2011 Archive

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Seminole State College
100 Weldon Boulevard
Sanford, Florida 32773-6199
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Presidential Report: February 21, 2011

Events and Kudos

Many thanks to everyone who supported the 27th annual Dream Gala on February 12th. The event was a huge success, raising more than $100,000 for scholarships. In fact, we think this was our most successful event ever! Special thanks to the Foundation staff, who worked tirelessly to host more than 400 of our closest friends! And to Isa Adney, our second Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, who spoke so eloquently about "why Seminole State College isn't for anyone; but it is for everyone!" Thank you to the Host Committee, led by Foundation Chair Steve Neveleff, who worked countless hours on our behalf. We are already starting to plan next year's event! And, what an incredible coincidence that the founder of our Dream Gala had the winning raffle ticket for the 2011 Camry! Dede Schaffner was definitely more than excited when her name was called. Can you guess how many raffle tickets at $25 each were sold to raise $31,600? Amazing! 

Many thanks to Cindy Drago for representing the Board at last Friday's State of the County luncheon, hosted by the Seminole County Chamber of Commerce. As one of the sponsors, we were allowed five minutes to update more than 500 business leaders on all that is happening at the College. Also, many thanks to Cindy for requesting a tour of the Small Business Development Center and Business Incubator at the Port of Sanford. Cindy, would you like to comment on what you saw in January? Also, at your place are the handouts Cindy was given during that meeting.

Last Friday was a busy day for Seminole State for another reason: We hosted more than 1,200 high school seniors from across the county at the annual  "Decision Day." It was a fun and crazy day for us. Many thanks to all of the faculty and staff who contributed to the success of this great awareness event!

This month, our planetarium reopened after being closed during the month of January for renovations. These renovations were made possible by a generous grant from the Emil Buehler Trust. We are very excited to have the planetarium open again with exciting shows like the Valentine's Day weekend show, "Heavenly Love."

Last Thursday night, Daniel Ellsberg, the former military analyst who copied and leaked to the media thousands of top-secret documents related to the Vietnam War, spoke at the College. With nearly 350 people in attendance, this was a thought-provoking evening hosted by our Humanities faculty and Student Activities program. Special thanks to Professor Vincent Intondi for his dedication to making this event a reality.

I hope you saw the excellent review our Theatre Department received in the Orlando Sentinel for August Wilson's "Seven Guitars."  Congratulations to Associate Dean Paul Luby, Professor Rich Harmon and the faculty, staff and students who contributed to making these performances so memorable!

This Thursday, our Emergency Management Team and key administrators will be participating in a table-top exercise with Seminole County's Emergency Response Team and Seminole County law enforcement and firefighters. This exercise is designed to simulate an emergency situation here at Seminole State. With the recent robberies we have experienced, we have increased our communication with our faculty, staff and students, but we know that we can always do more. I know that the safety of our people is always a primary concern for our Board. So, I am going to ask Dick Hamann, who is the head of our Emergency Response Team, to coordinate a presentation for next month's Board meeting related to the precautions we are currently taking.

Isa Adney, who is working in our Student Services area, has been selected by the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Foundation to participate on a panel at the JKCF Scholar Symposium in San Francisco March 18-19. Congratulations, Isa!

Over a three-day period in late January, the state's Council of Business Affairs (COBA) and related committees met at the Lake Mary Marriott. Our own Joe Sarnovsky, who is the chairman of COBA's Steering Committee, hosted the event. Joe and many members of Seminole State College's staff did an incredible job executing all of the logistics for this event that included several hundred participants. Congratulations to Joe and his staff for representing Seminole State College so well!

Seminole State College won the Regional Brain Bowl tournament on Feb. 11 by winning all of their games for a total of 1,535 points. Second-place Jacksonville, whose only loss was to Seminole State, scored 820 points. Seminole's Rojay Gordon was the top individual scorer with 260 points. Seminole State will be competing in the state tournament in March in Ocala and in February in Panama City at the Community College National Championship Tournament. Congratulations to the Seminole State team and Coach Jerri Rogers!

Legislative Update

As I am sure you are aware, this is shaping up to be a very interesting and challenging legislative session. Through the Wednesday Updates that are sent to every employee, I have been trying to keep our employees informed about what we are facing. The governor's budget included an approximate 11 percent cut for the Florida College System with no tuition increase. Don Payton is currently residing in Tallahassee, where he is actively pursuing our interests. I have made several trips to Tallahassee and anticipate making many more during the session, which begins in March. Scott, I know that you are spending a great deal of time in Tallahassee in your role as the lobbyist for Orange County Public Schools. Would you like to comment on what you are seeing?

Future Events

Just a reminder that the College will be closed March 7-11 for Spring Break. Also, our March 21 Board meeting will be held in Oviedo, following the 10th anniversary celebration of the Oviedo Campus on March 18. We hope to see you all there to celebrate a decade of providing educational opportunity for the residents in that part of the county!