Faculty Senate honors outstanding colleagues





Gail Beckwith and DSC President
Carol W. Eaton

Daytona State College’s Faculty Senate this month honored four educators and one staff member for outstanding achievement and service to students.

Gail Beckwith, an administrative assistant in the School of Mathematics, received the Faculty Senate’s Instructional Support and Encouragement Award, which recognizes career employees and administrators who demonstrate exceptional responsiveness to faculty needs.  This award recognizes those efforts that demonstrate an understanding and concern for the challenges faced by faculty as they strive to meet the complex educational needs of both the institution and the students. These efforts will be demonstrated in a variety of ways as demanded by the individual circumstances. Beckwith was cited for ability to solve problems, navigate through bureaucratic channels and enhance morale.

Lakisha Holmes

Lakisha Holmes received the Les Simons Award for Student Advocacy. The School of Mathematics instructor was recognized for her exceptional commitment to student learning and success outside the classroom. A 2010 graduate of the college’s Master Faculty program, Holmes this year administered a $864,637, five-year National Science Foundation STEM Community Scholars Program grant, now in its third year and designed to encourage undeclared students to enter science, technology, engineering and math programs. She also presented on the college’s STEM initiative at this year’s annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges, and was an advisor for Step Team student organization.

Gabi Booth

Gabi Booth, associate professor in the School of Mathematics, received the Dr. James R. Johnson Award for Teaching Excellence. Booth has taught mathematics at Daytona State since 2005 and also has served as a mathematics specialist in the college’s Academic Support Center for 10 years. During last spring’s fourth annual Academic Excellence Symposium, she was a featured presenter on using the online communications and conferencing system Adobe Connect as a teaching and learning tool. Adobe Connect is being widely adopted by college faculty for its ability to create a more accessible learning environment for students, featuring audio and video-based lectures, text-based chatting, group sessions, faculty collaborations and virtual office hours.

Dr. Casey Blanton

Dr. Casey Blanton, senior professor of English and chair of Learning Communities/QUANTA, received the Dr. John J. Guthrie, Jr. Award for Research and Professional Development. The award recognizes scholarly efforts that contribute to the body of knowledge within an academic discipline. Last year, Blanton was among the co-founders of the Center for Interdisciplinary Writing and Research. This multi-institutional collaborative publishes the Journal of Florida Studies, an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the study and appreciation of Florida. The journal features research articles, but also includes poetry, fiction, photography, and other digital arts.

Dr. Andrea Reese

Dr. Andrea Reese, chairperson of the Honors College and assistant mathematics professor, received the Faculty Advocacy Award, which recognizes those whose efforts demonstrate commitment to faculty issues and the desire to foster a professional, ethical environment conducive to high morale and professional excellence. Dr. Reese is a past treasurer of the Faculty Senate and member of the college’s Planning Council. She also served as a member of the 2012 Academic Excellence Steering Committee and as a facilitator for Master Faculty.

Outgoing Faculty Senate President and Assistant Math Department Chair Barry Gibson also was honored for his past year of service. 

History professor publishes first fiction novel

Doug Giacobbe

Doug Giacobbe, associate professor of history at Daytona State College, recently published the action thriller “By Unknown Means,” the first in what will be a series of fiction novels that draw from his more than two decades in law enforcement.

Featuring protagonist Special Agent Michael Calloway of the United States Customs Enforcement Unit, the e-book, available on Amazon.com, is set in South Florida and the Bahamas during the early 1990s smuggling rampage of the Columbian cocaine cowboys, Jamaican posses, and other drug entrepreneurs.

Giacobbe joined the Daytona State College faculty in 2001 after serving 24 years as a narcotics investigator, detective and internal affairs investigator with the Miramar, Fla., Police Department. He retired at the rank of major and commander of the department’s Criminal Investigations Division.

“By Unknown Means” is his first attempt at fiction writing, which he began while he was a police officer in 1991. While the novel is a rather quick read, Giacobbe noted it was not a quick write. “Between work, moving up in the ranks of the police department and my increased responsibilities, plus childbirth and then switching jobs, finding the time to sit down and write was at times difficult,” he said. “On the positive side, however, while I started out with a plot in mind, as the book slowly developed, I was able to improve the storyline by pulling from my experiences. Some of the characters are based on people I have known and worked with, without a doubt.”

Giacobbe said the book will soon be available in paperback, and the second of what will be a trilogy is in the works.

Giacobbe teaches courses in American, American maritime and American military history. He holds two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree from Florida Atlantic University.

Will his venture into the world of fiction writing lure him into retirement from teaching? “We’ll see,” he said with a chuckle. “It has definitely become a passion.”

More information about Doug Giacobbe, author, can be found at douggiacobbe.com. Or, find him on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/douggiacobbeauthor.

DSC Foundation to kick off fall WISE program

From healthy living to Florida history, politics and astronomy, the Daytona State College Foundation’s Wisdom in Senior Education (WISE) program will feature something to suit everyone’s interests when it kicks off its fall season beginning in September.

Volusia County Property Appraiser Morgan Gilreath will headline WISE’s first program on Tuesday, Sept. 11, representing DeLand’s three Rotary Clubs, which joined forces to organize the first Volusia Honor Air program flight.  Their mission: to escort area World War II veterans, free of charge, to the new World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. as an expression of the community’s gratitude for their service.  

On Tuesday, Sept. 18, Diana Fish will present on Florida Hospital’s global initiative to build relationships with hospitals and medical clinics in developing countries, helping people in the grimmest of situations.

Other presenters scheduled this fall include Dr. Mikelle Streicher, who will help attendees navigate through the complexities of Medicare rules on Oct. 2; Barbara Kelly , whose presentation on the Florida Heritage Crossroads is slated for Oct. 9; Daytona State’s own Dr. Perry Ballard, who will analyse the national and local elections on Oct. 30.

Unless otherwise indicated, all WISE presentaions will take place at the News-Journal Center, 221 N. Beach St. in Daytona Beach, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Find a complete listing of Fall 2012 WISE presenters on the Foundation’s website.

The Foundation created the WISE program to provide continuing education and cultural enrichment activities to senior members of the community. Since 2009, WISE’s membership has grown from its original three founding couples to an association of more than 250 patrons. WISE is open to anyone age 50 or older.

For more information, contact Kent Ryan, (386) 506-4425, email: ryank@daytonastate.edu.

Notables. . .

Dr. Debra Woodall

Dr. Debra Woodall, assistant chairperson of Daytona State’s Institute for Marine and Environmental Studies (IMES), recently returned from a trip to Washington state, where she assisted with debris cleanup from Fukushima tsunami and nuclear power plant failure. No tax dollars are dedicated to cleanup of Washington’s beaches. It is left entirely up to volunteers. Woodall found much of the tsunami debris entangled in seaweed and kelp, including rope, fishing nets, kitchen storage-type items and plastic bottles. Although much has already been collected along Washington state beaches, data indicate that the largest amount of tsunami debris continues to move within the Pacific Ocean's current and is due in October. Find out more about her trip on the IMES Facebook page. Learn about how you can help with the debris cleanup at oceanconservancy.org.

Vida Renaud

Vida Renaud, staff assistant for Global Education and Affairs, has been named Spring 2012 Employee of the Semester by the Career Employees Association (CEA). The award recognizes the efforts of college Career Employees who go above and beyond in carrying out their work responsibilities. As an administrative assistant for Global Education and Affairs, Renaud helps guide and manage scores of international students who enroll at Daytona State each year. Awarded during spring and fall semesters, recipients are nominated and selected by their peers and receive a certificate, a free lunch at Café 101, and their picture and nameplate in the CEA display case located in the Wetherell Building.

Dr. Les Potter, chairperson of Daytona State’s School of Education, was recently elected to the board of Burns Science and Technology Charter School located in Oak Hill.  The k-8 tuition-free public charter school first opened its doors a year ago under the leadership of Dr. Jan McGee, retired middle school principal and former faculty member of the University of Central Florida. Burns is a STEM- focused (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) school that enrolls students from throughout Volusia County. “They are cultivating STEM teaching and learning, as educators believe it is a top priority in American education,” Potter noted. “In order to prepare students for success in the 21^st century, today’s students must be able to think critically, work collaboratively and master an ever-growing area of skills.”

John Connor

College of Education Professor John Connor was recently appointed to the advisory board of the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER). The primary mission of the organization is to create awareness and help colleges identify, create and/or repurpose existing open educational resources, such as textbooks, as well as to improve teaching and learning and make education more accessible for all learners. Being an advisory board member affords Connor an excellent opportunity to help shape the support  this national organization provides to the college open textbook community.

Pinnacle Award – The college’s Phi Theta Kappa Chapter has won a national Pinnacle Award. Chapter advisor Ted Wygant, professor of art appreciation/art history, received notice Aug. 15 of the award honoring Daytona State’s PTK chapter for increasing membership by 25 percent over last year. The accomplishment earned the chapter five Membership Scholarships, worth $55 each for International Membership fees for new inductees.

PTK’s national Center for Excellence praised the achievement: “By spreading the word about the Phi Theta Kappa Experience, you are impacting lives and helping students succeed. Congratulations on your Pinnacle Award.” Wygant thanks everyone involved at the college, making special note of Lori Lemoine’s work to generate a mass electronic email to new PTK candidates.

Something 'pinteresting' from the DSC Library

The Daytona State College Library has gone full bore into the world of social media, first with Facebook and Twitter, then YouTube and Google+, and now perhaps the most digitally alluring newcomer to the virtual social scene – Pinterest.

That’s right, Pinterest. Not sure what it is? Just text any 20- to 50-something female (the social media site’s largest demographic) and you’re likely to hear comments like, “OMG, I love it,” or “Yes, it’s my new BFF.” Whatever the sentiment, many of 10.4 million users who have discovered Pinterest since it first launched late in 2010 (making it the fastest growing social media site in history) spend lots of time – an average one hour and 17 minutes per week – browsing a seemingly endless collection of boards organized by different subjects, tagging the ones that interest them and pinning them to their own Pinterest pages. Pinterest features literally millions of visual representations of such things as film, music, books, fitness, gardening, home décor, recipes, fashion, cars, motorcycles: you name it, Pinterest has a visual for you to pin, share and call your own.

But college and university libraries across the country also are finding value in the site as a repository of resources that can help students navigate a welter of information and data available for academic research.

Among Association of Florida Colleges institutions, Daytona State College’s library has jumped out among the leaders in leveraging the power of Pinterest to serve students, according to Emerging Technology Librarian Cheryl Kohen and Baccalaureate Studies Librarian Rachel Owens. The two recently presented Daytona State’s Pinterest initiative during a webinar of the Florida Virtual Campus, a regional library consortium.

“We started looking at Pinterest and noticed a trend that academic and public libraries were starting to create their own pages,” Kohen said. “We have so much content that we felt this was a good way to create a more fun and engaging way to reach out to our students.”

The library’s Pinterest site contains a large selection of graphical images that link to such resources as demographic data, historical references, consumer reports, medical journals and academic search engines. Users also can find Daytona State College facts and historical data, faculty publications, listings for new books, as well as what their Pinterest friends and faculty are reading.

But perhaps the most practical for students are links to discipline-specific research guides currently in development for most college academic programs. “For example, if you are a culinary management student, rather than going to the library’s homepage and getting lost in our 104 databases, you can go to the culinary management research guide and you would know which databases to use,” Kohen said.

So far, the library has published 30 research guides and hopes to have more than 100 available to students by fall semester. All will be accessible from the library’s website, but also easily accessible in a convenient and visually pleasing way on Pinterest.

And everybody knows that visually pleasing is always the most pinteresting.

Daytona State student earns national award

Michael Lee

Michael Lee, a Daytona State College Adult High School graduate and current associate of arts university transfer student at the college’s New Smyrna Beach-Edgewater Campus, has been awarded second place in the American Psychological Association’s Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges (APA PT@CC) Student Presentation Contest.

The national award stems from a research project the 20-year-old Lee produced for Dr. Elaine Perea’s Abnormal Psychology class in which he interviewed and videotaped a woman suffering from schizophrenia, as well as her mother and her daughter. The video, called Mind Over Mother: Schizophrenia vs. Motherhood, focuses on the challenges of being a single parent suffering with a mental illness and the toll it can take on the entire family.

In the video, Lee’s primary subject is a woman who worked for a telecommunications company for 27 years and, while she had often been in and out of therapy, she was not formally diagnosed with schizophrenia until later in her career. The video reflects on the insidious, gradual nature of some forms of schizophrenia and how its symptoms can eventually rob someone of their ability to function in society. It also highlights the hope that proper medication and treatment can bring to those suffering from mental illness.

Lee said his interest in psychology goes back to when he was very young. “I always loved helping people and I like to teach myself new things,” he said. “Psychology is something that’s fun to me. It makes you think about yourself.”

He plans to attend the University of Central Florida upon earning his A.A. degree at Daytona State, hoping to ultimately earn “at least” a master’s degree in clinical psychology.

Dr. Perea sees great promise in Lee, and feels his future is as wide open as his ambition and desires.

“Michael is a talented young man and his interview and video went well beyond the expectations of the assignment,” she said. “I was delighted to see the enthusiasm and commitment that he displayed, not to mention his awareness of the course content. He was able to highlight important aspects of the interviewee’s illness while allowing the viewer to gain a sense of her humanness.”

Lee will be presented his award, along with a cash prize, on Aug. 4 at the APA’s annual convention in Orlando.

Daytona State assists with FBI national academy training

Daytona State’s School of Emergency Services this month partnered with the FBI National Academy Associates (FBI NAA) Florida Chapter to provide advanced training to more than 135 law enforcement personnel.

The college’s criminal justice staff and faculty coordinated the training modules that were presented during the July 15-18 conference held at the Daytona Beach Shores Resort and Spa. Tim Girard, assistant chair of defensive tactics for Daytona State’s criminal justice training program, also is the Florida area representative of FBI NAA.

The association delegates who participated in the retraining program included representatives of 60 police agencies from around the state, as well as the FBI, the Transportation Safety Administration, Florida Attorney General’s Office, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and private security firms.

Among the topics covered were identity theft and investigating missing child and abduction cases. William Berger, U.S. marshal for the Middle District of Florida, also was a keynote speaker at the event.

The conference was chaired by South Daytona Police Chief Bill Hall.

The FBI NAA is a non-profit, international organization of nearly 18,000 senior law enforcement professionals. It provides a wide range of leadership and specialized training, as well as an opportunity for professional law enforcement officials to share ideas, techniques and experiences. Its membership is limited to law enforcement leaders who have completed the FBI’s prestigious National Academy Program.

Former Daytona State VP returns to head Foundation

Kay M. Burniston has been appointed executive director of the Daytona State College Foundation, overseeing all Foundation initiatives, including fundraising and scholarships.

Kay Burniston

Burniston is no stranger to Daytona State. From 1988 to 1990, she served as assistant vice president for development, managing federal, state, corporate and private foundation grant programs, annual and deferred giving, alumni affairs and what was then the Daytona Beach Community College Foundation. In 1990, she was named vice president for planning, research and development, extending her areas of responsibility to include development of the college’s five-year strategic plan, information services, public relations and marketing. 

During a particular four-year period when Burniston was overseeing the college Foundation, assets increased from $3,531,301 to $9,474,747.

From 1998 to 2001, Burniston was dean of institutional advancement and assistant to the president for planning and research at Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, NJ.

She returned to Florida in 2002, joining St. Petersburg College first as associate vice president for baccalaureate programs and later as vice president for baccalaureate programs, academic effectiveness and university partnerships until returning to Daytona State this month to lead the Foundation.

Burniston holds a master of public administration degree from the University of Central Florida and a B.A. in sociology/psychology from Western Michigan University. She also has had extensive leadership training at Harvard University’s Institute of Educational Management.

Notables. . .

New arrivals and advancements

Karla Moore

Karla Moore has been named the dean of academic and administrative assessment and planning. She will provide leadership and expertise for academic assessment as part of a coordinated institutional effectiveness framework of planning, assessment and evaluation.

Moore has been with Daytona State since August 2010, coming from the University of Central Florida, where she was part of the Engineering Technology department. Her background is in industrial engineering, with an M.S. and Ph.D. in industrial engineering and management systems. She has more than eight years of experience as a faculty member developing and assessing student-learning outcomes and using results for implementing change.

In her new role, Moore will assist academic programs and non-academic planning units in identifying appropriate outcomes, indicators and evaluation measures for assessing outcomes at the program and institutional levels. In addition, Moore will be responsible for supporting accreditation efforts in documenting institutional effectiveness, student achievement and continuous improvement.

Suzette Cameron

Suzette Cameron has been named director of campus services for the Deltona Campus.

Cameron has been with the college since February 2008 in the position of deputy chief of campus safety. In her new position, she will coordinate student support services at the Deltona Campus, facilitating outreach activities with the college’s admissions office, as well as working closely with area businesses, service organizations and other groups within the community.  Cameron holds a B.A. in public administration, and a master’s in criminal justice/critical incident management from St. Leo University.  

Clarence McCloud

Clarence McCloud has been named director of campus services for the New Smyrna Beach-Edgewater Campus.

In his new position, McCloud will coordinate student support services, facilitating outreach activities with the college’s admissions office, as well as working closely with area businesses, service organizations and other groups within the community.

McCloud has worked at Daytona State for 16 years as an adult education instructor, while also providing oversight of the Adults with Disabilities Grant for the School of Adult Education and the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

He holds a B.S. in elementary education from Bethune-Cookman University and an M.S. in leadership with a minor in education and human services from Nova Southeastern University.

Campus Safety supervisors complete leadership training

Eight Campus Safety supervisors recently completed an internal leadership program sponsored and supported by Daytona State’s Leadership Development Institute (LDI).

The 2012 Campus Safety Leadership Program was developed by the department’s former deputy chief, Suzette Cameron, who this month was named director of campus services for the college’s Deltona Campus.

Participating supervisors included John Banker, David Dattoli, Jacquie English, Russ Gibbons, LaKesha Green, Nancy Hodge, Brenda Merritt-Smith and Rick Simpson. The training included classroom sessions on such topics as executing and taking responsibility for decisions and actions, as well as mentorships and reflective assignments. The group also met with Daytona State President Carol Eaton; Daytona Beach Police (DBPD) Chief Mike Chitwood; and Daytona State’s Robin Barr, associate vice president of human resources; Tom LoBasso, senior vice president of student development and institutional effectiveness; and Miguel Rivera, director of student disability and counseling services.

“This program was very successful and helped to continue our efforts to build a solid foundation for the Campus Safety leadership team,” Cameron said. “I’d like to particularly thank (Campus Safety Director) Bill Tillard and LDI’s Dr. (Eileen) Hamby for their support.”

Tillard and Dr. Eaton recognized the group during a graduation ceremony on July 25. Also attending was DBPD Deputy Chief Steve Beres, who spoke about the community partnership between the college and the police department.

Institute for Health Services offering nurse refresher courses

The Institute for Health Services at Daytona State College is offering a new selection of short-term courses designed specifically for non-practicing licensed LPNs and RNs who plan to return to the profession or those who are interested in exploring a new specialty.

New classes ranging in length from a half day to several weekends are scheduled throughout August and September.

They include:
• RN-MD Relationships – Aug. 3
• Review of the Cardiovascular System – Aug. 9
• IV Therapy Certification – Aug. 10
• Gerontology: Legal and Ethical Issues – Aug. 29
• Advanced Nursing Skills Lab – Sept. 15
• Best Practices for Wound Care – Sept. 20

All classes are approved for continuing education credits. Nurse Refresher courses are not offered for college credit to complete a degree or certificate. LPN and RN degree seekers may review the application process at www.DaytonaState.edu/nursing.

A complete listing of Nurse Refresher and other continuing education courses offered by the Institute for Health Services can be found at www.DaytonaState.edu/ihs/.

For more information and to register, call (386) 506-3522 or email robersj@DaytonaState.edu. 

Education commissioner honors Volusia advocates

Les Potter, chairperson of Daytona State’s School of Education, was among those honored this summer in Tampa at the 25^th annual 2012 Commissioner's Business Recognition Awards ceremony sponsored by the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Education Foundation.

Potter was honored along with members of the Career Connection Consortium Business Cadre of Volusia County, which was recognized for its many contributions to Volusia County’s Education Academies.



Attending the awards ceremony were, from left, Dr. Margaret
Smith, superintendent of Schools, Volusia County; Les Potter,
chairperson, Daytona State's School of Education; Judy Conte,
Volusia County School Board member; Dr. Gerard Robinson,
Florida education commissioner;  and Volusia County Cadre
members Janet Kersey, Liz Taylor and Tom Besaw.

Among them is a Teaching Academy partnership with Atlantic High School that sets high school students on academic tracks to become educators. It is among 34 career academies which fall under the umbrella of the Volusia school system’s Career Connection Consortium.  More than 20,000 Volusia students a year participate in career academies.

The event celebrated private sector engagement in public education and recognized more than 75 organizations and individuals throughout the state for their commitment to improving the academic success of all students. The 2012 award recipients reflect a broad cross section of Florida business interests, whose successful alliances and innovative partnerships with Florida’s schools have created unique learning opportunities, promoted academic achievement and addressed community needs.

The Business Cadre membership includes more than 200 business leaders throughout Volusia County, who have been key advisors, promoters and recruiters for the school district’s career academies.

Organized in 1994, the Cadre provides resources, internships, advocacy, equipment, financial support and expertise to area schools and their students. Its  five-year strategic plan is designed to increase business input into the development and redesign of Volusia’s career and technical education programs and career academies, helping schools keep pace with the demands of the business community.

Daytona State to open Veterans Center this fall

Daytona State College will open a new Veteran’s Center this fall to meet the needs of a surging population of military servicepersons starting new missions as college students.

The center will be housed and fully staffed on the Daytona Beach Campus. Veterans Administration work study students who have military backgrounds also will staff offices on each regional campus to assist vets seeking help with everything from filing for Post-911GI Bill benefits and other student services to referrals for assistance inside and outside the college.

“This is a growing trend across the country,” said Director of Academic Advising LeeAnn Davis, who, along with Director of Student Disability Services Miguel Rivera, this spring proposed the center in anticipation of thousands of military service members returning home from overseas and taking advantage of their Post-911GI Bill benefits. Both veterans themselves, they recognized the need for the college to provide a place where former servicepersons can go to get help with enrollment, filing for benefits and also to network with other veterans. “This is a way to encourage veterans to attend Daytona State College and to show them that we appreciate the sacrifice they made for us when they served their country,” Davis said.

The news is welcomed by Kassiem Gibson, who in 1995 began a 10-year stint split between the United States Marines and Navy, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He received training as a dental technician in the Navy and when he was discharged, he worked for a time in a dental clinic under contract with the Mayport Naval Air Station in Jacksonville. But when that contract expired, Gibson found himself out of a job and unable to find another.

“It had become clear to me that the only way I was going to find a job that I could keep and grow with was to first get an education,” he said.  So he turned to Daytona State, where today he is working on his associate of arts degree (AA) in psychology and also serves as president of the Veterans Society of Daytona State College Palm Coast Campus student organization (which, incidentally, recently helped raise nearly $400 for the Wounded Warrior Project). Gibson, 39, plans to ultimately become a psychologist and work with other veterans.

He suggested the value of having a Veteran Center at Daytona State is immeasurable in terms of helping Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans in particular assimilate back into civilian life.

“I found it easy because I was fortunate to get a job for a time in a military setting, even though I wasn’t in the military anymore,” he said of his contract work at NAS Jacksonville. “Because of that, it was relatively easy for me to assimilate. For many of the guys I know, especially those who saw combat, that’s usually not the case.”

At a recent club meeting, several members spoke of those difficulties, ranging from dealing with the federal bureaucracy when filing paperwork to finance college costs, readjusting to family life and finding employment. Others spoke about their experiences with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and simply trying to fit in as civilians.

“There are waves of us coming back,” Gibson said, pointing to his fellow veterans, “and we are all examples of the re-acclimation process and how difficult it can be.”

A good chunk of that wave already is attending Daytona State. In 2006-2007, 361 veterans were enrolled at the college. Thus far this year, not including summer semesters, 744 have enrolled. These numbers also do not include those veterans who are not receiving GI Bill benefits because they either have already used them or have transferred them to another family member.

“Many of our veterans have had to see horrific things and lost friends, brothers and sisters in defense of our country,” Rivera said. “They are now coming home and need to be retrained to be successful in life, and they need all the help and support we can give them. This is one small thing we can offer to help them be more successful in their new life.”

More information for veterans attending Daytona State can be found at www.DaytonaState.edu/veteran.

New facility to double capacity at Flagler/Palm Coast Campus

A new classroom and laboratory building slated for Daytona State College’s Flagler/Palm Coast Campus will double the capacity of the college’s northernmost campus and be constructed according to the needs of the Flagler community.

The $7,606,381 in capital improvement funding for the proposed 23,436-square-foot building was approved by Gov. Rick Scott in April. In May, the college submitted requests for proposals for the design phase of the project, which is expected to be completed in October 2013, with construction beginning the following month.

“During this planning phase, we are taking a look at the needs of the community and how we can best serve our students,” said Campus Dean Kent Ryan. “We’re focusing on expanding science and health care programs, where we are seeing an increasing need to accommodate our Flagler residents who currently must commute to the Daytona campus for these programs.”

Ryan said preliminary plans also call for the assessment office to be relocated to provide easier access and flow for students when starting the college admissions process, mirroring a one-stop concept that has proven to be successful on the Daytona Beach Campus.

He noted the college also is considering the addition of some culinary program courses to the campus offerings once construction is completed in fall 2014.

Bret Nielsen, senior facilities planner for the college, said doubling the capacity of the Flagler campus will provide adequate space for up to 10 years of projected population growth. Since 2004, the campus has seen FTE more than double, from 465 to 1,051 last year. The campus has averaged a headcount of 2,394 students over the last 10 years.

In total, four projects were funded or partially funded by the governor during this year’s budget round, including $2,032,845 for renovation and scene shop construction at the News-Journal Center, $2,400,000 for planning and partial construction of a new student services building, including classrooms, on the Daytona Beach Campus, and $3,012,000 for a thermal storage facility on the Daytona Beach Campus, which is expected to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs each year.

Daytona State awarded new TRiO Upward Bound grant to serve West Volusia students

Nineteen-year-old Miosotie Delgado said Daytona State College’s Upward Bound program opened her eyes to the life changes coming her way and taught her to be prepared.

Delgado, a 2010 graduate of Deltona High School, is among hundreds of at risk-high school students who have successfully transitioned into college thanks to the help they received through Daytona State’s Upward Bound program.

During the next five years, 54 economically disadvantaged students from Deltona and Pine Ridge high schools will get that same support annually, thanks to a new $1,250,000 TRiO Upward Bound West grant awarded this month to Daytona State by the U.S. Department of Education. The college will receive $250,000 each year to provide academic support and enrichment activities to the students, most of whom would be the first in their families to attend college.

Daytona State has received federal Upward Bound program grants since 2003. Students are enrolled in the program as early as ninth grade and participate in activities throughout their high school experience that are designed to build academic skills, increase motivation, improve self-confidence and help them develop the social skills necessary to succeed in a collegial environment. 

Miosotie Delgado

“Students  travel  to the Deltona Campus twice a week and two Saturdays a month for tutoring, homework assistance, test preparation, career exploration and college planning,” said Associate Director Dora H. Giddens. "They also receive life skills and character education."

The program also has a six-week Summer Academy component, with academic sessions that build upon the foundation students have acquired throughout the year.  For many students, the consistent contact and collaborative, collegial group experience help them discover opportunities for their futures they may otherwise not have recognized.

“To have that consistent interaction, the positive energy and encouragement by someone who can help them see their potential, often makes a huge difference in the lives of these students,” Giddens said, noting that nearly 98 percent of the past TRiO students graduated high school and many matriculated into college.

Delgado is among them. While she temporarily enrolled at Seminole State College upon high school graduation, she will return to Daytona State in the fall to pursue her associate of arts degree.

Upward Bound, she said, has been a positive experience both academically and personally.  “It gave me the support I needed to reach my goal of being the first one in my family to attend college,” she said. “It has helped make me a leader and to become a better example for my younger siblings.”

Daytona State College men’s baseball team repeats academic championship

Call it a dynasty.

Coach Tim Touma’s Daytona State College Falcons baseball team is arguably the greatest team in the history of the Florida College System Activities Association – academically speaking.

For the sixth consecutive year, the men’s baseball team has earned the FCSAA Men’s Academic Team of the Year honors, posting a cumulative grade point average of 3.73. The Falcons will now compete for the National Junior College Athletic Association team academic award, which will be announced this summer. The team has won the national award four of the last five years, narrowly missing the top GPA honor last year.

“Our goal at the start of the season was to not only go to the state tournament on the field, but also to recapture the national team academic title,” Touma said. “I’m proud of our guys, and we expect to be in close contention for the national award.”

In the Mid-Florida Conference, the Falcons also brought home the top individual academic honors. Sophomore ballplayer Peyton Walsh was named Mid-Florida Conference Male Scholar of the Year, and sophomore swimmer Samantha Akoubian was named Mid-Florida Conference Female Scholar of the Year. Each also earned the NJCAA Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence.

Daytona State Athletic Director Will Dunne said the academic success of the college’s athletic teams is no accident. “It is a testament to the ‘academics first’ approach that is taken by the athletic department in collaboration with our faculty and student support staff,” he said. “We have created a culture within all our athletic programs where the highest measure of success is to see student-athletes succeed academically. Our goal is to prepare our student athletes for success in life, not just in their sports.”

·         Other academic highlights of the Falcon athletic program include:

-       Seven students earned cumulative 4.0 GPA totals for the year.

-       Forty-one students earned 3.5 – 3.99 cumulative GPA totals for the year.

-       Twenty-seven students earned 3.0 – 3.49 cumulative GPA totals for the year.

-       Seventy-five of 118 student-athletes (63.5 percent) earned 3.0+ cumulative GPA totals for the year.

-       Four of the seven teams (baseball, softball, women’s golf and women’s swimming) earned 3.0+ cumulative team GPA totals for the year.

-       Women’s Golf earned a team cumulative 3.49 GPA for the year.

-       The athletic program (all teams combined) earned a cumulative 3.09 GPA for the year.

For more information about Daytona State College Falcon athletics, please call Will Dunne at (386) 506-4486.