The Big Apple
Join Central art students and Sam Watson (art) at L’Orange Bleue in New York City Wednesday, May 31. 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.

General Synod on campus
The 200th session of the Reformed Church in America General Synod will be on campus Thursday-Tuesday, June 8-13. Central will welcome nearly 600 delegates, official guests, chaplains and denominational executives for the event. For the first time, plenary sessions will be held in Kuyper Fieldhouse and daily worship services in Kuyper Gymnasium. A 24/7 prayer vigil for Synod will be held at Peace Lutheran Church. Saturday night, June 10, from approximately 9-11 p.m., Central will host a root beer float and popcorn reception for all of the meeting participants.   

All plenary sessions, unless the Synod moves into closed session, are open to interested visitors. Some of the interesting topics included in this year’s meeting are:

• Honoring covenant commitments among the various denominational sub-groups;
• Confessional approach to racism — three different commissions in the denomination have submitted recommendations for this Synod to address racism issues in the RCA;
• Dialogue on the church’s response to homosexuality;
• Report on human sexuality and marriage.

To see an overview of Synod activities, go to www.rca.org and click on General Synod. The May issue of the denominational magazine The Church Herald also includes a preview of Synod with photos from Central’s campus. For additional information, contact Don Morrison at ext. 5280.

Baby goslings
The campus pond is home to two geese and baby goslings.

Breakfast of Champions
Breakfast of Champions served 710 students May 8. Thank you to all who helped.

Tulip Time award
Thank you to all who participated in Tulip Time activities. This year, the Central float won the Queen’s choice award. 

Geisler Library and media center summer hours 
Geisler Library and media center’s summer hours are:
Monday-Friday, open 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Closed evenings, weekends and holidays.

Bookstore hours
This summer, the bookstore will be open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

KAC summer hours
The Kuyper Athletic Complex is closed and will reopen Tuesday, May 30, at 11 a.m. Summer hours Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m.

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. 

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

Service standard awards
Service standard awards were announced at the college update May 11. Award winners this year are: Cheri Doane (community-based learning) and Jean Vander Wert (financial aid) for integrity; Del Wichhart (facilities management) and Marge Zondervan (health center) for safety; Jane Beranek (advancement) and Jeff McMartin (athletics) for respect; Bonnie Dahlke (student life) and Kelly Taylor (academic records) for responsiveness; Chevy Freiburger (admission) and Annique Kiel (Central College Abroad) for energy.

Westphal and students at foreign language teacher workshop
Patricia Westphal (modern language) and French students Brittany Waack ’08 and Elizabeth Miller ’06 attended a workshop for the state’s secondary foreign languages teachers at the University of Northern Iowa April 29. At a breakout session for French teachers, each presented a teaching technique.

Green lectures, presents paper, published
Andrew Green (political science) gave a guest lecture titled “City of San Bernardino: An Overview of History, Socioeconomic and Political Characteristics” for Fred Waldstein’s Leadership — San Bernardino course at Wartburg College May 1.

Green and Gary L. Goodman of the University of California-Riverside presented a paper titled “From Makeup Artists and Costume Designers to Center Stage and Back: The Effects of Legislative Professionalization on State Electoral Politics” at the 2006 annual meeting of the state politics and policy section of the American Political Science Association May 19-20 in Lubbock, Texas.

His paper titled “Life in the Fast Lane: Transportation Finance and the Local Option Sales Tax” will be published in the spring 2006 issue of State and Local Government Review.

Ratzlaff wins Pushcart Prize
Keith Ratzlaff's (English) poem, “Portrait of her Mother as the 19th Century,” has won a 2007 Pushcart Prize. The annual Pushcart Prize anthology “presents the most distinguished short stories, essays and poetry first published by small presses and magazines nationwide.” The poem first appeared in Colorado Review.

Phipps and Friedman attend ILA spring conference
Debbie Phipps (media center) and Jane Friedman (Geisler Library) attended the combined spring conference of the Iowa Small Library Association, Public Library and Support Personnel Subdivisions of Iowa Library Association May 12 in North Liberty, Iowa. John Langhorne of Langhorne and Associates held pro-active sessions on staff morale.   

Biology department receives grant from Iowa DNR
Russ Benedict and Paul Weihe (both biology) have been awarded a grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to conduct an ecological survey of the Garrison Rock natural area in Wapello County, to assess its suitability for inclusion in the State Preserves System. Work will be conducted this summer with Travis Applegate’07 and over the coming year.

Van Kooten published
Valerie Van Kooten (English) has articles appearing this month in The Iowan (an essay on Iowa cemeteries); Boys' Life (a profile on world-famous baseball collector Zack Hample); and in Midwest Contractor (a case study on Vermeer trenchers). She also has been named a permanent writer for Mastercard’s small business Web site.

Mark Babcock (music) received tenure and was promoted to associate professor.

Anya Butt (environmental science) received tenure and was promoted to associate professor.

Kevin Den Adel (accounting) received tenure and was promoted to associate professor.

David Purnell (English) received tenure and was promoted to associate professor.

Russ Benedict (biology) received tenure.

Ellie DuPre (biology) received tenure.

Mark Johnson (computer science) was promoted to professor of computer science.

Keith Ratzlaff (English) was promoted to professor of English.

Mike Lubberden (facilities management) will be promoted to director of facilities planning and management, starting Saturday, July 1. Lubberden joined the Central College physical plant team in 1978 as a HVAC technician and is currently director of construction and energy management.

Upon the completion of a year of service as a VISTA at Central, Renee Sedlacek (Americorps VISTA) will work at Wartburg College as their community service associate in the center for community engagement.

Congratulations to Allonna and Damien Stovall (talent search) on the birth of a baby boy May 3. Mathias Christopher weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz.

Sarah Pfoltner joined dining services as catering event coordinator.

Ray Stralow joined facilities management as night custodian.

No news.

All-college award winners
Seniors who received all-college awards this year include: Drew Axt and Adam Gregg, John Allen Writing Award; Emily Volger, Maureen Danks Writing Award; Peter Van Kley, Rev. Henry G. Eggink Award; Quentin Huisman and Alisa Scarrow, Marjorie Giles Student Life Leadership Award; Emily Gruenwald, Graham Distinguished Scholar Award; Katie Pederson , Prins Sprotsmanship Award; Amy Grieser, Ron Schipper Leadership Award; and Miriam Clemmons, Julia Van Houweling Scholarship Award.

Central College bids farewell to class of 2006

Central College held commencement for 349 seniors May 14 in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse. Mary Vermeer Andringa, president and co-chief executive officer of Vermeer Manufacturing, gave the keynote address. Armando Baqueiro Cardenas ’70 received a Doctor of Humane Letters.

2006 summer office hours
The summer office hours are in effect now through 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 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.

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 Catering

Director of Merida, Mexico Study Program

Director of Annual Fund

Counselor (half-time)

Admission Representative

Assistant Director of Academic Records and Registration

Student Staffing Manager

Director of Development

Support Staff Openings

Catering Chef Coordinator

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.