Greetings, Faculty and Staff,

To those who have been away or are new arrivals to JSC – welcome! I hope you’re as eager and excited as I am to start a new academic year. It is indeed shaping up to be a great one. There certainly has been a lot happening on campus over the summer. Here’s a quick update of news and tidbits.

WELCOME BACK COFFEE –WEDNESDAY, August 25^th

First things first: Please mark your calendars and join us at our annual “Back to Work Coffee” at 9:30 a.m. this Wednesday, Aug. 25, in the Stearns Performance Space. This is a great opportunity to meet our new community members and reconnect with colleagues.

NEW FACULTY & STAFF

I am happy to announce several new appointments, including five talented and distinguished faculty members. A warm welcome to:

· Kathleen Brinegar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Education: With a specialty in middle school/adolescent education, Kathleen comes from the University of Vermont, where she was a research associate coordinating the Vermont Adolescent Literacy and Learning Initiative. In this capacity she provided professional development to middle- and high-school teachers, taught graduate courses on adolescent literacy, and developed an adolescent literacy self-assessment tool for middle and high schools.

· Sean Clute, MFA, Assistant Professor of Digital Arts: Sean’s background is in new media, intermedia, video and sound. He has relocated from Berkeley, Calif., where he was co-artistic director of the San Francisco-based intermedia group “Double Vision”; an award-winning independent artist and performer; and a lecturer at colleges and institutions worldwide.

· Perry LaRoque, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Education with concentration in special education: Perry earned his degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and most recently was assistant professor at SUNY-Potsdam. He’s also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and helped design, implement, analyze and publish intervention research at the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research.

· Bethany Plissey, MM, Assistant Professor of Music: Bethany holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Indiana University and has completed course work for her doctorate in musical arts in choral conducting at the University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL). She comes to us from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where she was associate director of choral activities and a lecturer in choral music and music education. She also has taught and conducted at the University of Miami Frost School of Music and Indiana University (Bloomington).

· Jacob White, Ph.D., visiting Assistant Professor of Writing and Literature: Jacob comes from the University of North Florida, where he taught literature and composition. He previously taught creative writing at Binghamton University and the University of Houston. He was a 2008 Donald Barthelme Memorial Fellow in Fiction, received special mention in The Pushcart Prize XXX, and was a finalist for the 2008 Flannery O’Connor Fiction Prize.

New staff members include:

· Cynthia Hennard, Director of Counseling: Cynthia is a licensed clinical mental-health counselor and alcohol and drug counselor. Most recently coordinator of the substance-abuse treatment program at the Lund Family Center in Burlington, she had a longtime private practice in Johnson and worked as an adjunct JSC instructor, and is delighted to be home again!

· Andrea Bourdeau, Staff Assistant: A JSC graduate who was an undergraduate Elementary Education major, Andrea worked at Copley Hospital for three years before joining the Admissions staff this week. She’s the daughter of our own Sandy Duffy.

· Jessica Lane, Records Specialist, Registrar’s Office: A JSC graduate (creative writing, 2003), Jessica currently works as a team leader in the Vermont Federal Credit Union’s call center and will start in the Registrar’s office Sept. 6. She won several writing awards as a JSC student and also was has been recognized by the credit union for exemplary service.

· Allie Cunningham, Assistant Director of Conference & Event Services: Allie is a familiar face at JSC, having graduated in December from our Anthropology/Sociology program and worked in the CES office as a student. A talented athlete, she’s also assistant coach of the softball team.

TRIO GRANT SECURED

Great news! Student Support Services has received a TRIO grant for the next five years to support our academic services programs. Now in its 40^th year at JSC, SSS helps first-generation students and others succeed in college.

CAMPUS UPGRADES and WHAT’s WHERE?

Our campus and buildings have had much good attention after a full summer of renovations and upgrades. Highlights include:

-- Major renovations to Bentley Hall, home to our environmental and health sciences programs, in support of our continued focus on joint faculty-student research as part of student coursework. These include a new molecular lab (opening soon), which supports research related to the Vermont Genetics Network; a fully renovated and expanded earth sciences lab; and a dedicated research lab for upper-level students who are conducting their senior-level theses (opening soon). Upgraded part-time faculty offices, classroom space and circulation were also completed this summer.

-- The new Johnson Media Arts Research Studio (MARS!) -- a digital media lab and studio with 24 state-of-the-art Macs for our evolving digital arts and media program -- is now in place in the LLC.

– We also have upgraded our 24-hour computer lab and study space in the LLC, with 16 computers and all new equipment providing group and individual study spaces.

-- Security improvements to campus, including additional blue-light emergency phones (and the installation of blue lights on existing emergency phones); installation of an online access-controlled system for every academic building (previously only provided for residential spaces); security camera installations in several student parking areas; and enhanced access control and monitoring to improve the security of our computer facilities.

-- A new courtyard and landscaping outside Martinetti Hall.

-- Landscaping (and removal of the chain-link fence) outside McClelland Hall now that the Child Development Center has moved on. Playground equipment, furnishings and related materials have all been donated to other grateful childcare centers in the county. For now, the space will remain unoccupied while we consider options.

Other changes include several relocations:

-- Information Technology is now on the ground floor of Senators North – across the hall from a new, small, all-hours computer lab for residents.

-- Basement Medicine, our student newspaper, now has its office on the third floor of the LLC, home to the Writing & Literature department, the Gihon River Reviewand the Green Mountains Review.

-- The JSC Women’s Center now occupies the former Basement Medicine space in Dewey Hall near the bookstore. (Speaking of Dewey, the proper name is now Dewey Hall rather than “campus center” in order to avoid confusion with the Stearns Student Center.)

Thanks to all for your continued hard work and dedication to our students. I look forward to seeing you at Convocation this Monday at 11 am, followed by our first-day BBQ on the campus Quad.

Other important fall events…are far too many to list here. Do go to the JSC website to see upcoming events surrounding our Common Reading Initiative and our book pick, Outcasts United, as well as the richness of all our fall offerings.

As always, I encourage your suggestions and comments, email and visits.