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Greetings all,
As we move towards the end of 2011, this time serves as an opportunity to: leave you with several thoughts for the upcoming spring academic semester, share a few comments of appreciation, and touch on highlights from the fall semester.
First, here are several thoughts to ponder over the holiday break as we prepare to “Power On Learning” in 2012. It takes an extremely high level of faculty and staff energy to motivate and engage students in the learning process – especially students who are under prepared, lack in self-confidence, have yet to identify their passion and commitment for learning, or who are “heat seekers” pushing hard to excel academically. My guess is that our collective energy levels may be a bit low right now – it has been an intense sixteen weeks.
By choice and by mission we do not screen or filter students’ qualifications at the “school house gate” – in fact we pride ourselves in being committed to the success of all students. For this reason at PVCC the “student success stakes” are high as we are preparing future nurses, teachers, business leaders, social workers, doctors, artists, community leaders, and politicians. Our community and State’s future will be in the care and welfare of our graduates. Several years ago, one of our students shared with a faculty member “…my welfare is in your hands…” The student shared this not in a defendant fashion but one of connectedness to the learning process. So just as our current students rely on us for their learning welfare, our collective future welfare is reliant on our successful graduates as they go on to lead our communities, schools, businesses and governments. So our energy levels are critically important to ensure that students are fully engaged in the teaching and learning process. Please use the holiday break to "unplug" from PVCC in order to renew, refresh and recharge so we can recommit to energizing the learning process in January.
Secondly let me offer my sincere thanks to all of you for your hard work, commitment to student success, and willingness to “go more than the extra mile” to make PVCC an outstanding College. I know that many faculty are teaching overloads and have taken on extra assignments and that many staff are working in offices where the work load has increased without additional resources. I am indebted to all of you for keeping student success and learning as our core value. Thank you.
Lastly, reflecting on fall semester, we have “covered a lot of ground” since the semester kicked off with the “Power On Learning” theme. Here are just a sample of highlights: substantial planning has been completed on the KSC expansion and renovation project, we celebrated a ground breaking for the new Health Sciences building, plans are in the works for a new Honors Center to be located in K Building, PVCC has another NJCAA National Championship team – Men’s Cross Country, the Center for Performing Arts has seen record number of events and attendees, our creative writing students have received national recognition, over 100 employees engaged in Diversity and Inclusion programming, and strides have been made to further student success with record numbers of student participating in iStartSmart. What a great fall semester!
Please accept my very best wishes for a wonderful holiday and for an amazing new year.
Regards, |
