MWCC's weekly e-newsletter

Friday, Feb. 3, 2006

MWCC HOSTS DEBATE BETWEEN 2ND WORCESTER DISTRICT CANDIDATES

By Kimberly B. Caisse

	Robert Rice (left podium) answers a panelist’s question while Jonathan Dennehy waits to give his rebuttal during the debate.

Nearly 100 people gathered in the commons area of the Gardner campus for the last of two candidates debates in the race for the Second Worcester District seat on Thursday, Feb. 2. The debate was co-sponsored by the college’s Center for Democracy and Humanity and The Gardner News.

Democratic Robert Rice, Gardner’s assistant city solicitor and partner in the law firm Ward, Walsh & Rice, and Republican Jonathan Dennehy, a member of the Ashburnham Board of Selectmen, faced questions by a five-member panel and district residents.

They answered questions about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on eminent domain, public higher education, economic development in the district, in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants, retroactive taxation, K-12 education funding and more. The candidates also asked each other a question.

The panel included The Gardner News Assistant Editor Andrés Caamano and reporter Daniel Axelrod, MWCC political science and history Professor Dr. Oliver Hooper, MWCC Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs Lea Ann Erickson and Mount Observer reporter Patrick Culkeen.

The special election is Tuesday, Feb. 7. The 2nd Worcester District includes Ashby, Ashburnham, Gardner, Royalston and Winchendon.

EXECUTIVES SHARE INSIGHT ON LEADERSHIP WITH MWCC ACADEMY PARTICIPANTS

By Kimberly B. Caisse

Strong listening skills, integrity, self-confidence and team building were among the leadership attributes a panel of local executives discussed at a college Leadership Academy session Friday, Jan. 27.

Panelists, from left, Scott Howard, Ann McDonald and Jim Garrison

MWCC Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Services Ann McDonald, Vice President of Bemis Associates Scott Howard and retired President and CEO of Instron Corp. and college Trustee Jim Garrison sat on the panel. College President Daniel M. Asquino also participated in the discussion.

Asked what kinds of obstacles and challenges she’s overcome as a woman in a leadership role, McDonald said she doesn’t view being first at things as overcoming obstacles, but as “breaking new ground.” This doesn’t only happen to women leaders, she added.

The best piece of advice she offered women leaders: “Be comfortable in your own skin. If you’re doing that, you’re always going to move in the right direction.”

Asked if a leader must be approachable, Asquino said, “Absolutely. That’s more difficult as you move up, because people tend to find the position, not necessarily the person, intimidating.”

Garrison added, “The simplest way to be approachable is to get out of your office.” One way he did this, as president and CEO of H&R 1871 in Gardner, and managed competing daily priorities was to “walk the factory” first thing in the morning. “From then on, it was a toss of a coin,” he added.

Key to walking around the factory was listening to H&R’s employees, Garrison said. He cited listening—to customers, peers, subordinates—as the most important lesson he learned in becoming an effective leader.

Asked how important a positive attitude is in being an effective leader, Howard said, “It’s critical. More importantly, you want to show a good level of confidence. But it shouldn’t be fake. Leaders must be human—show the good and the bad.”

For more information on the Leadership Academy, faculty and staff may contact the Department of Human Resources and Affirmative Action at (978) 630-9168.

GARRISON SWORN IN AS MWCC TRUSTEE

Jim Garrison was sworn in recently as a college trustee by Patrick A. Fox, first justice of the Gardner District Court.

	First Justice of the Gardner District Court Patrick A. Fox, left, re-appointed Mount Wachusett Community College Trustee James O. Garrison and MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino stand in Fox’s chambers at Gardner District Court.

This will be Garrison’s second term as a MWCC Trustee. He was first appointed in 2001.

Garrison is the retired president and CEO of Instron Corp. in Norwood and H&R 1871 in Gardner. He has been involved in the North Central Massachusetts community since he started H&R in 1991.

Garrison has served on the board of the Greater Gardner United Way, including the position of campaign chairman; as a member of the Rotary Club, including its treasurer; the board of the Gardner Industrial Development Corporation and Foundation; the Heywood Hospital Board of Trustees; the audit committee of GFA Federal Credit Union; the Nashoba Valley Council Boy Scouts of America; and the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts. He also supported MWCC’s capital campaign, Heywood Hospital’s 2000 fund drive and the Thayer Symphony Orchestra.

He is a graduate of Miami University in Ohio and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Graduate School.

	2006 Bellwether Award finalist
	Dr. Linda Hagedorn, chair of the Department of Educational Administration and Policy at the University of Florida, left, and Susan Arscott, president-elect of the Council for Resource Development, far right, stand with MWCC Vice President of Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development Jacqueline Feldman and Lisa Derby Oden, director of MWCC's Entrepreneurial Resource Center, at the 2006 Bellwether Awards. MWCC was a finalist in the Planning, Governance and Finance category.

Other MWCC News :

• The “Works in Clay” exhibit by Scott Campbell is on display in the East Wing Gallery of the Raymond M. LaFontaine Fine Arts Center through Thursday, Feb. 9. Campbell, a potter from Harwick, will give a “gallery talk” Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 11:30 a.m. The pieces in the cases are a sampling of the many different processes he has explored creating and firing work during the past 30 years. Owner of Vineyard Pottery, Campbell also is a high school art teacher and teaches in the summer art program at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham. He works from his studio and home on Martha’s Vineyard. For more information, contact Professor Joyce Miller at (978) 630-9221.

• The First Connections Mothers Group’s weekly meetings will resume on Friday, Feb. 3. At the gatherings, which will take place Fridays in the Children’s Room at Levi Heywood Memorial Library from 10:30 a.m. to noon, attendees will discuss topics such as feeding, sibling rivalry, temper tantrums, appropriate toys, traveling with children and how to choose a daycare provider. All mothers and their babies are invited. For more information, contact MWCC Professor Nancy Duphily, the meeting facilitator, at nduphily@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 630-9233. Duphily will be assisted by MWCC nursing students as part of their service-learning project.

• Tim Wise, a prominent anti-racist writer and speaker, will kick off the college’s 2006 What’s Next Speaker Series in the college theatre at the Gardner campus on Friday, Feb. 17 at 11:30 a.m. Wise has spoken to over 80,000 people in 47 states and on over 350 college campuses. He’s written many essays on race issues and two books, including “White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son.” Copies of “White Like Me” will be for sale at the lecture for $10, while supplies last. Wise’s lecture is sponsored by MWCC’s new Center for Democracy and Humanity and Multicultural Awareness Committee. For more information, send an email to whatsnext@mwcc.mass.edu or call Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547.

• Theatre at the Mount will hold auditions for the children’s musical Disney’s “Aladdin Jr.” by appointment only on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call the Theatre at the Mount box office at (978) 632-2403 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., or e-mail your appointment request to box-office@mwcc.mass.edu. Auditions will be held in room 182 at the Gardner campus, 444 Green St.

• Theatre at the Mount kicks off its 2006 season with “Big River, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” on Friday, Feb. 24, Saturday, Feb. 25, Friday, March 3 and Saturday, March 4 at 8 p.m. and Sundays Feb. 26 and March 5 at 2 p.m. Season tickets for all five shows are only $65 and are on sale now. To purchase season tickets or request a season brochure, call the Theatre at the Mount box office at (978) 632-2403. Tickets for individual shows are $18 or $15 for matinees. Tickets may also be purchased online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu.

• MWCC will hold “Idol at the Mount” auditions Saturday, Feb. 25 at noon sharp in room 182 at the college’s Gardner campus. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., but contestants are strongly encouraged to arrive early. Due to time constraints, the number of contestants may be limited. The “Idol at the Mount” competition will be held to determine the best vocal soloist in Central Massachusetts and to raise money for the many programs supported by United Way of North Central Massachusetts. Contestants must be 18 years of age or older and must prepare a 16- to 32-bar vocal selection from any musical genre, including pop, rock, show tunes, standards, country, classical, folk and jazz. Due to time constraints, the number of contestants may be limited. Contestants are urged to arrive early. Judges will select 12 finalists to compete for cash prizes and for the title “Idol at the Mount” Friday, April 7 at 8 p.m. on the Theatre of the Mount stage. Sponsored in part by MWCC, Aubuchon Hardware, Colonial Hotel and the United Way of North Central Massachusetts, additional information is available at www.uwncm.org, www.mwcc.edu or http://theatre.mwcc.edu, or by contacting “Idol at the Mount” coordinator Gail Steele at (978) 630-9162.

• Associate Professor of Nursing Raeann LeBlanc will give a “brown-bag lunch” presentation Monday, Feb. 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on her experience as a volunteer for the U.S. Public Health Commission in response to the emergency health care needs in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. For more information, contact the Department of Human Resources and Affirmative Action at (978) 630-9168.

• Golf lessons, directed by Mike Eagan, a PGA professional, will begin the week of Feb. 27 at the Fitness & Wellness Center. Participants need to bring their own clubs. The Fitness Center also has clubs available. Beginner, intermediate and advanced sessions will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:15 or 8:15 p.m. The cost is only $85 per session. Fitness & Wellness Center members are eligible for 10 percent discount. To register, call the Fitness Center at (978) 630-9212.

• Register now for softball clinics for girls ages seven to 12 offered by the Fitness & Wellness Center. Directed by Galaxy U14 and U12 coaches, the sessions will cover fundamentals of hitting, fielding and pitching in the game of women’s softball. Clinics will be held on Sundays March 5, 12, 19, 26 and April 2. The cost is only $60. Call the Fitness Center at (978) 630-9212 to register.

• The new SAT Reasoning Test will be administered for those in the class of 2006 and beyond. It will contain new content and new types of questions in writing, math and critical reasoning. On the Saturdays of March 11, 18 and 25 from 8 a.m. to noon, MWCC will offer preparatory classes covering math and English for the April 1 SAT exam. The cost of $120 includes the required book. For a registration form or more information, contact MWCC’s Division of Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development at (978) 630-9124 or lll@mwcc.mass.edu.

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