New-faculty seminars begin Friday

Six new-faculty seminars, which are an extension of orientation, will be rolled out this academic year, during both the fall and spring semesters. The first seminar, Instructional Techniques, will be held this Friday.
See below for the seminar schedule for the fall semester. The spring schedule will be posted in January 2011.

Instructional Techniques
Panel with Tom Wheeler and Zola Gordy
Aug. 26 – BTC CC248 – 1-4 p.m.

Classroom Management
Panel with Shelli Allen and Lisa Minis
Sept. 30 – MW SC132 – 1-4 p.m.

Faculty Evaluation
Panel with Cheryl Winter, Janet Wyatt and Bill Young
Oct. 28 – BR EC110 – 1-4 p.m.

New faculty are automatically registered for these sessions. Other faculty are also invited to attend and are asked to register with Lori Palmer.

LaBeth loves learning, laughing

Spend two minutes with Rodger LaBeth and one thing is clear: he enthusiastically embraces each day in his work as a professional development trainer at MCC. His ever-present smile and his perpetually-happy mood convey a genuine zeal for his career as an educator – and his love for lifelong learning.

It’s Rodger’s passion for his work that led to his nomination as April employee of the month for the Administrative Center.

Rodger’s 10 years at MCC was preceded by a career in collegiate and high school athletics. He worked as the football coach at Oak Grove High School and then in the same role at his alma mater, William Jewell College. His 20-year career at William Jewell included a stint as dean of physical education, athletics and facilities.

Rodger holds bachelor of arts degrees in biology and physical education from William Jewell and a master of arts degree in sports administration from Ohio University. He also completed coursework in the doctoral

Ian Jennings - "How do you know I'm English?"

Ian Jennings, student employment services coordinator at MCC-BTC, shared this story and other experiences of travel abroad in Turkey at a professional development workshop at MCC-Maple Woods.

Along with Beverly Jennings, Lawrence Ore, Selin Gaona and Aysun Ilhan, the group shared their knowledge of the history, culture and people of the ancient country, along with modern perspectives from Selin and Aysun about what it's like to be a 21st century Muslim woman, both in Turkey and in the United States.

Employee Learning Gets a New Face

Rich Higgason, Ph.D., MCC’s new director of educational programs and employee development, says his favorite aspect of working for MCC is that the institution is committed to making people’s lives better. “As one of my students said, MCC means 'hope.'”

Professional and organizational development at MCC is getting a new face – literally and figuratively.

Rich Higgason, who assumed the role of district director of educational programs and employee development in October, has innovative ideas in mind for his newly minted position – a role that is steeped in history and rich with possibility.

Higgason takes over where two seasoned colleagues left off: When Jane Zeitner, former director of educational programs, and Gail Barham, former director of organizational development, both retired last summer, the two roles were combined into one. Higgason, who was named to the new position on October 18 and officially starts the role full-time on January 1, tips his hat to his predecessors and embraces the opportunities that accompany the reformulated position.

“I’ve been amazed at the breadth and depth of programs Jane and Gail and their teams put on,” said Higgason. “There are already so many opportunities for employee learning, so we’ll continue to build on those, dovetailing the programs for faculty and staff and promoting all opportunities to the full employee audience.”

Higgason, who has been with MCC for 16 years and most recently was division chair for humanities at MCC-Blue River, believes employee learning is as fundamental to MCC as student learning.

“MCC’s vision statement stresses the importance of learning, including employee learning, and professional development is key to carrying out our mission to educate students,” said Higgason. “We need to be sure staff, faculty and administrators have the skills they need not only for their current roles but also for future growth. Continued learning equips us to best serve students and at the same time provides for employees’ own personal and professional growth.”

Higgason holds a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia, a master of arts in English from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a doctor of philosophy in English literature and criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He served as a graduate teaching assistant and an adjunct lecturer at UMKC before joining MCC in 1994 as an adjunct lecturer at Longview. He became a full-time instructor at MCC-Blue River in 1998 and became division chair for humanities in 2006. He has served on more than 15 task forces and committees at MCC, including leading the Strategic Planning Council’s 2010 strategy 8 efforts to improve communication across the district and serving as a member of the MCC faculty senate and of MCC-Blue River’s president’s cabinet.

In addition to developing, promoting and delivering professional development programs, Higgason is also responsible for student service learning, district-wide student orientation and other student- and employee-focused initiatives. Though most of his experience as an instructor is in front of students, Higgason says he is looking forward to the challenge of providing learning opportunities to a new audience.

“The difference between teaching students and training employees is that you have to be a better teacher,” he said. “Employees are there voluntarily, so if your training is not effective, they stop coming. You’ve got to keep their attention and engage them in a different way.”

Watch for more information soon from the office of educational programs and employee development, including improvements to the training tracking system and streamlined promotion of educational and training programs.

Evening at the Fed: a free professional development opportunity

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City invites educators to attend this week's Evening at the Fed, a professional development opportunity featuring a presentation about the current state of our economy. Attendees will receive a certificate of professional development and free materials to help apply the information in the classroom.

Dinner and Discussion for Educators
Topic: Economic Update and Lessons Learned from the Recession
Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010 - 5:30-8 p.m.
There is no cost to attend, but registration is required; space is limited.
Click for additional information or to register.

MCCA Convention info

The 46th Annual MCCA Convention will be held in St. Louis, Mo. on Nov. 3-5. This is just a week away.

Visit the 2010 program for hotel/plaza maps, members and a detailed list of all the sessions.

To see MCC's position of support for MCCA, view the Chancellor's message here.

MCC-Longview's FLYT invites you to learn about "The New Normal"

MCC-Longview's FLYT invites you to hear from guest speakers Dr. Angela Bahner and Hossien Bhamie as they discuss "The New Normal" in our education system.

Connect with fellow peers and take some time to learn something new with FLYT.

3 p.m. Oct. 25

MCC-Longview Cultural Arts Center

Student Services Professionals - Register for the MoCPA Conference by Sept. 15!

The Missouri College Personnel Association (MoCPA) is now registering for its annual conference, held this year Oct. 3-5 at Lodge of the Four Seasons in Lake of the Ozarks. This professional development opportunity is open to all student services staff and administrators and registration must be completed by Sept 15. To register online, visit the MoCPA website.

This year's conference "Looking Back, Leading Forward," will feature keynote speakers Dr. Tom Jackson, American College Personnel Association (ACPA) president, and Grant Baldwin, founder of http://www.brokepiggy.com/, a website that focuses on educating student about all financial matters from taxes to tight budgets.

If you have any questions, contact Dusty Mills, student development administrative assistant at MCC-Maple Woods and MoCPA newsletter coordinator.