Monthly Archives: November 2013

AL Campus Weekly Announcements, Student Services

SGA Leadership Training Program – Leadership Institute

SGA Leadership Training Program – Leadership Institute

Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus

November 15, 2013

Itinerary

Opening Session

9:00 am -Welcome and Overview – Introduction  (room 132)

                facilitated by SGA Vice President Christos Vodas               

                            

9:30 am – Keynote Address: What Leadership Means 

facilitated by Dr. John Shosky

 

10:00 am – Group Session #1: Organizational Management

facilitated by Dr. John Shosky

 

10:45 am – Group Session #2:   Goal Development
facilitated by Dr. John Shosky
11:30 am – Group Session #3: Crisis Communication
facilitated by Dr. John Shosky

 

Break (15 mins)

 

12:30 pm – Lunch with Dr. John Shosky: Character Formation      

 

01:30 pm – Provost/Dean – Working with Administration             

 

02:00 pm Breakout Sessions #2

  1. Crisis Communication – Dr. Mayers  (for SGA) (room 132)
  2. Small Group Communication – Ms. Acosta (for Student Ambassadors)(room 131)
  3. Team building – Ms. Chelsee (for Club Leaders) (157)

 

02:30 pm – Closing Ceremony/Awards Presentations

LTR, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

NOVA Now Accepting Nominations for Student Excellence Recognition

NOVA Now Accepting Nominations for Student Excellence Recognition
Northern Virginia Community College has two outstanding opportunities to recognize exceptional students during the 2013-14 academic year:  The “Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges” publication and the SEAL Awards Honor.

The “Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges” is a national publication that recognizes students from across the United States for academic excellence. NOVA’s SEAL Awards Banquet recognizes our students that best exemplify Service, Engagement, Academics, and Leadership among our student community.

Students, Faculty, or Staff may nominate students that best display these attributes.

Please submit all nominations for consideration by Wednesday December 11, 2013 at 5 pm.  See link at bottom of email.  There is only one application form for both the “Who’s Who” and NOVA SEAL Award. Student must have earned 30 or more credits by the conclusion of the Fall 2013 semester for both awards.

SEAL AWARD CRITERIA:
SERVICE: Community service, volunteer efforts on or off campus
ENGAGEMENT: Participation in a community organization, active in a campus club or organization, campus enhancement, student life**
ACADEMICS: Cumulative GPA of 2.75 GPA or better
LEADERSHIP: Leadership in a student club, student government, campus committee, or community leadership position.

** If self-nominating, please provide a letter of recommendation to your campus Student Life Coordinator by December 11th to support your nomination.

NOMINATION FORM LINK:
http://miniurl.com/in3W

Application Deadline: Wednesday December 11, 2013 at 5:00 pm

For more information, please contact Brian Anweiler, College-wide Student Life Coordinator at banweiler@nvcc.edu.

 

LTR, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

NOVA Environmental Scientific & Musical Event

nova

All Students, Staff and Faculty are cordially invited

to a NOVA Environmental  Scientific & Musical Event

Please join us for an ecologically themed concert featuring music and piano reflecting on the environment performed by Jonathan D. Kolm and vocalist soprano Katherine Riddle and  an environment-themed lecture “Climate Change Mitigation and Impacts: Technologies and Policies” by Dr. Jayant A. Sathaye.

Presented by the Lyceum and Math., Science & Engineering Division Science Seminars

Friday, November 22, 2013, CE Theater, Ernst Cultural Center, Annandale Campus, Northern Virginia Community College

11:30 – 1:45 pm

Presenters

Jonathan D. Kolm,  DMA,  Composer, Pianist and Faculty, Northern Virginia Community College

Katherine Riddle, Soprano

Jayant A. Sathaye, Ph.D., Senior Scientist and Strategic Advisor, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

11:30 – 11:45 Light Refreshments and Meet & Greet the Presenters in the Lower Gallery

11:45 – 1:45 Music Concert and Presentation, CE Theater by Jonathan D. Kolm, Katherine Riddle and Jayant A. Sathaye             

    Jonathan Kolm, DMA,  has  performed across the United States and abroad. His music has been called “fluent in its diversity” and “deeply moving”.  His music has won prizes and awards in many competitions including the American Prize, the Swan Prize in Music Composition, the Percussive Arts Society Composition Competition, the National Federation of Music Clubs Competition, Voices of Change Composition Contest, the Austin Peay State Composition Competition, as well as many others. He has been commissioned by a wide range of artists and ensembles and his music has been heard at such festivals as June in Buffalo, highSCORE, Beijing International Composition Workshop, MUSCICX and the Ernest Bloch Festival.

His choral music has been performed by some of the leading choirs in the United States, including the New York Virtuoso Singers, VocalEssence, the Princeton Singers and the Young New Yorkers’ Chorus. Much of Kolm’s recent music incorporates themes of sustainability and ecology and he advocates for several environmental causes. Upcoming premieres with environmental themes in 2013 include commissions for a song cycle by Karen Murphy and Kathy Price, a chamber work for the Verge Ensemble, and a large work for choir and percussion solo for Georgia State University. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, Virginia and is the head of the composition and piano program. He advocates for various environmental issues and is an avid gardener.

Katherine Riddle, soprano, recently graduated magna cum laude and with University Honors from American University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music concentrating in Vocal Performance.  As part of AU’s study abroad program, Riddle spent a semester studying music at King’s College London and voice at the Royal Academy of music. Katherine is a recipient of the David W.Wainhouse Scholarship, a winner of the 2013 American University Concerto and Aria Competition and the winner of MD/DC NATS competition in both musical theater and classical voice. This winter, she will be playing Cosette in Weathervane Playhouse’s production of Les Miserables in Newark, Ohio.

 

Dr. Jayant A. Sathaye is a Senior Scientist and Strategic Advisor and a Founder of the International Energy Studies Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California. He was a primary contributor to the 2007 IPCC Nobel Prize.

Dr. Sathaye has more than 40 years experience with 220 publications in the research, modeling and policy analysis of energy efficiency standards and labels and financial incentive programs, assessment of cool roofs, and development of global and country-specific models for the evaluation of costs and climate mitigation potential options in US, India and other major developing countries.  He initiated the currently active International Energy Studies Group in 1978 at LBNL, participated in IPCC as Coordinating Lead Author  and Review Editor in 12 documents, and received Annual Award, Climate Works Foundation and a Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIT Bombay and several other awards. He holds a B.Tech. (Hons.) degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Irvine.

Abstract: Anthropogenic climate change is caused by the release of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide etc.) into the atmosphere. It is projected to increase temperatures and sea levels, and affect precipitation levels. Such changes are likely to impact agricultural activities, areas under forest cover, availability of water supply, human population health, and sea levels. It will also lead to increased release of methane from permafrost and have serious impacts on infrastructure particularly that which supports the supply of electricity and other forms of energy. These impacts are projected to vary sizeably across boreal, temperate and tropical zones.
Mitigation offers an effective approach for reducing GHG emissions. Mitigation options stretch across all the major sectors and broadly cover energy, forestry, and agricultural activities. Energy mitigation activities are structured and analyzed within the residential, commercial, industrial, transport, electricity and other forms of energy supply sectors, while those in forestry focus on deforestation and degradation of forest cover. Agricultural emissions vary by type of crop and the conditions among other items.
The talk will provide background information and overview of global energy and climate, mitigation components of climate change research, energy efficiency and renewable energy modeling, approaches for forest sector, ways to increase surface albedo and reduce GHG emissions, switching to non-fossil energy, capture atmospheric GHGs, ways to use safe drinking water, and fuel efficient cook stoves.

 

For additional information you may contact: 

Reva A. Savkar

Chair, Science Seminars

Chemistry

Math., Science, Engineering Division

Northern Virginia Community College

Email: rsavkar@nvcc.edu

Voice Mail:  703-323-3231

LTR, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

Blackboard Training Sessions

Blackboard Training Sessions

 

There will be Blackboard Training offered on November 22 and November 25.

 

Blackboard I (Moving Content Online)   November 22    9:00 AM-11:00 AM      AA 256

Blackboard II (Communication)            November 22    11:30 AM – 1:30 PM    AA 256

Blackboard III (Tests and Grade Center) November 25  12:00 PM – 1:45 PM    AA 259

 

You can register for the trainings at https://www.nvcc.edu/faculty-and-staff/technology/tac/tactraining/register/.

 

Science Technology & Business, Student Services

Free Workshops in Movement & Voice for NOVA Students and Employees

Free Workshops in Movement & Voice for NOVA Students and Employees

Tuesday, November 19

Movement Workshop: Viewpoints to Choreographic Theatre

Schlesinger Concert Hall

6:00 to 10:00 PM

Wednesday, November 20

Voice Workshop: The Labyrinthine Voice

Schlesinger Concert Hall

6:00 to 10:00 PM

These workshops focus on activating imagination.

Actors – Singers – Dancers – Teachers – Public Speakers

Deepen Your Breathing

Get Out Of Your Head and Into Your Body

Connect With Others

PLAY

Attire: Please dress in comfortable movement clothing that does not restrict your stomach or lower belly. We will work barefoot.

Please Sign Up for One or Both Free Workshops by sending an email to:

Kate Yust Al-Shamma, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Theatre

NOVA Alexandria

kyalshamma@gmail.com

AL Campus Weekly Announcements

Student Spotlight Special Edition: Helping Hands Program made a difference in MMR’s life!

MMR

Helping Hands

Student Spotlight

Hand

A few months ago, M.M.R (the student asked that we use her initials instead of her name) visited our office to request Helping Hands textbook assistance.  Helping Hands is a textbook fund administered by the Provost Office.

 

This fund allows the Provost Office to provide textbook assistance to students who do not have financial aid.  The following is an excerpt from a letter I received from M.M.R.:

 

Dear Ms. Nicci:

I want you to see that the $215 for my French book was not a waste of money, but rather it has prevented wasted potential.

My professor studied abroad, so at first glance I did not understand her grading system.  I talked with a representative of a local university on campus who told me to keep up my GPA.  She thinks it will open doors for me.

My relationship with GOD and college are my life now.  When I go to sleep in my car at night, I am not at all unhappy, especially if I have eaten enough that day, because my mind is on my coursework.  I look forward to the day when I will receive a scholarship to some university that will include hot meals.  Then I can really focus on my coursework without having to worry about where I will get food that day.

We had a big 7 page exam today given in two parts.  I was the last person finishing because I spent a lot of time proofreading and correcting ridiculous mistakes.  At least I finished.  If my professor grades our exams by next class period on Thursday, I will either bring it by or scan it and email it to you.

Thank you so very much for not allowing my GOD-given potential to go to waste.

 

Sincerely,

MMR

 

As a homeless woman, MMR has decided to re-position herself for success.   Whether she knows it or not, she is an inspiration to me.  She is a testimony of hope and perseverance.

Our office would like to help as many students as possible.  Unfortunately, our limited funds prevent us from helping more students.  If you would like to donate to the Helping Hands fund, please contact alprovost@nvcc.edu.

Your tax-deductible donation will not go to waste.

LTR, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

Women’s Center November Events

November 2013 Calendar Women’s Center

November 6 :    11:15am-12:15pm         AA 351

Round Table – Putting STEAM into STEM – Rebecca Kamen’s work explores the nexus of art and science. She has exhibited and lectured all around the world including NIH, MIT and many other world class institutions. Hear her talk about her experiences and inspire discussion about how the boundaries of art and science are more fluid than we think and how each discipline can inform and inspire the other.

November 6:     3:30pm-4:30pm              AA 351

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring – Anyone is free to participate in sharing with other students challenges, celebrations and support.

November 7:     2pm-3pm                          AA 351

Gay Straight Alliance

November 7:     4:30pm-7pm                    AA 196

Women’s Center and Psychology Department team up to show “Crazy Like Me”, a film about five interwoven stories that focus on mental illness and its impact on those it affects, their friends and families. After the movie there will be panelists to discuss issues surrounding depression, bipolar, and PTSD.

November 13:   11:15am-12:15pm         AA 351

Round Table: Dr. Abeba Fekade leads a discussion about resilience.

November 14:   2pm-3pm                          AA 351

Gay Straight Alliance

November 19:   2pm-3pm                          AA 351

Round Table – Topic to be announced

November 20:   4:30pm-7:20pm              AA 196

Movie: “Girls Rising” (http://www.girlrising.com/) offered by Women’s Studies, Psychology, and cosponsored by AAUW. The film tells about nine girls from around the world and the strength of the human spirit and the power of education to positively transform the world.

November 21:   2pm-3pm                          AA 351

Gay Straight Alliance

November 26: 2pm-3pm                            AA 351

Round Table: Topic to be announced

AL Campus Weekly Announcements

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Michelle Gaston

DR. MICHELLE GASTON

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY

SCIENCE, BUSINESS, AND TECHNOLOGY DIVISION

ALEXANDRIA CAMPUS

Growing Up With The Groundhog

Phil“Have you heard of Groundhog Day?”

     ‘Oh yeah…Punxsutawney Phil.’

“Yes, Punxsutawney…that’s where I’m from.”

At home or abroad, that’s the typical start to my conversation with anyone asking about my origins.  Some might get bored having the same conversation repeatedly, but I don’t.  It’s nice chatting with someone who’s immediately familiar with my little hometown in Western Pennsylvania.  And it’s also nice to know that many of them will remember me every February 2nd—Groundhog Day!

“Groundhog Day” began 127 years ago with Germans that immigrated to Pennsylvania.  Accustomed to hedgehogs predicting winter’s length, they soon found a suitable replacement rodent in America—the groundhog.  To this day, if our beloved rodent Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow at dawn, six more weeks of winter await.  If there’s no shadow, then spring is just around the corner.

GobblersKnobThe big event occurs in a wooded area atop a hill known as “Gobbler’s Knob”—a fitting name since the early settlers used to eat groundhogs there.  Fortunately, that’s no longer part of the tradition!

Although Phil spends most of his days in his cozy burrow at the local library, he does make appearances at special events.  Years ago, my mom’s family raised groundhogs as pets, and often their animals would travel as emissaries for Phil.

Punxsutawney is a quiet little town filled with friendly people—I would not have wanted to spend my childhood anywhere else.  On Groundhog Day, thousands of people from all over the world travel to my hometown just to see Phil.  Will you join them next year??  If you aren’t into celebrating on a cold winter day, consider a trip for the Groundhog Festival in June.  Two yearly celebrations in two different seasons—an appropriate tribute to our furry little weather prognosticator in the “Weather Capital of the World.”

LTR, Student Services

Post Election Conference

POST ELECTION CONFERENCE  | 2013 Virginia Elections

VA Elections VA Elections Schedule

The conference will include discussions on:

  • National Implications of the Virginia Election
  • Implications of the Election for the future of Virginia – State and Local Panels
  • Economic Implications of the Virginia Election

Morning Program (09:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) | AA-196 (Bisdorf Building)

Evening Program (07:30 p.m. – 09:00 p.m.) | AA-158 (Bisdorf Building)

CONTACT:

For more information please contact Linda Rodriguez | lirodriguez@nvcc.edu

Faculty and Staff Only, LTR, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

SAVE THE DATE! An exciting event about using our campuses as learning labs. You won’t want to miss it.

CETL

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and the NOVA Sustainability Office are very proud to announce an event in which we see pedagogical practices in the context of civic issues & environmental sustainability.

You won’t want to miss it!

How We Learn on Campus Tells us about Life Issues in our Larger World

A case study in using the campus as a living, learning Laboratory.   

 

Dr. Catherine  Middlecamp

Professor, Environmental Studies in the Nelson Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Thursday, November 21st 

Annandale Campus, CE Forum

Talk 10:30  to 11:45 AM
Workshop 1:15 to 3:15 pm  (limited to 30 participants) 

Register  for the talk using this link.

Register for the workshop using this link.

 

Dr. MiddlecampDr. Middlecamp also holds a joint appointment in the Integrated Liberal Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is an affiliate faculty member of the Chemistry Department.  Her work lies at the intersection of science, people, and the planet.

 

As one example, Middlecamp is the editor-in-chief for Chemistry in Context, a 25-year national curriculum project of the American Chemical Society.

 

She has been nationally recognized for her work in many ways, including being elected a fellow of the Association for Women in Science (2003), of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2004), and of the American Chemical Society (2009). She also is a member of the National Fellowship Board of SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Responsibilities and Engagements) and in 2011 was awarded the William E. Bennett Award for Extraordinary Contributions to Citizen Science.

 

Dr. Middlecamp will present a morning seminar that is open to all faculty and staff,  in which she describes a course that she teaches that will show us how to expand our teaching practices into the real world of our campus and college as we learn how to use our campus as a living, learning laboratory.

This will be followed by an afternoon workshop that can accommodate thirty people.  Dr. Middlecamp will provide the how-to of engaging students in learning about the quality of their own lives on the planet.

 

From Dr. Middlecamp:

When it comes to learning how energy, food, water, and waste are handled on a college campus, the answers are not in the back of the book. In fact, there is no book! Even so, every campus offers its instructors an amazing number of stories about buildings, grounds, transportation, water, and the energy infrastructure. This talk tells some of these stories with an eye to how they can be used to engage students in learning about science (generally), about sustainability (more specifically) and about improving the quality of life on our planet both today and tomorrow.