Literacy Army
Once again this year, employees of the college are invited to spend 30 minutes to an hour per week reading to students as part of the Literacy Army program. For more information about volunteering, contact Mindi Kacmarynski at kacmarynskim@central.edu.

Family weekend Oct. 22-24, click here for the schedule of events.

Make a difference
Central alumni, students, faculty, families and friends in at least six cities will join together for the third annual Central College Service Day, Saturday, Oct., 23, which is also national Make a Difference Day. Celebrate Central’s legacy of helping others with organized projects in Pella, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and Washington, D.C., and don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to give your personal hands-on help to others in need in your local area. You’ll be glad you did and you’ll receive a free Central College Service Day T-shirt for doing so.

Pella - Be an honorary member of the Benedict Bat & Shrew Crew as we help clean up a section of Highway 163. Hours: 8 a.m. - noon. Meet at Vermeer Science Center on campus. Please bring a pair of work gloves. Contact: Mary Benedict, (641) 628-7616 or benedictm@central.edu.
 
Des Moines - Help Children & Family Urban Ministries, corner of 8th and College, clean up and winterize their mission headquarters. CFUM helps with some of Des Moines’ most needy children and families. Hours: 9 a.m. - noon. Contact: Linda Danielson at (515) 282-3242 or danielsonll@aol.com.
 
Minneapolis - Help Source Ministries, 2609 Stevens, clean, paint, dry wall, frame, load trash and renovate urban art centers. Please bring goggles and work gloves if possible. Hours: 8 a.m. - noon. Contact: Erica Burns at (612) 822-5200 or sourcemn@juno.com.

Kansas City - Work with Lynn Hinga DeVries ’79 of Hope & Faith Ministries, located at 40th and Walnut. (Walnut is one block east of Main). The program is located in the building marked Church House of Westport where we prepare and serve meals. Hours: 9 a.m. - noon. Contact: Lynn DeVries at (816) 931-1858 or devriess@aol.com.
 
Dallas - Partner with MediSend, 9244 Markville Dr., to bring life-giving medical equipment and supplies by recycling medical surplus to people who need it (www.medisend.org). Please wear closed-toe shoes and dress comfortably. Hours: 9 a.m. - noon. Contact: Sandy Stroo ’74 at (214) 528-6908 or sstroo@charter.net.

Washington , D.C. - Join us as we help Washington Parks & People (www.washingtonparks.net) revitalize Watts Branch Park, one of the longest and most long-neglected of the district’s city parks. We will prune bushes, create tree rings, clear ivy and remove debris with tasks appropriate for all ages and abilities. Come dressed to get dirty, wear long pants and closed-toe shoes and bring water. Hours: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Directions: meet at the Riverside Center, 5200 Foote St. NE. Contact: Erica Swanson at (202) 548-3912 or ericaswanson@verizon.net.

For additional information or to RSVP by Monday, Oct. 18, contact the alumni office at (800) 447-0287 or alumni@central.edu.

The Producers
All are invited to join us at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines for The Producers Friday, Dec. 10. A pre-show reception in the west balcony lounge of the Civic Center begins at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Cost is $61 per person. RSVP to the alumni office by Nov. 12. Call (800) 447-0287 or e-mail alumni@central.edu.

Health information
This year flu vaccinations will be given on the following dates and times. Cost is $12. Note: We are changing our schedule from previous years.

Flu Vaccinations:
Tuesday, Oct. 19, 7 a.m. - noon
Tuesday, Oct. 26, 7 a.m. – noon
Thursday, Oct. 28, 1-4 p.m.

The annual Blood Screening dates will be:
Tuesday, Nov. 9 and Thursday, Nov. 18.

Any questions call ext. 5227. Sponsored by the Health Service and Wellness Committee.

Second City at Pella Opera House
The Second City National Touring Company will perform three shows at the Pella Opera House Friday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 16, at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the box office or call (641) 628-8625. The Pella Opera House is located at 611 Franklin St. and box office hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

The Second City’s National Touring Company is always original, daring and hilarious performing a special medley of classic scenes, songs and improvisation. Many of today’s well-known actors, comedians and television personalities trace their acting roots to Second City. Second City alumni include Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Bonnie Hunt, Peter Boyle, Mike Myers and Dan Aykroyd.

Comedian Paula Poundstone at Pella Opera House
Stand-up comedian Paula Poundstone will share her insightful musings about the world around her on Friday, Oct. 29, at the Pella Opera House. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the box office or by calling (641) 628-8625. Box office hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Poundstone was among a handful of comics who came to prominence in the comedy crazy ’80s. She is the winner of American Comedy Awards Best Female Stand-up and two Cable ACE awards and is also the winner of a local EMMY award as producer/star of a local PBS piece. Poundstone has had comedy series on both HBO and ABC.

Education departmentto present at convention
The education department has been selected to present at the National Council for Exceptional Children 2005 Annual Convention and Expo. A group of students and Esther Streed (education) will present two demonstrations: “ Match Socks, Not Blocks: Making Play Pragmatic for Preschoolers” and “ Teacher Preparation Portfolios for Special Education Endorsement from Competency Demonstration to Professional Portfolio.” The conference will be held April 6-9, 2005, in Baltimore, Md. The department was chosen through an application process reviewed by a panel of special education experts.

White Privilege Conference to be recognized
The White Privilege Conference at Central College and other Iowa non-profit, governmental, educational and individual leaders in the area of civil rights will be recognized at the 9th Annual Friends of Iowa Civil Rights Awards Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14, at the Embassy Club, 801 Grand Ave., in Des Moines.

The Campaign for Central – Imagine, Invest, Inspire
The Campaign for Central continues to inspire alumni and friends to invest in students and imagine the possibilities. We’ve raised $48.6 million as of Sept. 30, 2004. TheCampaign for Central will visit  Kansas City on Oct. 11 and  New York City on Oct. 26. The Campaign will travel to Cedar Falls/Waterloo on Nov. 18 for dinner at the Pipac Centre in Cedar Falls. Well attended and successful events were held in Des Moines and Seattle, Wash., in September. Thank you for your participation and contributions. If you are interested in hosting or helping with any of the events, please contact Jim Danks at danksj@central.edu or (641) 628-5283.

Sabbatical leave applications for the 2005-06 academic year are due in the office of academic affairs no later than Monday, Nov. 1. Information about sabbaticals is found in chapter nine, pages 1-3, of the faculty handbook. Eligible faculty who are interested in applying for sabbatical leave are reminded that they must consult with both the department chair and the vice president for academic affairs prior to submitting the application. Forms are available by contacting Marilyn Vrban at ext. 5175. Nominations should be sent to Robert Franks, chair of the personnel committee.

Guest recitalist at Organists of Iowa
Mark Babcock (music) has been selected to be next year’s guest recitalist in the annual endowed Organists of Iowa program at Iowa State University.

lei Breckenridge gives lecture and recital
On Sept. 11-12, Carol lei Breckenridge (music) played a fortepiano recital and gave a lecture on 18th-century performance practice at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She also played a clavichord and fortepiano recital in the Ganz Memorial Hall at Roosevelt University on Sept. 26, and gave a class on fortepiano and classical style on Sept. 27, also at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

McNee earns certificate
On Sept. 18, Nancy McNee (modern languages) earned a certificate for completion in training “Building Communities from the Inside Out” at the Fifth Annual Statewide Meeting of the Immigrant Rights Network of Iowa and Nebraska. The training was held at the headquarters of the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines on Grand Avenue. The training was led by Karen Lehman, a faculty member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute at Northwestern University. The training and certification was made possible by Carlos Rios, the Iowa coordinator of the Immigrant Rights Network of Iowa and Nebraska.

Doyle attends annual meeting
Dennis Doyle (communication) attended the annual meeting of the Iowa Communication Association in the Amana Colonies Sept. 17-18. The conference marked the end of Doyle’s two-year term as president of the association. He also chaired a panel celebrating the 40-year history of ICA.

Zaffiro attends Iowa Environmental Council
Jim Zaffiro (political science/environmental studies) attended the Iowa Environmental Council 2004 Annual Conference on Sept. 11 in Des Moines.

Computing services staff attends workshop
On Sept. 29, Carol Van Weelden, Dan Rouw, Paul Thomassen and Keith Pothoven (computing services) attended a Colleague Release 18 Planning Workshop in Sioux City. Rouw, Thomassen and Pothoven then attended the MR DUG Conference Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, also in Sioux City. Rouw gave a presentation on retrieving information from the Datatel database using Unidata ODBC. Thomassen gave a presentation on using Microsoft Access and Excel, along with Outlook, to send FA Award letters to upperclass students.

Professional development workshop
Maria Carla Chiarella (psychology), Pat Westphal (modern languages), Silvia Rode (modern languages) and Vivian Rippentrop (academic affairs) attended the professional development workshop “Embedding Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes in Regularly Scheduled Assignments” at Grinnell College Sept. 24.

Roe to be inducted into high school hall of fame
President David Roe will be inducted into the Topeka, Kan. High School Hall of Fame Oct. 10. The THS Hall of Fame was started in 1982 to recognize outstanding Topeka High School graduates and to share with the community and current students of the school the success of other graduates. Prior THS Hall of Fame inductees include Dr. Karl Menninger; Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum; Chancellor John Slaughter; Tom Barret, president of Goodyear; Dean Smith, retired basketball coach of North Carolina University; Joe Anderson, Jr., president of General Motors-Pontiac Division; Balfour Jeffrey, chairman of the board, Kansas Power and Light Co.; Lt. General Frank Petersen, U.S. Marine Corps; Rex Tod Hunter Stout, author; Kirk Mechem, musician/composer; Michael Torrez, major league baseball pitcher; and Denise McCluggage, journalist/race car driver.

College relations guidelines

The college relations guidelines are now available. Information about the college relations office and how we go about marketing the college to our constituencies through publications, media, advertising and the Web is accessible via a pdf file on the Web at

http://www.central.edu/publicdocs/PubsGuideFinal.pdf

New this year: access to downloadable institutional logos is available via the Web at www.central.edu/collegerelations/

Please let Cyndi Atkins in the college relations office (ext. 5233) know if you have any questions or would like a printed copy of this guide.

Sue (library) and Kent Van Vark and Wade (ETS at the time) and Hilary Van Vark ’99 and Cole ’01 and Sarah (Wood) ’02 Van Vark would like to thank the college community for their support through prayers, thoughts, cards, plants and memorials at the passing of their father and grandfather, Robert (Bob) F. Van Vark, Sept. 19. Central meant much to Bob and all that has been done is deeply appreciated.

Joy Prothero (education) and her daughter Holly Smith ’08, wish to thank the Central family for their prayers, support, cards and beautiful plants during the time of their husband and father’s illness during the past six month and then his death. Words cannot adequately express our appreciation for your expressions of kindness during their loss.

The families of Sid and Delores (dining services) Rooda as well as Dennis and Deb (computing services) Rooda would like to thank the college community for the flowers, cards and kind words after the passing of Delores’ father and Deb’s grandfather, Marion Verros, on Sept. 23.

We extend our sympathy to Don (physical plant) and Twilla (physical plant) Dop in the passing of Don’s mother, Minnie Dop.

Brenda Good has joined the physical plant as a temporary custodian.

The three AQIP initiatives, International Education, First-year Experience, and Math/Science Education, are in the final year of their projects. We will highlight one team’s current work in each of the next CampusTown issues beginning with international education.

The international education team, led by Brian Zylstra, Silvia Rode and Keith Ratzlaff, is focusing on three initiatives for the coming year:

• Governance structure : The team is working to articulate a clear, written governance system for international education by examining the decision-making processes of organizations and individuals that impact international education at Central College and comparing that description with other institutions. The end result should lead to recommendations for better coordination and decision-making.

• Marketing : The strategy is to improve promotion of international education participation among Central students by i nforming recruiting, admissions, student ambassadors, faculty, staff and students about opportunities of study abroad programs. Each department will create a check-list indicating which courses can be taken off campus at each specific site in order to fulfill the major, i.e. language requirement, major required courses, major elective courses, internships, service learning. After a check-list review by the OCPC, OIE, liaisons and program directors, the list will be included in freshmen orientation packages and advisor packages.

• Participation rates : The team plans to review the proposed 60/75 percent student/faculty international education participation rates as outlined in the strategic plan. After study, it will m ake recommendations that have institutional financial, academic and administrative considerations in order to align efforts to reach the participation rate goals outlined in the strategic plan.

AQIP involvement is open to anyone on campus. If you are interested in contributing to any of these efforts, contact one of the team leaders.

Vander Werf presents paper
Senior Morgan Vander Werf (communication studies major) presented her paper “The Infamous Time Magazine Photo Manipulation of O.J. Simpson: Where Do We Draw the Line When it Comes to Digital Manipulation?” as part of the panel Undergraduate Research Explorations at the Iowa Communication Association’s annual meeting in September.

Annual Professional Development Fall Retreat will be held Oct. 21 from 1:30 – 3 p.m. Please reserve this date on your calendars. You should have received an invitation in the mail that details the program and events. If not, please contact Kristen at ext. 7681.

Work-related injuries reminder
All work-related injuries are to be reported to your supervisor and also to Sharon Haning in human resources. In addition, it is important that you report injuries that you feel do not need to be treated by a physician. You cannot always determine if that injury will need medical treatment later or not. The advantage of reporting the injury that does not need medical treatment is that it will provide a record in case any problems arise later from your injury.

Reminder to support staff
October is the month that you will receive two paychecks—Oct. 1 and Oct. 29. Except in special circumstances, no insurance premiums will be deducted from the Oct. 29 paycheck. If you have questions, please call Jana at ext. 5161.

Staff Christmas banquet is scheduled for Dec. 9. Please reserve this date on your calendars.

Christmas/New Year holiday schedule – The campus will be closed Thursday–Tuesday, Dec. 23-28. Offices will be open Wednesday-Thursday, Dec.29-30 and again be closed on Friday, Dec. 31.

Payments to non-U.S. citizens/groups
If you are planning to ask a person or group to come to Central College to speak, perform, etc. The person or members of the group are not United States citizens, it is imperative that you contact the controllers’ office prior to making any commitments—either written or verbal. Government regulations regarding payments to foreign visitors are very complex, and we need to know the following prior to contracting or agreeing to pay any person that is not a  United States citizen:

• What type of visa they will be traveling to the United States under?
• How long they are planning to stay in the United States?
• Will they provide similar services to other colleges and universities?
• In what country are they a citizen?

Getting the above information takes time on your part and will require time by the controllers’ office to determine if the person or group can be paid.  Please plan well in advance of an event so that we can analyze each situation on a case by case basis, determine what IRS forms are required to be filled out and then make a determination whether or not that person or group can be paid.   

Professional Activities
Tuition Exchange – Central College is beginning its 13th year as a member of the Tuition Exchange (TE) program. 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 about 465 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 the human resources by Monday, Nov. 1, for the following academic year. In addition to the application form, you will also need to submit a copy of your 2003 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 2003.

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. 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 Monday, Nov. 1, for the following academic year. In addition to the application form, you will also need to submit a copy of your 2003 tax return showing verification of dependent status.

If interested in any of the above positions, please send an application, cover letter, resume and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of three professional references to Human Resources, (located in the lower level of Central Hall, next to campus services) or by e-mail to employment@central.edu. If you have any questions, please call (641) 628-7981. For additional information on Central College or to print off an application, view our Web site www.central.edu/humanresources.