2011 Archive

• 01-24-11
• 02-21-11
• 03-21-11
• 04-18-11
• 05-16-11
• 06-20-11
• 07-18-11
• 09-26-11
• 10-24-11
• 11-28-11

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

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Presidential Report: July 18, 2011

$2 Million Gift from the Wayne M. Densch Charitable Trust

As the lead gift in the Foundation's "Campaign for Student Success," I am very pleased to ask the Board to allow the naming of the Partnership Center in exchange for a $2 million gift from the Wayne M. Densch Charitable Trust. The donation would begin in August as an annual $200,000 per year gift for a period of 10 years. The funds would be dedicated to scholarships and program support, with preference given to students who are first generation college students. We have many people to thank for their assistance with this gift, but most importantly Leonard and John Williams, who represent the Densch Charitable Trust. John is also a member of our Foundation Board and knows first hand the good work that we accomplish at Seminole State. This gift will hopefully be only the first of many gifts from our community to support the "Campaign for Student Success."

Kudos to Our Students, Faculty and Staff

Phi Beta Lambda

Seminole State students scored another outstanding performance at the 2011 Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) National Leadership Conference held in Orlando in late June. Fourteen students competed against 1,800 students from more than 30 states. Eleven Seminole State students took home 14 awards and $2,750 from business sponsors.  

Congratulations to first-place winners Charles Bilyue and Lucdwin Luck. Many thanks to Sherry Jenkins, PBL advisor, and professors Judy Brierly and Jordan Camenker for their work with our students.

Planetarium

NASA has selected the Planetarium at Seminole State College to create an interactive video presentation that will be paired with a science curriculum available to teachers nationwide. Planetarium Director Derek Demeter just recently returned from a weeklong internship at the Goddard Space Center in Maryland. He is partnering with a science lab teacher at Wekiva Elementary School to create a curriculum for the state's new fifth-grade science standard related to the water cycle.

The internship, funded through NASA's Terra Mission, emphasizes collaboration between educators and planetariums. Congratulations, Derek!

Athletics - Baseball

Todd Hankins, a sophomore infielder from Oviedo, was named the Mid-Florida Conference (MFC) Player of the Year, an honor given to the top overall performer in the conference. Todd was also named to the Florida College System Athletic Association's (FCSAA) All-State and MFC All-Conference First Teams.

Students and Faculty Travel the Globe with Seminole State College

Seminole State College study trips took members of the College and our community to destinations around the world this summer as part of the College's 2011 Travel Study programs.

• Southeast Asia: Professor Rachel Braaten escorted a study trip through Southeast Asia in May, visiting Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
• Eastern Europe: Also in May, Professor Richard Harmon escorted a study trip that spent 11 days exploring Austria, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
• Salzburg, Austria: In early June, Dr. Debbie Socci, interim director of the Honors Institute, accompanied two honors students to the Salzburg Global Seminar International Study Program in Austria. This is the seventh consecutive contingent of Seminole State students to participate in the seminar.

Nurses' Pinning

More than 100 registered nurses graduated during our Pinning Ceremony on Monday, June 20, and 80 more will graduate on Aug. 3. Sherrie Sitarik, President and CEO of Orlando Health, addressed the graduates, which included her own daughter Stacey Sitarik.

Since 2003, with support from area hospitals, Seminole State's Nursing Program has tripled its enrollment as we seek to help our community address the critical nursing shortage.

Good News from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

On July 11, we received the news that we were waiting for from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. "The Commission on Colleges continued accreditation following review of membership at Level II offering the Bachelor of Applied Science in Interior Design." What this means is that — after much hard work — we have received continued accreditation for our Level II status and the opportunity to expand our baccalaureate offerings. Many thanks to all who have spent so many hours, days, weeks and months working on this!

The letter from Dr. Belle Wheelan, President of SACS, also contained a recommendation that we need to take very seriously. "Multiple programs do not show adequate evidence for the use of assessment data to make improvements...The institution should show evidence that they are assessing the extent to which student learning outcomes are being achieved and provide evidence of improvements made based on the analysis of the results." She goes on to state that we have a "large number of programs that appear to be deficient in providing evidence of improvements based on assessment results." So, we have more work to do, but we are definitely making progress and I know that there is much effort being dedicated throughout the institution related to learning outcomes.

Again, many thanks and congratulations to all who have worked so hard to get us to this point!

Fall Classes

Although it doesn't seem possible, fall classes will begin on Aug. 22, just five weeks away.

Board Meetings

There does not appear to be a need for an August Board meeting; therefore the Board may vote to cancel that meeting. In September, we would request that the Board meeting be moved from Sept. 19 to Sept. 26, with an accompanying Executive Session. Also, we will be alternating the sites of the 2011-12 Board meetings to accommodate the Board's desire to visit all of our campuses.