Friday, August 3 , 2007

 

MWCC PRESIDENT ASQUINO WELCOMES HEYWOOD HOSPITAL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION TO CAMPUS

By Lorie C. Martiska
Vice President of Community Relations and Development
Heywood Hospital 

Heywood Hospital, the City of Gardner and Mount Wachusett Community College will present the Heywood Centennial Celebration, an evening of music, activities and fireworks, on Saturday, Aug. 4, from 5 to 10 p.m. at the college.

“We are very pleased to give something back to the Greater Gardner area in recognition of the support that we have received,” said Heywood President and CEO Daniel P. Moen.

Moen said that being able to offer fireworks in particular seemed like a fitting tribute to the occasion. “It’s not every day you celebrate 100 years of service, so we really want to use this event as a way to celebrate, and to say thanks to the many people who have contributed to Heywood’s success over the years,” he said. He also noted how effective and helpful the partnership with the College and the City has been in planning the event.

Mayor Gerald St. Hilaire also characterized the partnership as “a strong testament to the great sense of community cooperation we enjoy here in Gardner. This event is a wonderful way to celebrate Heywood’s anniversary and for families to enjoy an evening of food, fun, entertainment and a fireworks display that will light up the summer sky.”

MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino said that the college is pleased to be a part of the event. “We are delighted to be hosting what has become a great family tradition in Gardner,” he said. “That this event also recognizes the many wonderful contributions of Heywood Hospital makes this year’s event even more memorable,” he added.

The event will include a performance at 7:15 p.m. by country star Tim LaRoche, former Gardner area resident who now lives and works in Nashville and who was on the Nashville Star TV Show. Prior to the headline event, there will be opening ceremonies, with skydivers from Jumptown in Orange.

The celebration will also feature music and children’s activities such as a climbing wall, jump house, face painting, clown, magician Eddie Raymond, balloons and more. Food will be sold by Chartwell’s, MWCC’s food service, and a select group of local food vendors.

Items such as glow sticks and necklaces will be sold during the event to benefit the Forward In Health Haiti Clinic project. Forward in Health is also holding a road race and fun walk at 3:30 p.m. at the college.

Parking for the Heywood Centennial event is free, but limited. Carpooling or using downtown municipal lots with shuttle buses is encouraged. Parking and driving directions have been posted to the Hospital’s website – www.heywood.org, the College’s website at www.mwcc.edu and the City’s website at www.gardner-ma.gov.

Heywood is also providing free health screening, bicycle helmets and giveaways at the Experience Gardner Sidewalk Summer Sale which will occur earlier that day. The Gardner Sidewalk Summer Sale begins on Friday at 9 a.m. and runs for two days, ending at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

For more information, call the Heywood Hospital Office of Community Relations and Development at (978) 630-6248 or go to one of the websites listed above.

MWCC FIRST COLLEGE IN MASSACHUSETTS TO OFFER STUDENTS
GOOGLE EMAIL AND COLLABORATION SOLUTIONS

By Janice O’Connor

Mount Wachusett Community College is one of the first colleges in the nation and the first in Massachusetts to offer its students Google Apps ™ - Google’s set of hosted and customizable communications solutions – as part of the college’s core IT service offerings. As a result, students now have free communication tools including email, shared calendars, instant messaging and word processing under their MWCC domain names.

Google Apps will make communication with students easier and more efficient than ever before. “We’re glad to let Google do what it does best – provide us with great technology – so we can do what we do best, serve our students,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino.

Chief Information Officer Pat Ainsworth agreed, adding that the implementation of the new system on June 29 was flawless. “Students will now enjoy 2,000 times more storage space and free access to word processing, spreadsheets and calendars.”

Google Apps for Education allows MWCC to transition from its limited email systems to Gmail, Google’s popular email service already being used by millions of students nationwide for their personal accounts. But unlike standard Gmail accounts, schools can maintain their edu addresses, have students log in from school Web sites, brand the system with their own logos and block advertisements that typically appear in standard Gmail accounts. All services are hosted by Google and are available to users via any Internet-connected computer.

Rather than the college spending thousands of dollars to implement a student email service, “Google Apps allows our students to use Google’s communication and collaboration applications under their own domain names,” Vice President of Student Affairs Ann McDonald said.

More MWCC News:

• Theatre at the Mount will present “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” based on the book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan with music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics by Dick Scanlan, Friday, Aug. 10, Saturday, Aug. 11, Friday, Aug. 17 and Saturday, Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. and Sundays Aug. 12 and Aug. 19 at 2 p.m. Audiences will jump into the madcap merriment of the Jazz Age when women were bobbing their hair, raising their hemlines and raising eyebrows. Frisky flappers, romantic trysts, speakeasies, tap dancing and flashy fun abound in this tale of a Midwestern girl determined to take the Big Apple by storm. Tickets for “Thoroughly Modern Millie” are available 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 by calling (978) 632-2403. Tickets also can 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.
• Do you have an idea for a new business or nonprofit organization? Do you want to start it in North Central Massachusetts? If you answered yes to these questions, now is your chance to turn that idea into a business plan for cash and other prizes. It’s all part of MWCC’s 2007 Business Plan Competition. You’ll be among the group of innovators seeking to win up to $14,000 in cash prizes, as well as over $14,000 of in-kind services, to help you start or expand a business or nonprofit in the region. Applications and final business plans are due Tuesday, Sept. 18. Semi-finalists, finalists and the grand-prize winner will be announced in November. Learn all the competition details and get an application at http://erc.mwcc.edu or call Lisa Derby Oden at (978) 840-3221 ext. 163.
• MWCC’s Bridge to Success workshops will run Monday, Aug. 13 through Thursday, Aug. 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Gardner campus. Bridge to Success is a free summer orientation and college preparation program for non-traditional students, ages 24 and older, who are returning to college or just beginning their pursuit of higher education. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion with non-traditional students who have already spent a year or more at MWCC. Other topics covered during the Bridge program are time management and organizational tools; learning styles; study skills; exploring career options; and an introduction to the library, catalog, and college web services. The program is offered by the Visions Program, a federal TRIO/Student Support Services grant. For more information about the Bridge to Success program, contact Director Gaurav Khanna at (978) 630-9297.
• MWCC’s Institute for Nonprofit Development is sponsoring two workshops in August: “Creating High Performance Nonprofits” and “Building and Sustaining a Dynamic Board.” Both workshops will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at the Gardner campus. In “Creating High-Performance Nonprofits,” on Aug. 22, participants will learn the characteristics of a high-performance nonprofit, be introduced to a systems theory approach to operation and learn how to apply this model at their agencies and discover new ways of analyzing their organizations. In “Building and Sustaining a Dynamic Board,” on Aug. 29, participants will learn new ways to free board members from the minutia of meetings and enable them to better use their time, talents and resources to energize the entire organization. Sarah Lange, MSW, founder of Legacy Consulting, will lead both sessions. Lange is counsel to numerous organizations and their leaders and works extensively with nonprofits of all sizes. She is a frequent presenter on nonprofit management, leadership, strategic planning, organizational theory and development. The cost for each workshop is $50 per person for INPD members and $75 for nonmembers. To register, contact Jennifer Wiley-Cordone at (978) 630-9163 or jwiley-cordone@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC, in association with the Broadcasting and Telecommunications program and Phi Theta Kappa, is pleased to once again offer 2007 Commencement DVDs. This professional quality, edited DVD of MWCC’s 2007 graduation day ceremony will be available for a limited time at a cost of $15 each. This low cost includes the cost of shipping and handling. Fifty percent of the profits from the DVD sales will go to MWCC’s Phi Delta Chapter of the PTK Honor Society. PTK students will donate the other 50 percent of the profits directly to the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center. To place an order in advance, contact Sheila Murphy, PTK advisor, at smurphy@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The Clinical Laboratory Science program offers an associate’s degree curriculum and integrates general education courses with science and hospital rotations. Students enrolled in this program will learn how to use sophisticated biomedical instrumentation and computers to analyze blood and other body specimens. The generation of accurate results of laboratory tests allows physicians to detect, diagnose and treat disease. An information session will take place Wednesdays August 22, Sept. 19, Oct. 17, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. in the Volney Howe Conference Room or the OBS Conference Room at Heywood Hospital. The sessions will include a tour of the clinical laboratory. Prospective students interested in attending the information session are asked to call the admissions office at (978) 630-9110 (TTY (978) 632-4916), or send an email to admissions@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The Leo & Theresa LaChance Library will be open regular hours over the summer, but there will be no public access to the Mezzanine and lower levels through Friday, Aug. 31, due to the library renovation. Access to the book collection will be extremely limited, so patrons should call ahead if they need something in particular. Staff may be able to access parts of the collection at various times, but they cannot guarantee that they will be able to retrieve specific titles at specific times. The main level will provide public access computers and printing. The rooms on the lower level will not be available during this time. The renovation project is funded through the college's capital campaign, which raised nearly $4 million. If you have any questions, please call Assistant Dean of Library and Information Services Linda Oldach at (978) 630-9126.
• Register now for the second annual Bob Wilson Memorial Scholarship 5k Run/Walk at Fitchburg State College’s Elliot Field Track. Organized by his wife, Tina Wilson, Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems at MWCC, the 5K will take place Sunday, Oct. 28. The Walk will begin at 12:15 p.m.; the Run at 1 p.m. Race Day Registration will start at 10:30 a.m. Proceeds benefit scholarships, through Fitchburg State College and Fitchburg Access Television, to communications and broadcasting students attending MWCC and Fitchburg State. Last year, 180 people registered to walk or run and raised $4,800 for scholarships. Registration forms are available at www.bobwilsonfund.com. For more information, contact Tina Wilson at t_wilson@verizon.net or (978) 630-9225.