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Presidential Report: May 16, 2011Events and KudosOn Thursday, April 28, we held our GED/Adult High School Graduation. There were 122 students who crossed the stage to receive their high school diplomas. As always, it was an inspirational evening! The next night was Commencement for our college-credit programs. It was an amazing evening with 236 students walking and a total of 1,400 students graduating. One of the high points of the evening was the announcement of our 6th Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, Daniel Leon. Daniel, an Honors graduate, is one of only 60 Jack Kent Cooke Scholars in the nation. The scholarship entitles Daniel to receive $90,000 over three years to complete his bachelor's degree. Daniel plans to attend American University in Washington, D.C. The other big news about Daniel's scholarship is that Seminole State is now the only college in the country with six consecutive Jack Kent Cooke Scholars. This is certainly a testament to our extraordinary faculty, staff and students! At Graduation, we also recognized the 2011 Endowed Teaching Chair honorees:
Many thanks to Lisa Greer and Cindy Drago for representing the trustees. Last month you met the interior design student who won the trip to Las Vegas. Well, I am pleased to report that Mary Anne Jarrell received first place in the national NKBA Student Kitchen Design Competition, and her design was featured in the NKBA's Spring Magazine. Also, our Interior Design Department received the 2010 Excellence in Education award, noting that our students scored at the 93 percent level vs. the national average of 80 percent. Congratulations to our interior design faculty and students! Seminole State students Angelica Millan, David Ramire and John Posada are the first transfer students ever chosen for the Stetson University Bonner Scholars Program. The service-learning program covers 100 percent of financial need for the students. All three students participated in leadership activities and Seminole Sate Volunteers, which prepared them for the demands of the program. At Seminole State, the trio completed 150 hours of service during this academic year. The students will start at Stetson in the fall. Congratulations to the students and also to Mauricio Garcia, assistant director of student life, who leads the Seminole State Volunteers! Seminole State's summer classes began on Monday, May 9. Enrollment is starting to stabilize at about a 4 percent growth rate. Even as other colleges are beginning to experience a loss of enrollment, we are experiencing a substantial drop in our rate of growth. Seminole State said goodbye to Billy Lee on May 6. Billy was our associate dean for the Center for Public Safety. Billy is now the chief of police for the Sanford Police Department. Congratulations and best wishes to Billy! Seminole State College is a finalist for the Association of Florida Colleges' Administration Commission Exemplary Practice Award for the College's Sustainability Week. As finalists, Career Development Center Director Christy King and Student Life Director Kevin Konecny presented at the Joint Commission Conference on May 12. The winners will be announced at the annual convention in October. The Foundation for Seminole State College welcomed 136 business leaders and College supporters to its 28th annual Dream Cup Challenge Golf Tournament, raising more than $40,000. The Mack Blythe Award was awarded to student-athletes Lauren Vinson and Martin Kelly. For the third year in a row, our women's golf team is headed to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women's Golf Championship, which begins today, May 16, at LPGA International in Daytona Beach. Congratulations to the team and to Coach Christa Teno! Legislative UpdateIt has been an interesting legislative session and it isn't over yet. Joe Sarnovsky will provide more details during the budget workshop, but the bottom line is that Seminole State fared well because of our enrollment growth and because of our good friends in Tallahassee. Now we just need to hang on to the $7.5 million that has been allocated for the Altamonte Springs land purchase. Budget ForumsWe have been holding budget forums, open to all employees, at all of our sites this week. While Joe has been explaining that this is only a "preliminary" budget, the sessions have helped our folks understand the complexity of our situation and the importance of enrollment. After the board's Budget Workshop, and after we get the final numbers from Tallahassee, we will craft a final budget document and hold additional forums throughout the College, before the board officially adopts the budget on June 20. Meeting Location ChangeLast month, the board approved moving the May meeting to the Sanford/Lake Mary Campus and the June meeting to the Altamonte Springs Campus. Unfortunately, the Altamonte Springs Campus does not have space for us in June. Therefore, I am proposing that we hold the June board meeting at the Sanford/Lake Mary Campus and the July meeting at the Altamonte Springs Campus — or August if July's meeting is canceled. This will require a motion. Approved. |
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