My Queerness

The Writers Place

Now that I'm feeling more comfortable calling myself a writer, it seems the universe is offering opportunities to keep me on my path.

Last month in Chicago, I was encouraged to apply for a national LGBT writers workshop.

I'm going to take part in a reading at the Neon Gallery this fall. Watch for details.

I've also been invited to read at an LGBT event at The Writers Place in June with some of KC metro's most notable queer writers.

• Kelly Barth
• Crystal Boson
• Wayne Courtois
• Wendy Dow
• Charles Ferruzza
• Mark Manning
• Miguel M. Morales
• David Wayne Reed

It'll be an evening of visual and literary arts -- memoir, poetry, fiction, nonfiction and the photography of Andrea Brookhart.

Let me know if you plan to attend so I don't read that poem about you, you know the one ...

Celebrating Voices:

A Celebration of Queerness

7:00 PM, Friday, June 15, 2012

Cost: $3 - $5

The event is sponsored by The Writers Place, the Missouri Arts Council, CAMP Magazine and The Tenth Voice on KKFI 90.1 FM

Free College Day!

Today is the Free College Day at JCCC celebrating the college's 40th anniversary. I'm teaching a class, "Citizen Media or How to be one of those Bloggers."

This is an example of a post with a hyperlink and an image.

Miguel Goes VIRAL!

The wall outside the JCCC Board of Trustee meeting room features photos of current and past presidents and trustees. Students, staff and faculty call it The Hall of Shame. Watch the video to find out why.

Vote for Miguel Morales for JCCC Trustee April 7

Request an Advanced Voting Ballot here.

NEWS: Trustee Vacancy Process

Who Do You Trust?
JCCC to accept application for interim trustee

(l-r) Lynn Mitchelson, Shirley Brown-VanArsdale, Benjamin B. Hodge, Don Weiss, and Jon Stewart (center) Virginia Krebs

Julie Haas, executive director of Marketing Communications for Johnson County Community College, explained the process for selecting an interim trustee now that Virginia Krebs has submitted her resignation.

Haas posted this message on Johnson County Community College's Diversity Discussion Group listserv:

Carmaletta [Williams, executive director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] and everyone, this is the process that will be used for filling the vacancy on the board of trustees.

Kansas statute spells out the procedure for appointing a new board member.

The board will first publish a legal notice in the newspapers announcing the vacancy and their intention to fill it.

Those interested in the vacant seat on the board can pick up an application from the president’s office and then return the completed application along with a resume to Dorothy Friedrich.

The board will review the applications, select a number to interview, interview those selected during a public meeting, and then choose someone to fill the seat.

The board will set the dates for when all this will occur at their regular monthly meeting next week (Oct. 16).

The Board's monthly meetings usually take place at 5 pm in the Hugh Speer board room (GEB 137) at JCCC. However the Oct. 16 meeting will begin at 4 pm. Board meetings are open to the public.

Board documents including reports, meeting minutes and videos of the meetings are available here.

NEWS: Innovation Validation

Major League
Will college strike out or hit a home run as it pitches to regain League of Innovation status?

When Charles Carlsen resigned following allegations he sexually harassed several female employees, the college's membership in the prestigious League of Innovation was in jeapoardy.

Last spring the college passed phase one of reaffirmation into the League. Entering the second phase requires a site visit by League board members.

A former JCCC president currently sits on the League's board and serves as a League Senior Fellow. Larry Tyree, former interim president, represented JCCC on the League's board after Carlsen resigned.

Tyree now serves as interim president of Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y., which is also one of the 19 members comprising the League's board.

Community Invited

League representatives will meet with the JCCC Board of Trustees, Sept. 16.

The next morning the public is invited to attend presentations to the League representatives focusing on diversity, sustainability and other campus issues.

This is the message posted today on the college's electronic mail server, Infolist:

LEAGUE FOR INNOVATION REAFFIRMATION PRESENTATIONS

JCCC is one of 19 community colleges in the country that sits on the Board of Trustees for the prestigious League for Innovation in Community Colleges. Every time there is a CEO turnover at one of these schools, it must undergo a “reaffirmation” with the League. JCCC successfully completed Phase I of this reaffirmation process last spring with submission and League acceptance of its reaffirmation application. (This document can be found at http://www.jccc.net/home/download/18217/LeagueReaffirmation.pdf .) The next and final phase consists of a campus visit.

On Tuesday, September 16, and Wednesday, September 17, President Jean Goodnow of Delta College (Michigan), President Steve Johnson of Sinclair Community College (Ohio), and League CEO Gerardo de los Santos will be visiting JCCC to conclude the reaffirmation process. They will be meeting with the JCCC Board of Trustees the evening of the 16^th and will be hearing presentations on new initiatives at the school on the morning of the 17^th. Here is the presentation schedule for Wednesday morning:

Time	Innovation	Presenters
9:00 – 9:20 a.m.	Center for Sustainability	Jay Antle, Deb Williams, and Tim Gelvin
9:20 – 9:40 a.m.	Diversity Initiatives	Carmaletta Williams and Sean Daley
9:40 – 10:00 a.m.	Bioscience Academy, KC Wired, Research Triangle	Sally Winship, Tim Gelvin, and Luanne Wolfgram
10:00 – 10:20 a.m.	Oral Health on Wheels	Heather Flick
10:20 – 10:40 a.m.	College Scholars	Jim Leiker and Ellyn Mulcahy
10:40 – 11:00 a.m.	Facilities Funding, Deferred Maintenance, Gateway and Lenexa	Jerry Baird
11:00 – 11:20 a.m.	Teaching, Learning and Engagement Initiative	Dana Grove, Bruce Harvey, and Rick Moehring
11:20 – 11:40 a.m.	Edible Schoolyard/Wysong Challenge	Joe Sopcich, David Smith, and Felix Sturmer

These presentations will be in the Hudson Auditorium in the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, and they are open to all wishing to attend. You are not expected to remain the entire morning, so come and go as your schedule permits. We will be happy to see you there. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Dana Grove.

CALENDAR: ¡Viva!

Editor's Note: I helped organize these events and will serve as a participant in two of them. I'm also a founding member of the college's new Hispanic student organization that is co-sponsoring this program.

JCCC HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH EVENTS

The Hispanic Experience at JCCC
Regnier Center 101A
Sept. 9, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
A forum of JCCC Hispanic students and staff will lead a discussion of the Hispanic Experience at JCCC. Panelists include Miguel Morales, library aide and former managing editor of The Campus Ledger; Will Suarez, student; Gloria Rosso, counselor; and Luz Alvarez, Spanish professor; moderated by English Professor Steve Werkmeister. This event is free and open to the public.

Hispanic Heritage Month Movie: "Walkout"
Craig Community Auditorium
Sept. 15, noon-2 p.m.
Former spy kid, Alexa Vega stars alongside Michael Pena ("Crash") as a teacher and student at the center of the 1968 student protests in Los Angeles. These events not only inspired similar walkouts against anti-immigrant legislation in 2006, but they also shaped a generation of youth into civil rights leaders. This showing is free and open to the public.

Latino Writers Collective Forum
Hudson Auditorium, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
Sept. 25 - Reception at 6:00 p.m. - Forum at 7:00 p.m.
Kansas City’s own Latino Writers Collective, a group that meets regularly at The Writer’s Place to support Latino writers through readings and critiques and by coordinating events throughout the metro area, released its first anthology in May, "Primera Pagina, Poetry from the Heartland."

Members include Gloria Martinez Adams and Sofiana Olivera, cofounders Jose Faus and Linda Rodriguez, and JCCC students Carlos Duarte and Miguel M. Morales. Join us for readings from the collective’s work and a discussion of the Latino writer’s unique role in both the literary world and the larger community. Prior to the forum, a reception will be held from 6:00-7:00 in the Atrium of the Nerman Museum. This event is free and open to the public.

Diversity Book Group: Books and Burritos
In Focus Dining, Commons Building
Oct. 3, 2-4 p.m.
Los Angeles Times reporter, Sam Quinones, has long covered the stories of Mexican immigrants from both sides of the border. His new book, "Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration," profiles these lives, revealing the complexities of the issues and motivations that surround the larger immigration story. Of particular local interest, although it’s the story of the changing face of America, this book also includes the remarkable story of how a western Kansas town came to rally around its almost all immigrant soccer team.

Our Books and Burritos event will include both burritos for attendees and a discussion lead by English professor Danny Alexander. RSVP to Susan McGarvey, 913-469-8500, ext. 4327, or smcgarvey@jccc.edu. This event is free and open to the public.

NEWS: (insert clever headline about officers and swearing)

Posted today on Johnson County Community College's electronic mail server, Infolist:

JCCC POLICE OFFICERS TO TAKE OATH OF EMPLOYMENT

JCCC will hold its first police officer swearing-in ceremony at 1:30 p.m. today in the Capitol Federal Conference Center of the Regnier Center. Fifteen officers will take an oath of employment as members of the JCCC Police Department. Most are retired officers from the Overland Park or Kansas City, Mo., police departments. Combined, officers in JCCC’s police department have 677 years of experience in police work.

The officers to be sworn in are John Armillo, Debra Bates, Larry Dixon, Larry Ealy, Randy Garcia, Bob Greenwood, Woody Hersey, Bill Huff, Michael Moore, Jerry Naas, Charles Northcutt, Gregory Russell, Chris Sager, Dan Stinson and Scott Wargin.

NEWS: Trustee Meeting

Posted yesterday on Johnson County Community College's electronic mail server, Infolist:

The JCCC board of trustees met for their regular monthly meeting August 19.

Lobbyist’s report

Dick Carter, the college’s lobbyist, discussed legislative interim committee activities, work with the congressional delegation, and what might be expected in the 2009 legislative session.

Awards and recognition

• Pete Belk, admissions director, and Janelle Vogler, director, auditing services, were recognized for successfully completing the two-year Chair Academy program for leadership training and development.
• Dining Services was honored for the gold medal they won in the Catering-Special Event category of the National Association of College and University Food Services 2008 Dining Awards. They received first prize among mid-size colleges and universities for their work at the Nerman opening gala.
• Student Nathan Grosch won a second-place award in the League for Innovation national student literary competition.
• Student Holly Petermann was named a Phi Theta Kappa Leader of Promise, one of only 30 students nationwide to be selected for the honor.

Budget

The board conducted a public hearing regarding the college’s budget. The purpose of the hearing is to allow taxpayers to object to the proposed use of funds and the amount of tax to be levied, and for the board to consider amendments. However, no one came forward to speak and the hearing was concluded.

The board then approved the college’s 2008-2009 operating budget. The budget is $142,917,552, an increase of 7.5 percent over 2007-2008’s total of $132,928,376.

In this budget, the mill levy assessed for the college will not change for 2008-2009 but will remain the same, at 8.749 mills. However, the cost-per-credit-hour for students will increase by $2 for Kansas residents and $5 for students from outside the state. Johnson County residents will pay $65 a credit hour this fall, Kansas residents $80 a credit hour and nonresidents $149 a credit hour.

The budget also includes the renewal of an annual capital outlay mill levy of one-half mills each year for a period of five years for equipment, construction, repair and remodeling of facilities.

The college anticipates a 7 percent increase in state aid in 2008-2009. Assessed valuation in the county is expected to increase by 1 percent.

The college’s 2008-2009 operating budget reflects several new full-time positions, including faculty in polysomnography, dental hygiene, administration of justice, marketing and management, sociology, English, interior design, life science, architecture, and counseling. Also included are staff in coaching, hospitality management, automotive technology, media production, the Science Resource Center, financial aid, college information, the business office, housekeeping, campus police, the Intercultural Center, and Information Services.

Operating costs are again limited to an increase of 2 percent, except in areas where greater increases could not be controlled, such as utilities and insurance. Capital expenses fund an extension of the dental hygiene and EMS facilities in the Science building and the completion of renovations to the Police Academy.

The college’s legal budget will now be filed with the county.

Philosophy of compensation

The board adopted this philosophy of compensation:

The members of the board of trustees at Johnson County Community College recognize that learning success is dependent on the recruitment and retention of highly qualified employees. The board subscribes to a philosophy of compensation that recognizes the value and contributions of each employee to the success and purpose of our educational institution. The board defines and supports policies that promote fairness, recognition of achievement, responsibility and accountability of all college employees. In addition, the board also believes that the working environment should encourage creativity and exploration of new ideas based on the premise that innovation is often achieved through incremental, strategic risk-taking. Further, it is acknowledged that while monetary compensation and tangible benefits are basic to the well-being of all employees, other mechanisms for recognition of achievement will be utilized to demonstrate the college’s commitment to valuing employees.

With respect to full-time employees, the board of trustees has historically supported and will continue to support compensation that has the following components: salary, a comprehensive benefits package, professional development opportunities and employee award and recognition programs.

Other action

• Dr. Vin Clark, past president of the Faculty Association, commended Lynn Mitchelson, past board chair, for his service as chair the past two years.
• The board approved a proposal from Sungard Higher Education to modify the JCCC instance of the Banner enterprise resource planning system to allow the college to record a student’s declaration of a major, which has become critical to ensure state funding. The total expenditure is not to exceed $216,000.
• The board approved a bid from Delta Innovative Services to repair the northeast section of the roof of GEB. The total expenditure is not to exceed $259,927.
• The board approved a bid from H&R Lawn and Landscape, Inc., for landscaping at the Police Academy. The total expenditure is not to exceed $138,351.
• The board approved a lease agreement with KU Edwards Campus for the use of classrooms for the 2008-2009 academic year for the sum of $30,000.
• The board approved the issuance of credit cards for seven JCCC administrators.
• The board approved the working agenda for the Human Resources committee and the renewal of a contract with Lewis & Ellis to provide consulting services for employee benefits.
• The board approved bids for police uniforms, bus transportation for the college’s athletic teams, outdoor furniture, temporary employment services for the bookstore, fine and coarse paper, and chemical cleaners.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the JCCC board of trustees is at 5 p.m. Sept. 18 in the Hugh W. Speer Board Room, 137 GEB. Board of trustee meetings are open to the public. For more details, see a copy of the board packet at http://www.jccc.net/home/depts.php/000001/site/BoardMeetingInfo/JCCCBoardReports

The board will meet in retreat from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27. The board’s regular meeting on Oct. 16 will begin at 4 p.m., followed by a workshop.

NEWS: Not-So-Fast Food

Gov. Sebelius wants you to eat it

The Kathleen Sebelius dedicated a new edible garden at Johnson County Community College. The dedication near the Heirsteiner Child Development Center will support programs at the college. Sebelius will return to the college to host the Healthy Kansas Summit June 6-7.

Watch the Kansas City Star video of the dedication here.

COMMENTARY: Holocaust Remebrence Day

Walking on the Ledge:
▼Pride and Prejudice▼

Today is another reminder of why I am proud to be gay.

Holocaust Remembrance Day reinforces why it’s important for me to honor the gay men who died wearing a pink triangles and the lesbians who died wearing black ones. Nazis tagged them with a symbol, tortured them and finally slaughtered them.

When I first moved to Kansas City, I didn’t know much about being gay except that I was. One day in the public library, I found what appeared to be the gay section. One of the first books I picked up was a book about the Nazi persecution of gays.

I sat crying as I read the entire book. Then I picked up another and then another.

As I continued to check out books and videos, these men and women slowly transformed from being cases to being relatives. I was like an orphan discovering his roots.

They taught me that being gay isn’t simply about attraction to another man. It’s a history. It’s a culture. It’s … a gift.

I honor these lost family members by embracing my own pink triangle and the label that comes with it. I embrace their sacrifice. I cry for their suffering and I live to fulfill the dreams they passed down to me.

Sometimes that means when a gay issue arises in class, I have to become an instructor. Sometimes it means I have to write letters, e-mails and make phone calls to elected officials. And a few times, it meant that I had to commit civil disobedience.

What I find most troubling is that as society moves towards accepting -- not just tolerating -- gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, our community is facing a challenge from many who reject those labels. Rejecting those labels means forgetting the men with the pink triangles. It means negating the existence of the women with the black triangles.

It means we’re one step closer to wearing them as symbols of oppression instead of symbols of pride.▼▼

CALENDAR: Town hall

From the college's electronic mail server, Infolist:

TOWN HALL MEETING
Dr. Calaway's next Town Hall meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May. 7, 9-10:30 a.m. in the Capitol Federal Conference Room, 101 RC. Subjects to be discussed include reorganization and public safety.

Terry Calaway, JCCC president, regularly conveigns town hall meetings to address issues of concern to the campus community. Meetings are open to the public. This meeting will take place in the Regnier Center on the JCCC campus.

CALENDAR: Initiatives

From the JCCC electronic mail server, Infolist:

NEW STRATEGIC INITIATIVES SOUGHT

The JCCC Strategic Planning Council will host an open forum soliciting ideas for new strategic initiatives, and all employees and students are invited. On Friday, April 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., in COM 319, the Council will review progress made on the six current strategic initiatives and then will engage in a discussion with attendees addressing potential future college goals that may be added to the institutional strategic plan. A lively conversation is anticipated, but participants can come and go as schedules permit. If you have questions or comments, please contact Dana Grove at dgrove@jccc.edu or at ext. 3196.

INFOLIST: Boards' Meeting on Safety Moved

Three hours before its scheduled monthly meeting, the JCCC Board of Trustees has changed meeting times. In a message posted on the college's electronic mail server, Infolist, the board moved its meeting time up from 5 pm to 4 pm. The message gave no reason for the time change.

Part of the agenda includes an update on campus safety:

As an intermediate step as the college continues to evaluate the department of Public Safety versus a police department, JCCC Public Safety officers who are Kansas certified police officers will be issued OC “pepper” spray and a collapsible baton.

• In most cases these officers have decades of law enforcement experience.
• These officers are required to complete 40 hours of continuing education per year and qualify with a firearm to maintain their Kansas certification.
• They will complete a 4-8 hour class and certification with OC spray.
• They will complete a 4-8 hour class and certification with the baton.

All Public Safety officers will be issued and will be required to wear bullet-proof vests during their work shift.

Two fully-equipped police vehicles will be budgeted in the upcoming fiscal year.

There will be a web survey of the college community to determine views regarding the department of Public Safety versus a campus police department.

Access the Board Report (agenda) for this month's meeting here.

CALENDAR: Town Hall & State of the College

From the college's electronic mail server, Infolist:

TOWN HALL MEETING

Dr. Calaway will hold a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, Jan. 31, from 3-4:30 p.m. in 101 RC. Mike Martin, professor, mathematics, and president of the Faculty Association, will co-host this meeting with Dr. Calaway. Topics will include instructional reorganization and task force.

STATE OF THE COLLEGE FEB. 22

The state of American community colleges in general and of Johnson County Community College in particular will be addressed Feb. 22 in two presentations delivered as the “State of the College: The New American Community College” at JCCC.

The event begins at 3:30 p.m. in Polsky Theatre in the Carlsen Center. Dr. John E. Rousche, director of the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin, will talk about “The Community College of the 21st Century.” Following him, Dr. Terry A. Calaway, JCCC’s new president, will present “Johnson County Community College: The New American Community College.” All faculty, staff and students are invited.

The event will also be broadcast live on the college’s cable TV channel (17 on Time Warner, 22 on Comcast).

The presentations will be followed by a reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Atrium between the Regnier Center and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art on campus.

The event will also launch a new President’s Scholarship Fund to recognize outstanding academic achievement as well as provide much needed assistance to students in financial need.

Dr. Roueche is professor and director of the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Sid W. Richardson Regents Chair in Community College Leadership. The Texas doctoral program in community college leadership is the nation’s oldest and has produced more chancellors, presidents, vice presidents, and deans of American community colleges than any other university graduate program. Dr. Calaway is a graduate of the program.

TIME OUT: A Strong Constitution

When I became an editor for the student newspaper, one of the first assignments I handed out was covering the college's Constitution Day activities.

A history professor dressed as Ben Franklin and answered questions that no one asked. Student Life passed out pocket-sized Constitutions and, at noon, Big Brother broadcast the Pledge of Allegiance (or something similar) on all the campus view screens.

Boooring.

Each subsequent year, this event allowed me to guide a newbie reporter through his or her first news assignment -- covering Constitution Day.

Well, this year, my college forgot to celebrate Constitution Day.

Truthfully, I only remembered it after reading the headline from NewsU's Access blog, "Censorship Update on Constitution Day."

So my college forgot. Who cares, right?

It's actually a big deal because federal law mandates that all schools receiving federal funds must offer an educational program on Sept. 17, Constitution and Citizenship Day.

JCCC did not.

The point? Sometimes those annual stories (Constitution Day, Last day to drop a class, Snow closes college) get a new twist when those running an institution take those process for granted.

It's the job of a student journalist to hold the institution accountable when it does -- and that's what I did.

CALENDAR: JCCC Events

Posted on the college's Infolist:

UPCOMING EVENTS

Dedication of the Regnier Center and Open House
3-4 p.m., Sept. 25
Dedication in the Capitol Federal Conference Center in the Regnier Center - Free but please RSVP to the Foundation, ext. 3835
Open House, 4-6:30 p.m. - Free

Campaign for the Community Conclusion Celebration for JCCC Faculty/Staff
2-4 p.m., Oct. 12
Regnier Center Atrium - Free to all JCCC Faculty and Staff

Nerman Museum Gala
7- 10 p.m., Oct. 20
Fundraiser for Nerman Museum programming - Invitation only - $125 per person

Nerman Museum Sneak Preview for JCCC Faculty and Staff
2-4 p.m., Oct. 25 - Free

Nerman Museum Public Opening
2-5 p.m., Oct. 27 - Free