Staff and Programs 2007-2008

Fujitsu Computer Systems donated $1 millions to the college: $500,000 to the De Anza campus planetarium and $500,000 in in-kind contribution to the college as a whole. In conjunction with the donation, the planetarium was renamed Fujitsu Planetarium at De Anza College in a ceremony held May 6.

Patrick Gannon, director of De Anza Dining Services, and his staff won the Gold award in the category of Retail Sales - Multiple in the 35th annual Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards national contest presented by the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS). The award will be presented at the NACUFS conference in July 2008.

The De Anza College Marketing/Communications team of Marisa Spatafore, Lois Jenkins, Bonnett Saussol and Lori Susi won five awards at the CCPRO (Community College Public Relations Organization) conference in April:

• Class schedule - First place
• Viewbook/Student Recruitment Book ("Your Guide") - Second place
• Theatre/Performing Arts Campaign (VPAC seat brochure and groundbreaking materials) - Second place
• Internal Newsletter (Financial Aid piece) - Third place
• Promo/Advertising Campaign - Third place

The Office of Outreach and Relations with Schools hosted a record attendance at two New Student & Parent Nights in April and May 2008. More than 2,000 people came to the events and took advantage of the on-site Counseling 100 registration and visited with more than 30 departments and programs represented at the event.

De Anza's College Environmental Advisory Group (CEAG) won the Innovation of the Year Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College for its Sustainability Management Plan (SMP). Each year the league honors outstanding innovations that have been recognized by member institutions as capstone achievements. The Foothill-De Anza District is a board member of the
league. The SMP, believed to be the first such document among community colleges nationwide,
was developed in 2007 by CEAG in collaboration with the broader college community.

The runner-up for the award was De Anza's CompTechS program. The goal of the CompTechS program is to help students who are planning a career in computer technical support to transition to the professional work environment. The program provides the training and real-world experience essential for entry into the technical support profession.

The Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies won a first-place award for exceptional performance in occupant satisfaction, resource efficiency and overall design from UC Berkeley-based
Center for the Built Environment (CBE). The Kirsch Center, conceived, operated and maintained by dedicated De Anza staff and faculty and named for donors Steve and Michele Kirsch, is a key component of the college's comprehensive sustainability efforts, which include the SMP, the
LEED¨ certification of the Science Center and the Student and Community Services Building; the Kirsch Center's recently awarded LEED platinum certification and at least LEED silver certification of the planned Visual and Performing Arts and Mediated Learning centers.

Diana Argabrite, coordinator of the Arts in Schools Program at the Euphrat Museum of Art, was invited as one of 21 people nationwide to participate and present at this year's Xroads Xchange Conference in New Orleans in May. Funded by the Ford Foundation, the conference is part of a national effort to share and develop best practices in the arts education and arts-based
youth development fields.

The Professional and Workforce Development team of Rick Kuhn, Skip Barnes, Jane Chavis, Nicolas Holguin and Ellen Miller this year:

• Received an Exemplary Contract Sales Performance award from the
• State Chancellor's Office
• Appeared before the Senate Select Committee on Community Colleges for
  partnership accomplishments
• Presented to the Center for Energy Workforce Development Western
  Regional Conference
• Hosted a Green Tech event for regional K-12 administrators and board members to educate participants about Career Technical Education in the energy field
  Presented to the statewide annual conference of the Economic and Workforce
  Development Program on tools for partnership development

Increased funding for Library materials enabled the Library to:

• Add new databases, such as Lexis-Nexis Academic and Learning Express
• Expand existing electronic resources to provide additional full-text resources
• Expand print and media resources to support curriculum
• Implement a proxy service that allows students to log in from remote locations using either their library number or their Student ID number
• Move Library Reserves from a print collection to Electronic Reserves, using a product called ERes
• Add library hours to include Saturdays and Sundays as part of Weekend College Plus
• Provide wireless access to hundreds of students per day in the library

Dean of Counseling Howard Irvin received his Ph.D. in human and organizational systems from Fielding Graduate University.

Rob Mieso, program coordinator for the Office of Outreach and Relations with Schools, earned
an M.A. in organization management and development from Fielding Graduate University and is a member of the Association of California Community College Administrators mentor program. Mieso recently received a Board of Trustees Outstanding Achievement Award from the East Side Union High School District.

Sarah Ratner, full-time Financial Aid assistant, earned an M.A. in higher education administration from San Jose State University.

Dawna O'Malley, full-time Financial Aid assistant, earned a B.A. in behavioral science from San JoseState University.

Jeanine Hawk, vice president of Finance and College Services, was selected to attend the Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) in December 2007 in Tempe, Arizona. ELI is sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College.

Caron Blinick, Karl Von Ahnen, Margarita Hawthorn and Paula Ahrens were recognized by the City Council of Cupertino for outstanding contributions to the renovation of the planetarium.

Deborah Tuck, Massage Therapy Program assistant, was elected president of the Silicon Valley Unit of the American Massage Therapy Association. Tuck also served as a delegate from California on national issues and policy changes at the 2007 AMTA National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Classified Employee of the Month

The De Anza Classified Senate honored the following staff members as Classified Employee
of the Month for 2007-2008.

• Ken DiMare, De Anza Bookstore - October
• Michelle Nga Doan, Chemistry Department - November
• Rob Mieso, Office of Outreach and Relations with Schools - December
• Rudy Carranza, Grounds - January
• Maria Serrano, Dining Services - February
• Carmen Pereida, Cooperative Education - March
• Monika Winn, De Anza Bookstore - April
• Diana Argabrite, Euphrat Museum - May
• Mary Washington, Language Arts - June