News | Santa Fe College | Gainesville, FL

Library Mystery Night: Who Did It?

Library Mystery Night, Sept. 9

It's a Mystery Who is killing off the literary villains? Was it Lizzie Borden with her ax? Bonnie and Clyde? Ivan the Terrible? Or did the butler do it? Come to the Library Mystery Night to find out!

This year's Library Mystery Night takes place at 2 p.m. and then again at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9 in the Library (Y-building) lobby.

Win great prizes! Learn about the library! Have fun!

Library Mystery Night

Donations Needed for the Library's Book & Bake Sale, Sept. 15-16

The Library's Fall Book and Bake Sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 15 and 16. Visit the library's front porch and peruse the great selection of used books, CDs and DVDs. The used books sell between 50 cents and $2; the magazines are free; and homemade baked goods are only 50 cents!

If you have any items you would like to donate, please contact Trenita White at 395-5771. The library also asks that you do not bring barcode scanners to the sale and that all book store representatives wait until Sept. 16 to visit the sale.

Opportunities in Emerging Technologies, Sept. 14

biotech Join Santa Fe College faculty and staff as they guide you through the state-of-the-art laboratory sciences training facility at the Perry Center for Emerging Technologies, and explore the cutting-edge, high demand careers of Biotechnology, Clinical Laboratory Specialist and Biomedical Engineering.

Explore the CSI world of laboratory sciences and learn about the employment opportunities, salaries, and unique career personalities. Additionally, faculty will discuss the successful academic path into each training program.

The tour for opportunities in emerging technologies will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Perry Center for Emerging Technologies in Alachua. (Map)

If you have questions, please contact Scott Fortner.

Children's Movement of Florida to Stop in Gainesville Sept. 8

Children's Movement of Florida A message from Dug Jones, Assistant Vice President, Economic Development:

I hope you will join me and lots of other child advocates and interested folks in making the wellbeing and education of our children the state's highest priority.

This new initiative is called the Children's Movement of Florida -- and is being spearheaded statewide by a large, influential and non-partisan group of state leaders.

This state tour will host 15 "milk and cookies" parties across the state starting in Pensacola and working down to Key West.

We would like to show our community and our state that Gainesville truly cares about its children by getting at least 1,000 people to participate. Hope you will join me in the one-hour rally on Wednesday, Sept. 8 in Gainesville to raise awareness of and support for the movement.

Time: 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8
Place: SF Northwest Campus, Gymnasim
Goal: 1,000 people per location in order to attract the media and to make a statement to the Florida legislature that kids are our priority

Each site will attract families and advocates with refreshments, local bands and choirs, balloons, entertainment, local celebrities, milk and cookies, and buses to get folks to the event, etc. It is backed by grants from the Kellogg Foundation among several others. This is not a request for money and/or involvement in campaigns -- just an hour of your time and sending a few emails.

For more information email to david.abrams@childrensmovementflorida.org.

Fall 2010 Leadership Seminar Series

Follow the Leader The Santa Fe College Leadership Institute is offering a certificate of completion for those who attend all five basic leadership seminars in the Fall 2010 Leadership Seminar Series. The presenter will be Bruce Tucker, the Coordinator of the SF College Leadership Institute. All seminars are free and open to the public. If you'd like more information, please contact bruce.tucker@sfcollege.edu.

The first two seminars are described below. Select "read more," below for the entire series.

Leadership Institute website

Session I: Understanding the true meaning of leadership.

If everyone agrees on what good leadership is, there would be no need for a two-party system, football coaches would never be fired, and my dog would obey me. My dog needs treats, coaches need wins, and the talking heads on TV need jobs. Why are there so many differences of opinion? How does this affect leadership effectiveness?

Date: Sept. 15, Time: 2 p.m., Location: S-326/327

Session II: Assessing your leadership potential.

My only qualification for chairing this committee is that I was absent for the meeting when officers were elected. I have two years to serve. Is my self esteem about to take a dive? What kind of legacy will I leave behind me? Are there any hints that can indicate whether I will be successful?

Date: Sept. 29, Time: 2 p.m., Location: S-326/327

Calling All Scrabble Lovers!

Scrabble This message is from Professor Naima Cherie Brown:

"I have started a new club, Scrabble Lovers of Gainesville, and I want to invite interested members of the SFC family to join. If you love Scrabble like I do, then you know exactly why I started this group! And you also know why you want to join this group...to play Scrabble, and to play Scrabble, and to play Scrabble. So join the group! Then plan to come to the monthly meeting.

First meeting is Sept. 7

"The meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of every month from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. The first meeting is September 7. Bring your Scrabble board, bring your Scrabble dictionary, and bring your A-game. (Don't worry if you don't have your own board and dictionary, I will bring a few). The meeting room at the Tower Road Library has been reserved for 3 hours. This means that each person can get in at least three (two-player) games during each meeting.

Game #1 will be from 5:40-6:30 p.m.
Game #2 will be from 6:35-7:25 p.m.
Game #3 will be from 7:30-8:20 p.m.

You can pick and choose which games you want to play. Just show up in time for the time slot that interests you. Players will have 25 minutes each for every game. That way, each game between two people lasts no more than 50 minutes. Feel free to bring your own snacks! Note: This group is open to the public. So, inform and/or bring along Scrabble lovers that you know.

For more information, call Naima at 352-395-4477.

Scrabble Lovers of Gainesville online

"The Past Is Now" Opens Sept. 10 in the Santa Fe Gallery

"The Past is Now" The Santa Fe Gallery will be a very busy place when the A. David Crown, M.D., retrospective opens on Sept. 10. The appropriately named "The Past is Now," includes more than 135 pieces, some dating back more than 25 years. The opening night mixer runs from 7-9 p.m., and will include live music and catering by Blue Water Bay. The gallery is located on Santa Fe College's Northwest Campus, in building M, room 147.

David Crown is in the midst of his second career and first love: art. The retired physician laid down his stethoscope in 1982 after 35 years in practice, moved to Gainesville and picked up a paintbrush.

His new show is focused on one art form that has fascinated him more than any other: mezzotint. This ancient type of printing was developed in the 1600s and became very popular until the early 1800s. The name comes from the Italian mezza tinta, meaning middle tone. The standout feature of mezzotint is its ability to create rich, velvety blacks. No other method can match it, says Crown.

Crown is the director of the International Mezzotint Society, which he founded 14 years ago. For this exhibition, there will be 135 mezzotint prints. Some are color but most are black-and-white. By nature, the scale tends to be small. The largest is 9" by 12"; the smallest is ½" by ½".

"Big can be beautiful, but small can be exquisite," says Crown.

The exhibition will be up through Nov. 4. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Gallery Director Jayné Grant at 352-395-5464 or jayne.grant@sfcollege.edu. The Santa Fe Gallery is open weekdays, noon-4 p.m.

Women's Basketball Tryouts Scheduled for Sept. 11 at 9:00am

SF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Gainesville, FL - The two time defending Mid-Florida Conference champion Saints women's basketball team and Coach Chanda Stebbins will be hosting open tryouts for full time Santa Fe students on Saturday, September 11 at 9:00am.

To tryout, individuals must be a current fulltime Santa Fe student.

For more information, please contact Coach Chanda Stebbins at chanda.stebbins@sfcollege.edu.

Fastpitch Tryouts Set for September 1 at 3:00pm

SF FASTPITCH

Gainesville, FL - Coach Chris Ahern and the Saints fastpitch team will be holding open tryouts for all full time Santa Fe students on Wednesday, September 1 at 3:00pm at the fastpitch field.

All participants should wear proper fastpitch attire (cleats, etc) and bring a bat and glovewith them. They should expect to take infield and outfield, batting practice and pitch in the bullpen (all pitchers).

For more information, please contact Coach Chris Ahern at christine.ahern@sfcollege.edu.

Santa Fe Starts New Mentoring Program for Incoming Students with GEDs

Pathways to Persistence Beginnings are such fragile things. It is so easy for discouragement to set in when everything is unfamiliar. For GED holders entering college for the first time, a little extra help and direction their first semester can make a huge difference. This is the philosophy behind the new Pathways to Persistence program that rolls out next week.

The program's goal is to improve the retention rate of GED holders enrolled for their first time, and in their first year at Santa Fe. The program is based on a homegrown proposal that was delivered recently to Education Under Secretary Martha Kanter by a team of SF students, including SF Student Body President Austin Brinza, and Dr. Angela Long, Coordinator, Student Leadership & Activities.

Program structure

The new program is structured in a three-tiered format. Newly enrolled students will have access to free tutoring with either SF students or community members. A mentoring portion will link the new students with either SF students or staff, UF students, or community members. A seminar series is also planned.

Kickoff event Aug. 27

The program is sponsoring a Pathway to Persistence Kickoff Event on Friday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. in Room R-01. The event will give students a chance to meet program coordinator Sharla Head-Jones, who left her adjunct teaching position to serve as coordinator, and to hear about the different services available through Pathways.

For more information contact Sharla Head-Jones, coordinator, at 352-395-5911.

A Time To Remember: 9/11

sept11 At 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 10, SF students and staff are invited to the Oak Grove stage to hear the Santa Fe Winds, under the direction of Dr. Steve Bingham, perform patriotic songs as we remember and pay tribute to the events of September 11, 2001. There will be a moment of silence at noon.

Free pizza and drinks will be served.

Sponsored by Student Life and Student Government.

Accounting, YouTube and the National Stage

Popularity, awards and worldwide recognition: these are not terms usually associated with accounting, but Susan Crosson is changing the way we work with numbers.

The dedicated Santa Fe College accounting professor has just received the Outstanding Service Award of the American Accounting Association, an 8,000-member international association of accounting faculty. She was caught completely by surprise and was quite humble when she received the recognition at the AAA's Aug. 3 ceremony in San Francisco.

"My work is about giving back to the profession" Crosson said. "It's about making accounting come alive to the world."

The award, which is not bestowed on a regular basis, was given to honor her contributions to accounting in leadership roles as well as for advancements in education. Crosson has been instrumental in creating and implementing teaching oriented conferences and master classes for accounting faculty and national workshops for accounting professionals who would like to learn to teach.

Another factor that played a part is her popular online video series. Crosson may be the first person to have gone viral on YouTube with accounting videos. She started posting 2- to 5-minute videos on YouTube in October 2007 as a way to help students with specific concepts in accounting. She now has over 200 videos on the video website and is edging up on the three-million hit mark.

Free Self Defense Classes for Women Meet Sept. 9, 13 and 14

RAD The Santa Fe College Police Department, in conjunction with the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, is proud to offer the self-defense class for women known as R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense). R.A.D. is for women and girls ages 13 and up and can be completed by women of all physical abilities.

This is a free, 12-hour course spread over three nights. RAD is a self-defense course designed specifically to teach women realistic defense tactics and techniques. RAD focuses primarily on enhancing awareness, risk reduction and avoidance skills, before progressing to the basics of hands-on defense training.

The next R.A.D. class will be held Sept. 9, 13 and 14 from 5:30-9:30 p.m. in Building S room 29/30 (next to the Bookstore) at Santa Fe College's Northwest campus, 3000 NW 83rd St.

The class is free, but enrollment is limited to ensure the highest quality of instruction. Pre-registration is required. To register for this course, please contact Officer John R. Santos at 352-395-5452 or e-mail to rad@sfcollege.edu.

For more information about the RAD program, please visit our website at http://www.sfcollege.edu/pd/ and click on the "RAD Program" link on the homepage.

Registration Open for Fall Community Education Classes

comed Fall A registration for Community Education at Santa Fe begins online Wednesday, Aug. 11 and by phone and mail-in on Monday, Aug. 16. The Enrich brochures will be sent in the mail starting Aug. 9, just in time to register. Classes begin August 28.

The office (V-17) hours for phone and walk-in registrations is from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. You can also register by phone by calling 395-5193.

Some of the classes offered in Fall A include:

Aerial Dance For Kids
Action Comics
A Look Beyond The "Green" Shades
Basic Hatha-Style Yoga
Making Herbal Soaps
Mixed Media Art
Yin Yoga
You Are What You Eat

For more information, contact Betsy Albury, 352-395-5189.

To register, visit the Community Education website.

For a complete list of available classes, visit this link - New classes.

Nineteen SF Grads Finish College Before High School

Erin Bowe's career goal is to become a marriage and family counselor. That typically requires a four-year undergraduate degree, two years of grad school, and state licensure. But Bowe has a jump start on that process.

The 18-year-old Archer resident (far left in photo) was one of 19 students who recently graduated from Santa Fe College -- before graduating from high school. Not only is she two years ahead of the competition, she also got the first two years of college under her belt for free via the High School Dual Enrollment (HSDE) program - a definite advantage in the current economy.

"I loved the Dual Enrollment program," Bowe said. "I don't have anything bad to say about it. I loved my counselor. She was always there to help. My parents are really proud and they're telling people I graduated from college before I graduated from high school. It's definitely helped me to further my goals. I'll be 20 with a bachelor's."

For young people ready to move up out of high school and get on with their lives, enrolling in college as a high school junior or senior makes a lot of sense. Approximately 500 students a year sign on as full-time dual enrolled students, and about 150 choose to attend Santa Fe part time while continuing to take classes at their home high schools. Whether students go all the way and earn their AA degree, or just complete some college-level classes, they are still getting ahead.

Students enter dual enrollment from multiple avenues depending on their interests.

"We have academic dual enrollment, fine arts dual enrollment and career and technical dual enrollment," said HSDE Directgor Linda Lanza-Kaduce. "We do have high school faculty on campus who teach the required 11th and 12th grade high school courses to Alachua County public school students who are not eligible for all college coursework."

For more information about the program, please contact the High School Dual Enrollment Office at Santa Fe College, 395-5490.

SF Graduate Competes in 2010 Solar Decathlon

SF alum Jake Landreneau has a new theme song: "I'll Follow the Sun." This summer, Landreneau took the Beatles' advice and followed that big, yellow ball all the way to Spain.

Landreneau, who graduated from SF in August 2009 with an AA and had focused on building construction, was part of the University of Florida team participating in the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe.

Landreneau now attends UF's M.E. Rinker School of Building Construction. He became involved in the competition about eight months ago. The project has been ongoing for the past two years. The Solar Decathlon was a biennial event started in the U.S., but recently became an annual competition that will alternate European and American locations. The first international challenge took place this summer in Madrid, Spain. UF was one of 17 schools to participate in the event, whose goal was to design, build, and operate a solar-powered houses. Each home was also to be cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive.

UF's entry was a modern interpretation of the classic Florida Cracker house. Landreneau designed the floor of the modular home using heart-of-pine boards reclaimed from a 19th century Micanopy home. He was also part of the team that did most of the interior and exterior finishes.

"I always like being hands on. I get great satisfaction from taking something from beginning to end," said Landreneau.

The event, which ran for 10 days in June, attracted teams from China, Finland, Spain, UK, Germany, France and the U.S. The UF team took several awards including first place in the Public's Choice Web competition, which was based on Internet popularity. Before it was over, the team had several offers to buy the house. The house is now in transit back to the U.S. where it will be put on display at UF.

Visit the Re-Focus House website for more images and info!

~This press release by David Hackett, Communication Specialist, College Relations

Life After Santa Fe is Looking Good

Jason Macdonald has a way of moving from one spotlight to the next -- gracefully. The former Dance Theatre of Santa Fe dancer recently landed a spot with the renowned David Parsons Modern Dance Company in New York City.

Macdonald, who attended SF in 2003 and 2004, was a featured member of the dance program and a recipient of a SF College Dance Scholarship.

"I knew very early on that Jason would excel in the world of Dance," said Alora Haynes, chair, Fine Arts.

Macdonald started dancing at age 7, when he learned jazz and tap dancing, ballet and gymnastics. Later he added hip hop to his repertoire. By age 18, he was already performing with the New York City Opera. However, he felt his ballet moves still needed some polishing.

"I chose to come to Santa Fe because I wanted to improve my ballet technique," said Macdonald.

When the David Parsons Modern Dance Company announced openings this spring, more than 250 dancers came for the tryouts.

"I wanted to see if this was something I could do," said Macdonald. "Parsons is known for being very technical as well as creative."

After only a handful of auditions, Macdonald was one of three dancers signed to the company May 25.

Jason is seen in this photo from 2002 dancing in the student choreographed show "Room to Dance" with DTSF dancer Jesse Mae Sawyer.

For more information about the SF Dance Program, please contact Alora Haynes at 352-395-5296 or alora.haynes@sfcollege.edu.

Fine Arts webpages

~This press release was written by David Hackett, Communication Specialist, College Relations

Gainesville Region Receives Support for Allied Health and Biotechnology Jobs from Department of Commerce

WASHINGTON, DC. - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced a $1.67 million U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to Santa Fe College to build a biotechnology laboratory and classroom addition to the college's new Perry Center for Emerging Technologies in Alachua.

The project is expected to create 270 jobs and generate $380 million in private investment, according to grantee estimates.

"The Obama Administration is committed to creating jobs, encouraging innovation and improving our nation's economic competitiveness," Locke said. "This EDA grant will create jobs and provide the lab space needed to advance biotechnology innovation and help prepare students to fill critically important allied health and biotechnology job openings."

The project will consist of a 6,000 sq. ft. addition to include one dedicated program laboratory for biomedical engineering technology, one general purpose laboratory for general biology and chemistry, one large classroom, and general office space.

SF Bookstore to Start Renting Textbooks in Fall

Beginning in fall 2010, Santa Fe Bookstore will start offering a new, multi-channel textbook rental program designed to deliver maximum savings and convenience.

The rental program will allow students to rent their textbooks for less than 50 percent of the cost of purchasing a new printed textbook. Students will be able to rent their books either in the store or from the store's website.

Program Features

Students can pay the rental fees using any form of tender currently accepted by the bookstore, including student financial aid.
Students can highlight or mark the rented books just as they would if they purchased a book and planned to sell it back to the bookstore.
Students can convert their rental to a purchase during the first two weeks of class.
The rental period is for the duration of the term/semester. Books are due back at the bookstore no later than 10 days after the last day of finals. Students can return the books in person or mail them to the bookstore via United Parcel Service or FedEx.

Courtesy emails will go out as the end of the term/semester approaches reminding students to return their books. Books not returned (or returned in unusable condition) will be subject to replacement and processing fees.

Read more about the new program in this press release

SF Professor David Tegeder Honored with Prestigious Book Award

SF Professor David Tegeder and UF Professor Steven Noll are being rewarded for eight years of creative collaboration on the research and writing of their book, Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida's Future.

The two are receiving the 2010 Rembert Patrick Award for a scholarly book on a Florida history topic today during the Florida Historical Society's annual meeting at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine.

"For a community college professor to win an award like this is extraordinary," said Ed Bonahue, Interim Provost. "But it's no surprise to me, or to anyone who knows Dave and the quality of his work. This is a prime example of the excellence of our faculty."

David said it was hard to research and write the book as a community college professor teaching five classes a semester. "We spent our summers nose to the grindstone," he said. But like anything in life that takes significant effort, the rewards have been great as well.

They pulled records from regional archives in Atlanta and from the National Archives in Washington, D.C., old Army Corps of Engineering records, documents from libraries across the southeastern U.S., and more.

"We were able to comb every library in the country," David said. "We called up the Roosevelt library in Hyde Park (N.Y.) and said, 'what do you have?' and they ended up copying 2 cubic feet of records for us. This is a story that could easily be told by newspaper headlines, but by digging through the archives, we got a much more detailed and sophisticated story."

Although it was exhaustively researched and published by a scholarly press, their initial goal was to write a popular book -- "we wanted the public to read it" -- and it is popular.

David and Steven have given presentations across the state before a wide range of audiences. Recently they spoke at a gathering sponsored by the Marion County Friends of the Library where an elderly woman stood up and thanked them for their book and for the activists who saved her family's land. She weeped.

"In many respects the book provided us an avenue for sharing history with a broader public," David said. "That's far more rewarding than the book itself."

More about the award at the Florida Historical Society's website

"Ditch of Dreams" at the University Press of Florida's website

David Tegeder's CV - PDF

2010-2011 Santa Fe College Student Ambassadors

After an intense interview process, Santa Fe College has selected 16 of its finest students for the 2010-2011 Student Ambassador Program. Candidates undergo a three-round interview process that involves group interviews, individual presentations and interviews, and teamwork activities, so it is a huge accomplishment to be selected.

Congratulations to Greg Atwood from Deltona, Fla; Jose Blondet from Caracas, Venezuela; Alex Cardelle from Miami, Fla.; Leshare Demps from Lake City, Fla.; Angel Gaston from Leesburg, Fla.; Casey Gerry from Sarasota, Fla.; Monica Gordon and Chris Witt from Gainesville, Fla.; Justin Hall and Elizabeth Zogaib from Orlando, Fla.; Kristen Littlefield from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Olamide Olayinka from Lagos, Nigeria; Andrea Picco from Coral Springs, Fla.; Roger Sliney from Chiefland, Fla.; Hannah Smith from Lawtey, Fla.; and Alyx Swanhall from Winter Garden, Fla.

Student Ambassadors serve as representatives of the college student body and as marketing and recruitment representatives for the entire college. Ambassadors work with faculty, staff, students and members of the community to promote Santa Fe and its programs and services. They assist with orientation, registration, recruitment, high-school visits, phone-a-thons, campus tours, special events, community service, and speaking engagements. The Ambassadors earn a full scholarship (books included) for the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 terms.

For more information about the program, please contact Stacey Ledvina or Jenn Thomas.