In the news: Pushing a data-driven culture

The Chronicle of Higher Education featured SPC President Bill Law in a report that is part of its series called The Idea Makers: Ten Tech Innovators 2013.

“Mr. Law, president of St. Petersburg College, has long argued that colleges can improve student performance with a little number crunching, just as many businesses increase efficiency by looking for trends in all the contacts they have with their customers,” the article stated.

Interviewed for the article was Jesse Coraggio, Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Research and Grants. “It has completely changed our culture,” Coraggio said in the article. “It is now a data-centered culture.”

The next step, the article states, is to open the college’s Pulse system to an even wider audience on campus. The system currently allows Law and other administrators, through a simple Web interface with the college’s databases, to get answers to questions such as how students in online courses are doing compared to those in traditional courses.

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Pizza with SPC’s president

About 70 people attended Pizza with the President at the EpiCenter Wednesday. In addition to lunch, students were able to have face-to-face time with SPC President Bill Law and talk about concerns at the college’s campuses and among students.

Students raised a variety of issues with Law including questions about undergraduate research opportunities, public transport options and campus parking issues.

Pizza with the President is held twice a year at SPC, once in the spring and again in the fall. The event is open to all students. To attend, students should contact their campus Life and Leadership Coordinator’s office.

See more photos from the event on the college’s Facebook page.

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Governor announces challenge to make college more affordable

Florida Gov. Rick Scott at St. Petersburg College Monday

On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott was joined by St. Petersburg College President William D. Law Jr. and Brad Jenkins, SPC Associate Dean of Engineering Technology & Building Arts, to announce the “Governor’s $10,000 Degree Challenge.”

At the press conference, Dr. Law announced that St. Petersburg College would be the first Florida college to accept Scott’s challenge to create a $10,000 degree program targeted at making higher education more affordable and results-oriented for Florida families.

Scott said, “I am issuing a challenge to our state colleges to find innovative ways to offer a bachelor’s degree at a cost of just $10,000 in fields that will provide graduates with the best opportunity for employment. As I travel the state, families tell me that they care about three things – getting a good job, a quality education and enjoying a low cost of living. As a former community college student myself, I know how important it is for us to keep costs low while working to connect students with degree fields that prepare them for great careers. Working with the Florida Legislature, this ‘$10,000 Degree Challenge’ will help us continue to improve the value of our higher education system for Florida families and we are pleased that St. Petersburg College is the first school to step up to the plate.”

Law said, “St. Petersburg College is once again excited about the opportunity to be part of a statewide college pilot program that lowers the cost of a college education for the citizens we serve. Affordable education always has been at the forefront of the college’s mission. SPC is uniquely positioned to build on its bachelor degree commitments and will be offering its Tech Management Program.”

Deveron Gibbons, Chair of St. Petersburg College’s Board of Trustees, said, “As the first community college in the state to offer four-year degrees, St. Petersburg College is thrilled to be part of a pilot program that lowers the cost of a bachelor’s degree for Florida’s students and their families. As Chairman of the Board at St. Petersburg College, I’d like to express our appreciation to Gov. Scott for choosing St. Petersburg College as one of the pilot project sites and as the location for making this historic  announcement. Affordable education has been the goal of St. Petersburg College throughout its 85-year history and we are prepared to work with other colleges in this challenging venture.”

Watch a video of the announcement on the college’s YouTube channel.

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SPC president travels with others to learn about teaching method

President Bill Law was among area officials traveling to Baltimore recently to learn about a teaching method called “direct instruction,” the Tampa Bay Times reported.

“The phonics-based program includes carefully prescribed lessons and intense review intended to make sure kids master concepts as they go,” according to the article. The group Faith and Action for Strength Together or FAST is seeking allies among business and higher education communities to push for the method that its members say needs to be at the heart of efforts to improve reading instruction in schools. Pinellas County School Board members have said it might be appropriate as a supplemental program but not as the core of the reading curriculum.

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The Palladium hosts Washington Week

The audience watches as crews tape Washington Week at The Palladium at St. Petersburg College Friday.

Washington Week host Gwen Ifill meets members of the audience after the show’s filming wrapped up at The Palladium.

Hundreds of people turned out for the taping of Washington Week at The Palladium at St. Petersburg College Friday afternoon.

SPC President Bill Law and Gwen Ifill, host of the long-running primetime news and public affairs program, greeted the audience before the taping  of the special election 2012 edition got underway. The crowd not only watched as Ifill, a panel of guests and the film crew worked on the week’s episode. They also participated in a town hall question and answer session with panelists Dan Balz of The Washington Post, John Dickerson of Slate magazine and CBS News, Beth Reinhard of National Journal and Amy Walter of ABC News.

See more photos from the event on SPC’s Facebook page.

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SPC faculty continues focus on improving student success

St. Petersburg College President Bill Law reinforced to more than 700 faculty and administrators Thursday at the annual Fall Faculty gathering at the Coliseum that the success of students is the college’s No. 1 goal.

Building on the day’s theme, “Achieving the Dream: Student success within reach,” Law touched on the many new initiatives that are being implemented to help students succeed.

“I do not want you to lower your academic standards,” Law told the faculty. “I do want you to revisit all of the resources that students have available to them to help them succeed.”

Law concluded his remarks with a video of him making a presentation to Gov. Bob Graham and the state Cabinet in 1985, stressing many of the same points he made in his keynote address.

A highlight of Fall Faculty was the recognition of 17 Professors Emeriti:

• Cecil Cheek
• Gloria East
• Sammie H. Elser
• Karen Estes
• Joe B. Fenley
• William “Keith” Goree
• Barbara Hull
• Steve Meier
• Donald Earl Musselman
• William “Bill” Nixon
• Sunny Norfleet
• Delia Palermo
• Sharon A. Swallwood
• John Teter
• Betty Tutton
• June White
• Jean Wortock

To see the stories of each Professor Emeriti and to leave messages of congratulations, go to www.spcollege.edu/emeritus.

More than 40 new faculty members and 23 new continuing contract faculty also were introduced and honored. And the college’s five NISOD winners were recognized with individual video presentations.

The event served as the official kickoff of the college’s participation in Achieving the Dream, a national movement dedicated to helping more community college students, particularly students of color and low income students, stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree.

Achieving the Dream’s goal is the same as SPC’s: Student Success. Achieving the Dream includes a network of  more than 160 community colleges and institutions, more than 100 coaches and advisors, and 15 state policy teams that work throughout 30 states and the District of Columbia.

Music Industry Recording Arts (MIRA) students provided live entertainment before and after the program.

The link to the video of the entire event will be sent out Friday.

A gallery of photos from Fall Faculty is available on the college’s Facebook page.

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College opens Collaborative Center for Emerging Technologies at Clearwater Campus

From left: Brad Jenkins, Randy Hanna, Bill Law and Robert Fine.

St. Petersburg College unveiled its new Collaborative Center for Emerging Technologies Friday morning at the Clearwater Campus.

It is housed on the property that was recently purchased just northwest of the campus.

Florida Colleges Chancellor Randy Hanna was on hand for the ceremony, along with SPC President Bill Law, Board of Trustees member Robert Fine, State Sen. Dennis Jones and State Representatives Ed Hooper of Clearwater and Larry Ahern of Seminole.

The center is an open manufacturing factory and work environment where tomorrow’s engineering technology and manufacturing employees will be trained. It will be open Monday when the college’s fall session begins.

Industry partners work closely with the college to secure funding and to provide technical expertise, materials and equipment.  Many of the partners attended the morning gathering.

“The nice thing about manufacturing is we can get you into productive work quickly,” Law said. “Not everything has to be two-year or four-year degrees. We can do it as quickly as 16 weeks. We will have people start Monday (Aug. 20) and be done by Christmas.”

Brad Jenkins, Associate Dean of Engineering Technology, was beaming that his project had finally come to fruition. “The support of Dr. Law and the Board of Trustees has been outstanding. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Jenkins said the job market is very good for graduates of his program. “We have a great pipeline to get our students employed through our partnerships.”

Hanna praised the college on many fronts, going back to its founding in 1927. “No college has done it as well as St. Petersburg College,” he said.

A 2010 survey shows the role manufacturing plays in the county. Manufacturing employed 30,000 people in Pinellas County, making it the fourth largest industry in the county. The county also ranks second in the state for manufacturing employment and third for the number of manufacturing firms.

While technology has greatly improved the manufacturing process, employees now need cutting-edge skills. Thousands of manufacturing jobs go unfilled each year because of a lack of qualified candidates, according to the Manufacturing Institute. By simulating skills needed in emerging technologies, the center will prepare students for immediate and profitable employment in business and industry while giving them education credentials for advancement.

SPC’s Associate of Science Degree in Engineering Technology –the first in Florida – has been adopted by 11 other colleges in the state and serves as a national model for other states.

See a video from the opening on YouTube and more photos on Facebook.

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SPC summer 2012 grads head toward their future

SPC graduates walk past applauding faculty at the end of Saturday’s graduation ceremony, the college’s 119th Commencement Exercises.

Surrounded by families, friends and flashing phones and cameras, St. Petersburg College’s summer 2012 graduates filed out of the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks Saturday.

Approximately 300 SPC graduates participated in the college’s 119^th Commencement Exercises. The college had more than 1,200 graduates this semester, according to SPC graduation organizers. Many received associate of arts degrees while others earned bachelor’s degrees in areas ranging from international business to nursing. About 2,000 people – among them proud parents, friends, siblings and children – attended the event along with SPC faculty and staff.

SPC President Bill Law congratulated the students and their families on their achievements both during the ceremony and in a letter printed in the graduation program. “You’ve invested much in your education; now, take pride in the contributions you will make to your professions, families and communities,” Law said in the letter.

Commencement speakers Deniann Grant and Juan Otazu

Graduates heard words of advice and encouragement from two commencement speakers. Deniann Grant, who will be transferring to the University of Florida, served as the former president of the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus’s Student Government Association in 2011-12 and the Chief Executive Officer for the transitional team of MYRA (Make Your Radio Active) Radio Network. Juan Otazu, a retired master sergeant who served in the U.S Air Force for 24 years, graduated this semester from SPC with a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

“Here at SPC there’s a place for everyone,” Grant told the crowd, explaining how the college offers an affordable education for thousands of students from a variety of backgrounds. Attending SPC, she said, allowed her to grow as a person and a leader.

“It’s passion not a pedigree that will win in the end,” Otazu said in his speech. Speaking about his own experiences to earn his degree, he had the audience laughing and clapping as he told them not to be afraid to start from the bottom and to persevere as they moved forward in life.

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Plan to make state first in nation to double graduate rates by 2020

St. Petersburg College President Bill Law was quoted in an article on news-press.com about a plan from Florida’s 28 state and community colleges to make the state the first in the country to reach the national goal of doubling graduation rates by 2020.

To reach that goal, the Florida College System will be asking for a 35 percent increase in state funding, according to the article. A proposal for the plan is expected in the fall, Valencia College President Sandy Shugart told the Florida Board of Education on Tuesday.

Law and Shugart said they thought Gov. Rick Scott would approve since their plan stemmed from discussions with him.

The four-year strategic plan would make Florida the top-ranked college system for affordability, job placement, accountability and partnerships with high schools and universities, the article stated.

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Chancellor visits BOT, before his Leadership Seminar at EpiCenter

From right: Chancellor Randall Hanna speaks with President Bill Law and Linda Ruble, Chairwoman of the Career Service Employee Council. He was here to participate in the Chancellor’s Leadership Seminar at the EpiCenter June 20-22, but arrived a day early to attend the Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday.

 

About 40 representatives from the Florida College System participated in the 2012 Chancellor’s Leadership Seminar on Wednesday, June 20 in the Collaborative Labs at the EpiCenter.

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