Archive for December, 2007
This week’s RLC news update
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Community and Economic Development – Richland College’s Emeritus Program hosted its Back-to-School Kickoff on Tuesday in Fannin Performance Hall with Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow as the keynote speaker. Emeritus line-dancers provided a toe-tapping demonstration of dances they have learned in their Wellness class, and the more than 300 kickoff participants received an overview of Richland College’s spring course offerings, the Emeritus spring course booklet, and refreshments.
Student Success – This week’s Richland College Student Wall of Honor features Hsiang K. “Frank” Fei who was born in Hua-Lien, Taiwan, where he graduated from high school, attended college to major in automatic control engineering, served in the Taiwanese army, and later worked in an electrical component company. While coming to the U.S. to complete a master’s degree, in 1998 he was diagnosed with stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and underwent a physical and emotional battle with treatments, drugs, tests, and being laid off from work twice. Following a successful bone marrow transplant in 2002, he decided to change his career path to a health-related profession, hoping to help others who experience similar health challenges in life. Enrolling at Richland College, he has maintained a 4.0 GPA and remains focused on his ultimate goal to contribute to the prevention and treatment of cancers.
Employee Success – Dr. Sherry Dean, executive dean, Humanities, was the opening keynote speaker at the 15th International Mexican Recycling Congress and Expo (INARE) in Acapulco, Mexico, November 8th. Dr. Dean’s address was entitled “The Cultural Imperative of the Global Economy.” Dr. Dean shared the opening program with Juan Lopez of the Environmental Executive Office of the White House and Egyptian Ambassador to Mexico, his Excellency Aly Houssam El Din El Hefny. Government and business representatives from Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Spain, China, Mexico and the United States attended the INARE conference.
Institutional Effectiveness – Richland College’s institutional effectiveness in workforce training was highlighted recently as S.S.T. Truck Company was recognized with the Employer Award of Excellence at the Texas Workforce Commission’s Annual Conference in Houston. S.S.T. Truck was nominated by the WorkSource for Dallas County Board of Directors for the outstanding program it developed with Richland College this past year. The program provided 88 hours of basic truck manufacturing training to more than 600 S.S.T. Truck employees, which resulted in enhanced skill levels, increased employee morale, higher productivity, and an increase in new business for the Garland plant.
Richland Collegiate High School - Senior Charlie Manion was recently announced as one of the 42 students selected by U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd District-Texas) to participate in the 2007-2008 Congressional Youth Advisory Council. This is the second year Charlie has been selected to serve. Congressman Johnson created the Council in 2004 to provide him greater student perspective and insight on issues directly impacting younger Americans and to educate students on government policies relevant to young people. Charlie also received word this week that he has been accepted into The University of Texas at Austin Mechanical Engineering Program as a junior.
Published by Anitra Cotton on December 17th, 2007 tagged Uncategorized | Comment now »
Richland College seeking top tier among energy-efficient buildings in the U.S.
Richland College held a special ground-breaking ceremony last week for its new science building. The event marked the construction of a $40 million, 114,000-square-foot facility that will house Richland’s science programs, Science Corner, bookstore, coffee bar, and conference rooms.
Features will include special sustainable construction to include the ability to harvest sunlight, underground cisterns to collect and irrigate rain water to other parts of the campus, as well as interactive devices in restrooms that users control to save water. Some building and furnishing materials will be made of recycled materials, such as the carpet and furniture, and local vendors will be utilized as often as possible to minimize exhaust fumes and excess fuel consumption from lengthy transports. A hands-on geology pit, green terrace roof, and monitoring stations to showcase energy efficiency will also be integrated, providing “field learning” for students.
The décor will even be eco-friendly, including building integrated science-learning art. World-renowned science artist Larry Kirkland, with the help of Richland science and art faculty and students, is designing science-learning art to illustrate scientific principles and be aesthetically inspiring.
College administrators, architects, and contractors are seeking platinum status under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. LEED is a nationally recognized standard for the design and construction of high-performing green buildings. Currently, there are less than 20 LEED Platinum-certified buildings in the U.S.
“The additional beauty in designing this building to LEED Platinum-certified standards is the return on investment Richland College will experience in the operation of this facility–an operational savings we will experience from the first year of operation and throughout its life cycle,” said Mittelstet at the Dec. 6 ceremony.
With reduced operational costs through energy-efficient savings, this building will end up costing less than buildings built through traditional construction methods, saving approximately $200,000 in annual operating costs.
The design and construction of this building is a major step in Richland’s involvement in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s President’s Climate Commitment. This commitment, along with several other initiatives, is part of an ongoing effort to achieve climate neutrality on the Richland campus.
For more information, contact Anitra Cotton at 972-238-6022.
Published by Anitra Cotton on December 12th, 2007 tagged Environmental, News | Comment now »
This week’s RLC news update
Community and Economic Development – At its annual awards breakfast, Workforce for Dallas County recently honored the Dallas County Manufacturers’ Association (DCMA), administered by the Garland Chamber of Commerce and Richland College, as Outstanding Employer for 2007. Ayako Oi, Director of Economic Development for the Garland Chamber, and Richland College Director of Community and Chamber Relations Tandy Dollar joined the participating DCMA manufacturers to accept awards on behalf of their businesses and institutions. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Workforce Training Alliance, administered by El Centro College, were also recipients of this award.
Student Success – This week’s Richland College Student Wall of Honor features Ervin “Koe” Jones. Koe experienced a tumultuous home life from an early age, so he ran away from home at age 10 and began living life on the streets. By 13, he entered the juvenile court system and lived the majority of his childhood in foster care. Fortunately he developed a relationship with a woman he calls “Grandma,” who ran a shelter for displaced teens and encouraged him to go back to school. Koe completed high school and went on to attend Richland College and play basketball. He struggled with developmental reading, writing and math courses his first year but persevered to complete two years as a student athlete, achieving a 3.4 GPA and earning a basketball scholarship to Peru State in Nebraska, where he earned a degree in sports management. Returning to Dallas in July 2006, he currently works for the U.S. Postal Service, serves as a youth minister at the Mount Olive Church of Plano, and serves as the strength and conditioning coach for the Thunderduck basketball team.
Employee Success – Congratulations to Richland College theatre faculty and students who light up the Dallas-Forth Worth theater scene once again! Theatre Three’s production of “Season’s Greetings” is directed by Kerry Cole and stars Emily Gray, both adjunct theatre instructors, and also stars Sara Lovett, former Richland College theatre student. The Dallas Theater Center recently opened its third annual production of “A Christmas Carol” starring Matt Gray, adjunct theatre instructor, while Wendy Welch, adjunct theatre instructor, also stars in the North Texas premier of Casa Manana’s “A Christmas Carol” at Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall.
Institutional Effectiveness – GREENRichland has been selected as one of 10 Bellwether Finalist Winners in the Planning, Governance, and Finance category, and has been competitively selected to compete for the prestigious 2008 Bellwether Award at the upcoming Community College Futures Assembly in January. GREENRichland leads and learns with students, colleagues, and global partners in developing practices, policies, programs and partnerships that promote a robust natural environment and an abundant quality of life for future generations.