Alumni events
The alumni office has planned events on campus and in the Quad Cities, Indianola and Des Moines. To see a complete list of events and details, go to www.central.edu/alumni/events.

Central coaches and staff get ready to hit the links with alums at the Belmond golf outing July 19. Coaches in attendance gave a brief update on their programs following the 18-hole round and dinner.

Iowa Private College Week at Central
Central College is one of 29 Iowa private colleges and universities to participate in Iowa Private College Week this week, Aug. 1-5. Last year, Central hosted 547 students and their families which resulted in 95 students enrolled for the fall semester. Central has been ranked the most popular visit site during Iowa Private College Week the past three years.

Central College receives Iowa Campus Compact grant to fund service-learning projects
Iowa Campus Compact awarded a $6,000 grant to Central College to support departmental teams and community partners pursuing innovative and sustainable civic engagement activities.

Campus Compact is of a coalition of more than 950 institutions nationwide and is the only national organization in higher education dedicated solely to civic engagement. Partnerships between the campus and community are promoted to deepen student learning.

One of Central’s goals is to prepare students for all aspects of life beyond college, including work, service and leadership within local, national and international communities. This year, students in environmental studies and Intersections courses will have an opportunity to engage in prairie preservation and restoration, water quality testing and the development of educational messages in collaboration with IOWATER, Refugee Cooperative Services, Keepers of the Land and Rock Creek State Park.

Cheri Doane (academic affairs) along with Anya Butt (natural science), Jim Zaffiro (political science), Peggy Fitch (psychology), Mark Johnson (mathematics and computer science) and Mike Lubberden (facilities management) will collaborate for the Service for Environmental Education Project, which will connect meaningful service and civic activities with coursework.

Shriver and Haustein attend national science foundation meeting Jim Shriver and Cathy Haustein (chemistry) attended a meeting with representatives from the National Science Foundation at the University of Northern Iowa on July 7. The meeting discussed A Midwestern Undergraduate Research Center: Bringing Research to the Student. Central is part of a consortium of colleges visited by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Out of 90 groups of colleges who applied for NSF funding, only six were chosen for a site visit including Drake, UNI, Coe, Luther and Wartburg. The consortium received a planning grant to discuss ways to increase research with freshmen and sophomores and to promote research collaborations. Haustein is on the executive committee for the consortium.

Freed gives two speeches
Jann Freed (economics/accounting/business management) was the speaker at the Ames chapter of Society for Human Resource Management on Aging in the Workplace. She also was a speaker in the Leadership Series of Pella Corporation 2005. In June, Freed presented “A Holistic Model of Leadership” at the Organization Behavior Teaching Conference at the University of Scranton. 

Joachim Kitzman presents at annual conference
Pat Joachim Kitzman (career center) attended the annual summer conference of the College Career Professionals of Iowa at St. Ambrose University in Davenport July 14-15. She presented the “Value of International Experiences and Foreign Language Skills to Employability” and led a round-table discussion about “best practices in career centers.”

Hartman performs at festival
In June, Mark Hartman (music) performed at the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival for the 13th-consecutive year. Outstanding concerts this year included a performance of Bach’s music on authentic Baroque instruments and a performance of Beethoven’s ninth symphony.

Benedict and students at mammalogists meeting
In June, Russ Benedict (biology) attended the annual meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists in Springfield, Mo., and was accompanied by four Central College students Jessica Healy ’05, Sandra Lamey ’08, Sarah Benedict ’08 and Nicole Sojka ’08. Two of the students and Benedict presented a poster at the meeting titled “New geographic and reproductive records for mammals in Nebraska.” Another Central student, Chris Ballew ’06, was a co-author on this poster but was unable to attend the meeting.

This summer, Benedict is conducting a research project examining the use of bridges and barns by the federally endangered Indiana bat and other bats in Iowa. This project is funded by a contract from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which allowed Benedict to hire two student assistants Ashley Hysell ’06 and Sarah Benedict ’08. So far, the group examined 52 barns and 14 bridges in southern Iowa and caught over 250 bats representing four species, including one Indiana bat. According to Benedict, this represents the first wide-scale survey of bats in barns.

Butt attends conferences
Anya Butt (natural science) attended a training seminar on ArcSDE in Des Moines July 20. July 23-25, she attended the GIS Education Users conference hosted by ESRI in San Diego, and Butt attended the 25th annual International GIS Users conference July 25-29, also in San Diego.

College Relations staff attends workshop
Connie Cross, Jennifer Elsloo and Abby Gonzales(college relations) attended “Bring Your Right Brain to Work: A workshop for left-brain leaders and right-brain creators” at Drake University in Des Moines July 26. The workshop was sponsored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, Iowa Chapter.

Hibbard and Mills readers
Al Hibbard and Mark Mills (mathematics/computer science) were readers for the AP Calculus Program at Colorado State University June 2-8.

Hibbard at business meeting
Al Hibbard (mathematics/computer science) attended the 2005 Council on Undergraduate Research business meeting as an incoming councilor for the mathematics and computer science division. The meeting was held at Wabash College ( Ind.) June 23-25.

Patzia teaches course at Fuller
In June, Michael Patzia (philosophy and religion) taught an intensive course at Fuller Theological Seminary in California titled Christianity and Western Thought.

Please submit any promotions or title changes for this section of CampusTown.

Lisa Hetzel (student life) is now assistant dean of student life.

Bonnie Dahlke (student life) is now director of student involvement and orientation.

Steve Sanchez’s (academic records) position title has changed from assistant dean and registrar to assistant dean for curriculum, advising and first-year programs.

Eric Bumgardner’s (college relations) position title has changed from graphic designer to art director.

Miranda Gasow (international education) will serve as the coordinator of admission for the office of international education.

No news.

Jean Van Der Molen joined facilities management as custodian.

Deb Kiehl joined facilities management as custodian.

Natalie Nakic joined the athletic department as head women’s basketball coach. She also will have responsibilities for first-year total success.

Scott Hendricks, James Willson and Melissa Sharkey joined student life as residence hall directors.

No report.

 
Cartwright participates in Iowa Fringe Festival
Scott Cartwright ’06 was an actor in “Dirty Laundry” at the Iowa Fringe Festival July 21-24. “Dirty Laundry” was a combination of four short comedies inspecting relationships.

Central students help with theatre productions
Megan Fleming ’06 and Martina Haines ’06 participated in Pella Shakespeare directing and helping with the children’s performance of “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Fleming designed costumes, Haines worked on organizing the costumes. Jarrod Bodensteiner ’05 designed the lighting for “The Fantastics” for the Union Street Community theatre in which Scott Cartwright ’06, Joe Cerwinske ’06 and Megan McCombs ’08 were actors. Kate Baumert ’06 also was involved with the production.

Reminder to staff
If your marital status has changed or if there has been a death in your family, you may need to change your life insurance beneficiary information. This can be completed in the HR office. To change your beneficiaries for your TIAA/CREF account, you will need to call TIAA/CREF or go to their Web site at www.tiaa-cref.org.

Return to regular hours
All Central College staff is reminded beginning Monday, Aug. 15, offices will return to normal professional office attire and resume regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Offices will continue to remain open over the lunch hour as long as students are scheduled to be on campus. The college encourages all employees to take a lunch period. Lunch periods must be at least 30 minutes and may be variable providing the office is covered during the entire business day and there is approval by the immediate supervisor.

Labor Day holiday
Labor Day is Monday, Sept. 5. All general offices will be closed. There may be exceptions based on the need to cover ongoing services. Therefore, select personnel may be required to work, which will be arranged by immediate supervisors.

Summer coupons
It's not too late to make summer plans! Discount coupons for Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun in Kansas City, Six Flags in St. Louis and Adventureland in Des Moines are available in the HR office.

Professional Activities
Tuition Exchange
Central College has been a member of the Tuition Exchange (TE) program since 1991-92. The TE program provides the opportunity for eligible dependents of faculty and staff to receive undergraduate scholarships at one of the participating member institutions. A list of over 570 colleges and universities that participate in the TE program can be found on the TE Web page www.tuitionexchange.org. Applications for new and returning dependents for the TE program must be submitted to human resources by Tuesday, Nov. 1, for the 2006-07 academic year. The form to submit for tuition exchange can be found on the HR Web site at www.central.edu/humanresources. In addition to the application form, you will also need to submit a copy of your 2004 tax return showing verification of dependent status. TE eligibility is limited to full-time employees and may be limited based on point criteria established by the college in 2004.

Tuition Reduction
Tuition Reduction benefits are available for spouses and dependent children commencing in the academic period following two years of continuous employment for a full-time employee, or 3,328 accumulated hours for other than full-time employment, or if you are an employee of the college, you receive this benefit immediately upon employment. Minority-time employees (<1,000 hours or less than .50 FTE) are eligible only for tuition reduction benefits for child dependents as stated in the most recent policy (April 2005). Temporary employees are not eligible for this benefit. The form to submit for tuition reduction can be found on the HR Web site at www.central.edu/humanresources. Please submit this form for new and returning students to human resources by Tuesday, Nov. 1, for the 2006-07 academic year. In addition to the application form, you will also need to submit a copy of your 2004 tax return showing verification of dependent status.

Open Positions

To apply for the above administrative positions, please send a completed Central College 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.

If interested in any of the above support staff positions, please send a completed Central College application 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 from diverse backgrounds, under represented groups, and/or have had experience working with and/or interacting with individuals from diverse populations to apply. Central College is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and actively seeks a diverse pool of candidates.