A Sesqui Party! — You’re invited to the sesquicentennial party. Help Central celebrate its first 150 years on Saturday, April 24.

The on-campus celebration features five nationally known artists performing in venues throughout campus from 6 to 9 p.m. including a cappella group Tonic Sol-fa, magician Tim Gabrielson, jazz pianist and composer George Maurer, comedian Tim Young and hypnotist Dale K. Each act will perform twice to allow guests to see all performers or to see their favorite performer twice. Professional children’s entertainers or hands-on activities created by Central’s Education Club will be stationed at each venue to delight everyone. Central music groups will perform also. Tickets are $20 per immediate family and $7.50 per person, including Central faculty and staff. Students with Central ID are free.

Come prepared to eat well. International food booths, located near the entertainment venues, will offer delicious samplings of dishes from Central’s study abroad locales including United Kingdom, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Mexico, China, Africa and Austria. The Kiwanis will also be on hand with their poffertjes stand. Food tickets may be purchased separately at sites throughout campus. Students with Central meal plans will swipe their cards in Central Market and receive food tickets equal to the price of the evening meal to use at the booths. The Central Market and Grand Central Station will be closed for the evening.

At 9 p.m. the festivities will move to the P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium to end the celebration with music spanning the ’60s through today by the Omaha-based group The Rumbles. Austrian desserts and coffee will be served in the Gala Coffeehouse in the Schipper Fitness Center. The event will end at midnight.

If you want to do the evening up in a really big way, start with a reception, hosted by Joan Farver, Mary Griffith, Paul Naour (vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty) and wife Ann Hesselink in their Molengracht condos from 5 to 5:45 p.m. Then stroll through the Molengracht to the Pella Opera House to enjoy a gourmet meal with guest chef Lisa LaValle, from the Des Moines Art Center at 6 p.m. at the Pella Opera House. After dinner, guests will move to campus to enjoy the entertainment-filled evening. Tickets for the reception and dinner are $125 each. The tax-deductible gift value of each ticket is $50. The gift portion will help fund the on-campus gala activities. VISA, MasterCard and Discover cards are accepted by calling Connie Cross (5153) by Thursday, April 15, 2004.

For more information on the April 24 dinner and gala event, contact Connie Cross (college relations) at 641-628-5153 or crossc@central.edu, or look for more details in upcoming issues of CampusTown.

Beethoven Festival Preview — Central’s A Cappella Choir will perform with the Des Moines Symphony, the Des Moines Chorale Society and the Drake University Choir at the Beethoven Festival, 8 p.m., Saturday, May 1, and 2:30 p.m., Sunday, May 2, at the Des Moines Civic Center.

The Des Moines Symphony and the Central College alumni office are pleased to offer Central College alumni and friends a 15 percent discount on tickets to this event, “Classical 7,” featuring Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, “Ode to Joy,” with soloists Simon Estes, Kim Fitch, Kishna Davis and Edwin Griffith. There will be pre-concert lectures one hour before each performance in the east lobby of the Civic Center.

To receive the 15 percent discount and purchase tickets, visit the secure Web page of the Civic Center and enter “Central” as the password. Tickets will be held at the WILL CALL window and can be picked up on the day of the performance. This discount will only be available through this special Web site. Alumni and friends will not be able to purchase discounted tickets any other way, including by phone or in person. Prices range from $20.05-43.45 for adults and $11-24 for students.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge at Central — The Central College Young Democrats invite all faculty and staff to attend an address by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge. The focus of the presentation will be on the environment and agriculture and Iowa’s role in agricultural and environmental policy. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 20, at 11 a.m. in Douwstra Auditorium. For more information, contact sophomore Steve Cooper at coopers1@central.edu.

Writers Reading — Mary Swander, winner of the Whiting Award and distinguished professor of English at Iowa State University, will read from her writings at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 15, at the Central College Cox-Snow Recital Hall. Swander will read from her most recent non-fiction work The Desert Pilgrim.

Student Life Awards — Eric Witherspoon, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, will be the keynote speaker at the 2004 Student Life Student Leadership Awards 2 p.m., Sunday, April 18, in Graham Conference Center.

Theatre Central — The witty and festive romp Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, by Academy Award-and Emmy-winning writer Alan Ball, will show at Central’s Mr. B. Studio 7:30 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, April 21-23, and again at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 25. Theatre professor Ann Wilkinson will direct the production.

Harry Returns — Central’s most famous alum Harry Smith ’73 is getting into the Sesquicentennial spirit with a special address to the college Thursday, April 22. The CBS Early Show anchor and A&E Biography host will speak at 7:30 p.m. in Douwstra Auditorium. The title of his talk is “What I Learned at Central.” It is free and open to the public.

Chia Ning (history) presented “Teaching About Asian-American Experience in Asian Studies Courses” to The Role of Asian-American Studies within Asian Studies: the Liberal Arts Curriculum from a Midwestern Perspective Panel at the ASIANetwork Annual conference at the Hickory Bridge Conference Center in Liles, Ill., April 2-4, 2004.
She also wrote the book review for James Farrer’s OPENING UP: Youth Sex Culture and Market Reform. This book review has appeared in Pacific Affairs published by The University of British Columbia on Volume 76, No. 4 issue, pp. 639-640. Chia Ning has also been included in the 2004/2005 edition of The Empire Who’s Who Executive and Professional Registry in both print edition and electronic format on the World Wide Web.

Eric Bumgardner (college relations) attended the University and College Designers Association conference on institutional branding, March 25-27 in Nashville, Tenn.

Mary Stark (English) co-authored an article called “Flowers and Frogs” with Stephen Johnson (William Penn) that was just published in Wildflower: North America’s Magazine of Wild Flora 20 (1) 2004.

Keith Ratzlaff (English) attended the Associated Writing Programs convention in Chicago March 25-27. Keith signed copies of In the Middle of the Middlewest, a new anthology of nonfiction from Indiana University Press, at the convention.

Patrick Roland (college relations) attended the CASE annual conference for media professionals in Washington, D.C., March 22-23.

Valerie Van Kooten (English) was the featured speaker for Iowa Public Television’s “Women in Iowa History ICN Blitz” in March. She spoke on women’s fashion history to more than 20 classrooms (grades 4-12). She also has articles appearing this month in Christian Home & School, Iowa Commerce, Iowa Parent and 50+ Lifestyles.

Terri Crumley (admission) and Carol Van Weelden (computing services) gave a presentation at the Datatel Users Group annual conference on March 15. Their presentation titled, “Communication Flow - A Redesign Experience,” was developed from work they did during the conversion from Datatel’s Colleague Release 16 to Release 17. Also attending the DUG annual conference, held March 13 through March 17 in Washington, D.C., were Peggy Van Den Berg (development), Lee Vande Voort (computing services), Dan Rouw (computing services), and Keith Pothoven (computing services). The DUG annual conference offers many sessions that cover topics of interest to users of Datatel’s Colleague and Benefactor software.

Nancy McNee (Spanish) has been selected to participate in a National Endowment for the Humanities Institute titled “Mesoamerica and the Southwest: A New History for an Ancient Land.” The institute will take place over six weeks this summer in Central and Northern Mexico and in the Southwest United States.

Harry Fisher (management) attended the North American Management Society (NAMS) meeting as part of the 40th annual Midwest Business Administration Association conference in Chicago March 17-19. At the annual meeting for NAMS, held on March 19, 2004, he was elected to serve as program chair for the 2005 meeting. He has served as a board member of NAMS from 1996 to present.

Robin Martin (library) attended the Iowa Private Academic Libraries annual conference, “Making the Most of What We Have” held March 24 at Drake University. She also has been invited to serve on the Association of College and Research Libraries College Library Section Leadership Committee. Her two-year term on this national committee begins July 2004.

Treva Reimer (theatre) attended the U.S. Institute of Theatre Technology in Long Beach, Calif., March 17-20. She serves as vice-commissioner on international topics for the Scene Design Commission and was appointed programming chair for the international committee. Two of her proposed sessions were accepted for the 2005 conference in Toronto. As well as all the planning sessions, she managed to attend a session on ADA compliance for theatres, Balinese mask-carving and the use of Bun Raku puppets as teaching tools among others. Tom Thatcher (theatre) also attended USITT. Tom is on the conference committee and serves as conference photographer.

Allison Krogstad (Spanish) made a presentation titled “Service-Learning in Intermediate Spanish” at the Iowa Campus Compact conference at Drake University on April 1.

Michael Harris (English) gave a slideshow and presentation on Ireland and Northern Ireland at Pella’s Friendship Village retirement community on Monday, March 15.

Corwin Berry (campus post office) and his wife Jane wish to thank the Central family for their thoughts and prayers after the March 23 death of Corwin’s mother, Regina Madge Berry. These expressions of sympathy were greatly appreciated.

The office of academic affairs is pleased to announce the appointments of four faculty who will begin their duties in fall 2004.

Linda Laine accepted the tenure-track position of assistant professor of communication studies. Laine completed her M.A. and Ph.D. in communication from the University of South Florida. She earned a B.A. in human communication from Abilene Christian University.

Brian Peterson accepted the tenure-track position of associate professor of economics. Peterson earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University. He completed a B.S. in business administration at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Peterson may be a familiar face to you since he taught at Central as an instructor of economics from 1996-97.

Matthew Eastin will begin his duties in a half-time appointment as an assistant professor of mathematics and environmental studies. Eastin completed his M.A. and Ph.D. in the department of atmospheric science at Colorado State University. He earned a B.S. in the department of earth and atmospheric science at Purdue University.

Maria Carla Chiarella has accepted the tenure track position of assistant professor of psychology. Chiarella is currently teaching in the department as a visiting professor.

Twylah Van Roekel was hired in the physical plant as a custodian.

Jesse Vander Molen was hired in the physical plant as a custodian.

The AQIP Mathematics and Natural Sciences Education Team is making good progress on a number of fronts:

• The mathematics and computer science faculty are doing a comprehensive overview of their majors. A key step in this progress was the evaluation and compilation of mathematics and education program data at several key benchmark institutions. In addition to reviewing courses, prerequisites, timing, minors and majors, AQIP team members are preparing surveys to help evaluate the clarity and flexibility of new programs. These surveys will be directed at several groups: current majors, current minors, prospective minors and majors and alumni. Finally, course scheduling sequences and options are being developed for mathematics majors seeking secondary education endorsements.
• The AQIP team is working closely with professional staff in admission, financial aid and development on a series of initiatives. The admission focus involves analysis of relevant data, modification of prospective student visit procedures, and development of a comprehensive recruitment plan for mathematics, computer science and natural science and related endorsement areas. Designation of more financial aid awards specifically related to program areas is being considered by the financial aid office. The development staff is identifying agencies and individuals with the capacity and interest to directly support the financial aid needs of students interested in these areas.
• The natural science faculty continues to collect data from benchmark and competitive colleges including information concerning majors and minor requirements, secondary education endorsements, course offerings, research opportunities and Web site formats. The departments are incorporating the AQIP goals into their operational plans and are evaluating course offerings and scheduling. Course scheduling sequences and options have been developed in the areas of biology, chemistry, natural science and physics for science majors seeking secondary education endorsements. One faculty member from each department was designated as the adviser for students seeking secondary education endorsements. The biology department is using data collected from a review of Web sites at benchmark and competitive colleges to develop a new departmental Web site.

The Systems Portfolio Team
This team is working on the institutional self-study for reaccrediation for the Higher Learning Commission that is due November 2005. The report is answers questions that are asked in the AQIP Criteria. The Criteria consists of nine areas:

• Helping students learn.
• Accomplishing other distinctive objectives.
• Understanding students’ and other stakeholders’ needs.
• Valuing people.
• Leading and communicating.
• Supporting institutional operations.
• Measuring effectiveness.
• Planning continuous improvement.
• Building collaborative relationships.

Each criterion asks about processes, measurements, results and improvements. Since the criteria are interrelated, data is being collected from people in all areas across the institution. Please understand that to effectively write this report, members of this team Pat Joachim-Kitzman (career services), Diane Van Wyngarden (extended education), Robert Franks (computer science), Mick Angel (athletics), Mike Lubberden (physical plant), Robin Martin (library), Jann Freed (business management) and Vivian Rippentrop (dean) will be contacting numerous people possibly several times. Thanks in advance for helping supply the needed information on which to write this report.

Cheri Doane (PLACES) is convinced: sophomore Carrie Hill is going to change the world. Doane, director of community-based learning at Central College, nominated Hill for the Mixing it Up Award at the National Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) Conference in Philadelphia, Penn.

Doane and Hill, as well as junior Renee Sedlacek and sophomore Adam Gregg, journeyed to Philadelphia to experience the National COOL Conference March 12-14. During the conference, Hill was surrounded by 14,000 other students when her name was called to accept the national award.

“I just sat there,” Hill said, remembering her initial shock. “I saw Cheri stand up and cheer, and all I could do was sit there.”

According to Doane, Hill competed with hundreds of other students across the country for the award.

“The Mixing it Up Award is awarded to students who fight against racial oppression and discrimination on college campuses because it seems to be an issue in the United States,” Hill said.

Sedlacek initially became interested in COOL when she found out that the organization strives to strengthen college communities through service and action. Sedlacek explored COOL’s Web site and found the Mixing it Up Award.

“I immediately thought of Carrie,” she said.

Doane couldn’t agree more with Sedlacek’s recommendation. Because of Hill’s ability to communicate with others, as well as her dedication to service in and out of the classroom, David Roe, president of Central College, Tim Phillips, vice president for student life, and Doane felt she was a perfect candidate.

“Carrie has been a true leader on campus in relation to cultural awareness. It is her desire to be an agent for change, and that’s what the award was about,” said Doane. “As one of our few minority students [on campus], she has a unique perspective on issues related to diversity.”

Among her many roles, Hill has served on the leadership team for the annual Conference on White Privilege. She also serves as a peer leader for Student Outreach Services for the office of student life. In addition, she volunteers for an elementary school, working with 20 third and fourth graders by teaching them to speak Spanish.

Hill doesn’t think her life has changed drastically. She said, “I don’t think [the award] influenced me any more than I’ve already been influenced. It only influences me to continue.” She said she plans to continue advocating for equal rights and justice for all. “I’ve never been a person to give up. I stand up for what I believe in,” Hill said.

Her peers at Central are impressed with Hill’s character.

“During the conference, I really began to understand her, her compassion and caring to want to make a difference,” said Sedlacek. “She had to go through a lot of stuff and she just keeps going. She even graduated from high school to go college early. She’s just amazing.”

Department: Physical plant
Description: Grounds and utility worker
Budgeted Hours: Full-time (2080 hours)
Grade: TS6 (minimum hiring range $8.36-$9.06/hr)
Qualifications: Requires skills and experience in grounds, operating grounds equipment, chemical application and cleaning; event set-up (indoor and outdoor); preventative maintenance on equipment; good interpersonal skills; ability to follow oral and written instructions, work with student employees, lift, push, pull and carry up to 50 lbs. Valid drivers’ license and ability to climb and use a ladder and to interact with the broad constituency served by the college.
Effective: Immediately
Deadline: Review of candidates will begin immediately.

If interested, please complete an application which may be picked up in the human resources office or call 628-5199 or 628-7681 with questions or you may print an application from our Web site at www.central.edu/humanresources.

Department: Computing services
Description: Assistant director for network services
Grade: AP9 (minimum hiring range $30,651-$36,782)
Function: Responsible to the director of computing services for directing and performing a variety of activities associated with the college’s computer network infrastructure.
Qualifications: Requires bachelor’s degree in computer science plus two to three years’ effective experience managing enterprise networks and servers. Prefer experience in higher education, Cisco and/or Microsoft certifications.
Effective: Immediately
Deadline: Review of candidates will begin immediately.

Department: Student life
Description: Residence hall director (full-time 10 month)
Function: Responsible to the director of residential learning for coordinating and directing residence hall and its programs and operations which provide an educationally purposeful environment for students. Includes supervision of student staff, programming, advising and participating in a rotating duty schedule and other duties typically associated with live-in residence hall director positions. Includes a collateral assignment with student life dependent upon qualifications of candidate and department need.
Grade: AP7 (minimum hiring range $25,564 - $30,038)
Qualifications: Requires a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree preferred. Previous experience in residence life preferred. Excellent oral and written skills with attention to detail. Competitive salary, a meal plan when in session, unfurnished 2-bedroom apartment. Position begins July 26, 2004
Effective: Immediately
Deadline: Review of candidates will begin immediately.

To apply for either of the two above positions, send a completed application, cover letter, resume and the names and contact information for three professional references to: Human Resources Office, Central College, Campus Box 6000, 812 University, Pella, IA., 50219 or by e-mail to employment@central.edu. Visit the college Web site for an application and additional information regarding the position at: www.central.edu/humanresources.

Central College is strongly committed to creating a diverse community. In furtherance of that commitment, the college encourages candidates that are from diverse backgrounds, under represented groups and/or have had experience working with and/or interacting with individuals from diverse populations to apply.

Academic Affairs — The office of academic affairs has posted three position openings to begin fall 2004.

The department of education is seeking two candidates for the positions of assistant professor of education/elementary education generalist. Qualifications include a Ph.D. or Ed.D. (ABD may be considered), experience in PK-12 setting and a commitment to excellence in teacher preparation in a liberal arts college.

The department of library science is searching for a collection development librarian. This is a 12-month, tenure track position at the rank of assistant professor. Qualifications include an ALA/MLS, liberal arts background and relevant experience.

Full position descriptions and application procedures can be viewed on Central’s Web site at www.central.edu/humanresources.

Remember your student workers — The week of April 12-16 is national student employment week. Especially this week, please remember to recognize your student employees and let them know they are appreciated. How would we function without them?

Summer Applications — Applications for summer work on campus are now available to pick up in the student employment office, lower level of Central Hall.

Good Friday Holiday — Good Friday is included in our holiday schedule. All general offices will be closed Friday, April 9. There may be exceptions based on the need to cover ongoing services. In those cases select personnel may be required to work, which will be arranged by your immediate supervisor.

Tulip Time — Pella’s annual festival is Thursday through Saturday, May 6-8, this year. This holiday is designed to give employees the opportunity to contribute to a Tulip Time activity. For this community event, the college will be supportive by granting full-time staff one-half day off with pay. Majority-time employees will be paid holiday ours on a pro-rated basis. There will be exceptions based on the need to cover ongoing services. In these cases, personnel may be required to work, which will be arranged by your immediate supervisor. The hourly employees who are required to work will be paid straight time plus holiday pay.

Easter Break at Geisler Library and Media Center:
Thursday, April 8 — Library and Media close at 5 p.m.
Friday, April 9 — Closed
Saturday, April 10 — Closed
Sunday, April 11 — Closed
Monday, April 12th — Open Regular Hours