CHAPARRAL

Every summer, Staff Development accomplishes a lot of things, but I think this past summer was truly an exceptional one, and that success is mainly due to having hard-working and dedicated staff (Vernice McCullough and Sylvia Carroll). I also would like to thank my predecessor, Cheryl Andersen, for her contributions to Staff Development last year.

I would like to welcome our new and returning Staff Development Committee members: Jason Dorff, Linda Watkins, Yvette Hassakoursian, Linda Serra, Darren Leaver, Barbara Assadi, Mike Wheeler, Vicki Nicholson, Vernice McCullough, and Scot Spicer.

Do we have flex or no flex obligations this year?

Workshops and Activities

Next month’s calendar (November) is packed with workshop activities. On November 1 is the Feng Shui workshop. The workshop is about creating good Feng Shui in your environment, whether at home or at work, to build a successful career. We’re also offering Personal Safety workshops to be presented by Samir Abou-Rass, our campus police officer. There will be an open forum with students and faculty on November 19, pertaining to the September 11 tragedy at the World Trade Center, and Vernice McCullough of Staff Development will facilitate it. FACCC (Faculty Association of California Community Colleges) will present a workshop called Dealing with Difficult People, an excellent workshop for faculty and staff, whether they work with difficult colleagues in shared governance, difficult students, or other challenging relationships outside the college arena. Joe Denhart will present a workshop on Preparing mentally for retirement, and Eats and Ideas will be facilitated by Steve Taylor, where you’ll have a chance to enjoy one of Yeimei Wang’s astoundingly delicious box lunches while you trade teaching ideas on various topics with other clever and hungry colleagues. A Time Management workshop will be presented by a CSEA representative, where you will learn how to evaluate and assess your time management style and work with those who have different time management styles. Qi Gong: Meditation technique by Lynn McMurrey, to be presented on November 9, is an excellent workshop for improving an individual's mental and physical dexterity, enhancing one's self-discipline, and for providing a release of tension and relaxation. We also have computer workshops to be presented by Art Nicholson and Sandi Sheffey. I would like to remind everyone to attend other workshops such as the Humanities/Social Science Lecture Series organized by Mike Eberts, Science Lecture Series arranged by Sid

The “GREAT GCC” workshops…

The Great Classified and Great Teachers retreats were a huge success. At the Great Classified Retreat, participants were able to share their ideas and learn from each other. Some of the topics discussed were: What’s working at Glendale Community College, Top three suggestions for improvement at GCC, How to survive at GCC, and more. At the Great Teachers Retreat, participants were able to explore successes and innovations and develop strategies for improving teaching and education in the community college.

Please remember, the primary mission of Staff Development here at GCC is to provide personal and professional growth opportunities to all faculty, classified staff, and administrators and promote life-long learning and leadership, innovative and effective teaching methodologies, and an understanding of the needs of the diverse student population.