SASI Innovation Grants to Enable Pasadena City College to Achieve Set Goals

The Pasadena City College Board of Trustees recently provided Student Access and Success Initiative (SASI) innovation grants to select faculty and staff. The grants will provide a structure and process for individuals, cross-­disciplinary groups, and campus departments or divisions to develop and implement new and innovative educational projects that will help the college achieve the Project 90 goals set forth in the Educational Master Plan (EMP).

            Monika Hogan, PCC English Division associate professor, was awarded $10,000 to support the creation of a guest speaker series, campus-wide First Year Experience (FYE) task force, and the “One Book, One Campus” program.

            “The FYE speaker series and the “One Book, One Campus” initiative will contribute to and inform our ongoing conversations about who our students are and how we can best serve them, as well as what kind of campus we want to be,” Hogan said. “The FYE Task Force and “One Campus, One Book” committees will serve in a crucial advisory role as we begin to offer the FYE course for pathways students.”

            Russell Di Fiori, PCC Natural Sciences Division instructor, was awarded $48,000 to develop interdisciplinary, contextualized learning modules that will enhance the mastery of course content and attract more students to successful completion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) degrees.

            “In each module, student teams from more than one discipline will work together to solve a real scientific problem linked to a professional environment,” Di Fiori said. “The contextual learning projects will be employed at both the general education and major level so that students recruited into the STEM majors will have higher success rates in subsequent courses.”

            Salomon Davila and Deborah Bird, PCC Engineering and Technology Division instructors, were awarded $100,000 to fund a model Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway, a professional learning community for students with an interest in design careers. The pathway curriculum will apply contextualized basic skills in math and English. Using multidisciplinary design problem-solving, students will work in teams applying design technology, math, and English to develop solutions. Curricular development from pathway faculty will focus on success in certificate and transfer possibilities.
            Katie Rodriguez and Paul Jarrell, PCC Natural Sciences Division instructors, were awarded $100,000 to develop structured block programs with accelerated options for highly prepared “pre-health science” students. Students in these pathways will be guaranteed placement in courses and will receive supplemental instruction as needed. To increase access to advisement and resources, faculty within the Natural Sciences Division will develop an online portal for the pre-health sciences, and many courses will be prepared for online delivery. Faculty will work with PCC Distance Education to be trained in online teaching and learning before delivering courses online.
            Lastly, Leslie Tirapelle, interim director of PCC Distance Education, was awarded $93,500 to purchase and to train in Lecture Capture technology for online, hybrid, and on-campus courses.

            “Echo360 Lecture Capture combines the instruction, visuals, video, and instructor into a seamless environment that can be viewed any time, anywhere by students,” Tirapelle explained. “Learning outcomes, engagement, and satisfaction are improved when students can access and review lectures and course content as needed. The ability to easily capture high-quality instructional media increases distance learning opportunities and expands access to impacted courses and reducing strain on facilities.”
            For more information, please contact Robert B. Miller, interim dean of Educational Services, at (626) 585-7171.

CLAREMONT OFFICIAL APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF PASADENA HUMAN SERVICES AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT

Pasadena City Manager Michael J. Beck has announced the appointment of Mercy Santoro as director of the Human Services and Recreation Department effective June 1.

The department develops neighborhood leadership and linkages and promotes positive use of recreation and leisure time. Social services, recreation and education activities are delivered at several community centers and parks in Pasadena as well as 14 Pasadena Unified School District sites. 

Over the past two years Santoro has directed the Human Services Department in Claremont, including social services, human relations, recreation classes, adult and youth sports programs, and parks and facilities management.

“Mercy Santoro has all the qualifications and capabilities needed for Pasadena ’s next director of human services and recreation,” said Beck.  "I am confident she will continue the traditions of leadership, management and community partnerships that have been the hallmarks of the department.”

During her tenure in Claremont, Santoro oversaw the update to the city’s Youth and Family Master Plan, developed a phased approach to the 17-acre Padua Avenue Community Park with Claremont’s first sustainable park design, carried out a needs assessment to direct services and programs communitywide, developed the process for restoration of the 144-acre Sycamore Canyon Park, helped secure more than $4.5 million in grant funding to acquire 150 acres of open space, coordinated the city’s homeless funds and resources with local agencies, developed the Healthy Community Policy adopted by the Claremont City Council this year and initiated various branding efforts to convey wellness benefits of services through city programs and the park system.

“I am honored by the opportunity to join the Pasadena team and look forward to meeting and working with the community and staff in addressing the quality of life needs of our great city,” said Santoro.  “I plan to be present in community life so I can connect with partners to ensure our goals for community well-being remain a top priority.”

Santoro served as deputy director of the Claremont Human Services Department from 2006 to 2009, was a superintendent and supervisor in the department from 2000 to 2006 and was recreation supervisor and coordinator for the Rialto Recreation and Community Services Department from 1995 to 2000. She taught developmental psychology at theUniversity of La Verne as adjunct faculty from 2005 to 2007.

She holds a Master’s Degree in child development from the University of La Verne and a Bachelor’s Degree in English literature from California State University-San Bernardino.

She is Claremont ’s liaison to the San Gabriel Valley Housing and Homeless Coordinating Council, is a member of theCalifornia Parks and Recreation Society, completed studies in human services leadership from Pacific Oaks College and certification in recreation risk management from the Joint Powers Insurance Authority.  In 2009 she earned the city ofClaremont the honor of receiving the League of California Cities prestigious Helen Putnam Award for a shuttle service that connects underserved teens to youth programs throughout Claremont .

The mother of one daughter, Santoro lives in Claremont .

PCC Architecture Student Places Second at Prestigious “2x8” Exhibition

 Gabriella Colmenares, Pasadena City College architecture student, placed second at this past weekend’s “2x8,” an annual exhibition sponsored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) that showcases exemplary student work from architecture and design institutions throughout California.

The AIA jurors selected Colmenares’ project, “Places of Performance Los Angeles Grand Central Market,” from 22 entries by Los Angeles-area undergraduate and graduate architecture students. Competing programs included Woodbury, SCI-Arc, USC, UCLA, Art Center, Cal State Long Beach, and Cal Poly Pomona. The “2x8” exhibition was held at the A&D Museum in Los Angeles.

            “The students’ design work is judged by a noteworthy panel of architects and designers,” said Coleman Griffith, PCC Architecture Department coordinator. “This year’s esteemed jury included Zoltan Pali, Michael Folonis, and Sam Lubell.”

            Former PCC student Cody Glen won first place at last year’s “2x8” event. During the 2009 competition, PCC student Erick Rodriguez won second place overall.  The 2x8 exhibitions have raised close to $100,000 in scholarship funds to support California design students.

            For more information, please contact Griffith at (626) 585-7370.

PCC Community Business Center to Hold Passport Mixer on May 19

The Pasadena City College Community Business Center (3035 E. Foothill Blvd.), which began offering passport services this past April, will be holding a festive mixer on May 19 at noon to celebrate the new service.

            The event will include music, food, drinks, goodie bags, and of course, passport and travel information. The Los Angeles Passport Agency, United States Postal Service, Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, and PCC Police and Safety Services will be present. Additionally, Walgreens will be offering passport photos at a discounted price. The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce will be performing a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 12:30 p.m.

            PCC students, faculty, staff, as well as the general public, are invited to attend the festivities. Customer service representatives will be available to answer questions about passport applications, renewal applications, and other passport-related processes. All regular passport application fees apply.

            In addition to passport services, the CBC also offers Live Scan fingerprinting, ink fingerprinting, notary, child identification cards, and mobile services. No appointments are necessary.

            For more information, please contact Tunisia Bailey, supervisor of the Community Business Center, at (626) 585-3210.

GOODWILL TO HONOR ACHIEVERS, PARTNERS AND GRADUATES WHO INSPIRE HOPE

Labels that could potentially deter an employer from hiring someone including “deaf, autistic, single mother, drop-out, English as a second language,” have not stopped this year’s Goodwill Southern California (GSC) Hope, Jobs & Futures’ honorees from achieving personal and professional success. “These are people who don’t take no or even maybe for an answer and we are really looking forward to sharing their inspiring stories,” said GSC Event Manager Lorgia Orozco.

Helping people with disabilities or other vocational challenges find gainful employment is what GSC does everyday. Honoring those who take that help and go on to truly transform their lives through the power of work, happens only once a year. GSC is hosting their 13^thannual Hope, Jobs & Futures event on Tuesday, May 17, 2011, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Pasadena Convention Center.

“Hope, Jobs & Futures recognizes outstanding achievers, and program graduates who have overcome extreme adversity to create a more independent and fruitful future for themselves and their families,” said Doug Barr, GSC CEO and President. “Goodwill is proud to offer a hand-up to people in need, but what some people are able to achieve with that boost is nothing less than astounding, and deserves to be honored.”

The event also acknowledges several of GSC’s business partners. These organizations have advanced the Goodwill mission either by contracting secure shredding, e-waste and document destruction services that directly employ individuals with disabilities, or through their financial support of programs, advocacy, and hiring Goodwill trainees and program graduates. Honorees in this category include Kaiser Permanente, Superior Grocers and Wells Fargo. Volunteers and benefactors who have supported GSC through significant contributions of time and resources will be recognized as well.

About Goodwill Southern California

Transforming lives through the power of work. We serve people with disabilities or other vocational challenges, as well as businesses, by providing education, training, work experience and job placement services.

In 2010, GSC served 92,353 including individuals with disabilities and vocational disadvantages and 5,581 businesses. We placed 7,490 people in new jobs through programs and services offered at three campuses and 24 job service centers throughout Los Angeles (north of Rosecrans Ave.), Riverside and San Bernardino counties. GSC supports its mission of “Transforming lives through the Power of Work” with proceeds generated from 67 retail stores and 42 attended donation centers. Charity Navigator, an independent charity evaluator has awarded GSC its highest four-star ranking for 10 consecutive years; largely due to the fact GSC spends 92 percent of its budget on programs and services. Committed to caring for the earth, last year GSC diverted 25.4 million pounds of electronics, paper, and textiles from landfills. Goodwill is Good For Everyone!

For more information about Goodwill Southern Califronia, please call (888) 4-GOODWILL or visit www.goodwillsocal.org.

JET PROPULSION LABORATORY EVENTS CALENDAR MAY 2011

From NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Some events subject to change and might be accompanied by a news release or media advisory. To cover events at JPL, RSVP to Media Relations at 818-354-5011 or numbers listed below.

The JPL Media Relations Office will be closed for Memorial Day, Monday, May 30.

MAY 14-15: JPL OPEN HOUSE

JPL welcomes the public for its annual Open House on Sat., May 14; and Sun., May 15, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The popular free event includes exhibits, demonstrations and childrens’ activities that highlight JPL’s ongoing research and space exploration. Many scientists and engineers will be on hand to answer questions about how numerous spacecraft study Earth, other planets, and the stars and galaxies beyond our solar system.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/open-house.cfm

Contact: Priscilla Vega 818-354-1357

MAY 17: AQUARIUS PRELAUNCH MISSION AND SCIENCE BRIEFING

In June, NASA is scheduled to launch a new international spacecraft that will make NASA’s first space-based global measurements of salinity – the concentration of salt – on the ocean surface. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory, provided by Argentina’s space agency, Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), will provide scientists with a key missing variable in satellite observations of Earth that links ocean circulation, the global balance of freshwater and climate. Other instruments contributed by Argentina, Canada, France and Italy will collect environmental data for a wide range of applications. Details of the mission will be presented in a news briefing at NASA Headquarters in Washington on May 17 at 10 a.m. PDT, and will be aired on NASA Television.
http://www.nasa.gov/aquarius
Contact: Alan Buis 818-354-0474

MAY 22-26: ASTRONOMERS AMASS IN BOSTON

One of the oldest disciplines, astronomy, will be the topic of discussion in one of the oldest American cities -- Boston. The 218th meeting of the American Astronomical Society will meet at Boston's Westin Copley Place. Scientists will report news from NASA's Spitzer and WISE missions, as well as the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory, which has important NASA contributions. News conferences will highlight some discoveries.

http://aas.org/meetings/aas218

Contact: Whitney Clavin 818-648-9734

ADDITIONAL STORY IDEA:

JUNE 6: JPL TWEETUP

JPL will host a full-day planetary exploration Tweetup for approximately 120 Twitter followers. Tweetup participants will tour JPL and interact with JPL scientists and engineers working on current and future missions.  The visit will include an opportunity to see the Curiosity Mars rover before it ships to Florida to prepare for a November launch.

http://go.nasa.gov/JPLtweet

Contact: Veronica McGregor 818-354-9452

PASADENA SYMPHONY ASSOCATION SUCCESSFULLY RESPONDS TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Pasadena, CA – The Pasadena Symphony Association was invited to submit a response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) sent by the Los Angeles County Arboretum in February 2011 as a part of the Arboretum’s review of its long-term summer entertainment offerings. Over the course of the next several months, the Pasadena Symphony Association met with the Arboretum representatives to discuss the contents of its proposal. 

After a three month competitive process, based on the merit of its submission, the Pasadena Symphony Association was informed that the Arboretum Foundation Board of Directors voted to give the opportunity to begin negotiations of an agreement to the Pasadena Symphony Association.  

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to produce not only a Summer POPS Series at the Arboretum beginning in 2012, but at the prospect of presenting an entire summer of entertainment offerings for the San Gabriel Valleywhich will include concerts for children and families.  We have greatly enjoyed our partnership with the Rose Bowl and our ongoing relationship with the City of Pasadena . This summer we look forward to another successfulsummer season of music-making on the Lawn adjacent the Rose Bowl.  We remain committed to offering free music to Pasadena through our annual Music Under The Stars concert on the steps of City Hall. The move to the Arboretum will allow the Pasadena Symphony and POPS to share its artistic resources to an even wider audience and confirms our commitment to serving the entire San Gabriel Valley community,” states Paul Jan Zdunek, Chief Executive Officer of the Pasadena Symphony Association.

As one of the many non-profit organizations within the vast community of Arts ensembles that make up theSouthern California collective, the Pasadena Symphony Association remains supportive of all of our colleagues who serve this community.  It looks forward to working with a variety of performing organizations as it presents its Summer Series in partnership with the Arboretum beginning in the summer 2012.

 

About the Pasadena Symphony and POPS

The Pasadena Symphony Association was founded in 1928 by Conductor Reginald Bland. Originally named the Pasadena Civic Orchestra, its first members were mostly volunteer musicians, many of whom were students of Bland. The annual operating budget was a$3,500, which was funded entirely by the City of Pasadena .

The Pasadena Symphony and POPS is an ensemble of Southern California ’s most talented, sought after musicians.  With extensive credits in the film, television, recording and orchestral industry, the artists of Pasadena Symphony and POPS are the most heard in the world. 

In the fall of 2007, the Pasadena Symphony incorporated the Pasadena POPS into its Association under the new name Pasadena Symphony and POPS. This merger created an expanded Classics and POPS series providing the community with a full spectrum of live symphonic concerts year-round. The Pasadena POPS’ summer home is on the Lawn adjacent the Rose Bowl and the Pasadena Symphony provides a musical experience like no other at the Ambassador Auditorium – known as the Carnegie Hall of the West.  Internationally recognized, Presidential Medal of Arts Recipient, Maestro James DePreist, serves as the Pasadena Symphony Association’s Artistic Advisor.  The Pasadena POPS welcomes Marvin Hamlisch this season as its new Principal Pops Conductor beginning in summer 2011.

A hallmark of its robust education programs, the Pasadena Symphony Association has served the youth of the region since 1972 through the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra comprised of over 160 gifted middle school students from more than 40 schools all over the Southland.

For More Information – Please Visit:

www.PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org