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Im print Late Fall 2010 Johnson County Community College Let it rain

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JCCC's IMprint magazine with information about JCCC programs and initiatives

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ImprintL a t e F a l l 2 0 1 0

Johnson County Community College

Let it rain

4Sustainability reaches a watershed moment JCCC completed its $700,000 greenstormwater treatment project on thesoutheast corner of campus in August.

7Michael Rea finds anew calling in rubbish,waste and compostMichael Rea began his duties Sept. 7 as JCCC’s first-ever recycling and wasteminimization coordinator in the Centerfor Sustainability.

Sustainability

Jay Antle, executive director, JCCC Centerfor Sustainability, sits at the stormwatertreatment site on the southeast corner ofcampus.

Cover 6Three JCCC faculty LEED the way Ben Perry (left), Jo Randolph and DarlaGreen have LEED Accredited Professionalcertification from the U.S. Green BuildingCouncil.

ImprintImprint at JCCC is published four 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: Peggy Graham • 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.

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

Contents

2

8JCCC plows a campus farmWhen the northwest corner of campusis plowed to create a vegetable farmthis fall, the land will have come fullcircle after more than 40 years – fromfarm to suburban landscape back tofarm.

Faculty

JCCC College Scholar

11Harvey adds insight to America’s historyDr. Doug Harvey, adjunct associateprofessor, history, recently authoredThe Theater of Empire: FrontierPerformances in America, 1750-1860.

14Career DevelopmentCenter transforms aniceberg into a tornadoThe Career Development Center is aplace to do self-evaluation and exploremajors and careers.

JCCC Interpreterprogram receivesaccreditationJCCC’s interpreter education program isone of only seven programs in theUnited States to receive accreditationfrom the Commission on CollegiateInterpreter Education and only one oftwo community colleges.

Back Cover

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.

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint 3

Faculty

Faculty

12Studentlearning isfaculty-drivenassessmentAssessment of studentlearning outcomes isnow in the hands ofJCCC faculty. Dr. LoriSlavin, co-director,Office of OutcomesAssessment, works inthe new office.

10Arjo gives two talks on Western childhood As a PhD philosopher, Dr. Dennis Arjocan expound upon ethical theory, thephilosophy of psychology, Asianphilosophy and comparativephilosophy. But as JCCC CollegeScholar, he will talk about somethingeveryone can relate to – child rearing.

Installation of drainage from the “Clock East” parking lot began in March.

Sustainability reaches a watershed moment

its $700,000 green stormwatertreatment project on the

southeast corner of campus in August, paid for by stimulusmoney from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Actand a 20 percent match by the college, including funds froma student green fee.

The project allows water runoff from 502,500 square feet ofimpervious parking and driving surfaces to drain to aconstructed wetland on the south side of the parking areas.Before entering the wetland, the stormwater runoff filtersthrough a sequence of treatment systems, planted withnative vegetation, designed to treat diverse pollutants –manufactured filtration tanks, bioswales, bioretention cellsand a rain garden.

“The process both filters the water from pollutants and slowsthe release of stormwater into the city’s stormwater system,”said Jay Antle, executive director, JCCC Center forSustainability, who secured funds for the project.

Previously unfiltered rainwater, containing vehicle oil andresidue, would go into drains around the four parking lots,enter the city’s stormwater pipes and dump into IndianCreek.

“This is one of the most ambitious green stormwater projectsin the Kansas City metropolitan area,” Antle said. “Ourengineers with Burns & McDonnell and lead designer Scott Bingham, landscape architect, Bowman BowmanNovick, are excited about making this a demonstrationproject for others in the area to look at and emulate.”

The wetland, incorporating native plants to promoteecological activity and provide habitat for animals andbeneficial microbes, will be used for student education and for the community as a recreational and learningenvironment. Students will test the quality of water as thewater goes through the entire system, and an interpretivesign describing the system to the public is in the works. Two rows of limestone seats are available as an outdoorclassroom, and a pervious concrete walkway lines thewetland perimeter.

The wetland is at the site of an old farm pond that was laterconverted to a detention basin. By expanding the basin’sfootprint and adding gravel, topsoil and native plantingsadaptable to such conditions, water is allowed to standunder a layer of gravel to avoid the problems of an exposedpool of water and to provide one last cleaning before thewater leaves the campus and makes its way to Indian Creek.

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JCCC completed

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

“The project is significant in themetropolitan area by the mere fact ofthe amount of surface area addressedand by the number of bestmanagement practices utilized at alocation accessible to the public,”Bingham said.

Agri Drain Corporation donated aseries of wick drains, specificallydesigned so as not to plug with debris,as field-inlets for water. Native and

drought-tolerant plants were customgrown by KAT Nurseries, Olathe.

Depending on funding availability,Antle says the college would like topursue stormwater treatment projects atother sites.

For a complete list of JCCC’s Center forSustainability initiatives to reduceJCCC’s carbon footprint, recycle,implement sustainability curriculumand meet the goals of the College and

University Presidents’ ClimateCommitment, visit the Center forSustainability’s website atwww.jccc.edu/sustainability.

A sign identifies the project for the public.

5Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

Two rows of limestone seats create anoutdoor classroom.

A dry spell leaves the wetland ready for rain. Native grasses assist in stormwater filtration.

adjunct professor, interior design;Darla Green, assistant professor,

interior design; and Ben Perry, adjunct assistant professor,architecture, have LEED Accredited Professional certificationfrom the U.S. Green Building Council, and they all considerit the norm – nothing extraordinary. Not that the preparationand test weren’t difficult, but they say being sustainable isintrinsic to their professions.

“My hope is that the LEED rating system becomes thestandard for all buildings, instead of something special,” saidGreen, whose LEED AP is in new construction.

The three incorporate sustainability into their profession andteaching. For them, the essence of sustainability begins indesign with space planning, product choice and buildingorientation, structure and landscaping.

“Green design should fundamentally inform the shape of abuilding,” said Perry who has an AP BD + C (building designplus construction). “The intent of building design should besaving energy, saving resources, maintaining the health of itsoccupants and being good stewards of the Earth.”

While interior design offers a one-hour credit SustainableDesign class and Perry devotes a class to methods to designfor energy conservation, the three faculty say sustainability iswoven throughout their teaching. Every semester, Perrytakes students to visit local buildings that promote greenarchitecture.

“I incorporate sustainability teaching into every one of myclasses and hit it hardcore in Issues in Interior Design,Interior Textiles, Commercial Design and Space Planning,”Green said.

“I weave sustainability into my class wherever applicable –it’s one of the overarching principles of my Introduction toArchitecture class,” Perry said.

According to Randolph, JCCC’s interior design program hasbeen incorporating sustainable design into courses since

2006. Green says students need to learn how to discusssustainability with clients and learn how to evaluateproducts.

“I think students, and most people, are surprised to learn thereis no perfect green product. I have students research a productto see whether it’s made from natural or recycled materials,how much fuel and degradation of air quality is used in itstransportation, how safe a product is to the consumer – in itsinstallation and maintenance, and what happens to them whenyou are done with them,” Randolph said.

An issue of importance to all three LEED faculty is“deconstructing” or “repurposing.”

“When you do a redesign, you have to think about whathappens to a previously used item,” Randolph said. “Are yougoing to reuse it, repurpose it or throw it into a landfill?”

Perry, a project manager and director of sustainability atHMN architects, was a consultant on the new Olathe HealthEducation Center, which is anticipated to be LEED “Silver”certified at its fall 2011 completion. He says the building’sgreen features can be used as teaching tools for architecturestudents and the public.

“There are a lot of studies that show the increased cost ofbuilding in compliance with LEED standards is minimal ifdecisions are made early in the design,” Perry said.

Randolph was one of 30 educators selected to attend theSummer Sustainability Institute, Portland CommunityCollege. Her idea, echoed by Perry, is an introductorysustainability course that incorporates the expertise of manycollege disciplines like interior design; architecture; heating,ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); engineering andelectrical technology.

LEED AP certification requires 30 hours of continuingeducation credits every two years.

“LEED certification shouldn’t be the possibility; it should bethe norm,” Green said.

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Jo Randolph,

Faculty

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

Darla Green (left), Ben Perry and Jo Randolph are three faculty who have earned LEED AP certification.

Three JCCC faculty LEED the way

his duties Sept. 7 as JCCC’sfirst-ever recycling and

waste minimization coordinator in the Center forSustainability.

As coordinator, Rea will be responsible for creating andmaintaining a recycling and composting program. He sayshis first order of business is to assess what is currently beingdone in those areas and coordinate activities campuswide.He will also emphasize education through webinars and“green bag” sessions on topics like composting.

“I want people to see this as a position that will save thecollege money in the long run,” Rea said.

Rea had served as project manager of JCCC’s Ed Tech Centersince 2003. In that position he assisted all departments withthe design, development, training and technical support forinstructional computing projects and technologies forclassroom and online instruction; promoted the use ofinnovative instructional strategies; and provided primarysupport and training for JCCC’s learning management systemto foster high-quality standards for online courses.

Committed to sustainability and on his own initiative, heproactively researched trends in sustainability and relatedgovernment regulations and attended the 2009 Associationfor the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Educationworkshops. In summer 2010, he coordinated the recycling of12 tons of paper, more than two tons of books and morethan $5,000 worth of repurposed office supplies at JCCC.

Before coming to the college, Rea had worked as multi-media developer, Muller + Co. Advertising; Web designer,Burns & McDonnell Engineering; and graphic designer, JEDunn Construction. He earned a bachelor’s of sciencedegree in journalism and advertising from the University ofKansas.

JCCC president Dr. Terry A. Calaway signed the College andUniversity Presidents’ Climate Commitment in March 2008. InJanuary 2009, JCCC established a Center for Sustainabilityand named Dr. Jay Antle as its executive director, settinggoals to reduce the college’s carbon footprint, incorporatesustainability into the curriculum and become a regionalleader in green-collar credit classes and workforcedevelopment training.

Most immediately, Rea wants to survey employees andstudents about their sustainability values, look at purchasingpractices regarding items like Styrofoam and recycled paper,hire students to recycle cardboard at the Warehouse andtransfer compost from Dining Services to application sites,create a website and establish “eco” reps in each building torespond to issues like full recycle containers and energywaste from lights or computers left on in vacant locations.

“I want people to call me or e-mail me whenever they havea concern about recycling or energy conservation,” Rea said.

Rea’s office is CC 305. You can contact him at [email protected] 913-469-3550.

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Michael Rea began

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

Michael Reafinds a newcalling inrubbish,waste andcompost

Michael Rea has the goal of a greener campus.

Sustainability

of campus isplowed to

create a vegetable farm this fall, the land will have come fullcircle after more than 40 years – from farm to suburbanlandscape back to farm.

Mike Ryan began his duties as the campus farm andcommunity outreach manager on Aug. 17, overseeing whatwill eventually be a two-and-a-half acre, four-seasonvegetable farm in support of the sustainable agricultureentrepreneurship certificate program, hospitalitymanagement program and the community.

Students in the sustainable agriculture entrepreneurshipcertificate program are required to complete three semestersof a practicum learning a broad range of tasks facing themarket farmer – planning, planting, harvesting, delivering,marketing, selling and bookkeeping. Previously studentscompleted their practicums at the Kansas State UniversityResearch and Extension Center in west Olathe, miles fromthe program’s classes offered at the main JCCC campus orLawrence.

“Hopefully, having the vegetable farm on campus will bemore convenient for students,” Ryan said.

Ryan, who helped to develop the KSU/JCCC student farm

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When the northwest corner

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

Sustainability

Mike Ryan is the new campus farm and community outreach manager.

JCCC plows a campus farm

Sustainable agriculture entrepreneurship students prepare toplant fall vegetables in a temporary location south of theHorticultural Science Center as part of their practicum.

site and sustainable agriculture campusproduce market, is working with StuShafer, professor and chair, sociology,who teaches sustainable agricultureclasses, and students to plant one acreof land south of the HorticultureScience Center this fall with garlic,onion seed, spinach, leafy greens andcover crop plants that will be used toenrich the soil. Fall practicum studentsare also moving a high tunnel from theKSU Extension Center to JCCC.

“It is neat to see the students’enthusiasm in their realization that thecampus farm is a new operation andthey are on the ground floor,” Ryansaid.

Eventually, Ryan wants to see the farmbecome a four-season operation withcrops available to JCCC’s Dining Servicesand to faculty, staff and the generalpublic through a farmers’ market.

“We are hoping to expand our weeklyfarmers’ market sale, providing volume

allows,” Ryan said. “The market givesour students the experience ofmarketing produce and also providespeople on campus with access tolocally grown reputable food.”

Ryan also foresees the farm as acommunity outreach site for peopleinterested in the local food movementto try different growing methods andfor school districts interested in farm-to-school lunches, a movement he hasvolunteered with in Lawrence. Ryanalso has been involved in compostingefforts with the KSU/JCCC farm andJCCC dining services.

Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Kansas and a sustainable agricultureentrepreneurship certificate from JCCC.

“I would like to see the collegeestablish a small local food communitywhere consumers are face-to-face withthe people who grow their food,” Ryansaid.

9Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

Stu Shafer, professor and chair, sociology, teaches a class on sustainability in the Horticultural Science Center.

Dr. Dennis Arjo canexpound upon ethical

theory, the philosophy of psychology, Asian philosophy andcomparative philosophy. But as JCCC College Scholar, he willtalk about something everyone can relate to – child rearing.

Arjo, professor and chair of philosophy and religion, JCCC, willgive two presentations that are free and open to the public.

■ From Little Brutes to Equal Partners: A PhilosophicalHistory of Western Childhood will be from 7 to 8 p.m.Wednesday, Nov. 3, in the Hudson Auditorium of theNerman Museum of Contemporary Art, JCCC. A receptionprecedes the lecture at 6:30 p.m. in RC 270.

■ The Politics of Moral Development will be from 11 a.m. tonoon Thursday, Nov. 4, in Hudson Auditorium.

In his evening presentation Arjo talks about the changesfrom ancient Greek philosophers who had no qualms inasserting that children come into the world in desperateneed of civilizing to modern ideas about children as morallyadmirable. In particular, he looks at how today’s ideals ofchildren’s equality and autonomy have led to profoundchanges in the process of education.

“While there can be no doubt that these changes haveproduced enormous benefits and much more humanemethods of education and child rearing, they have also left uswith a bundle of conceptual quandaries we are still trying tosort out, a state of affairs that does much to explain thecontinued anxiety stirred by matters of child rearing,” Arjo said.

The daytime presentation will examine psychologist LawrenceKohlberg’s theories about children’s behavior, heatedlydebated in the 1960s and 1970s, that pit “conservative”methods of teaching right and wrong with more permissivestrategies allowing children to “think for themselves.”

“Kohlberg argued that neither approach provides a moraleducation that would produce freethinking but morallyinformed citizens capable of thriving in a diverse, moderndemocracy,” Arjo said. “Rather, Kohlberg took a middle roadthat has proved to be deeply influential, such as the ever-popular stress on ‘critical thinking.’”

Arjo also will present a seminar, Education in a MorallyDiverse Society: Some Dilemmas, for faculty and staff from 3to 4 p.m. Nov. 8 in room 144 of the Regnier Center. He willplace the two themes of his public lectures in the context ofJCCC, looking at how philosophers and educational theoristssort through the question of how to teach controversialtopics in a way that respects the rights and opinions ofstudents holding a wide variety of beliefs and values.

Arjo received his doctorate in philosophy from theUniversity of California at Santa Barbara. His dissertation wasThe Very Idea of a Naturalized Semantics. His main interestsare in philosophy of mind, comparative philosophy andphilosophical moral psychology. He has numerouspublications and presentations on a wide variety of topicsranging from Confucianism and Our Duties to Animals toWhat Darwin Doesn’t Tell Us about Morality.

For more information about these presentations, contact Arjo [email protected]. For more information about the JCCC CollegeScholars program, contact Karen Martley, director, Staff andOrganizational Development, 913-469-8500, ext. 3467.

As a PhD philosopher,

10

JCCC College Scholar

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

Arjo gives talks onWesternchildhood

Looking back to the Greeks, Dr. Dennis Arjo will discuss childrearing practices as the November JCCC College Scholar.

adjunct associate professor,history, recently had his book,

The Theater of Empire: Frontier Performances in America,1750-1860, published by Pickering & Chatto Publishers,London. The Theater of Empire looks at how the newAmerican Republic adapted an attitude of imperialexpansionism as it crossed the Appalachians appropriatingland and resources. Based on an assumption of Anglo-Saxonsupremacy, English-speaking people in the new nation sawit as “good and right” to displace Indians and enslave blacks.Harvey’s book contends that theater – the stock theater playsof the day, including blackface minstrels and so-called “red-face” performances (whites caricaturing blacks and Indiansonstage), worked as propaganda to shape public opinion.

“I have always had an interest in mythology andassumptions, things we believe and we don’t even knowwhy. That is what got me interested in writing this book,”Harvey said. “One of the assumptions among the generalpopulation of the new republic was that America shouldexpand.”

Harvey first introduced his study of colonial and earlyAmerican theater in his dissertation at the University ofKansas. His 2010 book, however, adds materials aboutNative American and African-American performances,providing an enlightening comparison of entertainment fromthe same time period.

“It contrasts the indigenous performances of sustainablecultures with the land hunger and exploitation of a colonialculture,” Harvey said.

Sitting in his JCCC office, Harvey says that 1760-1860American theater played the same role as 21st century radioand television does today in support of U.S. militarypresence in foreign countries.

“The U.S. has something like 700 military and diplomaticmissions in more than 100 countries. That’s an empire. Themedia fosters the idea of empire today like theater did in thepast.”

Being a writer is Harvey’s calling. But that is only one of hisareas of expertise.

Harvey worked in construction until age 32 when he beganstudies at Missouri State University, earning a double majorin music and history in 1995. He received a master’s degreein history from Wichita State University, where his thesis wasa history of the Cheyenne Bottoms wildlife area. For hisdoctorate at KU, he turned from environmental to culturalhistory and explored the expansion of the Americanfrontier – a period traditionally dealt with by political,economic and military historians.

Harvey maintains his interest in music and is a foundingmember of the band Rowan, a Celtic and world music triobased in Lawrence for 12 years.

As an adjunct in JCCC U.S. history classes for more than fiveyears and a lecturer at KU, Harvey says he has foundbalance in his life teaching, enjoying music and writing. Heis currently working on three major projects – a historicalmonograph of the Whiskey Rebellion illustrated by twobande dessinée (French cartoons) artists, a screenplayversion of the Whiskey Rebellion and a biography of SolSmith, an itinerant theater manager, actor and lawyer basedin St. Louis who traveled in the Trans-Appalachian Westfrom 1815-1868.

Harvey is a true interdisciplinarian whose writing andteaching cuts across history, anthropology and performance.

“In the classroom, I try to present history from many pointsof view.”

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Dr. Doug Harvey,

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

Faculty

Dr. Doug Harvey is a writer, teacher, historian and musician.

Harvey addsinsight toAmerica’s history

but definitely a culture

change – assessment of student learning outcomes is now inthe hands of JCCC faculty. On Aug. 1, Brenda Edmonds,associate professor, mathematics, and Dr. Lori Slavin,associate professor, science, became the co-directors ofJCCC’s first-ever Office of Outcomes Assessment, located inroom 204A of the Office and Classroom Building.

The major goal of outcomes assessment is to improvestudent learning outcomes. These eight campuswideoutcomes (see sidebar) are not related to specific classcontent, but broad goals related to higher education. To thatend, all faculty are being encouraged to identify at least oneof the eight student learning outcomes to assess.

“We have to do some kind of evaluation to demonstrate thatstudents are learning the things we are attempting to teach,”Edmonds said. “The main role of this office is to encourageand assist faculty with assessment project initiatives and to

form a collection point for data so people can use it.”

“We are looking to improve student success and curriculum.It’s not faculty evaluation,” Slavin said. “The data is collectedand analyzed by the faculty. The assessment process allowsus to see what is working in the classroom and what is not.”

The directors say most faculty are already collecting dataregarding at least one of the student learning outcomesusing assessment embedded in common assignments,portfolios, performances, capstone experiences andcommercial tests such as those purchased from theEducational Testing Service or American College Testing.What’s been missing in the student learning outcomesassessment cycle has been collation of the data, facultydiscussion of the data and action – the pieces needed toimplement improvement strategies.

In 2010-2011, the office will determine the best way toarchive data, establish an Office of Outcomes Assessment

Dr. Lori Slavin and Brenda Edmonds are the co-directors of JCCC’s Office of Outcomes Assessment.

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

Maybe not a culture shock,

12

Faculty

Student learning isfaculty-driven assessment

website and award up to 20 $500 minigrants to faculty for resources neededtoward assessment such as equipment,software or books.

Slavin and Edmonds will serve as co-directors for a year as well as teach halftime. They say the grant money andfaculty-release time indicate theadministration’s support for the faculty-driven assessment.

A large focus of the co-directors’ effortsis outreach to increase awareness andparticipation. They have scheduledBrown Bag Brownie Breaks with afeatured speaker or panel at 2 p.m. thefirst Thursday of each month providingsoda and brownies; informal coffeebreaks to facilitate discussion ofsuccessful strategies at 2 p.m. the thirdWednesday of each month at javajazzproviding coffee; and a newslettereight times a year highlighting facultywho have participated in assessmentand how those results have helpedthem.

Slavin, Edmonds and the eightmembers of the assessment council arewilling to provide information andresources at Professional DevelopmentDays or individual class, course orprogram training sessions. They evenhave a template to kick-start planning.Collection of data on a population ofstudents and curriculum modificationsare left up to the individualdepartments, divisions or programs.

“We have not encountered anyone whohas gone through the assessmentprocess who hasn’t learned somethingbeneficial regarding their students’learning,” Slavin said.

And that’s why assessment is not aonce-and-done process. The directorssay it is a continuous cycle of inquiry,assessment and improvement witheight guiding principles. And No. 1 onthe list of those principles is“Assessment is a vehicle forimprovement of student learning, notan end in itself.”

Faculty attend a Brown Bag Brownie Break in September.

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint 13

At the course, program and institutionallevel, JCCC is committed to cultivate instudents the following student learningoutcomes:

1. Access and evaluate informationfrom credible sources

2. Collaborate respectfully with others

3. Communicate effectively through theclear and accurate use of language

4. Demonstrate an understanding ofthe broad diversity of the humanexperience and individual’s place insociety

5. Process numeric, symbolic andgraphic information

6. Read, analyze and synthesizewritten and visual material

7. Select and apply appropriateproblem-solving techniques

8. Use technology efficiently andresponsibly

Center was formerlythe last place a

student stopped when leaving JCCC – a place to look for ajob, write a résumé and practice an interview. Now, theCenter is one of the first places a college student needs tovisit – a place to do self-evaluation, explore majors andexplore careers.

Formerly called Career Services, the Career DevelopmentCenter, located in SC 252, opened under its new name in fall2010 with an official open house planned the week of Nov.15, National Career Development Week. Changes to theCenter were implemented as the result of a career servicessummit involving 20 members from across campus in fall2009.

Renee Arnett, director/career counselor of the CareerDevelopment Center, uses meteorological metaphors tosummarize the Center’s shift in focus.

“Before the Center was an iceberg with only the jobs portionvisible above the water, and underneath was the careerdevelopment piece,” Arnett said. “Now I see the Center as atornado where the open end of the funnel cloud is wherethe career planning process begins. As an individual goesthrough the process of learning more about themselves,looking at college majors and educational programs andparticipating in volunteer work and clubs, the process startsto funnel down into a decision about a job.”

Arnett says the Center was formerly “enabling” studentsinstead of teaching them skills to navigate a lifelong careerplanning process.

“Statistics indicate that during a lifetime, an individual willhave two to three careers, five to seven career transitions and10 to 12 jobs. You can’t make a decision and be set for life.The process is ongoing,” Arnett said.

So the summit set the goal of teaching skills to decide on acollege major, research and select a career, and learn how tofind a job. The top priorities in 2010-2011 are reachingundecided students, developing relationships with liberalarts faculty and initiating outreach across campus. TheCenter serves students, alumni, prospective students, facultyand staff.

In spring 2009, 12 of the center’s staff went through 13weeks of intensive career development facilitator trainingtaught by the University of Wisconsin-Madison to becomeeligible as credentialed career development facilitators.

The transformed center is turning its website into a virtualfront door where students can be guided through the careerdecision-making process. The center offers fee-based formalassessments (like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Profile)and many free informal assessments. Since January 2009, thecenter has tripled the number of offerings of its no-costChoices Workshop offered to college or high school

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The Career Development

Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

CareerDevelopmentCentertransforms aniceberg into atornadoRenee Arnett directs the Career Development Center on the second floor of the Student Center.

New Center

15Late Fall 2010 | Imprint

second-semester juniors or seniorsbetween ages 17 to 35 as a startingpoint for decisions about collegemajors and careers.

“Sometimes students come in and say,‘I want to take that test that tells mewhat I should do, what I should be.’There is no such test,” Arnett said.“These tests give basic informationabout interests, personality, values,skills and strengths.”

JCCC data has shown that as many as66.6 percent of students are in somephase of “deciding about a collegemajor or career goal” and could benefitfrom career development intervention.A sense of direction about majors andcareers increases students’ retentionand achievement, according to Arnett.

The website also directs students to 20CareerSpots videos, five-minute videosthat give tips on topics from interviewmistakes to the perils of socialnetworking. For the last three years, theformer Academics Major Fair,showcasing college majors and transferschools, has been part of the fall

Campus Kickoff in order to integratethe entire college experience.

“Our career counselors are not going towait in their offices for students,” Arnettsaid. “We are going to make intentionalconnections through Campus Centerworkshops and collaboration with ourpeers across campus.”

At the end of the funnel cloud is thejob decision. Students can visit theCareer Development Center to learnjob-search skills, explore job listings,meet with on-campus recruiters,research internships, receive a résumécritique and schedule a mockinterview.

“Students who are witnessing theincrease in unemployment are muchmore aware of how important it is tosucceed with their career goals,” Arnettsaid. “We’re seeing more students whoare determined to go to school andfind a career that has longevity andone that satisfies their interests, valuesand supports the use of their naturaltalents.”

This fall, Ron Frigault, counselor, Counseling Center, taught a Career and Life Planning class in the Career Development Center, wherestudents could learn about its many resources.

The Career Development Center is open8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 10a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m.Friday, on the second floor of theStudent Center.

Contact the Center atwww.jccc.edu/careerdevelopmentcenteror 913-469-3870.

education program is one ofonly seven programs in the

United States to receive accreditation from the Commissionon Collegiate Interpreter Education and one of only twocommunity colleges.

Accreditation represents a distinguished accomplishment forthe JCCC program and for Kansas. JCCC has the onlyinterpreter education program in the state. JCCC’s programwas one of the first in the country when it was establishedin 1980 with funding from a federal grant. JCCC accepts upto 30 students to its interpreter education program byselective admission each year. JCCC’s American SignLanguage/English program is known for its high caliber oftraining, including a practicum of 270 field hours, and itsoutstanding faculty, which include three full-time deafinstructors, one full-time hearing instructor and a diverseteam of eight adjunct instructors.

Accreditation by the CCIE was formalized in 2006. As ofnow, students with an associate’s degree can sit for theNational Interpreter Certification performance exam. As of2012, students will be required to have a bachelor’s degreeto sit for the exam.

“Interpreter education has been an emerging field,” said StaceyStorme, associate professor and co-chair, interpreter education.“There is a real misconception about interpreter education.There is more to it than teaching sign language. Professionalshave to be able to serve a diverse population in a variety ofsettings across a broad range of fields.”

Like the speaker of any language, Storme points out that

people must be almost bilingual before they start to translate.

In addition to language skills, Darryl Luton, professor andco-chair, interpreter education, says that quality interpretersmust have strong personalities, follow a code of ethics,know personal boundaries, be able to process informationrapidly, remain unbiased, make good decisions inunexpected situations employing a demand-control schemaand be good with people.

“We deal with people in very intimate settings from birth tojob interviews to hospital visits,” Storme said.

JCCC’s interpreter

JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

12345 COLLEGE BLVD

OVERLAND PARK KS 66210-1299

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDJohnson County

Community College

Darryl Luton (shown here) says the CCIE accreditation ensuresthe high quality of JCCC’s program.

JCCC interpreter programreceives accreditation