maxwell, who is syndicated in newspapers nationwide, highlighted the program in his November 1st column calling it “a model for the nation.” His column was even picked up in South Korea! Congratulations to Lane Vosbury, Dean Annye Refoe, Dr. Carol Hawkins and all who have been involved with this program!

Legislative Summary

Dr. Will Holcombe, Chancellor for the Florida College System, recently gave a presentation to the Florida House of Representatives on the Florida College System and “Who We Are.” At the request of Scott Howat, Don Payton has prepared a one-page summary which highlights some of the pertinent information. At your place, you will find the summary of Dr. Holcombe’s presentation and a summary of items that could impact Colleges during the 2010 Legislative Session. This may prove helpful to those of you who will be attending the FACC Trustee Meeting this week in Orlando.

Also, I would like the Board to know that Dr. Eduardo Padron, President of Miami-Dade College, has been selected by TIME magazine as one of "The Ten Best College Presidents" in the United States. Eduardo was 7th on a list that included the President of Ohio State as the #1 College President.

Resolution From the Other Seminole State College

Dr. Jim Utterback, President of Seminole State College in Oklahoma, and the Trustees from that College sent this framed Resolution indicating their support for our name change. Very classy, don't you think? They indicated that they are proud to continue to share their name with such an outstanding institution.

Metlife Award Nomination

Every two years, the MetLife Foundation sponsors program excellence awards which are announced at the AACC Convention and garner a $40,000 award for the winning college. Evidently, the process requires a preliminary application which, if accepted, then allows you to complete the more extensive award application form. We submitted our Service Excellence Project in the preliminary round which included 256 self-nominations from 181 colleges. I am pleased to report that Dr. Henningsen has just received word that we made it through the preliminaries and have been invited to submit the full application! Many thanks to Chris Dorworth for his leadership in encouraging this project and congratulations to Dr. Henningsen and his staff!

CFADA Auto Show

Barbara Miller, Executive Vice President for the Central Florida Auto Dealers Association, has provided complimentary tickets to attend the CFADA Auto Show, November 26-29, at the Orange County Convention Center. You have been given 10 tickets at your place and tickets have been made available to all interested faculty and staff.

Foundation Facility Update

I would like to ask Dr. Matt Hodge to provide an update on the construction of the new Foundation facility on College Drive.

New Logo

During the past few weeks, the College has sought feedback from our community, faculty, staff and students regarding a new College logo. The Executive Team has reviewed the feedback and has a recommendation for the new logo design for Seminole State College. I would like to ask Michael Garlich to present the options for the Board's final approval.

Before Michael makes this presentation, the Board needs to know that our College Relations and Marketing Department will receive a First Place Award at the FACC Conference this week. Staff member, Loraine O'Connell, "pitched" a news story which highlighted the increase in male nursing students. The "pitch" was the basis for an article that was written by the Orlando Sentinel and then picked up across the State on the AP news wire. It also ran in several medical journals and on an SGTV news program.

December Board Meeting

Staff has informed me that we expect few items for the December Board meeting. Therefore, if the Board would like to cancel the December 14th meeting, that is definitely an option. However, it will require a formal motion.

Graduation

And just a reminder that Commencement is scheduled for Friday, December 18th.

Interior Design Student Presentation

And many thanks to Lisa Greer for reminding me that our Interior Design students were given the opportunity to design three holiday tables for Neiman-Marcus. The tables were part of a brunch fund raiser which generated scholarship dollars for the program. This opportunity was brought to us by a member of the Presidents’ Club who approached Neiman-Marcus on behalf of the College. Many thanks to Cindy Drago and Lisa Greer for attending the event and supporting our students!