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Presidential Report: January 23, 2012

Commencement

Last month, we awarded a record number of degrees -- 1,400 – and had 275 proud students march across the stage to the cheers of their families and friends. We awarded our first bachelor’s degrees and had an outstanding graduation speaker. Thank you, Damon. Hopefully, as new Trustees, you saw firsthand how rewarding your volunteer efforts can be.

Kudos

Lisa Valentino, AVP of Academic Services, has been selected as a finalist for the 2012 University of Florida Institute of Higher Education Outstanding Graduate Award. This award is one of the highest honors bestowed by the University of Florida. Congratulations, Dr. Valentino!

Congratulations to Amy Kirkland, Manager of Seminole State’s Small Business Development Center. In December, Amy achieved her Certification as a Business Analyst. Congratulations, Amy!

Professors Leslie Sammarco and Patti Yorty recently passed the Certified Nurse Educator Exam. This prestigious certification is sponsored by the National League for Nursing and is a yearlong process culminating with an exam. Congratulations, Leslie and Patti!!

Congratulations to Angela Kersenbrock. Angela is a recipient of the Idahlyn Karre Exemplary Leadership Award from The Chair Academy. Angela was nominated for this award by Jim Simpson, a Chair Academy Board member. Mr. Simpson’s nomination says:

“Angela Kersenbrock, Associate Vice President for Career and Professional Programs at Seminole State College, has distinguished herself as a leader with integrity and a strong commitment to providing exceptional educational opportunities to the students enrolled at her college. Angela is the ultimate professional, who approaches her job with passion, humor, empathy, and wisdom. This has been evident in the various state-wide initiatives she has led where no matter the issue; her focus is always on student success and program accountability.”

Congratulations, Angela, on a well-deserved honor!

And on Friday, we received the long-awaited word from SACS that our response to the Fifth Year Monitoring Report for Standard 3.3.1.1 has been accepted with no additional action required on our part. We are feeling very good about our chances of clearing the final hurdle and eliminating monitoring reports, going into our Reaffirmation with a “clean slate.” Many thanks to Dick Hamann, Dr. Mark Morgan and everyone at the College who has worked tirelessly to move us forward in this process. Our goal remains – ZERO recommendations in 2013!

Aspen Award

As you know, Valencia College became the first winner of the $600,000 Aspen Institute’s Award for Community College Excellence.

Dr. Mark Morgan has researched the award criteria and believes that Valencia earned this recognition based on five factors:

1. Being a large college, enrolling and graduating a significant number of students;
2. First-year retention rates above 60%;
3. All other indicators were well above national averages;
4. A minority graduation rate above 30%;
5. Community impact in a service area with family median income below the national average.

I know that the Board has an interest in this award and wanted to ask if there were any questions that you would like Dr. Morgan to address.

Events

We celebrated Martin Luther King Day with our annual Heritage Jubilee on January 13. This year’s celebration marked the 20th anniversary of the Jubilee. Seminole State’s Black Faculty and Staff Association and the African American Cultural Forum sponsored the event, and as always, did a fantastic job. This year’s honoree was the Altamonte Springs Chapter of The Links. Special thanks to Professors Trent Tomengo, Monica Butler, Maurice Terrell and all those who contributed to this amazing community event!

Our Leadership Academy will be traveling to Tallahassee this week to meet with Legislators and the Chancellor for the Florida College System. This should be an interesting experience for them as they will experience the political process firsthand.

On February 1, the Florida College System presidents will be meeting with the Governor in our first official conference. Later that day, most of our Trustees will be joining me in Tallahassee for a two-day Trustee conference and lobbying visits to our Legislative Delegation. Thank you for making the trip!

The Dream Gala is scheduled for February 11. I hope to see you all there. It is going to be an amazing evening with a goal of raising $300,000 for scholarships.