Category: Beyond the classroom

Longtime SC4 Professor James Jones honored with national AACC award

St. Clair County Community College Professor of Criminal Justice James Jones has been awarded the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) 2020 Dale P. Parnell Faculty Distinction Recognition for his work in making a difference in the classroom.

As a Faculty Distinction recipient, Jones will be recognized on the AACC Faculty Wall of Distinction, on the AACC website and at AACC’s 100th Annual Convention in March, where he will be honored with a private reception.

“Jim has devoted his life to giving back to others, and we are thrilled to congratulate him on this prestigious award,” said SC4 President Dr. Deborah A. Snyder. “His dedication to the success of SC4’s criminal justice program is admirable as is his devotion to ensuring that his students gain hands-on knowledge and experience with criminal situations and scenarios.”

Jones has been teaching at SC4 since 1997 both as an adjunct instructor and a full-time professor. In addition to his full-time teaching, he also serves as a part-time police officer with the Marine City Police Department. Jones previously served as a full-time officer for the Port Huron Police Department for 28 years.

At SC4, he organizes off-campus learning experiences for students, including visits to the city of Detroit to shadow the Detroit Police Department on ride-alongs. He also is actively engaged in other college activities as well, including leading and serving on event, recruitment and curriculum committees.

According to Snyder, Jones is known for going out of his way to ensure that his students succeed and complete their goals.

SC4 joins statewide basic needs initiative to support students

PORT HURON – St. Clair County Community College announced today that it will join a statewide initiative to help students connect with resources to support basic needs. The Michigan Community College Association was awarded a $442,000 grant to launch the initiative focused on improving student completion and success by addressing economic instability among students including access to food, housing, transportation, childcare and other basic needs.

The Michigan – Building Economic Stability Today (MI-BEST) effort is funded by a grant from the ECMC Foundation as part of its Basic Needs Initiative, designed to address and alleviate basic needs insecurity among students.

The initiative kicks off this month and continues through June 2022. SC4 will begin by forming a team of college personnel and community leaders in January.

National survey findings reported that 45 percent of respondents had been food insecure in the past 30 days, 56 percent had been housing insecure in the previous year and 17 percent had been homeless during that year.

“We know that the lack of access to basic needs is frequently the reason that students leave college,” said Erica Lee Orians, executive director of the Michigan Center for Student Success at the Michigan Community College Association, “SC4’s participation in this initiative is a critical component of our student success efforts.”

The Michigan Center for Student Success is leading the initiative for the MCCA and will partner with nationally-recognized organizations including the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement and Trellis Research along with Michigan-based organizations including the Michigan Association of United Ways, MiBridges, and Public Policy Associates to support Michigan’s participating community colleges.

“We have focused on a number of initiatives to improve student completion at SC4 and MI-BEST is another opportunity for the college to eliminate barriers to student success,” said SC4 Vice President of Student Services Pete Lacey. “We are grateful for the partnership from the ECMC Foundation and the Michigan Community College Association and their visionary leadership to address economic instability to improve student success.”

Other student needs and completion initiatives at SC4 include the Complete Your Degree Program as well as working collaboratively with Literacy and Beyond, which assists single moms with GED completion and helps provide support to enroll in college. The college also provides students with nutritional food options via free Skippers Snacks bins located around campus. 

The MCCA basic needs initiative was created in response to research from the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice (Hope Center), California State University, MDRC and the National Bureau of Economic Research, showing that basic needs insecurity is prevalent among students at two- and four-year campuses and impacts students’ persistence and graduation outcomes.

The Michigan Center for Student Success, founded in 2011, serves as a hub connecting leadership, administrators, faculty, and staff in their emerging and ongoing efforts to improve student outcomes, emphasizing linkages between practice, research, and policy. The Center has led statewide initiatives focused on re-engaging adults, developmental education, transfer, veterans, and advising. The Center is part of the 16-state Student Success Center Network working with over half of the community colleges across the nation.

ABOUT THE MICHIGAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ASSOCIATION
The Michigan Community College Association fosters collaboration, connection, and partnerships among the 28 Michigan public community colleges and their stakeholders.  The MCCA provides strong legislative and public advocacy in Lansing and throughout Michigan, works to improve the image and credibility of community colleges, and advances numerous shared initiatives through the Michigan Center for Student Success, Michigan Colleges Online, and the Michigan New Jobs Training Program.

ABOUT ECMC FOUNDATION
ECMC Foundation is a Los Angeles-based, nationally focused foundation whose mission is to inspire and to facilitate improvements that affect educational outcomes—especially among underserved populations—through evidence-based innovation. It is one of several affiliates under the ECMC Group enterprise based in Minneapolis. ECMC Foundation makes investments in two focus areas: College Success and Career Readiness; and uses a spectrum of funding structures, including strategic grantmaking and program-related investments, to invest in both nonprofit and for-profit ventures. Working with grantees, partners and peers, ECMC Foundation’s vision is for all learners to unlock their fullest potential. Learn more about ECMC Foundation by visiting www.ecmcfoundation.org and ECMC Group by visiting www.ecmcgroup.org.

New exhibits and displays enhance STEAM-based learning experience at SC4’s visionary Experience Center

The evolution of St. Clair County Community College’s Experience Center continues with the addition of a new electromagnetic exhibit, Jacob’s Ladder, boulder rock garden, a Notable Women in Science display, 3D printer and installation of a gifted Tarbosaurus skeleton cast.

“Our goal is to consistently provide guests with new and exciting opportunities to engage in STEAM-based learning activities,” says Becky Gentner, SC4 executive director of budget and project management. “Among many other new exhibits, visitors can now investigate the power of electricity thanks to our Jacob’s Ladder as well as explore time, history and place thanks to the Tarbosaurus skeleton cast, which was provided by the SC4 Foundation and two Community Foundation of St. Clair County donor advised funds.

“We are again thrilled to expand our offerings and look forward to igniting passions for generations to come through this center.”

Located in the college’s Clara E. Mackenzie Building, the Experience Center already features interactive displays, traveling exhibits, 3-D pens and technology, a circuit center, a coding station, a virtual reality simulation, an augmented reality sandbox, a fossil dig area and larger-than-life exhibits in its Dr. Bassam H. Nasr Science Museum — including a woolly rhinoceros skeleton replica, T-Rex and Mastodon skull replicas.

SC4 announced its official partnership with the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and its Unity in Learning initiative on the 16,000-square-foot center in fall 2018. The center — the only one of its kind in the region — provides interactive teaching and learning opportunities for students and guests of all ages through exhibits, field trips and educational programming opportunities.

In less than one year of announcing the partnership, SC4 received an Innovation of the Year Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College for its work in establishing its interactive, STEAM-based Experience Center. The college won the award in the category of Community Engagement Education and Forward-thinking Partnerships.

“We are honored to receive this award,” said Dr. Snyder upon receiving the award. “The Experience Center is a place where students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members of all ages can feel engaged and inspired. We are grateful for the continued support, collaboration and leadership of our community, here on campus and far beyond.”

The Experience Center is a growing regional destination. A fee is charged to groups for a full experience at the center, including guided tours, additional hands-on opportunities, and access to technology exhibits. Individuals may drop in from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday for free and explore the exhibits on their own.

For more information on scheduling a visit or field trip, please send an email to experiencecenter@sc4.edu.

Automated floor-scrubbing robot making Michigan debut at SC4’s Health Sciences Building Grand Opening Celebration Sept. 27

St. Clair County Community College is pleased to welcome Neo, an automated floor-scrubbing robot by Avidbots, to campus for its Health Sciences Building Grand Opening Celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27.

Neo automates the cleaning process using intelligent, dynamic mapping and obstacle-avoidance technology. The first demonstration site in Michigan, SC4 will showcase the innovative technology many global businesses and heath care organizations are now adopting.

The Grand Opening Celebration will also offer guests an opportunity to learn about college programs, see demonstrations in its hospital simulation wing, ambulance bay, home setting and other exciting spaces equipped to prepare students with realistic scenarios and training. Additionally, the event offers a flu clinic, free health screenings, music, farmer’s market and more.

Learn more about the renovated building features and discover how advanced technology is leading the way in improving health and facility operations on Sept. 27.

For more information about Neo or the Grand Opening Celebration, visit Avidbots and the Keel online.