Chili cook-off at Grossmont College

Here's a video montage of the annual chili cook-off at Grossmont College. The three-peat winner was Ken Emmons, who also won for best vegetarian chili. Michael Perez and Ernie Ewin tied for best meat chili. And the best spicy chili came from Grossmont College president Sunny Cooke!

College district offers lighting systems training program

 With help from San Diego Gas and Electric, the Continuing Education and Workforce Training program based at Cuyamaca College  is offering free training for installing and maintaining energy-efficient lighting systems.

The California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program, a 50-hour training program for state-certified general electricians, is scheduled for 5-9 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Jan. 15-Feb. 20, 2014, at SDG&E’s Energy Innovation Center at 4760 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in San Diego.

The training program is a statewide initiative aimed at increasing the use of energy-saving advanced lighting controls in commercial buildings and industrial facilities. Building and facility owners whose electricians and contractors complete the training are eligible for utility rebates and other incentives.  The program represents a broad partnership between utility companies, manufacturers, electricians, contractors and select community colleges.

Grossmont College nursing students pinned amid drive for 4-year degrees

Esther Sanchez speaks at the Grossmont College nursing
pinning ceremony held at Cuyamaca College

Thirty Grossmont College nursing students were welcomed into the profession in a traditional pinning ceremony on December 11, as efforts are underway in California to allow community colleges to grant four-year degrees in high-demand workforce fields such as nursing.

Associated degree nurses are registered nurses qualified to work in hospitals.  Once the associate degree graduates have passed their national licensure examination they will become registered nurses, and are qualified to work at hospitals.  However, not all positions will be open to them unless they go onto four-year colleges to obtain a bachelor of science-nursing degree. Many hospitals in metropolitan San Diego are magnet hospitals, which seeks to hire a certain percentage of their nursing staff with at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

“The community college movement toward technical baccalaureates is a practical cost-effective answer to critical workforce needs. We are eager to answer that call,” said Cindy L. Miles, chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.

Chris Hill named as a senior dean at Grossmont College

Chris Hill

Chris Hill, a faculty member at Grossmont College for 11 years, has been named senior dean of college planning and institutional effectiveness.

In her new position, Hill will help to devise strategies to enable the college to meet goals such as increasing its outreach to underserved communities; assuring that students have the necessary support to complete their studies; and developing grant applications and budget analyses to support these efforts.

Hill has worn many hats since she began working as a geology instructor at Grossmont College in 2002. In 2007, she was elected as president of the college’s Academic Senate. Hill began a second two-year Academic Senate term in 2009, but before it was completed, she was tapped by the college to serve for a semester as its interim dean of Math, Natural Science, Exercise and Wellness. 

Governing Board officers elected for 2014

Left to right, Governing Board Vice President Edwin Hiel, President Bill
Garrett, Clerk Debbie Justeson, Student Trustees Zack Gianino and Elsa
Hernandez, Board Members Mary Kay Rosinski and Greg Barr

The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing Board has unanimously selected Bill Garrett to serve a seventh  straight year as president, while Edwin Hiel and Debbie Justeson were re-elected to serve their second terms as fellow board officers for 2014.

Garrett has served since 2008 as board president for the East County district. Fellow board members also elected Hiel as vice president and Justeson as board clerk, posts they had held this year. The district serves about 30,000 students at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges, in addition to the district’s Continuing Education and Workforce Training program.  

Garrett praised the Governing Board for its cohesiveness and its excellent service to constituents. He added that much has been accomplished by the district under the leadership of Chancellor Cindy L. Miles. A revamp of  the district’s public safety program, the re-staffing of key positions, and an extensive effort to bring back classes and students lost during the state budget crisis are just a few of the challenges undertaken during the course of the year. 

Cuyamaca College holds bone marrow drive for automotive instructor

It was his conquest over cancer the first time around and a changed perspective that led longtime mechanic Jake Konen to a new career teaching at Cuyamaca College.

From left, Jake Konen's son Josh; daughter-in-law Veronica Gehrich;
Be the Match representative Janet Higgens and Cuyamaca College
President Mark Zacovic

Four years after he beat non-Hodgkins lymphoma, cancer has returned to wage another war, this time in the form of acute leukemia. And Konen is determined to once again prevail.

On Thursday, while he was at the hospital with Tina, his wife of 22 years, his sons and other family members were at Cuyamaca, taking part in a donor registry drive the college sponsored on his behalf. The six-hour event netted 34 people who swabbed their cheeks for cell samples and signed up for a national registry --  a commitment until age 61 to donate stem cells or bone marrow to any patient with whom they’re found to be a match.

“It was a great drive – it only takes one match to potentially save a life,” said Janet Higgens, community outreach specialist with Be the Match, the largest registry of potential marrow donors in the world.

Community college leaders endorse proposal for 4-year degrees

A proposal that would enable community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees in selected majors with high workforce demands has been endorsed by the leaders of the nine community colleges in San Diego and Imperial counties. 

 Twenty-two other states already offer baccalaureate degrees at their community colleges, and the proposal is gaining momentum in California as a study group of representatives from higher education prepares to issue its final report.

On December 2, the chief executive officers of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community Colleges Association (SDICCCA) voted unanimously to endorse the concept.  SDICCCA members include all of the region’s community colleges and community college districts.

“Our local community colleges excel at preparing students to enter the workforce in career technical fields such as nursing and allied health,” said Dr. Melinda Nish, president of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community Colleges Association and superintendent/president of Southwestern College.  “This proposal would enable community colleges to grant four-year degrees in similar fields.  It’s time for California to join this national movement and address our local workforce and student needs.”

Winter Wonder Jam music fest at Cuyamaca College

Lyrical Groove

If home-grown music is your thing, then the place to be this Friday night is the Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Theater, the venue for the always eclectic and entertaining Winter Wonder Jam, produced by students in the college’s Music Industry program.

Set for 7-10 p.m. Dec. 6, concert-goers will be treated to music ranging from rock, pop, jazz, acoustic and hip- hop.

Headlining this year’s show is the genre-defying group, Lyrical Groove, a 2013 San Diego Music Award winner for best hip-hop artists. Sharing the Cuyamaca stage will be the heavy metal sounds of It All Starts Here; the electronica band, D.L.O.D. (Digital Lizards of Doom) and rock/jazz instrumentalist Jay Williams.

Admission to the annual event is three cans of food to be donated to the San Diego Food Bank or $5.