Imprint

ImprintS p r i n g 2 0 1 2

Johnson County Community College

Green, gray and possibly platinum:Galileo’s Pavilion loaded withenergy savings, sustainable ideas

4Galileo’s PavilionThis green building, which will beopen this fall, will help transform thecampus into a living, learninglaboratory for students.

6Overland Park surveyfinds community gives high marks to the collegeTerry Calaway says JCCC’s goal is to be“the best college in America.”

Outside Galileo’s Pavilion, which is underconstruction, are JCCC students Kris Mo(from left), and Kevin Clark; Jay Antle,director of the JCCC Center forSustainability; Kim Criner, JCCC’ssustainability education and engagementcoordinator; and Megan Carrithers, amaster of architecture degree candidateat the University of Kansas. Mo and Clark,who are members of the StudentSustainability Committee, appeared beforethe board of trustees to speak in supportof the pavilion.

Cover

7JCCC students can wrap upassociate’s degreeat K-StateThe two schools find a way forcommunity college studentswho are just short of a degreeto finish it while studying atthe university.

ImprintImprint at JCCC is published five times a year by Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS 66210-1299; 913-469-8500, fax 913-469-2559. Imprint at JCCC is produced by College Information and Publications and the Office of Document Services. Imprint is located online at http://www.jccc.edu/Imprint.Editor: Diane Carroll • Photographer: Bret Gustafson • Designer: Randy BreedenWhen planning your estate, remember Johnson County Community College. For more information, call the JCCC Foundation at 913-469-3835.

Spring 2012 | Imprint

Contents

2

10Women’s basketballteam in top formStudents excel on the floor and in theclassroom.

Reverse transfer agreement

Start2Finish run set for JulyProfits support JCCC students whoattend KU.

Back Cover

Fred Logan

Culinary Academy

11Former JCCC trusteetakes on new role as Kansas regentOne of Logan’s efforts has been tomake it easier for students to transfermore courses from JCCC to four-yearuniversities.

12Safety concerns propeldecision to skip trip to Honduras valleyStudents talk about previous researchvisits and look forward to the next one.

15Powwow featuresdance competitions,free health screeningsThe May event is open to the public.

14Journalism majorswork togetherStudents in radio, TV and newspaperweigh in on convergence.

Notice of Nondiscrimination – Johnson County Community College does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion, marital status, veteran’s status,sexual orientation or other factors that cannot be lawfully considered in its programs and activities as required by all applicable laws and regulations. Inquiries concerning the college’s compliancewith its nondiscrimination policies may be referred to the Dean of Student Services or Director of Human Resources, Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS66210, 913-469-8500; or to Office for Civil Rights, 8930 Ward Parkway, Suite 2037, Kansas City, MO 64114, 816-268-0550.

Spring 2012 | Imprint 3

8Groundbreaking to take place in MayA new building south of Regnier Center will have seven kitchens andbe home to the hospitality management program.

typical Johnson CountyCommunity College red

brick classroom building.

For one thing, it’s not red brick at all. The exterior walls ofGalileo’s Pavilion, going up just south of the Sciencebuilding, will be clad with reclaimed gray slate chalkboards.

For another, it’s loaded with energy-saving features and localand reclaimed materials, with a goal of achieving LEEDplatinum certification, the highest possible mark awarded bythe U.S. Green Building Council program.

And a third distinctive feature? JCCC students are chipping in$150,000 toward its construction through a $1 per credithour “green fee” that generates about $400,000 a year tosupport sustainability initiatives on campus.

Work got under way in January on the 3,000-square-footbuilding that will house two general education classrooms, alounge, kitchen and restrooms. It’s expected to be finishedthis spring, dedicated this summer, and ready for classes inAugust.

Jay Antle, director of the JCCC Center for Sustainability, saidthe new construction supports the JCCC strategic plancalling for the college to champion environmentalsustainability in the curriculum and in the collegeinfrastructure, transforming the physical campus into aliving, learning laboratory.

Antle said the idea of constructing a building on campus asa learning opportunity for technology students has beenfloating around for years. Last spring, a student on thecollege’s Student Sustainability Committee that administers

the green fee proposed the idea again.

Antle and his team pursued the idea, but with a twist. Theyconnected with Studio 804, a design/build program at theUniversity of Kansas School of Architecture and UrbanPlanning. Each year, architecture students in the KU programdesign and construct a building over the course of asemester, gaining practical experience in bringing a designto fruition.

After meetings over the summer, Studio 804 prepared aproposal for a green building on the JCCC campus.

They designed a U-shaped building with two classroomslinked via a lounge area, surrounding an outdoor courtyardthat will be home to the Galileo’s Garden sculpture by Dale Eldred.

The sculpture is an outdoor installation that functions as asolar timepiece. It previously occupied the space where thebuilding sits and gave the building its name. Suspended onsteel cables at the center of Eldred’s work is a stainless steeldisk with a hole in its center. On the ground beneath thedisk is a nickel-coated plate etched with lines that denotethe 21st day of each month. As the sun passes overhead, thedisk casts a shadow on the lines, providing a solar calendar.The work honors the 17th-century Italian astronomer GalileoGalilei who challenged the theory that the sun revolvedaround the earth.

The plan was approved by the JCCC board of trustees inNovember.

It also got a stamp of approval from students. JCCC’s StudentSenate voted unanimously in favor of the project. The

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This will not be your


Galileo’s Pavilion set toopen for fall semesterGalileo’s Pavilion is expected to earn a LEED platinum rating; construction will be completed this semester.

5Spring 2012 | Imprint

The exterior walls of Galileo’s Pavilion are clad with reclaimed gray slate chalkboards.

Student Sustainability Committeeappropriated $150,000 from the studentgreen fee toward construction, with anextra $50,000 allocated to covercontingencies. The rest of the funds forthe $700,000 building will come fromthe college’s campus development andcapital outlay funds.

“What’s cool about this building is thatit’s being built by students, and ourstudents will be learning in it, and itcame from a student idea,” Antle said.

While JCCC students are not involved inthe construction, crawl spacesthroughout the building will allow JCCCtechnology students to see how thegreen technology used in the buildingworks once the building is finished.

And there will be green featuresaplenty in the building. Photovoltaicsolar panels on the roof will providesome of the building’s power, as will asmall, 2-kilowatt wind turbine nearby.Antle said on a good day, the twosources could provide as much as 60 to70 percent of the building’s power

needs. Students can track the energyuse on a screen located in the loungethat provides real-time displays ofenergy consumption.

The lounge will feature innovative LEDlighting, which reduces energy usewithout causing eye strain.

“Studio 804 blends cutting-edgeaesthetics and cutting-edgeperformance, and those lights do both,”Antle said, citing the lights as one ofhis favorite interior innovations.

Some of the building’s features areliterally green. A roof garden atop thebuilding, likely planted with lowmaintenance plants like sedum, willprovide insulation. Rainwater from theroof will be collected in a cistern, andused to water living walls of plants onthe north sides of both classrooms aswell as the lounge. The living wall bothimproves air quality in the building andprovides a natural aesthetic touch.

Landscaping will use native plants,Antle said, and because of the slope of

the site, it’s likely that the landscapewill incorporate a rain garden.

Furniture for the building will comefrom sustainable sources such asrecycled materials, and the floors willbe polished concrete.

All together, the green features areexpected to add up to a LEED platinumrating.

Galileo’s Pavilion will be the college’ssecond LEED-rated building. TheOlathe Health Education Center, whichopened in August, received a LEEDgold rating, the second-highest rating.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design, rates buildingsfor their performance in sustainable sitedevelopment, water savings, energyefficiency, material selection andindoor environmental quality. Therating system was developed by theU.S. Green Building Council in 2000.

“The energy usage and the use of localand recycled materials are the realwinners for LEED,” Antle said.

90 percent ofJohnson County’s

residents have a favorable view ofJohnson County Community College,according to a recent surveycommissioned by the Overland ParkChamber of Commerce Foundation.

The survey of 800 registered voters and693 business representatives revealedthat 93 percent of those polled had afavorable impression of the college. Ofthose, 68 percent had a very favorableimpression.

The survey, conducted early this yearby Neil Newhouse, Public OpinionStrategies, polled respondents on arange of quality-of-life issues thatincluded education. The firm foundthat a long-standing commitment toexcellence in education remains apriority in the community.

JCCC President Terry Calawaywelcomed the findings.

“Our faculty, staff, board andadministration have worked diligentlyto provide the highest qualityeducation experience for students andemployers locally. Our student successdata and focus on customer serviceand retention is amazing by anyone’s

standards. I believe the communityresponse data are indicative of the finework of our team and our focus onbeing the best college in America.”

Among the other survey results:

When asked if JCCC did an excellent,good, fair or poor job on beingaffordable, 44 percent said excellent, 39 percent said good, 8 percent saidfair or poor and the rest said they didnot know.

When asked how the college rated onproviding high standards of academicquality, 48 percent said excellent, 37percent said good, 6 percent said fairor poor and the rest said they did notknow.

When asked what kind of job thecollege does on operating efficiently,30 percent said excellent, 42 percentsaid good, 10 percent said fair or poorand 18 percent did not know.

On the issue of tax increases, 63percent of the respondents said theywould support a tax increase for highereducation, while 80 percent wouldsupport a tax increase for K-12education.

When asked if higher education at

JCCC was critical for economicdevelopment, 83 percent agreed. And85 percent agreed that the college ispreparing a workforce that is ready forthe jobs and careers of today and thefuture.

JCCC’s Office of Institutional Researchalso has conducted research that showsthe college is doing a good job. Theoffice’s data from 2010-11 found thefollowing:

• 92 percent of JCCC’s career programcompleters find a job within sixmonths.

• 84 percent of students say theywould enroll at JCCC again.

• 83 percent of students are verysatisfied with their experience at JCCC.

• 94 percent of employers are satisfiedwith JCCC student preparation.

The polling firm for the Overland Parkchamber conducted telephoneinterviews with registered voters. Thoseinterviews were followed by an onlinesurvey of business representatives fromthe chambers of commerce ofOverland Park, Shawnee, Leawood,Northeast Johnson County, De Sotoand Spring Hill.

6

More than


The survey found that respondents continue to value excellence in education.

College ranks high in Overland Park surveyof voters and leaders

who transfer to Kansas StateUniversity while still shy of an

associate’s degree now will be able to get that degreethrough a new agreement between the two institutions.

“This is a big deal for both the institutions and the studentsof the state of Kansas,” said JCCC President Terry Calaway.“It’s a win-win for both.”

Under the agreement, students who transfer to K-State withat least 45 credit hours will be eligible to complete theirremaining 19 credit hours for an associate’s degree whiletaking classes at K-State. In essence, the 19 credit hours willcount toward their K-State degree and their associate’sdegree at JCCC.

The arrangement, which takes effect as of the spring 2012semester, helps JCCC by improving the college’s completerrate, said Dennis Day, JCCC’s vice president of studentsuccess and engagement.

A lot of students take two years of classes at JCCC and arejust one or two courses away from the degree when theytransfer to a four-year school. Community colleges are undermore pressure nationally to become accountable, Day said,and Kansas legislators and college leaders want to increasethe number of students who earn degrees.

The idea for the reverse transfer agreement came aboutduring discussions of how the two schools could provide amore seamless transfer process for students from JCCC. Alsoproviding the impetus was the statewide effort from theKansas Board of Regents to improve articulation agreementsbetween two-year and four-year schools.

K-State officials plan to notify all students who are eligiblefor the JCCC degree during their first semester at K-State.JCCC personnel will then review the student’s transcript todetermine if the K-State classes will count toward a JCCCdegree.

K-State President Kirk Schulz said that increasing access tohigher education for all Kansans is a vital part of K-State’s2025 plan.

“This reverse transfer partnership with Johnson CountyCommunity College advances our visionary plan byproviding a new opportunity for students to achieve evenmore with their educational goals,” Schulz said.

Students interested in learning more about whether they are eligible for the reverse transfer agreement may emailCindy Thompson, articulation development and transfercoordinator for JCCC, or call her at 913-469-8500, ext. 3876.


JCCC students

JCCC President Terry Calaway, left, and K-State President Kirk Schulz sign the agreement in JCCC’s boardroom.

K-State and JCCC signreverse transfer agreementto help students get degree

is the kitchen, then thenew home for the

hospitality management program at Johnson CountyCommunity College will have an extra big heart.

The 36,000 square-foot building will house seven kitchens:five culinary labs, an innovation kitchen and ademonstration kitchen in a culinary theater.

Groundbreaking for the Culinary Academy will take place at1 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, with an anticipated completion dateof August 2013.

The one-story building, to be located directly south of theRegnier Center parking garage and easily visible from bothCollege Boulevard and Quivira Road, will serve the 700-plusstudents in JCCC hospitality management programs andallow the college to offer more continuing education classesfor the general public.

A soaring 18-foot high lobby will make the building feelmuch larger than a one-story building, said Lindy Robinson,dean, business.

The first thing visitors entering the lobby will see is theinnovation kitchen to the left. The glass-walled space willgive visitors a chance to see the college’s award-winningculinary team in action as they practice for competitions.Currently, the team practices in kitchens in the Office andClassroom Building, tucked away from public view.

Visiting chefs also will be featured in the innovation kitchen,Robinson said.

Other visiting chefs may appear in the 75-seat culinarytheater located to the right of the entry. The theater will be

equipped with a modified kitchen and back roompreparation area for cooking demonstrations. A videoproduction room and equipment will allow demonstrationsto be taped and aired on the college’s cable channel.

The tiered theater, set up with narrow tables and chairsmuch like the Hudson Auditorium in the Nerman Museumof Contemporary Art, likely will become home for entry-level classes and will allow those classes to grow to 40students, Robinson said.

More traditional classroom space is located on the west endof the building, with four classrooms scheduled for theinitial construction. There’s room to add more, if needed, infuture construction phases, Robinson said.

The building will house five culinary labs: two forprofessional cooking classes, one for pastry classes, a gardemanger or cold foods kitchen and a restaurant kitchen.

The restaurant kitchen will adjoin a dining room on the eastend of the building that will be used for Thursday hospitalityluncheons and other events. The dining room can beconverted to two classrooms as needed, a switch from theset-up in the Office and Classroom Building whereclassrooms are converted for the weekly meals.

The dining room also will be available for other events. Infact, with the lobby area and an outdoor patio on the eastside of the building, the academy could be host to a numberof events, Robinson said.

The cold foods lab is designed so that it can be used formeat fabrication, she said, with tracks in the ceiling that canbe used to hang a side of beef. While JCCC student chefs

Construction starts in May on home for Culinary Academy If the heart of a home

8 Spring 2012 | Imprint

This southwest view shows what the front of the building will look like.


may not have to do their ownbutchering, they need to know wherecuts of meat are from and how thataffects the cooking method used.

Cuts from the shoulder, for example,come from heavily used muscles andso benefit from low and slow cooking,Robinson said. Cuts from the loin, onthe other hand, come from musclesthat get less use and are tender,making them candidates for fast andhot cooking.

Meat fabrication possibilities don’t endwith JCCC student chefs, Robinsonsaid. The lab would allow the collegeto offer continuing education classesfor butchers entering the field.

“Skilled butchers work in grocerystores and Costco,” she said. “But manyof the trained butchers are retiring.”

In fact, she sees a great deal ofpotential for continuing educationcourses in the new building. Grocerystores are offering more specialtyproducts, like expanded cheese lines,and continuing education will beneeded for those workers.

Other continuing education classescould feed the hunger to learn about

cooking fueled by the growth of theFood Channel.

“People want to take our entry-levelcooking classes, but we can’t do thatnow,” she said.

With the new building, those classescould become a possibility, along withsummer cooking classes for kids,which have been requested by parentsfor years.

It’s possible that an eighth kitchencould be added – an outdoor kitchenadjoining the outdoor patio – if fundsbecome available.

“Smoking and grilling are in bigdemand,” Robinson said.

Behind the scenes, space is importantin the new building as well. A backdock will provide easy delivery of theingredients students need for theirclasses, and the inventory will be keptin a central storage area adjacent to thedock. The area includes speciallydesigned storage as well as laundryfacilities.

Because event space in the RegnierCenter overlooks the new CulinaryAcademy, Robinson said landscapingwill screen the back dock and utilities

from view during events.

Hospitality management faculty andstaff will be housed in the building,with an office suite that accommodates15 or more people, as well asworkspace for adjunct instructors, aconference room and library.

However, Robinson said, the plan’smain focus is the students.

“We’re putting our money where thestudents will benefit,” she said.

The building is expected to cost $12million, about $3.2 million of whichwas raised by the JCCC Foundation,Robinson and Ona Ashley, director ofhospitality management, and fund-raising continues, Robinson said. Theproject got off the ground with a$750,000 challenge grant from formerKansas Sen. David Wysong and hiswife, Kathy.

DLR Group in Overland Park designedthe building; J.E. Dunn is the generalcontractor.

The southeast view shows off a soaring 18-foot high lobby.

The northeast view provides an alternate look at the lobby area.

basketball coach Ben Conrad arrived on

campus four seasons ago and has elevated the program tonew heights. He has guided his teams to three consecutive30-win seasons and three NJCAA D-II tournamentappearances. Off the court, his teams have experiencedsimilar success.

In 2009-10, Conrad’s first season, 75 percent of his rosterrecorded a 3.0 grade point average or better on a 4-pointscale. Last year, 67 percent reached that standard, and thispast fall, 79 percent posted grade points above 3.0. Conradbelieves that success on the court and in the classroom gohand-in-hand.

“Success breeds success, period,” Conrad said. “People whoachieve in the classroom are usually people who achieve inother areas. We do emphasize academic achievement in ourprogram, and we’ve implemented a very successful studytable and mentoring program for our student-athletes.

“We also recruit kids that are a good fit for JCCC,” he said.“We get great kids who are willing to work in the classroom.We try to create a culture in our program that valuesacademic success and achievement.”

Sophomore guards Amy Briggs and Mary Pat Specht havebeen part of the most successful two-year run in JCCCwomen’s basketball history, winning 64 games and twodistrict titles. They also had a top-10 national tournamentappearance, were ranked No. 1 in the final poll twice andcompleted an undefeated conference season this year.

Individually, both players will leave their mark in the historybooks for 3-point accuracy, and each received All-Americahonors by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

However, while both agree that the team and individualaccomplishments are important, their main focus and driveto succeed comes in the classroom.

“Academics are important,” Briggs said. “This is what I amhere for because someday my basketball career will over.”

Their hard work in the classroom will be rewarded this Junewhen they will be honored as NJCAA Academic All-Americans. Both could receive the NJCAA Pinnacle Awardfor Academic Excellence, given to student-athletes producinga 4.0 grade point average.

“Academics have also been important to me,” Specht said. “Ihave always placed a high priority to get high grades.”

Participating in a collegiate sport at any level is extremelydemanding. It takes a special athlete to be able to juggle thedemands of a sport while maintaining high academicstandards.

Sophomore Brianna Kulas, a transfer this year from KansasState University and an academic award winner for the LadyCavaliers, says playing at JCCC and K-State are similar; it is amatter of staying organized and being responsible.

Conrad says the reason they are successful students isbecause they avoid trivial distractions.

“They are focused on the task at hand,” Conrad said. “Theyalso have tremendous work habits, which comes from theirupbringing, not from anything we’ve done with them.”

Briggs says it is tough being a student-athlete because somuch time is put into practices and film study in addition togoing to school.

“Playing basketball is time-consuming and tiring, but it’sworth it,” Briggs said.

JCCC head women’s

Sophomore guards Amy Briggs, left, and Mary Pat Specht have helped elevate the basketball program.

Spring 2012 | Imprint10

Women’s basketball teamin top form on the floorand in the classroom


had a short learning curve when hetook his place on the Kansas board of

regents after being appointed to the post by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback in July.

As he settled into his role on the board that directs thestate’s 32 public higher education institutions, he foundhimself dealing with issues like transfer and articulation thathe had previously faced as a member of the JCCC board oftrustees from 1992 to 1997.

“Serving on the JCCC board of trustees was superb preparationfor serving on the board of regents,” said Logan, a Leawoodattorney with decades of experience in support of education.“I just instantly felt a comfort level with the issues that we hadbefore us on the regents, particularly on issues like transferand articulation. When I was on the board of trustees in theearly to mid-90s, we were dealing with those issues in a veryearly stage so I had a real familiarity with them.”

The regents will take three important steps this yearregarding transfer and articulation, Logan said. They’vealready approved an initial list of courses that will beautomatically transferable with board action in June.

In June, Logan said he expects the regents to approve aproposal that makes courses consisting of 55 to 59 hours ofcredit, with learner outcomes attached, automaticallytransferable across the state’s higher education system. Theregents also are expected to establish a program that wouldassure quality across the entire higher education system, aswell as approve a second batch of courses that would beautomatically transferable with regent approval in December.

“Transfer and articulation issues will always be there,” Logansaid. “It’s something the board of regents will continue towork on.”

He lauded JCCC President Terry Calaway for his role in effortsto improve how courses transfer from community colleges tothe state’s universities and between community colleges.

“Dr. Calaway is viewed as a real leader among community

colleges in Kansas and among higher education in Kansas ingeneral,” Logan said.

Beyond transfer and articulation issues, Logan said the twomain community college-related issues the regents face areservice areas and funding.

The state is divided into service areas both among the sixregent-governed institutions and the community colleges.The regents are taking a preliminary look at the serviceareas, he said, though it likely will be addressed in thelonger term rather than immediately.

Funding is more pressing, and Logan said he’s feelingoptimistic about higher education funding, noting thatBrownback included $41 million in new funding for highereducation in his budget proposal to the legislature this year.

“I’m hopeful and optimistic on tech ed funding,” Logan said,noting that both the regents’ legislative package and thegovernor’s budget proposal included $8 million for additionaltechnical education funding for the year that starts July 1.

In addition to his law practice, Logan Logan and Watson,L.C., in Prairie Village, and his work as a regent, Loganwrites a column about public affairs in the Kansas CityBusiness Journal.

He is active in community affairs, serving on the ShawneeMission School District Committee for Excellence that advocatesfor excellence in the school district and in public education.

In 1997, Logan received JCCC’s Hugh Speer Award forDistinguished Service to the College. In 2008, the JCCCFoundation named him the Johnson Countian of the Year,an award presented for distinguished civic leadership.

Fred Logan

Logan served as a JCCC trustee for five years.

Fred Logantackles issuesat state levelas a regent

Requiem for a Nun, Act I, Scene III – William Faulkner

History will not be repeating itself, at least not this summerfor JCCC’s anthropology department.

In the summers of 2008, 2009 and 2011, JCCC’s WilliamMcFarlane, associate professor and chair, anthropology, andMiranda Suri, adjunct professor, anthropology, QueensCollege, N.Y., traveled to Western Honduras with a band ofintrepid JCCC students to excavate ancient Lencanarcheological sites. The group took a hiatus in 2010 and willbe doing so again in 2012.

“On June 28, 2009, there was a coup in Honduras,” McFarlane explained. “The president was removed by themilitary and this created a number of concerns for theproject. We work closely with government offices, and it wasnot clear who was in a position to authorize research orassist us. We decided to take a year off and make sure thatthe government was stable and that there were no risks tosafety.”

For similar safety concerns, the group also has decided notto return for the summer 2012 season.

“Since the start of this year there have been a number ofevents that made us re-evaluate how safe the project is foreveryone,” McFarlane said. “Although we have high hopesthat stability will return to Honduras, for this summer wehad sufficient concerns about unpredictability and increasingviolence in the bigger cities. In the end, we felt it’s better toerr on the side of caution.”

This is particularly unfortunate considering that the trip hadbecome so popular that McFarlane and Suri last yeardecided to increase the number of student travelers, andalso asked Sandra Moran, JCCC adjunct associate professor,anthropology, to join the team.

“Sandra took on the job of field director,” McFarlane said.“She was an ideal candidate for this position.”

Suri agreed: “Sandra made a great addition to our staff thisyear. Her enthusiasm to tackle whatever needed to be doneand her rapport with the students was really invaluable.”

Although the first trip with students didn’t occur until 2008,McFarlane and Suri spent years laying the groundwork.

“Since 1998, my work has focused on Western Honduras,”McFarlane said. “I finished my dissertation research in 2002and by 2004 I was looking for a new research area. Myresearch partner, Miranda Suri, and I approached theHonduran Institute of History and Anthropology. IHAH isthe government agency that oversees research. At theirdirection we visited the Jesus de Otoro valley, met with localstakeholders and mutually agreed that there was greatpotential for long-term research. It was at that point that Dr. Suri and I formed the Proyecto Arqueologico de Otoro.”

The valley is believed to contain 13 pre-Columbian sites, soresearch in the area addresses issues of cultural identity.McFarlane said that anthropologists are trying to figure outwhy there were so many sites and how one culture differedfrom the next.

12

“History is not was, it is.”

Staff


For the present, returningto the past will have towait until the futureProfessor William McFarlane works with student Katia Roque at the Copan ruins in Honduras.

Last year’s students universally praisedthe educational value of the adventure.

“The field school as a whole was anamazing opportunity to experience,”said Inga Fonder. “Each aspect of theproject, from excavating in the field,working with the other students andinteracting with a different culture andthe local community all had greatqualities. The part that resonated withme the most was developing a deeperrespect and appreciation for thepurpose of the research. It’s not onlyabout what you find while excavating,though that has importance. It’s alsoabout tying together the past to helppeople link to their history and learnmore about it themselves. Being a partof helping develop the informationavailable is an honor to be able tocontribute toward.”

Thomas P. Morrison ticked off alaundry list of highlights.

“The whole experience had impactedboth my understanding ofarchaeological field, lab, and theorymethods as well as my view on CentralAmerican cultures,” he said. “Althoughit would be nearly impossible tosummarize the field school into onememorable moment, the moments thathave sunk very deep into my schemawere both pleasures and curses.Having to walk 25 minutes at 6:30

every morning to reach the dig house,I was honored with an opportunity tosay ‘buenas’ to all the residents passingthrough the municipal section of Jesusde Otoro. To my surprise, many peopleknew certain English phrases and werequite eager to practice.

“Walking that early morning stretchthrough town exposed me to certaincultural norms that I would have neverread in any book: Pineapple carts,noon-day drunks, stray dogs, packs ofchickens, fighting roosters, family-owned/worked stores, everyone –including the elderly – urinating onwalls, loud noises, bleachers of machostares, and many ‘buenas’ were there towelcome me every morning to thebeautiful Central American life.”

“It was a great learning environmentfor archaeology,” said Tomoe Urano,“actual hands-on experience inexcavating and mapping along withenthusiastic classmates andprofessional (and patient) fielddirectors/professors. I was alwaysexcited to see and compare my groups’excavations and artifacts with the othergroups’. I learned so much in threeweeks. It was a lot of work but I had alot of fun learning and studying how toproperly excavate the Honduran/Mesoamerican culture, its past andpresent.”

Students received credit for the coursesPeople and Cultures of Mesoamericaand Archeological Field Methods.

They also maintained a daily blog,which can be accessed athttp://padoarchaeology.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html


Sara Ramirez and Samantha Phillips atPulhapanzak Falls.

The town of Gracias a Dios is a favorite destination for students. Nicholas Erickson excavating.

Student journalists learnvalue of togetherness

the best way to describestudent media at

Johnson County Community College.

Broadcast journalism students produced the monthly JCAVNews and weekly Campus Updates in the TV studio in theBillington Library. ECAV Radio, the college’s online radiostation, had a home in the Commons building, while thestudent newspaper, The Campus Ledger, had its own officein the Commons.

The separation meant that JCCC student journalists didn’twork together very often.

Not anymore.

This year, The Campus Ledger’s office on the mezzaninelevel of the Commons became the Student News Center, anewsroom for all three groups of student journalists. It alsoserves as a classroom and video-editing lab for broadcastingand video students.

The ECAV office, also on the mezzanine level of theCommons, became the classroom for broadcast and videoclasses, as well as a new radio production class that wasintroduced this month.

The move reflects a journalism trend that emerged about thetime the Internet started gaining traction as a 24/7 newssource accommodating words, video and audio in the earlyto mid-2000s. Known as convergence, the trend encouragesjournalists to use whatever means they need to tell theirstory. The same story might be reported as an ink-on-paperprint story, as a video online or aired on television, and asaudio clips on a radio broadcast or embedded in a Webstory.

After a semester of convergence, leaders of the three studentmedia outlets are starting to see its potential.

“We’re finding ways we can all have some hand in what theothers are doing,” said Joshua Browning, the stationmanager for ECAV Radio.

Convergence has had its bumps – “sometimes it feels likewe’re throwing a kink in the gears when it should feel morelike we’re expanding the mechanism,” said RachelKimbrough, former editor-in-chief of The Campus Ledger.MacKenzie Clark has since been named editor-in-chief.

Kimbrough’s goal was to have reporters write ECAV newsbriefs to go with the stories they write for The Ledger, andto have at least one JCAV story featured in each issue aswell.

JCAV has shifted its format to accommodate convergence aswell. The production began as a monthly news magazinebut now focuses on individual segments that are timelier,said Amy Follmer, executive producer for JCAV. The goal isto have reports ready to air weekly, she said.

In addition to an online presence on YouTube, JCAVsegments are shown on the college’s cable channel and ondigital sign monitors around campus.

ECAV, which is an Internet radio station, has used contentproduced for JCAV sports videos to create a radio sportsshow as well.

The three news outlets share an advertising sales managerand a webmaster for a shared website atblogs.jccc.edu/jcccsnc/. Each also has its own website.

14

Separation used to be


Journalism students Amy Folmer and Joshua Browning now work in the same building.

Powwow at JCCC featuresfree health screenings,food and entertainment

and the University of Kansas Medical Center are once againteaming up to host a powwow and health fair in May.

The sixth annual “Our Nations Energies Health and WellnessPowwow” will take place on Friday, May 4, from 6 to 10p.m. and on Saturday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. atJCCC’s gym. It is sponsored by the American Indian HealthResearch & Education Alliance, a joint venture that began sixyears ago between the college, the medical center andseveral area American Indian community organizations.

AIHREA has grown significantly since its early days and sohas the powwow, said Sean Daley, a JCCC associateprofessor of anthropology who was instrumental in startingthe organization.

“The idea behind AIHREA was to pull resources and pullenergy to address Indian concerns in the area,” Daley said.“We have at least a dozen projects going on now, and thepowwow is one of the bigger ones.”

The event is open to the public. Admission is free, as are thehealth screenings that will be administered by medicalcenter health professionals. Food will be available forpurchase along with arts and crafts.

A grand entry of Native dancers will take place at 7 p.m.Friday and again at 2 p.m. Saturday. A gourd dance, atraditional Indian dance, will begin at noon Saturday. Anddance competitions with participants who registered inadvance will take place Saturday afternoon.

“We have people from all walks of life come to watch andwe encourage that,” Daley said.

Attendance has been growing over the years. More than1,200 people participated last year in the health screeningsthat included tests for cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure,vision and lung health.

“One of the things we do that makes us a little different isthat we have follow up and referrals,” Daley said. “If weidentify you with a serious condition, you see a doctor,assuming you want to. We have an agreement worked outwith KU Med. A few years ago, we found a brain tumor onthe spot and within a few days we had the woman insurgery and the tumor was removed.”

AIHREA’s collaborators include the Indian tribes in Kansas,the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and theHeart of American Indian Center in Kansas City. The alliancealso works closely with Haskell Indian Nations University,the University of Kansas and the junior and senior highschools in Lawrence.

Soon after the formation of AIHREA, the KU Medical Centertook the lead in applying for federal grants to support theorganization’s work. The grants helped bring about theopening of the Center for American Indian Studies at JCCCin the fall of 2010. Daley is the director of the center, and Ed Smith serves as its research project coordinator.

Among AIHREA’s projects is a smoking cessation programgeared toward American Indians. The program, called AllNations Breath of Life, takes into account the use of tobaccoin Indian ceremonial activities. The program was puttogether by KU researchers and is now in use nationwide.

AIHREA also has youth outreach and diabetes programs andconducts healthy home assessments to determine whethermold or other noxious elements are making Native childrensick. The alliance also is working on a documentary about aNavajo code talker from World War II and is conducting astudy on contemporary American Indian identity todetermine how it influences health practices.

“We do a lot,” Daley said, “or at least we try to do a lot.”

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Ed Smith, left, and Sean Daley have been instrumental in setting up the powwow, which will take place May 4 and 5.

This summer, Johnson County Community College andthe University of Kansas Edwards Campus will celebratethe fifth anniversary of the Start2Finish 5K Run-Walk. Asin past years, proceeds exceeding the cost of the runsupport scholarships for JCCC students who continuetheir education at the KU Edwards Campus through theStart2Finish educational partnership.

Students participating in the Start2Finish program beginat JCCC, graduate with an associate’s degree and end upwith a bachelor’s degree from the KU Edwards Campus.Students face a large tuition difference between JCCC’scurrent cost of $84 a credit hour to KU Edwards’ totalcost of $363.

This year’s race will be at 7 a.m. Saturday, July 21. Insteadof the traditional start at JCCC and finish at KU Edwards,the race will begin and end at JCCC, 12345 College Blvd.in Overland Park, because of area road construction.Registration per participant is $22 in advance (mail,online or at packet pick-up) or $28 on race day at JCCC.A special buddy discount is available when registeringwith a friend. Online registrations also will include asmall convenience fee.

The race will feature:• A certified 5K course

• Medals to the top three finishers in each five-year agegroup and awards to top overall male and female andtop masters male and female

• T-shirt for all runners

• Misting and water stations along the race course

• Special gift for all race finishers

• Free food for everyone

• A short run for children ages 2 to 9 at the conclusionof the 5K run-walk

Start2Finish races in the past attracted 300 to 400 runners annually. The event has raised more than $50,000 to datefor scholarships. Past participants had this to say:

“Overall, this was an excellent race and I am grateful tohave something so close to my home.”

“The misters were awesome! I loved the concept of thisrace. Helping someone get a college education is tops inmy book.”

“I coach a girls’ running group that focuses on buildingself-esteem, good body image and anti-bullying. This wastheir first race and definitely was a great first experience!”

For complete Start2Finish race information, visitiStart2Finish.org/5k.html.

JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

12345 COLLEGE BLVD

OVERLAND PARK KS 66210-1299

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGEPAID


Start2Finish 5K Run-Walk to take place July 21 at JCCC

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