Bragging Breakfast Honors NVC Employee Lynne Dean

NVC PR
September 13, 2019
12:29 pm
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The September Bragging Breakfast had a void this year. Not only was Lynne Dean’s untimely passing honored at the beginning of the breakfast, but it ended with Lynne being chosen (before her death) as the recipient of the Wildcat Spirit award.

NVC President Dr. Baser sadly read why Lynne, who served as the college’s director of Institutional Advancement, was selected for the award. Here’s a snippet:

“Her contributions while at NVC helped improve the lives of so many students, staff, and community. Coordinating Wildcat Days from behind the scenes, Lynne made her rounds to all the stations, distributing supplies, water and snacks, and along side her was Alice, her partner in crime. It was ideal for her to be the lead of the annual Employee Giving Campaign, because Lynne always gave her very best of herself to NVC in the form of smiles, time, support, t-shirts, and pigs. She was adamant about providing t-shirts to all the volunteers, because it gave her so much satisfaction to see us wearing them so proudly, knowing that we are all members of one big family.”

Employee Giving

Diane Rocha and Dr. Mary Zocchi, along with a few other committee members, are picking up the mantle to encourage NVC faculty and staff to participate in the Employee Giving campaign. The goal is to increase the participation rate to 51%, higher than last year’s rate of 47.3%. Also the goal is to increase the amount contributed from $44,950 to $50,000. To give, visit: www.alamo.edu/employeesgive

For anyone who donates $10, they will be entered into a raffle for an exclusive set of hand-painted size 8 cowboy boots and a hand-painted purse by artist Bettie Baser.

Strategic Enrollment Management

Dr. Baser said while NVC surpassed the original 2% enrollment goal, the next step is working on Strategic Enrollment Management or SEM. The Alamo Colleges District is seeking request for proposals and a series of national consultants will visit with district leaders to present on this topic. SEM is a systematic set of activities designed (for colleges) to exert more influence over their student enrollments. Enrollment management activities concern student college choice, transition to college, student attrition and retention, and student outcomes.

Along with this, NVC Vice President for Academics Dr. Daniel Powell said he’s seeking feedback for more creative scheduling in the fall of 2021. He said with limited faculty, resources, and the potential to get more students, NVC will have to be strategic on how to accommodate students in scheduling classes for the future.

Comprehensive College Readiness and Success Models

NVC English and Reading Chair Julie Moore-Felux gave an update of its $229,300 grant it received to improve college-ready rates of students in 1301 English classes. Since implementing this new model, which includes tutors in the classroom and wrap-around services, 77.4% of students taking 1301 ++ are successfully finishing the course. NVC significantly surpassed its sister colleges in terms of completion in identical courses. Read more about this program here.

Community Math Grant

In math, Amanda Bartonek gave an update of the Community Math Program. Last year, the college received a multimillion grant to improve math readiness in students seeking to be teachers. A component of the program includes math faculty and students working in the community to improve math literacy. Amanda said 80% of incoming pre-service teachers are not able to do the math they are teaching. As part of the grant, a new initiative includes increasing more math principles in SDEV classes. Additionally NVC math faculty will soon began tutoring services in a second community center. It initially started tutoring at the Time Dollar community center on the West Side last year in order to help parents tutor their elementary-school children in math. Red more about it here.

Announcements:

NVC Events Coordinator Rey Cardenas encouraged everyone to plan events at least a month ahead of time. He also encouraged everyone to visit the new website calendar that houses multiple calendar in one location. See here.
Rachael Bower invited the audience to the unveiling of the “Changing the World,” a massive mural in the Cypress Campus Center on Sept. 18. To read more, go here.
Make sure to visit the current exhibit in the Palmetto Center for the Arts called “Portrait Ritual Place.” Anthony Francis will be giving a gallery lecture in Palmetto on Oct. 2 at 12:30 PM.
NVC IT & Communications Director Felix Salinas encouraged faculty and staff to use the district’s new Zoom software to conduct meetings or classes. Go too zoom.alamo.us for more information.

To see the Bragging Breakfast Power Point, click on link: Bragging Breakfast Sept. 2019