Presidential search consultant on campus this week

Dr. Robert E. Parilla of  Academic Search, Inc. is on campus this week meeting with various college and community constituent groups as he prepares an institutional needs analysis, the first step in the process of finding a new Daytona State College president.

Dr. Robert Parilla met with constituent groups earlier this week.

A senior consultant with the firm hired by the District Board of Trustees to assist with its presidential search, Dr. Parilla offered a short list of questions for constituent groups to reflect upon during their meetings with him. In addition to this week's conferences with area business leaders, elected officials, public school and higher education officials, and Daytona State College students, faculty, administrative, professional and career employee groups, Dr. Parilla also was to meet today during a noon workshop with the Board and on friday with members of the college’s Presidential Search Advisory Committee.

“These are questions I would use with the board, search committee and various constituents to help me develop and refine a written profile to be approved by the board and the search committee,” Dr. Parilla said. “Once approved, the profile will be published and used to recruit and to develop advertisements.”

Constituent groups are being asked to consider the college’s most significant successes and strengths, as well as issues, problems and challenges it faces. They also are asked to reflect upon what they view as the most important qualities and characteristics a new college president should possess, as well as what they believe the new president’s institutional priorities should be during his or her first years in the position.

College board members have said they anticipate hiring a new president by summer.

Academic Search currently is assisting 13 colleges and universities across the country with presidential searches. For more details about the firm, visit them on the Web at http://www.academic-search.com/.

Survey to measure student engagement

This spring, Daytona State College will once again participate in a national survey designed to help colleges enhance teaching and learning.

The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) was first implemented a decade ago by the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin. Today, the survey is a key assessment tool for community colleges and how well they serve their diverse student populations. Each year, the survey focuses on different topics based on interest among CCSSE colleges and the research community. The national results are shared in CCSSE's annual report. This year, the survey will focus on student retention.

“Daytona State College is intent on being a leader in education, and this survey can assist us in identifying where we are and what further action may be helpful in our continuing work to support and strengthen teaching and learning,” said college President Frank Lombardo.

The college has been a survey participant five times since 2004.

Research shows that students are more likely to persist and succeed academically when they are actively engaged with faculty, staff and fellow students in the subject matter being learned. Studies also point to the social and intellectual cultures of community college campuses and classrooms, as well as investment in mechanisms for student support, as being keys to increasing retention and academic achievement.

The CCSSE instrument will help colleges to better hone in on best practices that support positive student outcomes. It asks students about their college experiences—how they spend their time; what they feel they have gained from their classes; how they assess their relationships and interactions with faculty, counselors and peers; what kinds of work they are challenged to do; and how their colleges support their educational goals. It asks students to report the frequency with which they engage in activities such as classroom discussions, whether they have participated in or plan to take advantage of learning opportunities, such as college orientation programs, internships or clinical placements, developmental education and organized learning communities.

Students then are asked to report the number of hours spent each week on activities such as preparation for class, participation in extracurricular activities, work, parenting and other variables. Other items assess the frequency with which students use the academic and student support services provided by the college, as well as their ratings of the importance of such services and their satisfaction with the services they receive.

Individual colleges also may incorporate additional survey questions to collect data that is specific to their institutions. This year, Daytona State will focus on questions regarding student writing and the college’s new Writing Center which opened this past fall semester. Dr. Rebecca Block, Writing Center director, said the survey results will help her and her staff to refine and customize the center’s offerings for students.

The survey will be administered in classes randomly selected by CCSSE to ensure a representative sample and to preserve the integrity of the survey results. CCSSE will report on the findings by July 31. The college president also will receive a key findings report, including an individually tailored executive summary.

For more information about the survey and CCSSE, visit them on the Web at www.ccsse.org.

Southeast Museum to feature new exhibitions

Bream in the Highlights, 2006

Two new exhibitions will be featured at the Southeast Museum of Photography beginning Jan. 29 - May 29:

KAREN GLASER
The Mark of Water: Florida's Springs and Swamps

For more than two decades Karen Glaser has documented amazing worlds beneath the surface of water. Her photography for this exhibition was made "inside" Florida's springs, swamps and waterways, and it provides a unique interpretation of these distinctive environments. Her images convey the mystery and primal power of this environment in a unique and personal view and one that is unfamiliar, alluring and visceral. Glaser evokes this otherworldly aquatic realm as no other photographer has done before.

Read more about her exhibition here.

LORNA BIEBER
Images: Found and Lost



Three Birds/Front View, 2000-1

 For the past 30 years, Lorna Bieber has employed stock photographs as the raw material of her art. In her mural-sized photographs and wall-sized montages, she begins with anonymous generic illustrations and images, then reinterprets them through a range of manipulations and photographic techniques.

Her complex, multi-layered method of production results in unique gelatin silver prints that reveal unnoticed, unappreciated and poignant images previously imbedded within their generic sources.

Says Bieber: "The artificial photographic compositions that I create do not exist in our world; they reside in the depths of our collective consciousness."

Read more about Images: Lost and Found.

Saturday’s 9th annual ATC Auto Show to double as a showcase for tech programs

The 9th annual Auto Show being hosted this Saturday at Daytona State’s Advanced Technology College also will showcase training opportunities for automotive and technology enthusiasts interested in turning their passions into careers.



Jim Posick, assistant chair of automotive programs in the School
of Technological and Occupational Programs, will return as a judge

in Saturday's ATC Auto Show.

 The auto show, which has grown to become one of the area’s largest in both participants and spectators since its inception in 2002 (with the exception of the annual Thanksgiving weekend Turkey Rod Run), will feature the art and technology of yesterday’s and today’s automobiles, including antique, custom and hot-rod vehicles. But behind all the polished metal and chrome, the auto show also provides an opportunity for the college to promote the high-tech programs that have become the hallmark of the ATC.

“It is a great opportunity for us to get exposure,” said James Posick, assistant chair of automotive programs at the college. “People are often surprised with what we have at the ATC once we get them in the building and they can see first-hand what we can offer here.”


During the show, which historically has drawn several thousand spectators, tours of the Automotive Service Technology, Automotive Collision and Repair, and Performance Engine Technology facilities will be provided. In addition, free aircraft, tank and rally car simulator demonstrations also will be available through the ATC’s Robotics and Simulation Technology program.

The show will run from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Trophies will be awarded to best in show autos in a variety of categories. There is a $10 registration fee to enter vehicles in the competition. Admission for spectators is free.

The ATC is located ½ mile north of LPGA Boulevard off Williamson Boulevard in Daytona Beach. For more information, please call Doug Giacobbe at (386) 506-4180.