friday takeout
May 17, 2019
CUPPA JOE | straight up news.
- National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) awards full seven-year re-accreditation to the College! ... news
- Celebrating our people: Employee Recognition and Convocation ceremonies close out successful academic year! Calmar and Peosta photo albums
- Mariah Schmitt, Iowa's Dairy Center coordinator, talks with Lely North America on radio broadcast (11 min.) ... link
- Learning Resources Network honors Business and Community Solutions with Contract Training award ... Decorah Newspapers
- Deb Seiffert, retired Library Resources Coordinator, visits Rwanda to learn more about its history, genocide in 1994 and the reconciliation efforts to rebuild a torn nation ... feature
Note to Readers: The Friday Takeout begins its every-other-week summer schedule. The next issue will be released on May 31.
WEEKLY FEATURE | good to know.
May Edition of Conversation Corner
Our Organization
Foster an environment that is collaborative, resilient and nimble.
Bond Planning and Facilities Update
Since the bond was renewed in September 2018, the College has been busy planning for major projects and addressing priority areas. The Facility Stakeholder group meets monthly to review findings and provide comments to the architects, Straka Johnson. The architects are finalizing the information they have gathered in walk-throughs, surveys and stakeholder groups. This information highlights concerns, needs and desires of the planned renovations of the Peosta main building and Max Clark Hall. Walk-throughs at the Town Clock Business Center and Dubuque Center have provided preliminary information on these buildings. The design phase will begin this spring and summer for the Peosta main building, Town Clock Business Center and Max Clark Hall. The construction manager for the college is Normand Racicot. Mr. Racicot will serve as the College’s representative for all projects and has extensive experience in construction management.
At the Calmar campus, IMEG Corporation has provided assessment of HVAC systems in the Industrial Technology (IT), Wilder, Dairy Center, Student Center and Administration buildings. This assessment will allow the College to establish a plan for improvement of systems. Two projects are planned for summer. The first is the addition of an x-ray room for the Vet Tech program. This room is required for continued accreditation of the program. The architects have assisted with the design and ACE (Accelerated Career Education) funds will be used to fund this project. The second project will be the reconstruction of the Dairy Center parking lot with the development of a new entrance drive. The lot has been in poor condition for several years and the new entrance will enhance driver visibility for those exiting the lot. Smaller projects are planned including the replacement of windows in the “oldest” section of the Student Center and door replacement at IT.
At the Peosta campus, efforts will be focused on the design stage of the main building. The coming months will involve not only planning, but also anticipation of where and how classes and services will operate once construction starts. The current timeline projects a start date of spring 2020 and could last up to two years. In preparation, now is the time to start assessing storage capabilities.
Other bond priorities included technology and security upgrades. The College has entered into the first purchase of security cameras. The CIS and operations department have mapped locations and are expanding camera use to include coverage of server closets and storage areas. The camera plan was reviewed by local law enforcement and emergency management officials. CIS is moving forward on a major upgrade to the College-wide phone system. At the end of this project, there will be one primary phone for the entire College. Other technology needs include the purchase of file servers and equipment that will assist in the conversion of our ERP (enterprise resource platform) from the CAST consortium to our internal CIS division.
In addition to the planned activities identified in the bond, the Operations office has been working to enhance efficiency in facility maintenance. Tom Ward and Ron McClain will be implementing a planned maintenance tracking system this summer. In April, every piece of HVAC equipment, water heaters and emergency equipment was cataloged and identified on each campus and both centers in Dubuque. Once implemented, staff will be able to record all repairs on equipment and receive notification of scheduled maintenance. The Calmar campus has completed a submetering project which will allow staff to track electrical use in each building. This will allow analysis of electrical consumption and become a springboard for pinpointing areas that impact electrical use.
The coming year will be exciting as the vision of the identified renovations take shape!
Rhonda Seibert
Associate Vice President of Operations
Board of Trustees News
The Board of Trustees will meet next Monday, May 20, at New Hampton High School. The meeting agenda and packet can be found in: My Campus > Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda and Enclosures or by accessing this link.
WELLNESS 360 and GREEN CORNER | be well.
Want some guaranteed fun this summer? Sign up for the Summer Wellness Scavenger Hunt. The hunt runs June 3 – Aug. 11 and can be completed from anywhere. Check out the details and registration here.
*Remember to snap some vacation pics this summer or just images around you for the Annual NICC Wellness Calendar Photo Contest. All employees are eligible to submit up to two landscape or portrait images for the contest (no people please). There will be a college-wide vote this fall and winners will be featured in our very own wellness calendar.
Green Corner:
Black gold … that’s what many gardeners call compost. Compost includes kitchen scraps and waste, which with a little TLC decomposes into soil that is incredibly good for your garden. Not only can compost help improve your garden’s productivity, it also helps our area landfills because food waste piles up in landfills to create a powerful greenhouse gas called methane.
The time is ripe for putting in a compost system in your house or yard. It’s feasible to do it on any level.
Location: Look for a spot that is near a water source and in an area that receives moderate sunlight.
What kind of unit: If you don’t have a large yard or want to stick to a small-scale composting, try a single bin or tumbler-style bin is perfect. If you’re composting a lot of materials, try a 2 or 3 system unit. If you don’t care so much about looks, you can also create a pile in your yard, layering green and brown layers.
What to Add: To make a healthy, productive compost, you need to add both nitrogen-based (or green) and carbon-based (or brown). Start with and maintain a ratio of green to brown at about 1:2. What’s the green? Vegetable and fruit scraps, fresh grass clippings, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, bread products, manure (from cows, sheep, chicken, or rabbits). What’s the brown? Cardboard products, dead leaves, branches, pine cones and needles, paper egg cartons, sawdust and hay, untreated wood, tissues and newspaper, lint, and shredded junk mail. Don’t compost - bones and meat, fats and cooking oils, dairy products, waste from dogs or cats, treated wood, weeds or diseased plants.
The easy and basic steps for composting are:
- Layer - fill your compost bin with a 6-inch layer of “brown” matter and a 2- to 3-inch layer of “green” matter.
- Water - this isn’t necessary if there’s regular rain.
- Turn- turn more frequently at first
- Repeat
The compost is ready when it resembles the color of healthy soil with a loamy consistency. The process takes anywhere from two months to a year depending on quantity and care.
APPETIZER | something for your appetite.
Northeast Iowa Community College Students Excel at National Business Professionals of America Conference!
Four of our business students from Calmar were in top form at the Business Professionals of America (BPA) National Leadership Conference. The conference was held May 1-5 in Anaheim, Calif. Communications instructor Ken Brown accompanied the students.
Christopher Miculinich placed third nationally in Advanced Interview Skills, while Jenna Houg had top 10 finishes in both Advanced Word Processing and Prepared Speech. Miculinich and Houg, as well as Amanda Bredeweg and Blaine Schroeder, all did a fantastic job by qualifying for nationals at the state convention in Des Moines in February.
Photo: L-R, Amanda Bredeweg, Christopher Miculinich, Jenna Houg and Blaine Schroeder.
BIG FISH | be amazed.
Kelli Hovey
Veterinary Technology Program Instructor | Calmar
How did you learn how to ride a bike?
My dad showed me how to steer and how to use the pedal brakes then I climbed on the bike on the country road in front of our house. I started pedaling, he took a few steps then gave me a push! A few skinned knees later and I was riding with the big kids.
Who or what shaped your sense of humor?
My family is full of jokesters, but I would probably have to say my dad. He is known for his jokes and always has a new one to tell. No one can visit with my dad without hearing, "Did you hear the one about..."
What experience most prepared you for your current role at the College?
I am still not certain that anyone is every truly "prepared" for teaching! When I was in tech school, one of my instructors told me that I would be a great teacher because of the way I was willing to work with and help my classmates learn skills. When I worked in practice, we frequently had student interns come to the clinic. I enjoyed working with them and showing them what my job was as a technician. I wanted to get them as excited about their future career as I was.
What food will you absolutely not, under any circumstances, eat?
Rice!! There is an association there that I just cannot handle and I will leave it at that!
Give a specific example of a time when you saw how your work helped a student or co-worker and it made you feel all "warm and fuzzy."
The first semester of my first year teaching full-time in the program was a rough one for me. I was given the pleasure of teaching radiology, which is not always an easy concept to wrap your head around. I just felt like I might as well be speaking a foreign language to these students, as I just could not make a connection with them; I thought maybe they were not learning anything. At the close of the semester, I was certain I was not cut out for this job! At about that time, I received an email from one of the students in the class telling me how much she enjoyed the class and that she learned so much from me. She mentioned that she went into the class not interested in x-rays at all and was now looking forward to taking x-rays and learning more about the equipment once she was out on internship. After reading this email I was in shock. I thought I had completely blown their minds with the technical information and that I was the worst teacher ever!!
What was your favorite cartoon/comic/book growing up?
Scooby Doo
What kind of songs get wedged in your head, like an "ear worm"?
Theme songs from my son's favorite cartoons. Currently it is the song from "The Loud House."
If you have input on a upcoming feature, Big Fish, something to celebrate or a suggestion, email us at news@nicc.edu!