Weather spotter training
Weather spotter training will be Thursday, May 4, from 9-10:30 a.m. in the Boat-Moore-Weller Rooms of Maytag Student Center. Jeff Johnson, warning coordination meteorologist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Des Moines, will conduct the training.

NSCA conference May 7
Central College will host a National Strength and Conditioning Association conference Sunday, May 7, from 8:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m. at the Vermeer Science Center. The clinic will feature seven 45-minute workshops focusing on topics such as body weight management, program design, performance training and strength and conditioning. Several area strength and conditioning coaches will lead sessions, including Central’s Jake Anderson(athletics), Chris Doyle from the University of Iowa and Matt McGettigan and Andrew Moser from Iowa State University.

For more information about the clinic or for a registration form, contact Dave Pavlat (exercise science) at ext. 7636 or pavlatd@central.edu.

Alumni in KC area
Join Central alumni, parents and friends for a reception in Overland Park, Kan., Wednesday, May 17. For more information, go to http://www.central.edu/alumni/events.html.

Alumni Hoops Golf Tourney
Join Central College alumni, parents and friends of the men’s basketball program at the Central Hoops Golf Tourney, Thursday, June 15, at Bos Landen in Pella, for a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost is $90 and includes golf, cart, dinner, gift and donation to the program. RSVP to coach Mike Boschee by Friday, June 9. E-mail boscheem@central.edu or call 641-628-5225. Make checks payable to Central College Men’s Basketball and mail to 812 University, Box 6600, Pella, IA 50219. For more information, go to http://www.central.edu/alumni/events.html.

Graduation May 14
Central will celebrate graduation weekend Friday-Sunday, May 12-14. Rev. Sophie Mathonnet-Vander Well is this year’s baccalaureate speaker. Mary Vermeer Andringa will give the commencement address. Commencement will be in the H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse. All guests must have a ticket. No overflow seating will be available. If you would like to attend commencement, please contact Lynne Petty, ext. 5154 or email pettyl@central.edu for tickets. For more details and a complete graduation weekend schedule, go to http://www.central.edu/alumni/graduation2006.html.

First annual Community Service Day
Nearly 900 Central College students and employees participated in Community Service Day April 19, a day dedicated to part of Central’s year-long campaign for students, faculty and staff to build community and become a more united body. Students and employees were able to choose to help with one of over 40 projects in Pella and surrounding areas. Aside from the community building efforts, this project was an opportunity for Central to give back to community partners that have done so much for the college in the past. 

President’s update
President David Roe’s spring update will be Thursday, May 11, in Douwstra Auditorium at 11 a.m.

Geisler Library and Media Center summer hours 
Geisler Library and Media Center will close Friday, May 12, at 5 p.m. and open again on Monday, May 15, with summer hours:

Open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Closed evenings, weekends and holidays.

Strategic planning
Strategic planning is coming along well with each unit of the college meeting and submitting goals and initiatives to the discussion over the past three weeks. During the week of April 24-28, the enrollment and financial support council and the student learning and development council brought the goals and initiatives to the table for inclusion and prioritization. The process is a thoughtful one, with the overall goal of moving Central College forward purposefully and strategically over the next three years.

This rolling, three-year strategic plan will be discussed, analyzed and finalized by the cabinet and also will be discussed thoroughly at the upcoming AQIP Strategy Forum in May. At the forum, other college faculty and administrators and the AQIP re-accreditation personnel will challenge the Central AQIP team to determine how the plan, if carried out carefully, will move Central College ahead. The objective point of view will give new insights and help Central refine the plan.

CampusTown
CampusTown will be published May 17 and then once a month during the next three months: June 7, July 12 and Aug. 2.

Faculty awards announced
Faculty awards were announced May 1. Jann Freed (business management) received a 25-year award. Dr. John Wesselink Awards for Outstanding Performance went to Brian Roberts (art) for professional growth and development, Mark Babcock (music) for teaching, and Robert Franks (computer science) for institutional service. Steve Ybarrola (anthropology) was given the Huffman Award for Outstanding Support of International Education. Keith Yanner (political science) received the David Crichton Memorial Award.

Faculty members who are retiring include Rich Glendening (economics), George Ann Huck (modern languages), Lois Smith (library), Suzanne Wallace (economics) and David Williams (music).

Faculty members leaving Central include Ybarrola(anthropology), who is moving to Asbury Theological Seminary; Tim Frerichs (art), who is moving to SUNY — Fredonia; Matt Eastin (mathematics/environmental studies) and Maria Carla Chiarella (psychology), who have accepted positions at the University of North Carolina; Peter Zani (biology), who has taken a position at Hamilton College in New York; William Weare (library) and Theresa Finken (education).  

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Chia Ning presents at ASIANetwork conference
Chia Ning (history) was the organizer for “Bringing Mongolia to the Curriculum” for the 14th annual ASIANetwork Spring conference in Lisle, Ill., April 21-23. She served as the panel chair and presented her paper “Mongolian History in Our Teaching of China and Asia.” 

Weare presents at library conference
William Weare (library) presented at the Iowa Library Association/Association of College and Research Libraries conference, titled “High School to Higher Ed: Helping Learners Make the Leap,” April 21 at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. His presentation, “Beyond Google Tips and Tricks: Teaching Web Search Strategies to the Digital Natives,” focused on teaching students how to properly search the Web for relevant and reliable results.

Psychology professors and students attend meeting in Chicago Maria Carla Chiarella, Peggy Fitch, Jim Schulze and Ed Willis (all psychology), along with 21 psychology students, attended the Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting in Chicago, Ill., May 4-6, where 10 of the student attendees made poster presentations.  

Crumley at the Pella Opera House
Terri Snyders Crumley performed a salute to the music of Gershwin and Sondheim April 30 at the Pella Opera House. She presented a new program of songs from The Great American Musical Theatre Songbook of Broadway Musical Scores.

Ratzlaff does poetry readings Keith Ratzlaff (English) read his poetry in Goshen, Ind., at the Goshen College First Book/New Book Festival of Poetry March 26, at the Des Moines Area Community College April 17, and in the Live at Prairie Lights reading series in Iowa City April 19.  

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Streed presents at St. Ambrose
Esther Streed (education) was a member of Iowa’s Accreditation team, which reviewed the teacher preparation program at St. Ambrose University, April 17-20. Streed’s primary responsibility was to review the graduate program, and she assisted in several components of the undergraduate program as well. April 19, Streed was a guest lecturer for graduate students at St. Ambrose on the introduction of the Home and Community-Based Mental Retardation Waiver in Iowa. She co-presented with a contemporary service provider to students on site and through the Iowa Communications Network.

DuPre presented research conducted by herself, Butt and six Central students: Catherine Conway’06, Katherine Haun’06, Heidi Miksch ’06, Rebecca Mills’07, Scott Sandberg’07 and Venables. The project was titled “Using GIS to Investigate Correlations Between Select Herbicide Concentration and the Incidence of Cancer in Iowa.” This research project was funded by the Monticello Foundation and Central College Research and Development Grants.

Shriver presented research conducted by himself, Trent Cooper ’05, Adam Duerfeldt ’06, Seth Quam ’05, Shaun Quam ’08, Reid Turner ’07 and Scott Westphal ’06, titled “Synthesis and Degradation of Substituted Heterocalixarenes.” 

Butt was elected chair of the geology division of the Iowa Academy of Science. DuPre was elected chair of the environmental science and health division of the Iowa Academy of Science. Shriver was elected chair of the chemistry division of the Iowa Academy of Science.

Butt, DuPre and Cathy Haustein (chemistry) were awarded a research grant from the Monticello Foundation. These three will work with four female science students during the 2006-07 academic year to monitor and evaluate levels of herbicides and nitrates in the waters of Marion County.

DuPre will be recognized for excellence in teaching in the tenth edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.

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Van Dalen in Washington, D.C.
Dian Van Dalen (human resources) attended the Tuition Exchange sponsored national workshop in Washington, D.C., April 21. Items covered included a greater understanding of Tuition Exchange, new strategies, setting guidelines and timelines, and networking with other Tuition Exchange liaisons from around the country.

Olivier attends conference, gives dining etiquette presentations
Lowell Olivier (conference services) attended the Association of Collegiate Conference and Event Directors International conference in Dallas, Texas, March 26-29. Olivier guided participants through an interactive dinner and etiquette presentation.

In March, during a regional meeting at Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines, consultants from Edward D. Jones Investments enjoyed a multi-course lunch with history, commentary and instruction from Olivier on the etiquette of fine dining. In April, Olivier gave a similar presentation to a group of 130 students, staff and faculty at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. The St. Ambrose Career Center, like the Central College Career Center, gives professional development opportunities to students on subjects such as resume writing, interviewing, dressing for success and dining etiquette. Olivier also teaches Central College students the finer points of dining etiquette two times each semester.

Van Hemert assistant director of admission
Ann Van Hemert (admission) has been promoted from admission counselor to assistant director of admission. She will coordinate Central’s alumni recruitment strategies and work closely with Sunny Eighmy (alumni), director of alumni. Van Hemert’s territory is central/eastern Iowa.

Steenhoek promoted at Central Market
Lynne Steenhoek (dining services) has been promoted to manager of the Central Market.

Congratulations to Liz and Reid Evans (marketing and media relations/athletics) on the birth of a baby girl April 23. McKenna Rose weighed 7 lb. 2 oz. and was 20.5 inches in length.

Barb Van Zante joined facilities management as night custodian.

Alex Lemons joined dining services as storeroom/delivery coordinator.

New faculty for fall 2006
Central welcomes the following new faculty who will begin their duties fall 2006.

Keith Jones accepted the position of assistant professor of psychology. He currently is an associate professor of psychology and chair of social sciences at the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota. He earned a doctorate and master’s in life-span development from  West Virginia  University and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Northern Iowa. 

David Kauper will begin duties as instructor of economics. He is a doctoral degree candidate at the University of California-Riverside with fields in economic development, macroeconomics, growth and institutional economics. Kauper completed a master’s degree at the University of California and earned a bachelor’s from California State University.

Arthur Mask will join the faculty as assistant professor of library science and technical services librarian. He received a master’s from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a bachelor’s in religion from the University of Iowa. He currently is a technical services librarian at Des Moines University Library.

Elizabeth McMahon accepted the position of assistant professor of library science and reference and instruction librarian. McMahon holds a master’s degree from Kent State University, a master’s in women’s studies from The Ohio State University, and a bachelor’s in women’s and peace studies from Antioch College. She currently is visiting reference and instruction librarian at Earlham College, where she teaches library instruction in humanities, social sciences and fine arts courses.

Elena Vishnevskaya will join the faculty as an assistant professor of religion. She began her studies at Moscow State Linguistic University, completed a bachelor’s at Gardner-Webb University, a master’s at Gardner-Webb Divinity School in North Carolina, and was awarded a doctorate in theology from Drew University. Vishnevskaya presently teaches in philosophy and the university core program at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

No news.

From accepted to teaching program
Rusty From ’06  (mathematics and philosophy major) was accepted to the Teach For America program (http://www.teachforamerica.org/flash_movie.html). There were 18,000 applicants and only 12 percent (2,200) were accepted. He’ll teach mathematics in Houston, Texas, for two years. The program is designed so that at the end of those two years, students will be certified to teach even without education classes during college. From was awarded one of 65 additional fellowships to support him financially and to use for professional memberships and supplies.

Muscular Dystrophy bowling a success
Thanks to all the participants and donors who made the bowl-a-thon for Muscular Dystrophy a success. The community raised over $2,000 for families in Marion County. As a result, four Central students will appear on the Jerry Lewis Telethon next Labor Day to present a check to the foundation. 

Over $10,000 raised for Relay for Life
Central raised $10,200 for Relay for Life to help the American Cancer Society. The relay was held April 28-29 in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse.

2006 summer office hours
The summer office hours will take effect Monday, May 15, and end Friday, Aug. 11. All offices, with a few exceptions, will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In the judgment of the supervisor, hourly personnel may elect either a one-half hour or one-hour lunch period. Those individual offices advised to be open over the lunch hour will need to make the necessary adjustments.

Summer attire for all office personnel
Office casual attire presenting a favorable and professional image will be permitted this summer starting Monday, May 15, through Friday, Aug. 11, for all administrative, support and student staff. Unacceptable summer attire for office personnel includes: T-shirts, halter tops, jeans, skorts (skirts/shorts combo) or shorts of any kind (no athletic, denim or walking shorts) athletic shoes or beach sandals (i.e. flip flops/thongs made of rubber or hard plastic material). Acceptable clothing includes: Central logo shirts with collars, Capri pants and dress sandals. Remember, through the professional image we present, “we create dynamic growth adventures which promote opportunities to improve lives.”

Memorial Day
All general offices will be closed on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29. 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.

Health insurance reminder
If you have a dependent on your health insurance who is graduating from college this May, his or her health insurance coverage will end Wednesday, May 31. Notify Sharon Haning in the human resources office and COBRA information will be provided to you.

Tulip Time
Pella’s annual Tulip Time festival is Thursday-Saturday, May 4-6, this year. Employees will have the opportunity to contribute to Tulip Time activities. The college is supportive of this community event granting full-time staff one-half day off with pay. Majority-time employees will be paid holiday hours on a pro-rated basis. Some individuals may be required to work if their department is one that needs to remain accessible and provide ongoing services. In these cases, personnel may be required to work, which will be arranged by your immediate supervisor. Hourly employees who are required to work will be paid straight time plus holiday pay.

Student summer applications
Applications are now available in the HR office. Students must be enrolled in classes for the fall in order to be eligible for summer employment. Students can be enrolled in high school or any college — it doesn’t have to be Central College.

Summer coupons
Can’t wait for summer? Start making your summer plans now. Discount coupons are available for Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun in Kansas City and Adventureland in Altoona. These coupons are available in human resources.

Open positions

Administrative Staff Openings

Assistant Director of Academic Records and Registration

Student Staffing Manager

Director of Development

Support Staff Openings

Catering Chef Coordinator

Night Custodian

Day Custodian

Please click on the position that interests you to see a detailed description. If you would like to download an application, click here or visit the college Web site at www.central.edu for more information.

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 those who 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.