MWCC's Weekly e-newsletter

Friday, April 15, 2005

MWCC TO HONOR WBUR ANCHOR AND 1974 GRADUATE
BOB OAKES AS ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR

By Kimberly B. Caisse

WBUR Morning Edition Anchor Bob Oakes will be honored as the Mount Wachusett Community College Alumnus of the Year at the college’s 40th Commencement ceremony, Thursday, May 19 at 6 p.m.

	Bob Oakes

A 1974 graduate, Oakes is one of the most well-known and respected broadcasters in New England. He has been the assistant news director and Morning Edition’s anchor for WBUR since 1992. He also worked at WEEI when it was an all-news station, the CBS Radio Network and stations in Connecticut and New Hampshire during his more than 30 years in broadcasting.

Oakes has covered every presidential campaign since former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis ran for president in 1988, the space shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986 and the Los Angeles riots in 1992. In addition to reporting on national issues for the CBS Radio Network, Oakes developed the first regular medical beat out of Boston for the national news outlet. As host of WBUR’s Morning Edition, he interviews the newsmakers of the day.

“Bob Oakes is a prime example of how, with hard work and determination, our graduates can meet their career goals,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. Oakes earned an associate’s degree in Public Communication (now Broadcasting and Telecommunications) in 1974 and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Oakes became a student at MWCC in 1972 after graduating from the former Charlton High School. The editor of the school newspaper and yearbook, Oakes had an early interest in journalism. He learned about MWCC’s broadcasting program from Professor Vincent Ialenti, who was visiting area high schools to recruit students to attend MWCC. “I think I was so taken by the thought of being able to enter a broadcasting program that was so hands-on in nature,” Oakes said. The other schools he considered didn’t have broadcast studios. “It was hands down for The Mount when the acceptance came,” he added.

“I believe I learned more about broadcasting in two years at The Mount than I have in any concentrated two-year period since,” Oakes said. MWCC offered a “terrific mix” of insight into the broadcasting industry and hands-on experience through an internship. “I have always thanked The Mount for allowing us to do that as 19-year-old sophomores, as opposed to 21-year-old seniors elsewhere,” Oakes said.

Oakes and another interns covered Board of Selectmen and City Council meetings, filing reports for a local radio station. “It was simply an invaluable experience,” he said. “When I talk to college or high-school students now, I tell them about my experience and, whatever their field is, if they can, they shouldn’t leave college without having an internship. There is no substitute for being out in the field.”

WHAT’S NEXT SPEAKER TIM WISE TO EXPLORE RACISM

As part of the What’s Next Speaker Series, MWCC will host a free lecture by Tim Wise, a national speaker and author on racism, at the Fitchburg Public Library Wednesday, April 20 at 4 p.m.

Tim Wise

Wise grew up in Nashville, Tenn., and was raised by parents who believed in desegregation. They sent Wise to a mostly black preschool, and he attended integrated public schools. At Tulane University in the late 1980s, while protesting apartheid in South Africa, he scrutinized what in his life could be traced to white privilege. He filled pages.

Wise will present “Profit and Loss: White Privilege and Its Consequences for Racial Equity & Justice.” He will explore the issue of white privilege and then look at the substantial consequences paid by society for the maintenance of such privileges. Both the costs to people of color and to whites will be examined.

This presentation is intended to make whites understand their personal stake in challenging the “benefits of whiteness,” even as they are forced to acknowledge them. By pointing out the negative costs of privilege and inequality, Wise will seek to inspire whites to join with people of color in the struggle to end racism and the privileges that stem from it.

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 the recently released “White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son.”

Wise’s lecture is sponsored by MWCC’s Decade of Civic Engagement initiative and Multicultural Awareness Committee. For more information, visit http://whatsnext.mwcc.edu or call Kim Caisse at (978) 630-9547.

MWCC STUDENTS NAMED TO WHO’S WHO
AMONG STUDENTS IN AMERICAN JUNIOR COLLEGES

The 2005 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges will include the names of 39 students from Mount Wachusett Community College who have been selected as national outstanding campus leaders.

Campus nominating committees and editors of the annual directory have included the names of these students based on their achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities and potential for continued success.

They join an elite group of students from more that 1,400 institutions of higher learning in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several foreign nations.

Outstanding students have been honored in the annual directory since it was first published in 1966.

Students names this year from Mount Wachusett Community College are:

Acton: Donald R. Gilberti Jr. and Clare M. Bugeau

Ashburnham: Gail F. Brooks and Christopher Brian Moorhead

Athol: Michelle D. Boudreau, Debra L. Boucher, Angela M. Boudreau, Sandra I. Burney, Shirley L. Hobbs and Susan M. Sayball

Baldwinville: Cheri L. Becker and Kelly A. Gosselin

Fitchburg: Lauren M. Clark, Lisa M. Poladian and Miranda Tozier-Robbins

Gardner: Donna J. Bourgeois, Jennifer L. Boutell, Carl R. Chandler, Kristie A. Foley, Katrin Goerz, Isaura Luna and Diana M. Russo

Leominster: Shannon Cuddahy-Martinez, Ashley J. Gauffin and Lauren B. Johnson

Lowell: Esther R. Makumbi

Lunenburg: Jean E. Escabi

New Ipswich: Lora M. Traffie

New Salem: Jessica Hamm

Orange: April S. Clemence, Sarah J. Ramsdell and Stacy M. Wilson

Otter River: Jennifer Farineau

Phillipston: William R. Chadbourne

Ringe, N.H.: Leah H. Jablonski

Shirley: Paula L. Murphy

Templeton: Dawn M. Grigarauskas

Townsend: Katie E. Salerno and Katherine Sweatt

Upcoming Campus Events:

• MWCC Transfer Services will have the following colleges and universities on campus to share information with students: University of Massachusetts-Amherst on Tuesday, April 19; Bay State College on Wednesday, April 20; Fitchburg State College, Thursday, April 21; Worcester State College, Friday, April 25; and Daniel Webster College, Thursday, April 28.

• More than 50 students, a record number, will be inducted Chi Gamma Chapter of Alpha Beta Gamma at its 15th annual Induction Ceremony Friday, April 15 starting at 6 p.m. in the south dining room. In addition, four honorary members will be recognized. Janice Wentworth, owner of Warren Farm in North Brookfield, will be the keynote speaker. For more information, contact ABG advisor Linda Bolduc at (978) 630-9385.

• MWCC will hold an American Red Cross blood drive Wednesday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Gardner campus. To register, contact Marianne Stoy at (978) 630-9136. Walk-ins are welcome.

• Tim Wise, a national lecturer and author on race issues, will be MWCC’s fourth What’s Next Speaker Series presenter, Wednesday, April 20 at 4 p.m. at Fitchburg Public Library, located at 610 Main St., Fitchburg. 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 on the subject that will be released this year. As a What’s Next Speaker Series guest, Wise will speak about “Profit and Loss: White Privilege and its Consequences for Racial Equity & Justice.” Wise will return to assachusetts this summer when he serves as an adjunct faculty member of the School of Social Work at Smith College in Northampton. For more information or to register, contact Melissa Delaney at (978) 630-9288 or Kim Caisse at (978) 630-9547, or send an e-mail to whatsnext@mwcc.mass.edu. All What’s Next Speaker Series events are free and open to the public.

• MWCC’s Entrepreneurial Resource Center at the Devens campus will hold two new small business and entrepreneurship seminars in April. “Computers: What Small Business Professionals Need to Know” on Wednesday, April 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. will cover the basics of buying a computer and backing up files, security issues of viruses and hackers and selected software options. The cost is only $40. “Hiring the Right People: Interviewing Process” on Wednesday, April 27 from 9 a.m. to noon will develop skills in identifying staff needs, outreach and recruitment, pre-interview preparations, interview process, employee selection and employee support. The cost is only $50. For more information or to register, contact Lisa Derby Oden at (978) 630-9569.

• MWCC and the Forest & Wood Products Institute will host a 10-hour OSHA safety training session Thursday, April 21 and Friday, April 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wood Products Workforce Development Coordinator Ken Hanson and an OSHA authorized general industry outreach trainer will cover at least nine OSHA safety standards. The cost is only $198 per person and includes lunch. Participants will receive a MWCC certificate of completion and an OSHA course completion card of this OSHA-produced and approved curriculum. To register, please call Hanson at (978) 630-9179.

• MWCC will welcome new freshmen and prospective students during the annual Spring Fling Monday, April 25, featuring solo guitarist and singer John Rush. The event includes a barbecue, special desserts, vendors, novelties and more, and is open to MWCC students, faculty and staff. Spring Fling is sponsored by the Office of Student Life, the Admissions Office, GEAR UP, and CARS (Committee for Activities and Recreation for Students). For more information, call the Office of Student Life at (978) 630-9252.

• Auditions for the Stephen Sondheim musical, “A Little Night Music,” will be held on Sunday, April 24 and Monday, April 25 at 7 p.m. sharp in room 182 at the MWCC Gardner campus. Director Lorien Corbelletti, music director David Twiss and Choreographer Rob Houle are looking for a cast of 10 adult women, 10 adult men and one teenaged girl (13 to 15 years old). Those who tryout need to prepare a short vocal selection (accompanist provided) and should expect to be taught a short dance combination (Wear appropriate clothing and footwear.). Cold readings from the script may also be required. The tentative rehearsal schedule is Sundays from 6 to 9 p.m.; Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7 to 10 p.m. beginning May 1. Performances will be Friday, June 24, Saturday, 25, Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 10 at 2 p.m. For more information contact Professor Gail Steele at (978) 630-9162 or visit the Theatre at the Mount web site at http://theatre.mwcc.edu.

• For National Poetry Month, the MWCC Library and Lifelong Institute for Enrichment will host a poetry panel Wednesday, April 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in room 127. A group of published poets—MWCC’s very own Saúl Torres and Jess Mynes, along with Deborah Kang Dean, BG Thurston and Rodger Martin—will be answering questions about being published and writing poetry. For more information, contact Reference and Instructional Services Librarian Heidi McCann at (978) 630-9338.

• The MWCC Library and Lifelong Institute for Enrichment also will hold an Evening of Poetry/Poetry Slam in the Library on Wednesday, April 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. The event will feature one hour of poetry readings by FD Reeve, Bob Clawson, BG Thurston, Rodger Martin and Deborah Kang Dean. Then there will be an open-mic poetry reading for students and members of the community. For more information, contact LIFE Program Coordinator Lorraine Wickman at (978) 630-9176.

• To help students prepare for final exams, the MWCC Library will hold extended hours on Friday, April 29 until 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call the Library at (978) 630-9125.

• Time slots for members of the MWCC Pacers to walk the American Cancer Society Relay for Life Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11 are going fast. Contact Sue Goldstein, JoAnn Brooks and Jan LeClair to get your relay packet and sign up to fill the last remaining spots. The 2004 Relay raised $758,000, the highest amount of the other 156 relays in New England. The Gardner Relay has raised over $5 million dollars since its inception 11 years ago. This year’s goal is to raise 800,000. Other benchmarks reached at the 2004 Relay include having 733 survivors walk the track, a number unheard of at any of the other relays, and being ranked No. 11 nationwide in funds raised (out of 4,200 relays).

Lea Ann Erickson
Director of Community Relations
Mount Wachusett Community College
Phone: (978) 630-9322
Fax: (978) 630-9561
cell: (508) 517-5202
l_erickson@mwcc.mass.edu

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