JSC President Barbara E. Murphy

February 2, 2010

Dear Faculty and Staff,

We are off to a good start in the new semester. While it’s not so obvious from the outside – the frigid temps make sure of that – the campus is buzzing with activity, from guest speakers (like yesterday’s talk with business students by the founder of the Vermont Peanut Butter Co.) to non-stop student activities and special events.

177 New Students
The spring semester brought 177 new students—first time, transfer, and EDP students—to JSC. This tremendous boost to our numbers reflects the outstanding job of our faculty and the hard work of our Admissions team in the lead, but so many of you as well in the different positions you hold at JSC. We should all take great pride in the fact that JSC is the college of choice for growing numbers of students.

I will be inviting our entering spring students to my office on Tuesday, Feb. 16, for an informal “meet and greet” with light refreshments from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Please stop by if you can and help welcome the newest members of our JSC community.

Legislative Breakfast
Next week JSC will host the second annual Legislative Breakfast. State legislators will be on campus for a breakfast meeting in Stearns from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 8. The event is sponsored by the Lamoille Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Stowe Area Association in conjunction with the Lamoille Economic Development Corp. and the Lamoille County Planning Commission. We’re usually a pretty full house that day, but let me know if you would like to attend.

Gala of the Arts
Next Tuesday, Feb. 9, from 8:30 to 11 p.m., the Student Government Association will host a “Gala of the Arts” showcasing student work. The event will be held in the Stearns dining hall and will feature pieces from the art gallery, the theater and music departments, the dance club, and theater-tech students. If you can be on campus that evening, please stop by to show your support.

Chancellor Visit Feb. 17
Tim Donovan, chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges, will visit JSC and meet with us throughout the day on Wednesday, Feb. 17. I will email the schedule as soon as it is finalized and hope you will join me in making Tim feel welcome at JSC.

Athlete Overnight, Winterfest & More
The Admissions Office has a number of special events in the works, including the second annual “Student Athlete Overnight” the weekend of Feb. 12-14 and the popular “Winterfest” open house on Monday, Feb. 15 (Presidents Day). In addition, they are finalizing plans for three out-of-town receptions (in Burlington, New York and Connecticut) as well as two on-campus events for accepted students in March – the first such event at JSC.

Webcasts of JSC Varsity Sports
Starting with the spring 2010 semester, 20 JSC varsity home games are being streamed live over the Internet by NSN Sports through the end of the calendar year. The basketball games are all behind us, but you can still see them by logging onto www.nsnsports.net/members/video/archive/. The games are professionally taped and feature play-by-play and color commentary by NSN sportscasters. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from faculty and students about the coverage and the way the games are taped. Here is the remaining schedule of webcasts through the end of the semester:

Lacrosse (men and women)..... April 3, 18, 24
Softball (men and women)....... April 10, 21, 23
Tennis (men)........................... April 13

Visit www.jsc.edu/athletics for game times, then “tune in” at www.jsc.edu/Athletics/News/AthleticsStreamingVideo.aspx to watch the game live. For more information, visit www.nsnsports.net or contact Mike Osborne, assistant athletic director, at Michael.osborne@jsc.edu or 802-635-1470.

Faculty Sabbaticals
The following faculty have been awarded sabbaticals for the 2010-2011 academic year. Please join me in congratulating John Miller (Fine Arts), Susan Calza (Fine Arts), Andrea Perham (Writing & Literature), and Todd Comen (Business & Economics).

Keeping Abreast of JSC News
A reminder that one of the best ways to stay up to date about everything happening at JSC— including the many activities and accomplishments of our faculty and staff—is to read the monthly JSC report to the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees. These are posted on meeting days at www.jsc.edu/WhoWeAre/InitiativesAndReports/BoardofTrusteesReports.aspx. The January report was posted last Thursday, the 28th.

As always, my door is open. I welcome your comments and suggestions.