Friday, February 9, 2007

 

MWCC STUDENTS SPEARHEAD ‘SUPPORT IN ACTION’ COLLECTION FOR TROOPS IN IRAQ

By Kimberly B. Caisse

Human Services Internship students have partnered with Leominster and Fitchburg businesses to collect personal supplies for troops stationed in Iraq. In the back row, from left, are Leominster Campus Director Lisa Derby Oden, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Dezotell, Priscilla Pagan, Marilyn Rivera, Rosaira Mendez and Sgt. David Alves. In the front row, from left, are Crystal Newkirk, Hector Andujar, April Elliott, Gail Thompson, Mignon Bissonnette and Adjunct Professor Yvonne Stevens.

Receiving personal supplies from anonymous donors “makes a big difference” to soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Dezotell told students enrolled in MWCC’s Human Services Internship Experience class Friday, Feb. 2.

The students, whose instructor is Adjunct Professor Yvonne Stevens and meet at the Leominster campus, are leading an effort in Leominster and Fitchburg to collect these supplies for soldiers in Iraq. They have put at the following locations: Shaws in Leominster, Hannaford Supermarkets at Twin City Plaza and Lancaster Street in Leominster and in Lunenburg, Ginny’s Thrift Shop in Leominster and DeMoulas Market Basket stores in Fitchburg and Leominster. The Wal-Mart in Lunenburg donated gift packages.

Dubbed “Support in Action,” the collection seeks donations of shampoo, conditioner, cotton swabs, moisturizer, sunscreen, lip balm, eye drops, toothpaste, dental floss, writing pads, shaving cream, beef jerky, prepaid phone cards, playing cards, Twinkies, Cheez-Its, jelly beans, disposable cameras, books, magazines, razors, antiseptic wipes and similar items.

The collection will conclude at the end of March.

Care packages received this time of year are especially important. “Everyone remembers the soldiers during the holidays,” Dezotell said.

“I’m here to say ‘thank you’ for what you’re doing,” he added.

For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu.

VERIZON LITERACY FOUNDATION CONTINUES SUPPORT OF PATHWAYS TO FAMILY SUCCESS AT MWCC

Verizon Literacy Foundation will formally award Pathways to Family Success at MWCC a $10,000 grant to fund family literacy programming in Leominster at a ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 9 a.m. in the Tata Auditorium of Leominster City Hall.

Members of the Pathways to Family Success partnership, Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella, MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino and others will commemorate Verizon’s four years of support for the program at the ceremony.

Pathways to Family Success, funded by grants from the Massachusetts Department of Education and Verizon Literacy Foundation, is a program of integrated and coordinated family literacy and support services currently operating in five Massachusetts communities: Leominster, Cambridge, Fall River, Holyoke and Lawrence. Spearheaded by the Massachusetts Family Literacy Consortium, the Pathways initiative is currently in its fourth year of operation in Leominster.

The Pathways to Family Success’ fiscal agent, and one of its required partners, is Mount Wachusett Community College. Other required partners include MOC Child Care & Head Start Services, Project Apples – Community Partnership for Children and Leominster Public Schools. In addition, Pathways has a variety of other partners, including Leominster Public Library, Literacy Volunteers of the Montachusett Area, Medical Associates Pediatrics, Inc., Project FLASH at Fitchburg Public Library, Leominster Multi-Service Center, Leominster Mayor’s Office, Healthy Families, Community Health Connections and the Leominster Recreation Department.

For more information, contact Jackie Butler, coordinator for Pathways to Family Success, at (978) 840-3221 x202 or jbutler@mwcc.mass.edu.

More MWCC News:

• IRS-trained volunteers, including 30 MWCC students, will be helping low- and moderate-income taxpayers prepare and file their federal tax returns for free as part of the federal Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. At the Leominster campus, the service will be offered on Fridays through April 13 from 1 to 8 p.m. (The Leominster campus will be closed on Friday, March 16 for the Evacuation Day state holiday.) At the Gardner campus, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site will be in Room 250 on Thursdays through April 12 from 1 to 8 p.m. MWCC’s financial aid officers will be on hand at some sessions to assist taxpayers interested in attending college with filling out financial aid forms. To schedule an appointment, taxpayers may contact Denise Whitney at (978) 630-9124 or dwhitney@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Theatre at the Mount will hold auditions for the children’s musical “Suessical Jr.” by appointment only on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. for ages 8 to 12 and 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. for ages 13 to 18. To schedule an appointment, call the Theatre at the Mount box office at (978) 632-2403, Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., or e-mail your appointment request to box-office@mwcc.mass.edu. Auditions will be held in room 182. Auditions will consist of singing and dancing auditions. Vocal selection and dance combination will both be taught at the audition. Teens will also be asked to do a reading from Dr. Seuss – copies of readings are available at the box office in advance of the audition. The tentative rehearsal schedule is Sunday afternoons, Tuesday and Thursday evenings beginning Sunday, Feb. 25. Performances of “Seussical Jr.” are Tuesday, April 24 through Friday, April 27 at 9:30 a.m. and noon; and Saturday, April 28 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. For more information, contact Professor Gail Steele at (978) 630-9162 or visit the Theatre at the Mount website at http://theatre.mwcc.edu.
• MWCC’s Biology Department will celebrate the 198th birthday of renowned evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin on Monday, Feb. 12 at 11:30 a.m. in the Leo & Theresa LaChance Library. “Charles Darwin” will be present in his “study,” where there will be free birthday cake and an opportunity to participate in an international event dedicated to the father of evolution. The library is co-sponsoring the event. For more information, contact Associate Professor of Biology Janice Barney at (978) 630-9242 or jbarney@mwcc.mass.edu.

• David Hansen

  David Hansen, professor and director of the program in Philosophy and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, will discuss the new book, “Ethical Visions of Education: Philosophies in Practice,” on Monday, Feb. 12 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus as part of the college’s 2006-2007 What’s Next Speaker Series. A complimentary lunch will be provided, courtesy of the Center for Democracy and Humanity at MWCC. For more information, contact Eveliz Rivera at (978) 630-9324 whatsnext@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC’s new Biotechnology program will host information sessions Wednesdays Feb. 14, March 7, April 11 and May 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. at the main campus, 444 Green St., Gardner. Sessions will be held at the Leominster campus, 100 Erdman Way, on Tuesday, Feb. 20; Monday, March 19; Monday, April 23; and Wednesday, May 23 from 6 to 7 p.m. With the decision by the drug manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb to locate a large biotechnology company at Devens, the college anticipates starting the biotech program in fall 2007 at the Devens and Gardner campuses. Registration is required. To register and for more information, contact MWCC’s Dean of Science Charles Weitze at cweitze@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 630-9207.
• MWCC is bringing a Fulbright scholar and Islamic culture expert to students, faculty and our communities between Tuesday, February 20 and Friday, March 9. Dr. Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil’s visit is part of the Fulbright Visiting Specialists Program: Direct Access to the Muslim World. During his visit here, Dr. Adil will speak about the fundamentals of Islam, Islam and gender issues, Muslims’ and non-Muslims’ rights, law and religion, Islam in Malaysia and the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Islam Hadhari Project. He is bringing his message to MWCC students, faculty and staff as well as local schools and community organizations. For more information, visit http://www.mwcc.edu/info/fulbright.html or contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547.
• The Art Department is hosting the exhibit “Connected Partners: Sharing a Life and an Aesthetic Vision” featuring works by Dug Morton (’86) and Dawn Haley Morton in the East Wing Gallery through Saturday, March 10. The paintings on display were done by Dug; the photographs taken by Dawn. A reception for the artists will be held Friday, Feb. 16 from 6 to 9 p.m. The East Wing Gallery, located in the Raymond M. LaFontaine Fine Arts Center at the Gardner campus, is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Professor John Pacheco (978) 630-9184 or jpacheco@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Theatre at the Mount will present “Smokey Joe’s Café” for five performances beginning Friday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. “Smokey Joe's Café” is an explosion of immortal hits including “Stand By Me,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “There Goes My Baby” and many more. Other performances will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24, Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 4 at 2 p.m. Tickets for “Smokey Joe’s Café” are on sale at the Theatre at the Mount box office Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., or call (978) 632-2403. Tickets can also be purchased online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu. Tickets are $20 for evening performances and $15 for matinees, with discounts available for children, Mount students and groups. Subscriptions for Theatre at the Mount’s 2007 season, at total of five shows, are also available for just $65.

• Dr. Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil

  Dr. Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil, of Malaysia, who will visit MWCC as part of the Fulbright Visiting Specialists Program: Direct Access to the Muslim World, will speak at the First Church Unitarian Universalist in Leominster on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. In his lecture, entitled “Fundamentals of Islam and Religious Freedom,” he will share his expertise in Islamic law and religion with members of the church’s congregation and the general public. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu or the Rev. Susan Suchocki Brown at (978) 537-0310. Details of Dr. Adil’s three-week visit are also available at http://www.mwcc.edu/info/fulbright.html.
• MWCC will host the "Black Cinema 101 Tour” in observance of Black History Month on Wednesday, Feb. 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the commons area of the Gardner campus. The Black Cinema Gallery is an inspirational tribute to Black actors, actresses and authors who inspired the world through their outstanding performances and works, taking Hollywood to a different plateau. The display is sponsored by the Student Life Office.
• Free college. Earn a paycheck. Apply to be a Community Scholar at MWCC. Community Scholars receive free tuition, fees and books, $10,000 in annual wages by working at a local nonprofit organization, leadership development opportunities and a $1,000 education award toward a four-year degree. For a brochure and application, send your name and mailing address to communityscholars@mwcc.mass.edu. The application deadline is Monday, March 12.
• Learn more about Community Scholars at two upcoming information sessions: Monday, February 26 and Wednesday, February 28 from 6 to 7 p.m. Both sessions will be at the Gardner campus, 444 Green St. For an advanced brochure, send your name and mailing address to communityscholars@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC will host a Renaissance performance by actor Marilyn Murphy Meardon on Wednesday, Feb. 28th from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the main campus. The 45-minute, solo performance, “Queen Elizabeth I: In her Own Words,” was researched and composed by Meardon, who used the Queen's own letters, poetry, prayers and speeches to create a performance that brings the monarch's words to life. Meardon’s performance will complement the “Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend” traveling exhibition on display in the Leo & Theresa LaChance Library through March 30, 2007. For more information, contact the library at (978) 630-9125.
• MWCC’s Art Club will host the Walk for a New Spring, an annual interfaith walk for peace taken by Buddhist monks and nuns and walkers, for lunch at the college’s north dining area on Wednesday, Feb. 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Gardner Mayor Gerald St. Hilaire MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino will also be present to greet the walkers as they arrive at MWCC from Noonday Farm in Winchendon, a Catholic worker-owned farm that grows vegetables for soup kitchens in Boston. From the college, they will meet Fitchburg Mayor Dan Mylott, visit Fitchburg State College and meet Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella. For more information, contact Assistant Professor Tom Matsuda at (978) 630-9340 or tmatsuda@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Dr. Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil, of Malaysia, who will visit MWCC as part of the Fulbright Visiting Specialists Program: Direct Access to the Muslim World, will give an “Overview of Islam” and participate in the discussion of the book “Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi on Wednesday, Feb. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Leo & Theresa LaChance Library. The event, sponsored by the library and Office of Academic Affairs, is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact the library at (978) 630-9125. Details of Dr. Adil’s three-week visit are also available at http://www.mwcc.edu/info/fulbright.html.
• MWCC’s Office of Academic Affairs and Leo & Theresa LaChance Library are sponsoring a panel discussion entitled “Different Faces of Islam” on Friday, March 2 at 11:30 a.m. in the theatre. The panel will feature Fulbright Visiting Specialist Dr. Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil of Malaysia and Muslim scholars from other countries. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu. Details of Dr. Adil’s three-week visit are also available at http://www.mwcc.edu/info/fulbright.html.
• MWCC’s Leo & Theresa LaChance Library and Office of Academic Affairs are sponsoring a book discussion and signing by Kris Holloway, author of “Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali,” on Tuesday, March 6 at 11:20 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the commons area of the Gardner campus. Books will be available purchase, with proceeds supporting Clinique Monique in Kauri, Mali. The event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Linda Oldach at (978) 630-9126 or loldach@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC will hold a four-session Explorer course Wednesdays March 7, March 21, April 4, and April 18 from 6 to 9 p.m. at its Gardner campus. The Explorer program is intended for those who are considering farming as a business. This course offering is sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Agricultural Business Training Program, in cooperation with the Explorer creator, the New England Small Farm Institute in Belchertown, with additional support from MWCC. For a registration form, please contact Rick Chandler, MDAR, 25 West Experiment Station, UMass, Amherst MA 01003 or rchandler@umext.umass.edu.
• MWCC’s Office of Academic Affairs will host an informal discussion with Jibreel Khazan, formerly Ezell Blair Jr., one of the “Greensboro Four” who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement, on Friday, March 9 at 10:30 a.m. in the theatre. The decision of four African American students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College to stage a sit-in at the Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter on Feb. 1, 1960, led to civil rights sit-ins in 54 other cities in nine states. By the end of July 1960, Woolworths decided to integrate its lunch counter. For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England

  MWCC’s English Department is sponsoring a lecture by Dr. Arthur F. Kinney, Thomas W. Copeland Professor of Literary History and director of the Center for Renaissance Studies at UMass-Amherst, on Friday, March 9 from 11:40 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the north cafeteria of the Gardner campus. Kinney is the author or editor of more than 30 books and his work has served scholars and professors for more than three decades. Last year, he was presented with the Paul Oskar Kristeller Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest international award for a Renaissance Scholar. Kinney’s most recent book is “Shakespeare and Cognition – Aristotle’s Legacy and Shakespearean Drama.” For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC’s Leo & Theresa LaChance Library will host the "Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend" traveling exhibit through March 30. The library is one of only 40 public and academic libraries in the nation to host this exhibit. This new exhibit commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England and encourages audiences not only to reacquaint themselves with the Queen, but also to become more familiar with the historical and cultural forces that shaped her personality and her time, and to examine the mixture of history and legend that continues to surround her today. The American Library Association Public Programs Office, in partnership with The Newberry Library of Chicago and the National Endowment for the Humanities, is sponsoring the traveling exhibit. All showings of the exhibition and related programs will be free and open to the public. For more information, contact Reference and Instruction Librarian Ellen Pratt at (978) 630-9125.