A college degree is not a sign that one is a finished product
but an indication a person is prepared for life.
Rev. Edward A. Malloy
President, Notre Dame

WELCOME TO THE START OF CCSN'S 32ND ACADEMIC YEAR
For an action-packed and rewarding Faculty Orientation Week, heartiest thanks go to Profs. Trish LaFlamme and Cameron Basquiat, co-directors of the Faculty Center for Learning and Teaching, FCLT staffer Tracy Warren, the Faculty Senate and Nevada Faculty Alliance, faculty and administrative presenters and working committees for the genius and sweat equity they poured into creating the "All 'Bout Change" program as a launching pad for our 32nd academic year.

Patty Charlton - VP Finance & Administration
Dr. Robert Anderson - VP Student Services
Dr. Robert Palinchak - VP Academic Affairs

[Excerpts from Dr. Remington's Orientation Week remarks]

A combined faculty, regents and citizens review committee was formed as mandated by the Legislature and that committee recommended that we not divide, but rather strive to unify CCSN. And you are doing that. That committee also noted, as did you who served on our internal committees, that our college was administratively understaffed. To begin to address that problem, we selected the first permanent team of vice presidents in two years; I have also appointed Dr. Joni Flowers as Interim Chief Technology Officer, and DIana Wilson, long time Nevada women and children's activist and advocate, as Interim Chief of Development.

Our Guiding Coalition for Diversity, chaired by Larry Mason and Dr. Glynda White, has made a two year commitment to work together to lead us in our diversity efforts. In focus groups, surveys and training, many of you have already participated in the initial stages of this effort and deserve our appreciation.

Additionally, we have begun to creatively address how to deal with proposed budget cuts at our already under funded college. And in that process, as in all others, we have made shared governance a reality.

Our faculty have also brought forth an exciting initiative based on the writings of Parker Palmer, author of "The Courage to Teach." Professors Deanna Beachley and D Gause-Snelson will spend this school year in preparation to unveil this project and challenge.

Dr. Joan McGee

We have a renewed spirit of cooperation with UNLV and Nevada State College. Together, we educate over two-thirds of the entire student body of the state with only 40 percent of the state-allocated budget. It is time to make our collective voices heard in the legislative halls of Carson City. From that goal, we will not retreat.

Last year, you asked that we change but stabilize our college. We have done that. You asked that we find the ties that would bind us, the threads that connect us. And we are trying today and everyday to do that. And we will.

Thanks to the interim leadership of Theo Byrns and Thomas Brown who brought us through the tough time of the last two years. My gratitude extends also to Ruell Fiant, Joan McGee and Mitzi Ware, who as faculty senate chairs, supported, guided and cajoled me all last year and have promised to do the same in the year ahead.

I tell you here today that our dream of having four year baccalaureate programs is close at hand. We will be a 4 year college soon, but will retain the soul of a community college. As it was once said, 'The main challenge before us is to learn to organize in such a way that great things have a chance to happen.'

By great things I mean the genes and ecosystems of biology, the symbols and referents of philosophy and theology, the archetypes of betrayal and forgiveness and loving and loss that are stuff of literature. I mean the artifacts and lineages of anthropology, the materials of engineering with their limits and potentials, the logic of systems in management, the shapes and colors of music and art, the novelties and patterns of history, the elusive idea of justice under law.

Great things such as these are the vital nexus of community in education. It is in the act of gathering around them and trying to understand them - as the first humans must have gathered around fire - that we become who we are as knowers, teachers, and learners. When we are at our best, it is because the grace of great things has evoked from us the virtues that give educational community it's finest form.

• We invite diversity into our community not because it is politically correct but because diverse viewpoints are demanded by the manifold mysteries of great things.
  
• We embrace ambiguity not because we are confused or indecisive but because we understand the inadequacy of our concepts to embrace the vastness of great things.
  
• We welcome creative conflict not because we are angry or hostile, but because conflict is required to correct our biases and prejudices about the nature of great things.
  
• We practice honesty not only because we owe it to one another but because to lie about what we have seen would be to betray the truth of great things.
  
• We experience humility not because we have fought and lost but because humility is the only lens through which great things can be seen - and once we have seen them, humility is the only posture possible.
  
• We become free men and women through education not because we have privileged information but because tyranny in any form can be overcome only by invoking the grace of great things.

Animation by
Ayl Gross' and students

IN THE NEWS

Dr. Joni Flowers

FLOWERS BLOOMS AS INTERIM CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
One of the results of CCSN's ongoing internal reorganization review is the recommendation to strategically plan for fully integrating information technology into everyday college operations and academics. CCSN President Dr. Ron Remington advanced that recommendation by appointing Prof. Joni Flowers, Ed.D., as Interim Chief Technology Officer.

"CCSN's goal is to be the benchmark in delivery of information and technological support services to our college community, advancing us to another level of excellence for our students and Nevada's economic development," said Dr. Remington. "I have every confidence in Dr. Flowers' ability to work with every facet of the college to develop our strategic plan and organizational changes designed to continuously improve our information technology systems."

Reporting directly to the president, Dr. Flowers will oversee the college's Communications Services, Academic Computing, Computer Labs, and Information Technology functions and staffs.

"I'm excited that this will be a collaborative project developed across the college," said the 21-year CCSN veteran. "Our efforts will lead to a comprehensive IT strategic plan enabling faculty, staff and students to easily access information through computer technology, and enhance faculty instruction by integrating technology into the classroom. It will also build a close partnership between IT and distance education creating a stronger WebCT team."

In 1996, the longtime North Las Vegas resident pioneered distance education at CCSN via video instruction, and then chaired the Greenspun Technology Committee which distributes an annual Greenspun grant to integrate technology into CCSN classrooms. She is well-known in Southern Nevada as the founder and chair of CCSN's annual wine tasting which has raised nearly $100,000 in diversity scholarships in seven years.

The Indiana native holds a doctorate in education from UNLV in instructional technology, as well as her bachelor's in secondary education. Her master's in information and library studies was awarded by the University of Michigan. She is also a Nevada community college success story, starting her career with an associate degree in business management from CCSN's forerunner, Clark County Community College.

The overall mission of the Information Technology (IT) division at CCSN is to plan, implement, coordinate, and maintain the technology services and resources required to support the academic, administrative, and customer service needs of the college community. The goals of IT include providing local and remote access to the college's programs and services, and providing, improving, and maintaining centralized administrative functions, including student information, human resources, and by providing quality customer service, technology support to the administration, faculty, staff, and students at CCSN.

TRIO 'CLASSIFIED' AS OUTSTANDING
Since the last email edition of NewsWeb, CCSN classified staffers Corrine Wurm, Janie Guillaume and Debbie Tanner were named as outstanding employees of the month for July, August and September respectively.

A four-year employee, Wurm works at the Disability Resource Center at Charleston, helping challenged students succeed with their CCSN educations. She arranges for note takers and testing accommodations and, with her associate's degree in deaf studies, helps deaf students communicate with admissions, financial aid, and bursar staff. She also supervises work study students and supports nearby Workforce Development and ReEntry offices She's attending UNLV for a degree in social sciences and plans to follow that with a master's in counseling. The single 23-year-old lives with her family and is saving to buy a house. She enjoys collecting books, writing, drawing, reading, shopping, movies and music, family and friends -- and when she had the spare time, Corrine used to volunteer at a wild animal shelter.

Janie Guillaume

Tanner serves as the administrative assistant to the Cheyenne Provost, and was also his special assistant as interim vice president for student services. A 12-year CCSN veteran, she excels as a student advocate and clearinghouse to solve problems; she organizes college committees ranging from diversity training to graduation ceremonies, and contributed her talents to CCSN's hosting of the Nevada Community College Conference and Student Services Symposium. The college's outstanding classified employee for 1995 proudly admits to being married to her soul mate and best friends, with three grown children after 36 years in Las Vegas. She's an avid reader and writer, Nevada ghost town historian, college student and social worker for at least a dozen causes.

WELCOME TO NEW CCSN FAMILY

Academic Faculty
Levy Acosta, Culinary Arts; Doris Ballow, Sonography; Caroline Bass, Interpretative Program; Debra Berry, English; Mark Bird, Sociology; Gregory Bledsoe, Automotive; Robert Bonora, History of Rock Music; Irene Colson, Medical-Surgical Nursing; Fred Conquest, Anthropology; Dr. William "Eric" Davis, Political Science; Jennifer DelQuadro, Speech; Mary Beth Dickinson, EMS; Mildred "Honey" Duprey-Smith, English; Valerie Ferguson, French; Freeman Freitag, Math; Ms. Lupe G. Gomez, ESL/Spanish; Dr. Richard Howe, Philosophy; Dr. Terry Jones, Hotel Management; Denise King, Ceramics - Art/Art History; Nancy Lee, CIT; Gail Lupica, Advanced Medical-Surgical Nursing; Shaun Martin, Food & Beverage; Joseph Miller, CISCO; Dr. Dennis Olsen, Veterinary Techology; Stanley Pinkos, Accounting; Kitt Steenbock, Pediatric Nursing; March Sustarsic, Spanish; Angela Wilburn-Cornelius, Education; Richard Williams, ESL; Patricia-Ann Yentsch, Nursing; and John Ziebell, English.

Administrative Faculty
Ronald Barakat, Program Director, Child Care Center
Charleta Byrd, Operations Coordinator to Athletics,
Chung Cheung, Network Analyst, Academic Computing
Chris Giunchigliani, Director, School District and Community Relations
Rebecca Grant, Program Coordinator/Advisor, International Student Programs
Mark Manendo, Recruitment Specialist, Admissions & Records
Dr. Robert Palinchak, Vice President, Academic Affairs
Sandy Seda, Director, Security
Dr. Shelia Thompson, Director of Student Activities
Diana Wilson, Interim Chief Development Officer

Classified Staff
Ana Bravo, Cheyenne Provost; Sandra Cheney, Early Childhood; Gerardo Corvalan, Financial Aid; Julie Davis, Bursar; Julie Dockter, Campus Childcare; Marjorie Donat, Workforce Development; Shannon Grossman, Campus Childcare; Guillermo Hernandez, Operations/Maintenance; Eric Johnson, Purchasing; Larry Lemay, Operations/Maintenance; Amber Leserra, Communications; Joyce Rossiter, Early Childhood; Ilene Shafer, Resorts & Gaming; Eddie Widya, Operations/Maintenance; and Jennifer Yonesawa, Library.

NEVADA'S ACT SCORES SHOW IMPORT OF COLLEGE PREP COURSES
LAS VEGAS - High school students have a greater chance of succeeding in college if they take more college preparatory classes while in high school, according to a report released yesterday by the ACT.

The report for Nevada's high school graduating class of 2000 showed that the average ACT composite score was 22.1 for students who completed a core curriculum. The national average was 20.0

Nevada students who took less than a core curriculum had an average composite score of 20.0, compared to the national average of 19.2.

These scores for Nevada's high school graduating class of 2002 indicate that there is a strong correlation between the academic preparation a student receives in high school and their success in college. Research from the ACT revealed that students who prepare academically by taking a core curriculum program consistently score higher on the ACT Assessment than those who do not. These same students also earn better grades in college. ACT defines the core minimum as four years of English, three years of math, three years of social studies and three years of natural
sciences.

"These results emphasize that the academic preparation a student receives in high school has a direct impact on their success in college," said Dr. Jane Nichols, chancellor of the University and Community College System of Nevada. "It is crucial that higher education continue to work with our K-12 partners to ensure a seamless education experience for the citizens of Nevada."

In order to strengthen this partnership, Nevada's Board of Regents last week approved the UCCSN's membership in the P-16 Council. The council, which will include P-12, higher education, and business and community representatives, will examine education issues including: increasing the college-going rate of Nevada's students; preparing students for entry into higher education; improving teaching preparation and professional development programs; and increasing communication to students of the academic expectations of the education and business communities.

Nevada's average composite of 21.3 remained unchanged for the past year, but was greater than the national average composite score of 20.8, down slightly from 21.0 the previous year.

Overall, Nevada students performed higher than the national average in all four areas:

The ACT Assessment comprises four curriculum-based achievement tests designed to assess critical reasoning and higher-order thinking skills in English, mathematics, reading and science. ACT Assessment results are used by postsecondary institutions across the nation for admissions, academic advising, course placement and scholarship decisions.

PLANETARIUM
"In Search of Intelligence" and "Sky Watch" are featured at The Planetarium, Cheyenne Campus, from now until mid October. Programs are presented every Friday at 6 and 7:30 pm and every Saturday at 3:30 and 7:30 pm. After 7:30 p.m. performances, telescopes at the Student Observatory will be open for viewing, weather permitting.

"In Search of Intelligence" explores the origins of intelligence and likelihood of finding other intelligent life forms in the Universe. The program runs 35 minutes and is suitable for grades 3 and up. It was originally produced by the Sudekum Planetarium of the Cumberlund Science Museum, but adapted for The Planetarium by Dr. Dale Etheridge. Local production was by Robert Pippin. "Sky Watch" is originally produced daily by the staff of The Planetarium and displays the latest information about occurrences in the heavens: current astronomical phenomena and the locations of the planets and constellations; recent data from major space programs such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station, Mars Global Surveyor, Galileo and Cassini. Program time is 20 minutes and suitable for all ages.

Admission prices are: general $4; discount $2.50. Seniors over 55, CCSN students and children under 12 qualify for the discount. Youth groups, where one person buys all tickets, also qualify for the discount.

COYOTE REPORT' AIRS WEEKLY
Each Monday, "Coyote Report" will be broadcast by KDWN Talk Radio AM720. Weekly at 5:20 p.m., local sportscaster Harvey Hyde, former UNLV head football coach, will present the latest news about CCSN sports programs and interviews with the coaches and athletes. His special guest in a Labor Day broadcast during the USC-Auburn game from the Rose Bowl stadium was CCSN athletic director and head baseball coach Tim Chambers.

FALL ASSESSMENT CENTER HOURS
Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 3, the Cheyenne Assessment Center will be open: Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. with last test at 7:30 p.m.; and Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. with last test at 3:30 p.m. Fall hours at Charleston will be Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m., with the last test at 5:30 p.m. Friday hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last test at 3:30 p.m. Students with two to three hour exams need to arrive at least two to three hours before closing. At Henderson, the hours are Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. with last test at 4:30 p.m. Friday hours are 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. with last test at 3:30 p.m.

IDEAS IN THE AIR
Tune to KNPR 89.5FM Monday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. to hear nationally known author and customer service consultant Nancy Friedman, the Telephone Doctor. Based in St. Louis, Friedman makes a house call to visit with CCSN program host John Kuminecz on Nevada Public Radio to discuss why businesses lose customer confidence and how to fight back and win the battle for customer satisfaction.

INTERNATIONAL NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL
Sept. 27-29 at the Horn, Cheyenne. All events are free and open to the public. Concerts, recitals, and workshops by internationally recognized composers and performers will propel audience into the avant garde. Call Dr. D. Gause-Snelson, 651-4118, for details.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

WOMEN'S SOCCER
The Coyotes play 12 of 20 games this fall at home, opening with nine straight in the first four weeks. Saturday at 7 p.m., the team clashes with one of the top four among California junior colleges when it plays Mt. San Antonio at Lied Field on the Henderson campus. CCSN’s Coyotes are 0-1 lifetime against the Mounties.

In a prior game to be played Friday at 5 p.m. at nearby Mission Hills Park, Mt. SAC faces Dixie State College, ranked second in the nation last year. CCSN will have to wait until Sept. 24 to play its first of four season match-ups against arch-rival Dixie in the Scenic West Athletic Conference.

The Coyotes evenly split three games last weekend, winning one, losing one and drawing another. CCSN beat a tough Fullerton CC (Calif.) squad 2-1, lost 2-0 to Arizona’s No. 2 team , Paradise Valley CC, then tied with Utah Valley State College 1-1.

According to head coach Ric Grenell, the Coyotes competed well against strong and seasoned opponents. “For example, UVSC is a four-year school that will play at Division I level next year, but has already recruited and plays with four-year athletes,” he said. In their season opener, the Coyotes played head-to-head with Mesa CC, Arizona’s No. 1 team and ranked 11th by the National Junior College Athletic Association. CCSN held the Thunderbirds to a lone winning goal in the closing minutes.

Grenell, who formerly coached women’s soccer at Gonzaga University in Washington, will be a special interview guest Monday with sports commentator Harvey Hyde on KDWN AM-720 Radio. Hyde, a former UNLV head football coach, hosts “Coyote Report” every Monday at 5:20 p.m., to report the latest news about CCSN sports programs with coach and athlete interviews.

Academics plan an equally important role for CCSN student athletes. Eighteen of 21 Coyote soccer players are on scholarship with 14 women earning Millennium rides. Of the ten sophomores who played last year, nine graduated with associate degrees.

The 2002 CCSN Coyotes

CCSN TO PUBLISH ANNUAL FACULTY REVIEW
Together with the Faculty Center for Learning and Teaching, CCSN Public Affairs will be publishing the first annual Faculty Review Journal to promote the published and presented works of CCSN's outstanding faculty for years 2000 thru 2002. The 100-page publication will have statewide community leader distribution and national academic distribution - a first class publication about a world class faculty. Contributors should submit their published textbooks, writings, articles, conference presentations, reports on research, grants and sabbaticals, and reports of academic or occupational program new developments and milestones.

Submit hard copy and disk (WS Word) to CCSN/PA [W4D] by Sept. 16.
Contact John Kuminecz at ext. 7300 for details.

New Science Building
Work continues apace...

CCSN FAMILY GROWS
The Recruitment Department has a new member!! Lori Wilhelm at Charleston campus delivered a baby boy this week. Jack was 20.5 inches long and weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds!! Mother and baby are doing well -- congratulations Lori and Doug!!!

Kelly Wuest, student services coordinator for workforce development at Charleston, is also celebrating a new addition to the Las Vegas executive work force: a baby girl named Alexandria, 20 inches tall and weighing in at seven pounds, two ounces.

Changing Your Diet [WebMD/Living Healthy]
People's ability to change their behavior is related to the degree of stress in their lives. The more stress, the harder it is to make any kind of positive behavior change. Taking inventory of the stress in your life may be the best first step toward changing your eating habits.

Changing your behavior in any way is never easy. It may not be enough to know about nutrition or know what you should be doing differently. Most people also need strategies and plans for making these changes. This section will help you change your overall diet. It will address problems of getting started, finding the motivation to change (including overcoming barriers), maintaining the changes you've made, and tracking your progress.

Getting started
If you are a person who has never paid much attention to what you eat, making changes in your diet or using a special diet plan that has been recommended to you may seem overwhelming. Or, if you are a person who has tried many differentdiets, you may be frustrated because you haven't been able to stick to them. The following are the most important things toremember: Make small changes. Don't try to change your whole diet at once. You are more likely to be successful by making small changes and sticking with them for the long term. Any positive changes you make will improve your health. Your diet doesn't have to be an "all or none" affair. If you go back to old eating habits for a meal, for a day, or for a week, it doesn't mean you have failed and should stop trying to make improvements in your diet.
Try some easy ways to improve your nutrition.

Setting goals
Keep track of your progress. Write down your goals. When you reach your first goal, reward yourself! Then set a new goal.

Periodically go back and check your progress. Small successes can add up quickly and make a big difference in your life. Make only one change at a time. For example, you may want to work on improving what you eat for lunch, or you could try to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Pick a change that will be easy for you to make. Or try making a single change that will have a big impact on your diet, such as reducing the number of meals that have red meat as the main course to only 3 per week. Add something to your diet instead of taking something away. Try to add foods that you think you need more of, like fruits and vegetables. Taking things out of your diet (for example, foods that are high in fat or sugar) may leave you feeling deprived, which may make it more difficult for you to make a change. Chances are, if you are trying to eat more fruits, you will sometimes reach for fruit instead of chips or cookies, and your diet will end up being lower in fat and sugar anyway.

Choose more of the healthy foods that you enjoy. Look at the foods you like (make a list) and see how you can change them to make them healthier. For example, make pizza at home using fat-free pizza sauce, low-fat or nonfat mozzarella cheese, and lots of fresh vegetables. Substitute healthy foods you like for less nutritious ones in your diet. Motivation
Getting motivated to change your diet is essential but hard to do. Motivation problems may have gotten in your way in the past. Try not to let bad experiences and attitudes from the past stop you from becoming motivated now.

Barriers to eating well
Even when you know about the benefits of eating well, you may find it hard to change your lifestyle until you deal with the reasons you give yourself for not eating well. Barriers to eating well often include valid reasons for why you aren't eating well and excuses you make to avoid something you dislike or fear. It can be hard to tell the difference between a valid reason and an excuse, and it may not be important. It's more important to face these barriers and find solutions.

Recall the last few times you thought about improving your diet but didn't follow through with it. What held you back? Examine the choices you make each day. Try this each day for a week: Write down your reasons for not improving your diet. Then for each of your reasons, write a response that helps you reconsider your choice. Look at this list of reasons and responses whenever you are about to make a choice about what to eat.

Sometimes fear is the reason people avoid change. Consider the following list of reasons not to change your eating habits. Do any of the reasons sound familiar to you? Follow the links to learn what fears may be behind your reasons and to learn about possible solutions to these barriers to change.

"I have no time." (Or, "I'm too busy at work"; "I always feel rushed"; "I have more important things to do").

"I don't like healthy foods." (Or, "I don't like vegetables or low-fat foods"; "I crave sweets and high-fat foods too much"; "What if the changes I make don't make me feel better or become healthier?")

"I would feel silly eating 'health food.'" (Or, "I don't want to draw attention to myself by ordering special foods"); ("My friends, coworkers, or family would tease or embarrass me.")

"I am not good at making changes." (Or, "I'm too old, fat, or set in my ways to make changes now.")

Perhaps the greatest fear that holds people back is the fear of failure. People put off making all kinds of changes in their lives because of this fear. The most helpful approach to overcoming the fear of failure is to carefully define "success" and "failure" using realistic goals. If your goal is simply to eat better than you do now, it will be hard to fail. If your goal is to lose a certain amount of weight, to "cure" a disease, or to eat "perfectly," then the fear of failure is likely to hold you back.