March 17, 2008

The DigestWhat’s Happening at KVCC

What’s below in this edition Poet laureate due (Pages 1/2) 84 employers (Pages 10/11)

Don’t fret! (Pages 2/3) Career workshop (Pages 11/12) Auto Academy II (Pages 4/5) 9 for Ireland (Pages 12/13) Diversity confab (Pages 5/6) Campus tours (Page 13) Festival of Health (Pages 6/7) ‘Job Fair 911’ (Pages 13/14) Recipe winner (Pages 7/8) The Coliseum (Pages 14/15) Music in Commons (Pages 8/9) Transfer made easy (P-15/16) Boo, LCC! (Page 9) Bob Dylan (Pages 16/17) Wellness screens (Pages 9/10) Polar skies (Pages 17/18)

And Finally (Page 16)

☻☻☻☻☻☻‘About Writing’ hosts its first poet laureate April 7-8

“Compared to the dreary life of any star, flaring up to collapse into nothing, my

life is rich with happenings. For example, a bat like a small black rag has been fluttering back and forth through the yard light all evening, harvesting the stars of tiny moths, catching one tiny star in its teeth with each pass. They jerkily fly this way and that, but they can’t escape this hungry littlie piece of darkness.”

One could hardly believe that these thoughts and word pictures are the creation of a fellow who spent much of his career in life insurance.

But that’s part of the background of Ted Kooser, the next presenter in KVCC’s series of “About Writing” who served as the U. S. Poet Laureate to the Library of Congress from 2004 through 2006.

Poet/essayist Kooser, a professor of English at The University of Nebraska who has taught at least one course a year on the Lincoln campus for 38 years, will be on the KVCC campus for two days on April 7-8.

Kooser will talk about his writing craft at 10 a.m. in the Student Commons Forum on that Monday and Tuesday and do a reading at 2 p.m. on Monday only at 2 p.m. in the Student Commons Theater. All three of the presentations are free and open to the public.

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Kooser’s writing is known for its clarity, precision and accessibility. He worked for many years in the life-insurance business, retiring in 1999 as a vice president. He and his wife, Kathleen Rutledge, editor of The Lincoln Journal Star, live on an acreage near the village of Garland, Neb., where Kooser is regarded as one of his state’s literary treasures.

The author of 11 full-length collections of poetry since the late 1960s, Kooser has been published in The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, Poetry, The Hudson Review, The Nation, The American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, and Antioch Review. Kooser’s poems are included in textbooks and anthologies used in both secondary schools and college classrooms across the country.

Kooser has read his poetry for The Academy of American Poets in New York City as well as for many university audiences including those at the University of California at Berkeley, Cornell University, Case Western Reserve, The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, and Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He’s also written plays, fiction, personal essays, and literary criticism.

His “The Poetry Home Repair Manual” offers beginning poets tips for their writing. Currently he is editor and publisher of Windflower Press that specializes in the publication of contemporary poetry.

Born in Ames, Iowa, in 1939, Kooser earned a bachelor of science at Iowa State University in 1962 and a master of arts at the University of Nebraska in 1968. He is a former vice president of the Lincoln Benefit Life, where he worked as an insurance representative for many years and was a “part-time poet.”

His topics are varied, from Valentine Day’s greetings to women to two “geezers” playing checkers in a city park to a battered old beer bottle.

In one of her columns in The Detroit Free Press, Susan Ager, herself an “About Writing” presenter at KVCC a few years back, said Kooser writes of “commonplace things. Of a new potato. Of celery hearts, on sale for 98 cents a pound. Of an old couple splitting a restaurant sandwich.”

“Commonplace” can end up on uncommon ground as Kooser learned when named poet laureate of the United States – “a crown worn by the finest poets of our times,” Ager wrote – including Robert Frost. In 2005, it merited a Pulitzer Prize.

The organizer of the “About Writing” series is English instructor Rob Haight who can be reached at extension 4452.

Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival expands to two daysThe third Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s salute

to the local legacy of “pickin’ ‘n’ singin’,” will be held over two days as a sign of its growing popularity.

Free to the public and nothing to fret about, the festival will host a variety of events on Saturday, March 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, March 30, from 1 to 4 p.m. It is sponsored by the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Foundation.

On display will be the craftsmanship of the Kalamazoo area’s skilled makers (luthiers) of stringed instruments, while performers will be making music on these instruments as well. Workshops, lectures and displays by vendors will also spill over into KVCC’s Anna Whitten Hall next door to the downtown-Kalamazoo museum.

Among the performers will be:

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♫ The original Americana sound of The Corn Fed Girls.

♫ Gerald Ross, a virtuoso on the traditional Hawaiian steel guitar and ukulele who will also lead a workshop on his specialty instruments.

♫ Patricia Pettinga, Bill Willging and Friends, who specialize in traditional blues and folk music.

♫ The country-and-western twang of The Two Choices Band.

♫ Bluegrass music from The Mossy Mountain Band and Who Hit John?.Workshops on how to play a variety of instruments and styles of music will be

available for those of all skill and interest levels. Exhibits and demonstrations by manufacturers of guitars, banjos and mandolins

are planned, as are lectures about this area’s musical legacy. Those presenters and the topics will include Joel Mabus (guitar chords), Brian

Delaney (swing guitar), Jackie Zito (mandolin), Miles Kusik (classical guitar), and Mark Sahlgren (a guitar retrospective).

The first festival in May of 2006 attracted about 800, according to Jay Gavan, who is again coordinating the event for museum..

It was switched to a March date in 2007 to avoid competing with the Kalamazoo Animation Festival International and future conflicts with the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, as would have been the case this spring.

The 2007 turnout that packed the museum and Whitten Hall led to the decision to move to being a two-day event.

“Ever since the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Co. began making guitars here in 1894,” said Gavan, who has worked for Heritage Guitar Inc. that is still based in the former Gibson woodshop, “Kalamazoo has been famous for this tradition. It is like a mecca. People from all over the world know Kalamazoo for its guitars.

“This is a celebration of Kalamazoo’s legacy of stringed-instrument design and manufacture,” Gavan said. “It invites people to meet instrument designers, learn about their trade, hear live performances by area musicians, and take part in a variety of workshops. And it’s all free.”

In between workshops, performances and demonstrations, visitors will be able to view exhibits.

Among those sharing their knowledge and their wares will be professionals who make Heritage, Robinson, Kingslight, Wechter and other brands of stringed instruments.

Also manning displays will be Aaron’s Music Service in Vicksburg, the Great Lakes Acoustic Music Association, and the Kalamazoo Folklife Organization.

Making its debut at the Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival, Elderly Instruments of Lansing.

Gavan said the festival is devoted to guitars, banjos, mandolins, upright bass, and “anything that is considered an acoustic stringed instrument or even an electric stringed instrument that was or still is designed and produced here.”

For more information and events scheduled for the third Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival, call 373-7972.

Or visit this website: www.kalamazoomuseum.org.

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Second auto academy gearing upThe deadline to apply for KVCC’s second Automotive Academy and its

accelerated training model to provide the next generation of technicians for employment in the profession is April 30.

The inaugural 18-member academy, which convened in early September of 2007, is in the middle of its second phase of training and will conclude in August after some “in-the-shop” experience.

Among the selection criteria in the competitive process are the quality of the written applications, a “documented work ethic,” interest in and knowledge of automotive technology, letters of recommendation, and driving records.

As part of the process, David “Charlie Fuller, KVCC’s director of career academies in advanced technology, and members of the automotive program’s advisory committee will interview each applicant.

The three-phase, 42-week approach to fast-track training has been requested by Southwest Michigan auto dealerships and automotive shops.

The fee for the second academy is $9,000 for more than 1,500 hours of intensive, targeted professional instruction. This includes uniforms valued at $300, $700 worth of textbooks, and $7,000 in high-tech tools that automotive technicians need to function.

“The automotive academy is like a job,” Fuller said. “We look for students who can make a full-time commitment, not somebody who will skip a class here and there.”

Beginning on Sept. 2, the enrollees will be in class or in the lab from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, and 8 to 2:30 on Fridays.

“For example,” Fuller said, “our regular introductory course in shop fundamentals spans 15 weeks and meets twice a week. In the academy, it is done in eight consecutive class days. In other words, don’t miss a class.”

Fuller said the KVCC academy rates as a bargain because similar programs across the country carry a price tag of $25,000 to $30,000, and many of those don’t include the tools offer.

In the college’s regular auto-tech curriculum, the cost for a two-year degree is about $6,000, including books. Students generally provide the basic tools, while more sophisticated equipment is available in the KVCC lab.

The thrust to create an automotive academy came from the advisory committee and the dealerships they represent, Fuller said. “They wanted a fast-track training program and to offer another avenue for students interested in targeted instructions in this field. They told us what we needed to teach students and they recommended lots of hands-on learning.”

After two busy phases of five-days-a-week training, the academy’s third stage comes into play, and even more reality enters the picture.

“Over the summer when our auto labs are generally not used,” Fuller said, “we’ll turn them into an authentic repair shop. Students will learn about and practice customer relations, business skills, the process of ordering parts, communication skills, and preparing accurate estimates.”

In addition to working on the vehicles owned and operated by KVCC, the shop will be open to the public.

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The only caveat is that the prospective customer is driving “a decent vehicle that has educational value,” Fuller said.

Fuller said “the shop will be run like a business. At the end of each day, the students will gather to learn whether they were productive and assess their efficiency. If some kind of problem crops up, it’s back to the classroom to review procedures, the diagnoses, and what went wrong in the repairs.”

In addition to stressing the eight automotive-knowledge areas that are certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and preparing students to reach those standards, the KVCC academy will explore advanced-technology and hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels because, in many instances, a different branch of knowledge is required. Auto-body repairs may also some day come into play.

Financial aid is available, and scholarship funds awardable through the Kalamazoo Promise also qualify for the KVCC Automotive Academy.

While the accelerated-training modules are non-credit entities, those who successfully complete the academy, which will be 100 percent directed toward automotive courses, can be eligible for 33 credits.

Those can be applied toward a two-year degree (66 credit hours) by completing additional technical courses and passing classes in college and technical writing, technical math, political science, social science, and wellness/physical education.

Fuller can be contacted for more information at extension 4178.

Diversity conference open to students, staffWalking in the shoes of the impoverished, a portrait of poverty in Kalamazoo by

Mayor Bobby Hopewell, insights into the psychological and spiritual lives of gays and other sexual orientations, ethnic differences ingrained in the issue of immigration, and a look at attention-deficit disorder are among the topics to be addressed at KVCC’s fifth annual Diversity Conference.

Slated for Friday, March 28, from 8 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. on the Texas Township Campus, one of the highlights will be the opportunity for participants to engage in a three-hour simulation designed to sample the daily lives of people who are below the poverty line.

“A Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes,” under the auspices of the Kalamazoo County Poverty Reduction Initiative, is slated for 8:45 to 11:45 a.m. in one of the conference’s two tracks.

As in the past, the college’s yearly conference – this year’s theme is “Diversity: In Our Own Back Yard” – is free and open to the public as well as to KVCC students, faculty and staff.

Pre-registration is required because of space availability.Conferees not taking part in the morning simulation can attend presentations on

the ethnic and culture differences surrounding the question of immigration and the psychological, emotional and spiritual impact of being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

Following the lunch break, the tracks will include presentations on attention deficit disorder, how males and females become socialized in the U. S. culture, Mayor Hopewell’s views on the extent of poverty in the Kalamazoo area, and an overview of what it will take in the community to stem this tide.

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Among the speakers and presenters during the all-day conference are:● Immigration attorney Maia Storm● Theo Sypris, director of KVCC’s program in international studies● Tracy Hall, a political-science instructor at KVCC● Psychologist Judy Loudin● River Artz-Iffland, a community activist● Kimberly Crider and Maggie Hiatt of the Kalamazoo County Poverty

Reduction Initiative● Michele Novotni, former president of the Attention Deficit Disorder

Association● Mark Orbe of the Western Michigan University School of Communications● Kalamazoo City Commissioner Don Cooney, who is also an assistant professor

of social work at WMU; he will share lectern duties with Mayor Hopewell, director of hospitality services at the Borgess Medical Center and a KVCC alumnus.

● Representatives from the Free Clinic of Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo Communities in Schools Foundation, Loaves and Fishes, and Kalamazoo County Community Mental Health.

The mission of the Kalamazoo County Poverty Reduction Initiative is to foster collaborative and mutually accountable public-private partnerships that increase both access to and resources for individuals and families living in poverty.

The simulation was crafted to help participants understand what it might be like to live in a typical low-income family trying to survive from month to month. They assume roles in a variety of families facing crises, such as losing the “breadwinner,” becoming unemployed, or trying to raise children on only a Social Security check.

The scenario includes the spectrum of community resources that might be available to provide the basic necessities of food, shelter and financial support. Volunteers, preferable people who have faced or are facing poverty, are recruited to represent these resources.

After the exercise, there is a debriefing in which participants and volunteer staffers share their feelings and talk about what they have learned about the lives of people in poverty.

For more information and to register, visit http://diversity.kvcc.edu, follow the link on the KVCC home page, or call the registration line at 488-4870.

Festival of Health fills museum SaturdayThe best way to ward off disease and other medical maladies is to prevent them in

the first place, and that’s the theme of the seventh annual Festival of Health slated for the Kalamazoo Valley Museum on Saturday (March 15) from noon to 4 p.m.

It will focus on how to keep oneself in peak shape, on the keys to having healthy families, on how to establish personal habits that boost wellbeing, on alternative methods of health care, and on tips for personal behavior that can promote a vigorous physical condition.

The free Festival of Health will feature professionals and representatives from traditional and nontraditional health organizations presenting information, conducting demonstrations, administering free messages, and providing hands-on activities and health-related games for children that promote healthy habits and fitness.

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The four-hour event will offer a full compendium of programs that teach people of all ages the ways and means for achieving optimum health throughout the body, including:

● spinal screenings and posture evaluations● choosing healthy snacks and engaging in physical activity● the basics of family health that can empower children and adults● dental safety and cavity prevention● self-defense techniques that can boost physical conditioning● how biotechnology can strengthen or intervene in a body’s functions and how its processes can reduce or eliminate pain, boost stamina, aid deep sleep, and improve complexion● the life-saving equipment in ambulances● vision screenings and the basics of eye care● the importance of rest and sleep in children’s health● how massage can ease stress● demonstrations on how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) ● the health benefits of proper nutrition● films about cancer, what it is and how it can be avoided and treatedAmong the organizations that will be participating in the Festival of Health are:The Life EMS Ambulance Service, the Bronson BirthPlace, the Kalamazoo

Center for the Healing Arts, the Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service, Juice Plus, the Milwood Spine Center, Great Lakes Health Plan;

Bio-Resonator, Blue Heron Academy, Rx Optical, the KVCC Dental Hygiene Clinic, the KVCC Student Nurses Association, Bronson Methodist Hospital, Elite Tae Kwon Do, The Sharp Smile Center, Gazette Sports;

The Kalamazoo County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Child & Family Psychological Services, Kalamazoo School of Music and Dance, the American Chemical Society, and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

For more information about the Festival of Health, contact Annette Hoppenworth at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, at extension 7990.

Coconut recipe wins the $25,000The winner of the cupcake competition in The Food Network’s “The Ultimate

Recipe Showdown” was a woman from Buckatunna, Miss., for an item called “Tres Leches Coconut Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Butter Cream.”

Food experts chose it over entries that included the 4-inch-in-diameter gingerbread cupcake covered with brandy sauce and whipped orange-flower cream that carried the hopes for the $25,000 first prize of Channon Mondoux, spouse of KVCC’s assistant director of planning, research and assessment.

Channon was in the finals of the cupcake competition that was aired Sunday, March 9, on The Food Network. The episode was filmed last August in Los Angeles and all of the entrants were sworn to secrecy.

She has teamed with a local pastry chef and food-preparing company to make her gingerbread cupcake available for purchase. It will be sold through the end of March at Bravo! Restaurant, 5402 Portage Road and can be ordered online at myconfection.com.

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Channon, who was born in Canada, prepares food at The Fetzer Institute, owns a personal-catering company called Renaissance Cuisine, and writes free-lance articles about her profession for The Kalamazoo Gazette.

A cook since childhood and tutored by a grandmother, she was trained by the Canadian Personal Chef Association and completed a variety of classes from Le Cordon Bleu in Montreal.

She also studied under a Lebanese restaurateur, learning the subtleties of Arabic cooking and gaining an appreciation for the foods of the Middle East.

More than a decade ago, she began to study the cuisines of history, which led to recreating famed dinners from the past as part of fund-raising events for nonprofits.

Channon now offers her services as a culinary historian for both private and public events. She is also known for her theories of healthy foods.

With a couple of bachelor’s degree from the University of Windsor, she entered the social-work profession, served as an assessor, and did public relations for the Canadian government before she, spouse Dan, and their three children moved to Kalamazoo five years ago.

She told the Gazette she believed her background in food history and in public relations, as well as her cooking talents, helped in being selected among the nine finalists in a category that attracted 10,000 entries.

Wednesday concerts to fill Commons with musicThe 43-member KVCC Campus Band will present its mid-semester concert on

Wednesday (March 19) in the Student Commons on the Texas Township Campus. Free and open to the public, the concert will feature Fucik’s “Thunder and

Blazes” (which is played when a circus marches out its performers), Cliftin Jones’ “An American Songbook” (a medley of traditional U. S. folk songs), Clare Grundman’s “Irish Rhapsody” (as part of Monday’s celebration of St. Patrick’s Day), and a piece from Johan Sebastian Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in G Minor.”

All will be played beginning at 1 p.m. and repeated starting at 1:30, according to conductor Chris Garrett.

The members of the winter-semester band include:Flute: Caitlin Langeland of Kalamazoo, Krystina Shaw of Portage, and Katie

Martinez of Allegan.Clarinet: Sarah Beu, Matthew Bowers, Brooke Briggson and Danylle Davault, all

of Kalamazoo; Kyla Armstrong of Climax; Dawn Garrett of Vicksburg; Steven Heimann and Anthony Winfrey of Comstock; Katie MacDowell of Richland; Danielle Daugherty of Marcellus; and Rebecca Rowgo of Parchment.

Bassoon: Ruth Birman, Hans Engelke and Leslie Wong, all of Kalamazoo.Saxophone: Hugh Lynch and Ward Vanderberg of Portage; James McCormick of

Kalamazoo.Trumpet: Nicholas Hampton, George Sylvester and Matthew VanSickle, all of

Kalamazoo; David Camp of Vicksburg; and Merle McCoy of Portage.Horn: Frank Jess of Kalamazoo, Joanne Decker of Mattawan, and Ruth Sloan of

Sturgis.Trombone: Ben Tribby and Kelly White of Kalamazoo; Aleks Copeland of

Comstock.

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Euphonium: Matthew Dally, Judy and Mark Schuitema, all of Portage; John Griffith of Kalamazoo; and Jim Woodhamms of Scotts.

Tuba: Bill Button and Matt Florian of Kalamazoo; Everett Ridderbos of Paw Paw; and Aaron Yahr of Scotts.

Percussion: Jamar McCaskey of Kalamazoo, Jeff Dally of Portage, and Fred Wolf of Constantine.

For more information, contact Garrett at extension 4102.

Lansing administers capital punishment to 2 seasonsKVCC’s basketball teams will be circling on their calendars the games next

season against Lansing Community College.That’s because LCC squads ousted both Cougars quintets from the National

Junior College Athletic Association’s district tournament semi-finals last week.The men’s team, leading by a deuce with less than seven minute to play, fell 70 to

60 while the Lady Cougars lost 72-65. The KVCC teams finished with 21-9 and 18-11 records, respectively.

But women’s coach Ron Welch reported that all was not gloom and doom at the tourney held in Ohio.

Shannon Dumond, a second-year player from Wayland, was named to the All-Tournament team. She tallied 42 points in the Cougars’ two games, including 27 against Cincinnati State in the opener.

Dumond and freshman Jeannie Closson were chosen as second-team All-Western Conference of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association while freshman Caitlyn Krull was accorded "honorable mention" status by the league coaches.

All three will participate in the East-West All-Star game at Lansing Community College at 2 p.m. on Sunday (March 16). A former KVCC performer, Tracy Little of Otsego, was named Grand Rapids Press High School Girls Coach of the Year. In her first year as a varsity coach, Little, who was an Academic All American and member of the KVCC Honors Program, led her Comstock Park team to an 18-3 record.

Employee-wellness assessments continuingLinda Howard of Holtyn and Associates will be conducting free wellness

screenings and counseling through Friday, April 19, for full-time KVCC employees and their spouses who are both new to the college’s program or continuing participants.

While payoffs in the past have focused on one’s personal and individual health, it is now starting to pay off in the pay checks of employees.

The one-on-one appointments include a glucose analysis, an HDL and cholesterol evaluation, a blood-pressure check, a body-composition reading, an assessment of cardio-respiratory fitness, an overall health survey, an individual fitness assessment, and a personal consultation.

Here’s the remaining schedule for 20-minute appointments for health-risk assessments and wellness counseling slated for Room 6044 in the Student Commons near the entrance to the Wellness and Fitness Center on the Texas Township Campus:

Monday (March 17); Tuesday (March 18); and Thursday (March 20) – all from 9 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. Wednesday (March 19) from 1 to 7 p.m.

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Monday, March 24; Tuesday, March 25; Wednesday, March 26 – all from 9 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. Thursday, March 27, from 1 to 7 p.m. Monday, March 31; Tuesday, April 1; and Wednesday, April 2 – all from 9 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. Monday, April 14, and Tuesday, April 15 – both from 9 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.

With all sessions to be held in Room 128 in Anna Whitten Hall on the Arcadia Commons Campus, appointments are available on:

Wednesday, April 16, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 17, and Friday, April 18 – both from 9 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.

The 20-minute screenings, which are not available during the lunch hour, can be done on work time. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call Ruth Baker at extension 4492 between 8 a.m. and noon. The other contact between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday is Blake Glass at extension 4177

All full-time staff, faculty and administrators – and their spouses -- are encouraged to sign up for this college-sponsored program, even if previous screenings had not identified any health risks.

Participants should wear comfortable, loosely fitting clothing. Short-sleeve tops are recommended. Fasting is not required, but it is advised not to consume caffeinated beverages two hours prior to the assessment and to refrain from smoking.

The testing is paid for by the college.All participants must complete a health survey prior to their screening

appointment This can be done by going the Holtyn website, www.holtynhpc.com and following the step-by-step instructions.

84 employers booked for Employment Expo The 2008 KVCC Employment Expo on the Texas Township Campus is scheduled

for Wednesday, March 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 84 potential employers have signed up so far.

It is a no-cost opportunity for students, KVCC alumni and residents of Southwest Michigan to visit with representatives from area businesses and industries, from health-care organizations, human-service agencies, from manufacturers, the military services and the trades to discuss current and future employment opportunities.

Machining, retail merchandising, sales, law enforcement, manufacturing, welding, engineering, health care, inventory control, recreation and summer camps, delivery services, the construction trades, the military, marketing, finances and banking, computer technology, public safety, hotel management and hospitality, electrical technology, human services, broadcasting, communications, and hospital work will be among the career opportunities in the spotlight.

The representatives will gather in the Student Commons to talk to participants about their organizations, the employment prospects, career opportunities, and the chances for internships and volunteer service, both of which look good on a resume. Past

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expos have attracted more than 1,000 job seekers. Participants are urged to bring along resumes, a preparedness to be interviewed, and be appropriately attired.

Among the prospective employers who have indicated they will be available in the Commons during the four-hour event are:

Stryker Instruments, Sears Roebuck and Co., Kalamazoo Township Police Department, K & M Machine Fabricating Inc., Wil-Care Nursing Referral Agency Inc, Kazoo Inc., Dana Corp.;

Schupan & Sons Inc., Tendercare of Westwood, Thrivent Financial, Western & Southern Financial Group, YMCA Sherman Lake Outdoor Center, FedEx Ground, Kalamazoo Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, AFLAC, Borgess Health Alliance, Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial Services, Camp Tall Turf, WSI;

Michigan Air National Guard, Advance Employment Service, Educational Community Credit Union, Greenleaf Hospitality Group and Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites, Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Division;

Apprenticeships in plumbing, pipe fitting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, Trillium Staffing Solutions, Kadant Johnson Inc., the U. S. Air Force, the U. S. Army, Western Michigan University Center for Disability Services, WQXC and WZUU, the Allegan Department of Human Resources;

WWMT Channel 3, T-Mobile, the Marine Corps, Cumulus Media, Consumers Credit Union, Elite Marketing Solutions, EmploymentGroup, Friendship Village, Helping Hands Across America, the J. O. Galloup Co., The Kellogg Co., Manpower Professional;

Medical Resource Management, Morton Buildings Inc., New York Life Insurance, Reliv International, Right At Home, State Farm Insurance, Stay Home Companions, The Fountains at Bronson Place, Yerasoft;

Battle Creek Health System, Charter One Bank, Genx Corp., Michigan Indian Employment and Training Services, the Michigan State Police, Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc., Residential Opportunities Inc., SIR Home Improvements, the U.S. Navy, Wal-Mart Stores Inc;

Accro-Seal, Advantage Private Nursing Service Inc., Aramark Uniform Service, BeautiControl, Best Buy, Creative Foams Medical Systems, Full Throttle RPM, Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers, Heritage Community of Kalamazoo, Hewitt Associates, Home City Ice Co., Michigan Department of Human Services, Micro Machine Co., Mobley Solutions, Pepsi Bottling Group, and Winship.

More information is available by calling (269) 488-4272 or going to the college’s web page and clicking on “Employment Expo” at the bottom of the screen.

Health, science, environmental careers examinedCareer opportunities in the sciences, health care and business will be explored in a

pair of workshops planned by the KVCC Student Success Center’s Career and Assessment Services Office.

Faculty and staff are asked to alert students about these free career-exploration workshops on the Texas Township Campus.

The sciences, health careers, and conservation/natural resources will be in the spotlight on Tuesday (March 18) from 1:30 to 5 p.m. in the Student Commons Theater.

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During this session, professionals in health care and the sciences, along with employers in these fields, will present a “day-in-the-life” perspective for participating students.

Also on the agenda will be feedback from student peers who are enrolled in these kinds of programs, while faculty from these departments and an academic counselor will be on hand to talk about requirements and relevant information.

Employment opportunities in business, computer information systems, and communications are the theme for Tuesday, April 1, from noon to 3 in Rooms 4370/80.

Those planning to attend should notify Career and Assessment Services at extension 4123 or by e-mail at careercenter@kvcc.edu.

“Our goal in the Career and Assessment Services Office is to provide students with professional career programs, tools, and resources to assist them in making a good, educated career decision,” said Jenny Buysee, the director of Career and Assessment Services for the Student Success Center.

9 on board for Ireland trip in May, room for moreThree KVCC faculty members and six students are giving themselves one heck of

a St. Patrick’s Day present to themselves, and there’s still time for you to do the same.Instructors Linda Rzoska (graphic arts and program coordinator at the Center for

New Media), Isaac Turner (English) and Tom Hughes (history) will be leading the contingent that includes students Robert Sanders, Phillip Eikhoff, Judi Kozminske, Brittany Waanders, Rex Brokaw and Laura Wales.

Rzoska says there is room and still time for a few more.Together they will learn that through the eyes of an artist, there is more to Ireland

than green. The study trip to Ireland will again be under the auspices of the KVCC-based Midwest Institute for International/Intercultural Education.

From May 3 through May 24, the KVCC contingent will be based at Burren on central Ireland’s west coast overlooking Galway Bay, an area that for centuries has been a source of inspiration for all genre of artists — poets, novelists, painters, sculptors, musicians and playwrights.

A three-credit sociology class, “Irish Life and Culture,” will give students the opportunity to experience the culture and history of this fabled land.

The Burren College of Art, which is on the grounds of a 16th-century castle, will serve as the headquarters for the course as students explore the geography, history, flora, fauna and culture of this part of Ireland.

Known as “The Stony Place,” Burren is home to a wealth of archeological and monuments that includes megalithic tombs, medieval castles and abandoned abbeys.

The KVCC students will delve into past and present Irish life, ancient and medieval times, legends, poetry, mythology, religion, dance and music.

They will learn to understand the landscape, history and mythology of this historic and mystical area that has been an important part of Ireland’s legend for artistic creativity.

The students will receive a certificate from both the Midwest Institute and Burren College designating they have completed the three-credit course.

Field trips will take students to ancient monuments that chronicle the history of an Irish culture dating back more than 7,000 years.

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They will experience an abbey built in 1194, a 9th-century ring fort built of stone, a 6,000-year-old tomb, cliffs that plunge 700 feet to the Atlantic, and the coastal limestone region known as Black Head.

Those interested can contact Rzoska at extension 7923 or lrzoska@kvcc.edu.

Grand Valley, Ferris next on transfer tourFaculty are asked to advise their students about the opportunity to visit the

campuses of four-year universities around Michigan to gauge whether they intend to continue their students there.

Those interested in transferring should contact KVCC’s Transfer Resource Center in Room 1364 on the Texas Township Campus and register to take part in any of the tours.

Prospective tourists can also call the center at extension 4779 to determine whether they can meet the criteria to participate, to meet admissions representatives, visit dorms and other campus facilities, and to learn about financial-aid opportunities.

Here is the upcoming itinerary:● Grand Valley State University – Thursday (March 20)● Ferris State University – Friday (March 21)● Michigan State University – Wednesday, March 26● Central Michigan University – Friday, April 4● Columbia College in Chicago – Wednesday, April 9● Eastern Michigan University – Friday, April 11 Students must register for the trips because certain criteria must be met.

Prepping for the 2008 Employment ExpoThere is more to success at the college level than what happens in the classroom

and how well a student does.Other factors can play a role in whether college ends up as a satisfactory

experience. With that in mind, the Student Success Center is presenting a series of workshops

during the winter semester to focus on the barriers to success and what resources are available to help students make their way.

The free sessions are being held in the Student Commons. All students are welcome.

Refreshments are part of the attraction to learn about life resources and how to avoid the every-day barriers that can negatively impact on academic success.

Here’s the schedule: “Job Fair 911” on Tuesday, March 25, at 10 a.m. This session is designed to

prepare students in how to make solid first impressions when they take part in the 2008 Employment Expo on March 26, set for the Student Commons from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Psychology of Buying” on Tuesday, April 8, at 1 p.m. Chris Palmer of GreenPath Debt Solutions will explore the psychology of spending, which, when fully understood, will be valuable in overcoming the urge to splurge.

“Parenting 101” on Wednesday, April 9, at noon. KVCC counselor Chris Stroven will talk about the role of discipline, rode modeling and nurturing relationships in the raising of children. This session is booked for Room 4370 on the Texas Township Campus.

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“Yes! Your Life (Estate) Matters” on Monday, April 21, at 12:30 p.m. Kalamazoo attorney Danielle Redmond Street, whose commentaries are featured each week on WKZO radio during the Lori Moore Show, will talk about the importance for families to have wills, trusts and power of attorney. This presentation is set for the Student Commons Theater.

For more information, call Pamela Siegfried at extension 4825 or Diane

Vandenberg at extension 4755. The blood-and-guts Coliseum’s brick and mortar

Complementing the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s current nationally touring exhibition about the wonders and miracles of building complicated edifices is a Sunday documentary series profiling some of the planet’s most amazing engineering and architectural projects.

The March 16 attraction is “Secrets of Lost Empires: The Roman Coliseum.” It will be shown at 1:30 p.m. in the Mary Jane Stryker Theater.

It is free, as is admittance to the museum to see “Raise the Roof” that is on display through June 1 in the Havirmill Special Exhibition Gallery on the museum’s third floor.

“Raise the Roof” probes the secrets, surprises, science and extraordinary engineering feats that have produced amazing buildings around the world. Visitors can travel to great heights and distant ages to investigate the foundations of architecture and engineering.

They can step over the threshold of an authentic Mongolian house,  climb to the top of a skyscraper under construction, learn building secrets from a 9,000-year-old city, watch mighty buildings crumble, and raise the roof of a dome.

They can enter a full-scale “ger” (pronounced “care”), a circular tent of lattice, poles, fabric and rawhide invented by nomadic Mongolians. The ger is known in this country by the name of its Turkish relative, the yurt.  Elegant and energy-efficient, one can be erected in one day, but cooperation is needed. These days, the ancient structures are gaining popularity as homes, cabins, and offices.

Near the ger in the exhibition, visitors can explore the secrets of the mud-brick ruins of Çatalhöyük (pronounced Chat-tahl-hu-yook), believed to be the world's oldest city.

Excavations at the 9,000-year-old site located near Ankara, Turkey, began in the 1960s but were stopped because of the technical inability at that time to adequately preserve the findings. The dig was restarted in 1993 with a plan to continue for 25 years.

Archaeologists believe the ancient city covered an area the size of 50 soccer fields.  They are studying the site to learn more about the Neolithic Period, or new Stone Age, when people began abandoning hunter-gatherer lifestyles to settle in communities, grow crops, and raise animals.

For thousands of years, people have pretty much agreed that a building with a dome, such as the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome or the U. S. Capitol, marks an important structure. A dome creates a soaring space on the inside, and an impressive sight on the outside.

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In the “Collapsible Dome” section of “Raise the Roof,” visitors can turn a flat roof into a dome right over their heads, and find out how domes have been engineered through time.

Lots of engineering know-how goes into making a building reach for the sky.  The 3-D "View From the Top” lets people look down the side of a skyscraper from 40 stories up. In the skyscraper section of the exhibition, visitors can build block towers, make trusses to withstand the forces of tension and compression, and test the response of different buildings to various earthquake frequencies. Another demonstration shows how tall buildings are kept from swaying too much in strong winds.

“Raise the Roof’s” Demolition Theater showcases the explosive work of the famous Loizeaux family that own and operate Controlled Demolition Inc., the world's largest organization of demolition experts.

Dangerous conditions that can lead to carbon-monoxide poisoning in homes are explored in the "Downdraft House," a doll-house-sized model outfitted with airflow indicators, a working furnace, and operating doors and vents.

"Meet the Mites" shows how infinitesimal numbers of creatures live in all homes and buildings all of the time.

Several “story corners” tell the tales of some very unusual buildings. One is the Winchester House in San Jose, Calif., that was built by the heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune.

In response to a psychic’s warning that the ghosts of those killed by the famous rifles would haunt her unless she built day and night, Sarah Winchester constructed a six-acre house filled with twisting stairways and blocked passages to confuse angry spirits.

The coolest hotel in the world is the Ice Hotel built every year in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. Rooms, chandeliers, and even glasses in the bar are made entirely of ice. The building’s temperature is a chilly 35 degrees from November until April, when the whole thing melts.

Other highlights include "Timber!" where visitors can  assemble ingenious wooden joints held together without nails, and "Listening to the Walls," an activity drawn from interviews with blind and visually impaired people who navigate through buildings using their sense of sound.

Here is the schedule of the remaining documentaries:● April 13 – “Frank Lloyd Wright,” part one of the film produced by Ken Burns

and Lynn Novick● April 27 – “Frank Lloyd Wright (part two)● May 11 – “Echoes from the White House: Celebrating the Bicentennial of

America’s Mansion.”

What it takes to transfer to a four-year schoolAnother college-application workshop is scheduled for Tuesday (March 18) from

5 to 6:30 p.m. in Room 4380 located off of the cafeteria on the Texas Township Campus.

Presented under the auspices of the Transfer Resource Center, it is designed to help “demystify” the application process needed to be followed in transferring to a four-year university. Information about searching and qualifying for scholarship is also part of the package.

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It is free and open to all KVCC students, who are also invited to take part in winter-semester workshops geared to topics that can help assure them of success in their studies. Light refreshments will be served, according to facilitator Robyn Robinson.

The next “What It Takes to Be Successful” session will be held in the Student Commons Theater from 1 to 2:30 p.m. for Tuesday, April 8.

Among the topics to be covered are the dates and deadlines that are important to students in their pursuit of academic success.

Also covered will be a review of “best practices” involved with transferring to a four-year school, completing a program of study, and preparing for graduation.

For more information about this series, contact the Transfer Resource Center in Room 1364 at extension 4779.

The center is bringing Kristi Zimmerman of Davenport University to meet with students in the Texas Township Campus cafeteria about possible transfer on Tuesday, April 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Five years in the life of Bob DylanMartin Scorsese’s two-part documentary about the life, times and music of Bob

Dylan will be shown on two Thursdays this month to complement the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s ongoing photo exhibition that focuses on the early days of three rock ‘n’ roll icons.

The free Thursday-night showings of “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan” are set for the Mary Jane Stryker Museum at 7:30 p.m. on March 20 and March 27.

Also booked for the Stryker Theater are free Sunday-afternoon showings of a PBS series that explored the history of this genre of contemporary music.

The British invasion of rockers, the response to that by the Motown Sound and by other American musicians, and the evolution of soul music are the next two segments.

“Britain Invades, America Fights Back” and “The Sounds of Soul” will be shown on Sunday (March 16) at 3 p.m.

There is no charge to view the March 16 double-header, or to take in the exhibition that chronicles the early days of three rock ‘n’ roll legends – Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and The Beatles.

“Artist to Icon: Early Photographs of Elvis, Dylan, and The Beatles” provides a glimpse into the lives of these aspiring artists before they became rock ‘n’ roll superstars – before Presley’s recording of “Hound Dog” in the 1950s, the British Invasion and the rise of Beatlemania in the 1960s, and before Dylan went electric.

On display in the museum’s first-floor gallery through May 26 are 48 rarely seen black-and-white photographs by five photographers, capturing some of the innocence, ambition and unbounded adventure of the early days of rock ‘n’ roll.

“No Direction Home” traces a portion in the life of Dylan, and his impact on 20th-century American popular music and culture. The film does not cover Dylan's entire career. It concentrates on the period between Dylan's arrival in New York in January 1961 and his "retirement" from touring, following a motorcycle accident in July 1966.

This period encapsulates Dylan's rise to fame as a folk singer and songwriter, and the controversy surrounding his switch to a rock style of music. The film was first shown on television in both the United States (as part of the PBS “American Masters” series) and the United Kingdom on Sept. 26–27 2005.

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The project began to take shape in 1995 when Dylan's manager began scheduling interviews with friends and associates. Among those interviewed were poet Allen Ginsberg and folk musician Dave Van Ronk, both of whom died before the film was completed.

Dylan's former girlfriend Suze Rotolo also granted a rare interview, and she later told Rolling Stone Magazine that she was very pleased with the project's results. Dylan himself also sat for 10 hours in a relaxed and open conversation, which was his only role in the producing the documentary.

Though raw material was being gathered for the project, the manager needed someone to edit and shape it into a quality picture. Scorsese was approached to “direct” the documentary and came aboard in 2001.

Dylan's office gathered hundreds of hours of historical film footage dating from those five years. These included a scratchy recording of Dylan's rock band in high school, his 1965 screen test for Andy Warhol, and newly discovered footage of the famous Manchester Free Trade Hall concert from May 17, 1966, when an angry fan called out "Judas!" just before Dylan and the Hawks performed "Like A Rolling Stone."

The documentary received a Peabody Award in 2006. The title of the film takes its name from a lyric in "Like a Rolling Stone.”

The film also showcases important influences on Dylan, including Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Ginsberg, Pete Seeger, Webb Pierce, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash.

The remaining “History of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ documentary schedule is: ● April 13 – “My Generation” and “Plugging In”● April 27 – “Guitar Heroes” and “The ‘70s: Have a Nice Decade”● May 11 – “Punk” and “Up From the Underground.”

Why astronomers go on polar treks“Polar Astronomers,” the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s newly created

planetarium show, will continue billings through April 27.In addition to incorporating the story of Edward Israel, the Kalamazoo arctic

explorer who perished near the top of the world in pursuit of scientific knowledge, “Polar Astronomers” explores the adventures such deep-freeze pioneers as Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, and Robert Scott.

Showtimes are 3 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $3.Israel served as the astronomer and magnetic observer for the American “Greeley

Expedition” to Lady Franklin Bay during the first International Polar Year in 1882.“Israel made measurements of the sun, moon and stars to determine the locations

of landmarks mapped by the expedition,” said Eric Schreur, the planetarium’s coordinator who produced the new show.

“During the long winter nights,” he said, “Israel viewed the Northern Lights and watched their effects on the magnetic instruments he monitored.”

When the expedition post was not relieved after two years as planned, Israel tracked the progress of the party’s retreat to Cape Sabine where they tried to survive another brutal winter on meager rations. The Kalamazoo explorer died three weeks before rescuers arrived.

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Schreur’s production, which coincides with the third International Polar Year, documents the journeys of those who reached the Earth’s north and south geographic poles. They are both described and compared to today’s exploration of space.

“The show concludes,” he said, “by surveying three astronomy-research projects that are under way at the South Pole. One is collecting meteorites that have fallen in Antarctica and with the passage of time have been transported to other regions by the slowly flowing glacial ice.”

The other two are searching below the polar ice for evidence of miniscule remnants that might have been generated in the explosions of distant starts and during the formation of black holes.

“Polar Astronomers” also reports on the South Pole Telescope that looks for shadows of galaxy clusters and other evidence that can shed light on the origin of the universe.

“Polar regions that once challenged the lives of explorers and that are now accessible to scientific researchers,” Schreur said. “They are conducting research that can show us how we fit into the cosmos.” And finally. . .

Ten reasons why you might have chosen the wrong school for learning a form of the martial arts:

10 -- The first demonstration consists of falling to the floor, curling into the fetal position, and whimpering pitifully. 9 -- Your dojo's symbol is a bull's-eye target. 8 -- Instead of earning a black belt, you are cast in one of those Ginsu knife infomercials. 7 -- There are frequent pauses while the instructor stops to fix his spilled pocket protector. 6 -- The uniforms are used hospital gowns, and the "throwing stars" are slices of old cheese. 5 -- The homework is always just to watch Jackie Chan movies. 4 -- The techniques you learn are only effective if your attacker is one of the Three Stooges. 3 -- Local muggers gather in the parking lot waiting for class to end. 2 -- Current students bark out on cue the phrase: "Insurance does not exist in this dojo!" 1 -- You take yourself to the mat four out of five times simply trying to tie your belt on.

☻☻☻☻☻☻

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