Imprint Magazine - Late Spring 2011

ImprintL a t e S p r i n g 2 0 1 1

Johnson County Community College

PatientCare

4Walsh combinesknowledge,compassionJeanne Walsh, director, nursing, hasheaded JCCC’s nursing program foralmost 22 years. She has been aregistered nurse for 40 years. Caring isthe essence of both.

7Learning and artcombine in sculptureWhen Bhaswati Ray, a member ofKansas City Bengali Association, neededa Saraswati sculpture for an annualSaraswati puja celebration, karma ledher to associate professor Laura-HarrisGascogne, ceramics coordinator.

Art Math

Jeanne Walsh, RN, MSN, is the directorof nursing at JCCC and is serving hersecond four-year term on the KansasState Board of Nursing, currently asboard president. She continues toimplement methods to improve theperformance of RNs – from currentstudents to entry-level nurses to nursesreturning for the RN RefresherAcademy.

Cover

6Gap helpsstudents styletheir futuresMarsha Chesmore, districtmanager, Gap, (right) andAnnie Merrifield, generalmanager, Lawrence Gap store,led workshops, part of theWhite House communitycollege initiative, Skills forAmerica’s Future.

ImprintImprint at JCCC is published five times a year by Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS 66210-1299; 913-469-8500, fax 913-469-2559. Imprint at JCCC is produced by College Information and Publications and the Office of Document Services. Imprint is located online at http://www.jccc.edu/Imprint.Editor: Peggy Graham • Photographer: Bret Gustafson • Designer: Randy BreedenWhen planning your estate, remember Johnson County Community College. For more information, call the JCCC Foundation at 913-469-3835.

Late Spring 2011 | Imprint

Contents

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8Summit helps solvemath problemsThe Eastern Kansas Math EducationSummit scheduled July 14 and 15 atJCCC will bring middle-school throughuniversity-level math teachers together totalk about the vertical integration ofmath courses.

Math

9Actress is ‘proof’ thatgirls do math Danica McKellar, best known as WinnieCooper on The Wonder Years and ElsieSnuffin on The West Wing, hasauthored three books about themastery of math in an effort to reachyoung people.

Workshop

Students

11Norwood in bookLafayette Norwood joined the staff atJCCC in 1982, spending nine years ashead basketball coach and 19 as golfcoach. He has guided some of the bestteams and top athletes in bothprograms’ history, but Norwood’scoaching legend came to light inAcrophobia 1977 written by Mark Nale.

14HITECH fills industry need In March, 20 students completed thepilot class of JCCC’s Health InformationTechnology for Economic and ClinicalHealth (HITECH) program, part of aninitiative to develop a national healthinformation network that providessecure exchange of information amonghealth providers.

JCCC graduationsscheduledJohnson County Community Collegewill have commencement exercises at7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, in the JCCCGymnasium.

GED graduation is at 7 p.m. Tuesday,May 17, in the JCCC Gymnasium.

Back CoverNew Program

12Kent Smith ispassionate about art –day and nightKent Smith is the coordinator of theNerman Museum of Contemporary Art,where he oversees the museum store,guard staff and day-to-day operationsof the facility and assists withinstallations campuswide. That’s his day job, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

After family time in the evening, Smithhas another job, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., thejob of studio artist.

Art

Notice of Nondiscrimination – Johnson County Community College does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion, marital status, veteran’s status,sexual orientation or other factors that cannot be lawfully considered in its programs and activities as required by all applicable laws and regulations. Inquiries concerning the college’s compliancewith its nondiscrimination policies may be referred to the Dean of Student Services or Director of Human Resources, Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS66210, 913-469-8500; or to Office for Civil Rights, 8930 Ward Parkway, Suite 2037, Kansas City, MO 64114, 816-268-0550.

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Faculty

Sustainability

10Students change lives,one dress at a timeThis year JCCC’s fashion merchandisingand design students combinedexpertise and philanthropy to sewcotton dresses for Little Dresses forAfrica, a nonprofit organization thatdistributes simple dresses through theorphanages, churches and schools inthat underdeveloped continent.

15Class from trashFive students in MarkCowardin’s Sculpture IIclass had their worksselected for display oncampus May-October inthe first-ever StudentSustainability Committeesculpture competition.Themes for the public artcenter on recycledmaterials or sustainabilityissues, according to SarahCarpenter, SSC co-chair.

Reda Carr found the paper for her Spirit Tree at a swap meet.

Jeanne Walsh makes a point with Dr. Terry Calaway at the spring semester Nursing Advisory Committee meeting.

Walsh combinesknowledge,compassion

director, nursing, has headedJCCC’s nursing program for almost

22 years. She has been a registered nurse for 40 years.Caring is the essence of both.

“Jeanne exudes compassion,” said Rachel Fleming, RN, JCCCgraduate and telemetry nurse at St. Luke’s South Hospital.“Just seeing her is a constant reminder of how we aresupposed to be as nurses.”

When Walsh started her nursing career, she had twopassions – taking care of high-risk neonates andneurosurgery patients. As she continued her academic trackthrough a master’s degree in nursing, she was on a parallelrise as a supervisory nurse and educator. Finally, she had todecide which path to follow.

“As people wanted me to take more supervisory roles innursing, I felt like I was being pulled away from patientcontact. I found that education was a great mix for me. Icould teach students but still had time individually withpatients,” she said.

Walsh left her home state of Illinois and started the nursingprogram at Pratt Community College 1982-87. She becamean assistant professor of nursing at Wichita State Universityand started at JCCC in July 1989, following in the footstepsof Dr. Mary Lou Taylor.

“Our nursing program has a strong, proud heritage,” Walshsaid. “One of its cornerstones was to build a strong programso students would get jobs based on the school’s reputation.We still have that commitment.”

JCCC’s nursing program admits 64 students each year. Morethan 300 students apply each January. Based on academicqualifications, approximately 110 are interviewed by facultyand ranked by academics, interview scores and countyresidency. The graduation rate is high with an attrition rateof 10 percent or less, usually due to a life circumstance likea spouse moving or birth of a new baby.

There are 17 full-time nursing faculty and between eight to10 part-time faculty.

“The faculty speak to the quality of this program,” Walshsaid. “They are outstanding practitioners with years ofpatient-contact experience.”

Another testament to the JCCC nursing program is itsnumber of clinical affiliations. There are 40 nursing schoolsthat compete for clinical sites in the metropolitan area. JCCChas close to 35 to 40 clinical sites, counting communityagencies like Don Bosco Centers.

“To get a clinical spot is very competitive. The betterreputation of the program and the higher quality of ourstudents and faculty contribute toward our program beinginvited back to a clinical site,” Walsh said.

Walsh believes she took the correct fork in the road –nursing education.

“If one student a year graduates with a commitment andlove of the profession, that one nurse is going to touch thelives of so many people. In turn, those people are going toreach many more. The influence of a nurse is exponential.”

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Jeanne Walsh,

Late Spring 2011 | Imprint

JCCC graduates are staff nurses andmanagers in hospitals across the metro.

“Just being around Jeanne reinforcedthe idea that nursing was the right pathfor me,” said Jimmy Greenlee, RN,cardiac floor, Olathe Medical Center.“She is one of those people whomakes you want to be better as a nurseand as a person.”

Approximately 65 to 70 percent ofJCCC graduates continue toward a BSNor higher degree. Some have beenaccepted into a streamlined program ofRN to MSN. Because JCCC’s program isrooted in evidence-based nursing,Walsh says JCCC students have nodifficulty continuing their education.

Recent milestones are significant forJCCC’s nursing program. (See sidebar.)

Walsh is serving her second four-yearterm on the Kansas State Board ofNursing, an appointment made by theKansas governor. Currently, she isboard president. At that level, she hasbeen made aware of issues that facenursing nationwide. She has goals forJCCC’s nursing program to help withsome of those.

n One is to implement better ways toevaluate RNs through exams andperformance, not just at graduationbut as nurses begin entry-level jobs.Walsh wants to ensure nationalstandards for hands-on and critical-thinking skills. With JCCC’s resources,its program could be a leader.

n Reach out to students from anynursing program who have failedtheir NCLEX-RN exams, the NationalCouncil of State Boards of Nursinglicensure exam. In the metro area,only private companies offer thosestudies.

n Create an emergency medicalscience-to-RN bridge so paramedicscan move directly into JCCC’s RNprogram for dual degrees.

With more than two decades ofdedication, Walsh continues to focuson making the JCCC nursing programas strong as it needs to be.

“Jeanne’s leadership here at JCCC overthe past 22 years has had a direct andprofound effect on the growth andsuccess of our nursing program. Herreputation in the community, as well as

her leadership at the state level servingas president of the State Board ofNursing, has led to the subsequenthigh reputation of our nursingprogram,” said Karen LaMartina,associate professor, nursing.

Recent Milestones1998 Nursing faculty and studentsparticipate in first service-learningproject in Las Pintas, Mexico, continued annually twice a year.

2005 RN Refresher Academy begins, allowing RNs to re-enter theworkplace.

2005 St. Luke’s South and JCCC jobpartner so that one position is half-timefaculty, half-time staff nurse.

2006 OneKC Wired (WorkforceInnovation in Regional EconomicDevelopment) three-year grant fundedby the U.S. Department of Labor helpsfund salaries for RN Refresher Academyfaculty.

2006 Kansas Board of Regents 10-year $2 million grant enables JCCCto train more nurses.

2008 Healthcare Simulation Centeropens.

2009 Application of electronicmedical records is implemented in theHealthcare Simulation Center to betterprepare graduates.

2010 One faculty nurse helps developHITECH curriculum and one teaches,as part of the health informationtechnology workforce training fundedby federal stimulus monies.

2010 OneKC Wired $90,700 grantallows RN Refresher Academy toexpand.

2011 Two JCCC nursing facultyparticipate in exchange with thenursing school, Lacor Hospital,Uganda.

2011 Program chosen to participate in NCSBN’s The National SimulationStudy.

Jeanne Walsh shares a moment and a hug with Keri Phillips at a civic honors receptionin May 2008.

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attended the first ofthree Gap for

Community Colleges workshops held this spring in JCCC’sCampus Center. Marsha Chesmore, district manager, Gap,and Annie Merrifield, general manager, Lawrence Gap store,led the workshops, part of the White House communitycollege initiative, Skills for America’s Future.

The majority of the workshop participants were students inCathy Lykens’ Fashion Seminar: Career Options, whose classobjectives dovetail exactly with Gap’s goals – defining careergoals and strategies for success in the workplace. In theirintroductory remarks, students shared a single purpose forparticipating in the workshops – finding a good job in thefashion industry.

Gap, a national retail chain, was one of six chartercompanies to initiate Skills for America’s Future, an industry-led initiative to improve industry partnerships withcommunity colleges and build a nationwide network tomaximize workforce development strategies, job trainingprogram and job placement. Gap chose to partner withstudents at seven community colleges across the country.According to LeAnn Cunningham, employment relations/internship coordinator, JCCC’s Career Development Center,who helped coordinate the workshops, JCCC was chosenbecause of its outstanding fashion merchandising and designprogram, chaired by Joan McCrillis Lafferty.

“Hearing the need for workplace skills from people in theindustry adds an extra level of credibility,” McCrillis Laffertysaid. “Plus the students receive current information on whatit takes to get a job in the 2011 job market.”

The three Gap workshops covered job search preparationskills, such as interview skills and résumé writing;communicating effectively; and time management. Studentsalso had the opportunity to take advantage of individualmock job interviews and on-the-job experience shadowing aGap manager for a day.

In addition to providing tailored workshops, Gap is offering10 $1,000 scholarships to qualified JCCC students and jobplacement opportunities. Nationwide, Gap expects to hireup to 1,200 community college students in 2011.

Fashion merchandising and design students are not the onlyones to benefit from the workshops. Cunningham said theskills transfer to students in business, communication andmarketing. Workshops are open to all JCCC students.

“This partnership gives students the opportunity to learnfrom real-world experience,” Cunningham said. “It is aunique opportunity to have a business offer this kind ofworkshop on campus.”

A series of three Gap workshops will be offered again in the fall 2011 semester. For more information about fallworkshops, contact Cunningham at 913-469-3598 [email protected].

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Eleven JCCC students

Workshop

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Gap helps studentsstyle their futuresMarsha Chesmore (right), district manager, Gap, addressed JCCC students during a Gap for Community Colleges workshop. AnnieMerrifield (left), general manager, Lawrence Gap store, also spoke.

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Faculty

Saraswati is the goddessof art, learning and

culture. Beautiful and wise, Saraswati is honored every yearon the fifth day of the Indian month Magha, which occurredFeb. 8 in 2011.

When Bhaswati Ray, a member of Kansas City BengaliAssociation, needed a Saraswati sculpture for an annualSaraswati puja celebration, karma led her to the JCCC finearts department. Associate professor Laura-Harris Gascogne,ceramics coordinator, has had a longtime interest in Hindusculpture and visited Hindu temples in India aftercompleting her MFA in ceramics at Tyler School of Art,Temple University.

Ray made her request right before the 2010 winter break,and Gascogne was up for the challenge.

“I said I could do it,” Gascogne said. “The challenge with aclay sculpture is that it has to be hollow and has to be builtin parts. A piece takes a couple of weeks to dry and twoweeks to fire. It was a daunting task to pull it off without aglitch under the time constraints.”

So Gascogne spent the winter break working between homeand the cold JCCC ceramics studio, completing a piece thatwas more than 27 inches tall prior to firing. Members of the

Bengali community critiqued the sculpture before thesecond firing, asking for modifications to the face, pigmentand feet. The piece went through an initial bisque firing anda second firing with a stained surface.

“I was honored to do this,” Gascogne said. “It was humblingto me, a non-Hindu, to be trusted by this community tomake an acceptable Saraswati.”

During Saraswati puja, Gascogne was asked to be part of theceremony at the Hindu temple, where Brahman priestsblessed the statue.

“At that point, they told me the piece of art was transformedinto a goddess,” the artist said.

In India, the required Saraswati sculpture is made of localunfired terracotta clay. Following the celebration, thesculptures are dissolved into the Ganges symbolizing thefree flow of wisdom. Gascogne is not sure what use theKansas City Bengali Association will make of the goddessshe created.

“It’s a gift. To Ray and myself, this whole process representsa bridging of East and West through a mutual interest in artsand culture. We both feel fortunate that JCCC served as aplatform for this community effort,” Gascogne said.

In the Hindu religion,

Laura-Harris Gascogne and Bhaswati Ray are shown here with Gascogne’s sculpture of Saraswati, a gift to the Kansas City BengaliAssociation.

Learning and artcombine in sculpture

are neat and tidy. There is one rightanswer. Not so in math education.

The Eastern Kansas Math Education Summit scheduled July 14and 15 at JCCC will bring middle-school through university-level math teachers together to talk about the verticalintegration of math courses. The four topics of the summit are:

n What We Teach

n How We Teach

n Business and Industry Expectations

n Supporting Teachers in the Field

On July 14, Maria Andersen, math instructor, MuskegonCommunity College, and CEO of Andersen AlgebraConsulting LLC, an educational consulting business, will bethe keynote speaker. Considered a “learning futurist,”Andersen speaks nationally on methods to measure teachingand learning in math and publishes articles on teachingcollege math, especially with the use of technology.

On July 15, a panel of business people will discuss the mathskills required in the workplace, not necessarily the sameskills as those assessed on standardized tests.

Community conversations and breakout sessions areplanned for both days.

This is the first Eastern Kansas Math Education Summit. It issponsored by the University of Kansas, Kansas StateUniversity, Kansas City Kansas Community College and JCCC.The community colleges are promoting the summit to schooldistricts in Wyandotte, Leavenworth and Johnson counties.

As private foundations like the Carnegie Foundation for theAdvancement of Teaching, Charles A. Dana Center, and Billand Melinda Gates Foundation have provided research tobenchmark the skills students need for success inpostsecondary education and the workplace, changes areoccurring in high school, college and university curricula.

“An assumption we make in this report is that substantiveimprovements in mathematics learning will not occur unlesswe can succeed in transforming the way mathematics istaught,” said authors commissioned by Carnegie toinvestigate what community college developmentalmathematics students understand about mathematics andhow to turn around the alarming statistics that show that anenormous number of those students drop out of collegebecause they aren’t successful in math courses.

“It’s a good time for math educators to talk,” said Jeff Frost,dean, mathematics, JCCC. “Teachers are aware of theproblems and looking for help.”

The summit will be in the Capitol Federal Conference Centerof the Regnier Center, and its surrounding classrooms.Participants will receive a free one-year membership inKansas Association of Teachers of Mathematics. Professionaldevelopment credits are available, and graduate credit willbe offered through KU. Cost is $100, which includes a ticketto Danica McKellar (see story page 9). For more informationabout the summit, contact Frost at [email protected] or 913-469-3104. Register under “conferences and workshops”at Shop JCCC, www.jccc.edu/shop-jccc.

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Math equations

Late Spring 2011 | Imprint

Math

Chelsea Morland writes a math equation while David Bedford and Jason Schulteis look on. The three are part of a Calculus III studygroup in the Math Resource Center.

Summit helps solvemath problems

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Math

needed a high-profilespokesperson, the solution came

in Danica McKellar, actress, best-selling author and advocatefor math education. McKellar, best known as Winnie Cooperon The Wonder Years and Elsie Snuffin on The West Wing,has authored three books about the mastery of math in aneffort to reach young people.

McKellar will be the star power behind the Eastern KansasMath Education Summit held July 14-15 at Johnson CountyCommunity College, co-sponsored by Kansas City KansasCommunity College, Kansas State University and theUniversity of Kansas. McKellar will give a presentation at6 p.m. Friday, July 15, in Yardley Hall of the Carlsen Center,JCCC. McKellar’s appearance is supported in part by theNorman and Elaine Polsky Family Supporting Foundationand JCCC’s Polsky Practical Enrichment Series.

A summa cum laude graduate of University of California, Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics,McKellar has been honored in Britain’s esteemed Journal of Physics and the New York Times for her work inmathematics, most notably for her role as co-author of agroundbreaking mathematical physics theorem which bearsher name (The Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem).

Her first best-selling book, Math Doesn’t Suck (2007), usesentertaining examples to teach middle-school girls and their

parents how to master many of the tough math conceptsintroduced in middle school – the time when young girlsbegin to shy away from math. Next came Kiss My Math(2008) followed by the recent Hot X: Algebra Exposed!(2010).

Her work in math was honored by an invitation to speakbefore a subcommittee of Congress about the importance ofwomen in math and science in 2000. Her testimony to thescience subcommittee on technology addressed thesociological factors contributing to women’s deficiency inmathematics. Hard core mathematicians can see McKellar’spublished proof, Percolation and Gibbs states multiplicity forferromagnetic Ashkin–Teller models on Z2, athttp://danicamckellar.com/math/percolation.pdf.

McKellar continues to enjoy her acting career with a guestappearance in CBS’s The Big Bang Theory and a recurringrole in How I Met Your Mother in the role of “Trudy.”

McKellar’s presentation is the culmination of a two-dayEastern Kansas Math Education Summit targeting matheducators – middle school through university.

Limited tickets to hear McKellar are available for $10 bycalling the JCCC box office, 913-469-4445.

Danica McKellar will speak July 15 in conjunction with the Eastern Kansas Math Education Summit.

Actress is‘proof’ thatgirls do math

If mathematics

can tell you how good she feels in anew dress. And if you are a little girl

in Africa, a new dress brings more than a good feeling – itbrings hope and self-esteem.

This year JCCC’s fashion merchandising and design studentscombined expertise and philanthropy to sew cotton dressesfor Little Dresses for Africa, a nonprofit organization thatdistributes simple dresses through the orphanages, churchesand schools in that underdeveloped continent.

JCCC’s dresses are destined for Malawi, according to NicoleMack, JCCC fashion design student who brought the idea ofthe Little Dresses for Africa to the attention of the fashiondesign and merchandising club. The club organized theproject and enlisted students and faculty in the program.

“I was thrilled everybody was so enthusiastic about thecause,” Mack said. “So often people send used or cast-offclothes to poor countries. With our help, girls will get brandnew dresses.”

The website for the organization includes a pattern on howto make dresses out of pillowcases. But since these dressesare made by fashion students, they took a few liberties withthe pattern, using fun prints and colorful bows.

“It was easy to involve student volunteers,” said Natalie Kelley,

fashion design and merchandising club president. “We usedcute fabrics that would be attractive to young girls andembellished the dresses with ruffles and trims.”

“This nonprofit organization is a perfect match for the fashion merchandising and design program,” said Joan McCrillis Lafferty, chair/professor of the program. “Welove bright colors, fabrics and little people, and we can sew.Our goal is to have 50 dresses and boys’ pants ready to sendby the end of the semester. For fall 2011, we will incorporatethe construction of these dresses and pants into thecurriculum for Apparel Construction I.”

Every designer who had a line of clothes in the annualfashion show included one of their sundresses.

“I am very pleased with the number of students who madedresses,” Kelley said. “If we continue this project, it has thepotential to grow each year.”

And what about the girls in Malawi who receive the dresses?

“We hope the bright cheery colors will make their day,”Kelley said.

Among the glitz and the glamour of the fashion show, thesimple sundresses made a statement about good wishes forchildren who need the basics of clothing.

Every female

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Students

Late Spring 2011 | Imprint

Students change lives,one dress at a time(left to right) Ramya Baker, Samantha Rhodes, Emani Baker and Ione Garrison model Little Dresses for Africa at Flaunt, the annualFashion Merchandising and Design show.

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has mentored manyoutstanding teams and

individual athletes since joining the coaching profession in1957 when he took over the Wichita Biddy Basketball team.He joined the staff at JCCC in 1982, spending nine years ashead basketball coach and 19 as golf coach. He has guidedsome of the best teams and top athletes in both programs’history. And now Norwood’s coaching legend comes to lightin a book, Acrophobia 1977, written by Mark Nale.

In 1969, Norwood took over the boy’s basketball program atWichita Heights High School and quickly established himselfas one of the top prep coaches in Kansas. He guidedHeights to a 109-56 record in his eight years, winning threecity titles. His 1975-76 squad finished runner-up in the statetournament, but his 1976-77 team is still revered as thegreatest high school boys team in Kansas history.

Norwood guided a star-laden team that featured five futureNCAA Division I athletes and three future professionals to a23-0 mark, capped by an amazing 40-point win in the statechampionship game. That title enabled Norwood to sharewith coaching legend Ralph Miller the distinction of beingthe only two people in Kansas history to have played onand coached a boy’s state championship team.

The title of Nale’s book refers to a banner that once wasattached to a wall in Heights’ gymnasium, “CITY LEAGUESCHOOLS HAVE ACROPHOBIA,” which means fear ofheights. His idea for writing the book began in the spring of2007, shortly after the 1976-77 team had its 30-year reunion.

The book provides shared memories from the players andpeople associated with that team. It also is a tribute to theman who guided this group through that magical season –Lafayette Norwood.

“I have a passion to coach youngsters, and this book reallybrought out what it means to me to influence others in apositive way,” Norwood said. “Someone had to work with

me early in my life, and I found it was easier to be myselfthan to try to copy someone else.”

One of the key players from the team was Darnell Valentine,who was an All-American, two-time Academic All-Americanand the first four-time All-Big Eight pick at the University ofKansas. Valentine remains close with Norwood today, andexpressed his respect and admiration for Norwood in Nale’sbook:Coach Norwood set examples in life that any manwould be able to follow. He’s a man that whateverpossible traits that you can acquire from him, they willpush you to the uttermost of your capabilities in life.He practices what he preaches, so that every man canface the reality of life. And yet, this man is modest,sharing the good that life can bring, and fightingdefeat by himself, never looking for an excuse oraccusing anyone of fault. This is a man I want to be,and this is the man that I shall become.

Story by Tyler Cundith

Lafayette Norwood

CoachNorwoodtouted forheights, oldand new

Lafayette Norwood

is the coordinator of the NermanMuseum of Contemporary Art, where he

oversees the museum store, guard staff and day-to-dayoperations of the facility and assists with installationscampuswide. That’s his day job, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

After family time in the evening, Smith has another job, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., the job of studio artist.

“It’s a rigorous schedule, but being able to do it all is whatmakes life worth living,” Smith said.

If you don’t know Smith as a painter, you will. Smith has hisfirst one-man show, Split-level, from March 4 to April 30 atSherry Leedy Contemporary Art in the Crossroads ArtsDistrict, Kansas City, Mo. Two of his 11 pieces sold the firstnight – one to Emprise Bank’s corporate collection, Wichita,and one to the Oppenheimer Brothers Foundation as a giftto the Nerman Museum.

“It’s an incredible feeling as a painter to have a pieceincluded in the Nerman Museum’s world-class paintingcollection,” Smith said.

Smith works in epoxy resin and acrylics. Starting with apencil drawing, Smith “builds” his paintings. Using paints for

color, he pours epoxy between paint layers to createshadows and dimension.

“There is actually a 3-D space although it’s quite thin,” Smithsaid. “I pour the resin between layers of paint, and the resindrips over the sides. It takes about eight hours to set up atwhich time the drips are frozen in time.”

Smith started experimenting with epoxy resin during histhird year in graduate school at Ohio University, Athens,where he earned his master’s degree in 2003.

“Being a newer material, there are a handful of artists usingresin, but there’s still a lot of aspects that have not beenexplored.”

For the eight years since graduate school, Smith has been“addicted” to the possibilities afforded by a paintingtechnique that doesn’t have to live on a completely 2-Dspace.

“The majority of the color is acrylic. I also use a bit ofalchemy – spray paint, oil paint, house paint and glitter. Theresin is surfacing between the layers. The nice thing aboutart is there are no rules. There is a lot of experimentation.”

Coincidentally, the week Smith opened his show at

Kent Smith

“I endeavor to present a world that is not only susceptible to the poetics of ambiguity … but one that thrives within these unknowns.One in which rhythmic design, sinuous forms, volatile bursts of color, as well as an awareness of the light and darkness of our lives,can take hold of each of us and give perpetual breath to our imaginings.” – Kent Smith

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Staff

Kent Smith is passionateabout art – day and night

Sherry Leedy’s gallery, the online magazine, Beautiful Decay,featured this critique of Smith’s works:

“Gestural fluid abstraction and geometric patterns usuallydon’t go well together but Kent Michael Smith has figuredout a way to make them live harmoniously on the samesurface. By using resin in between layers of paint, hemanages to combine these two disparate forms of mark-making that reference NASCAR color schematics, huntinggear, camouflage and graffiti.”

Abstraction has a been a mainstay of Smith’s art since hisundergraduate days at Emporia State University, where hewas named “most outstanding graduating senior in the arts”in 2000, and studied under the staunch abstract painterRichard Slimon. Smith entered ESU on a track and fieldscholarship with the sole intent to compete as an athlete. Hislife was running – about 25 miles a day. A diagnosis ofdiabetes changed that.

“All sorts of thing happen to put your life on a certain path,”Smith said. “After running was gone, I became completelyconsumed with art and very passionate about painting.”

Especially abstract painting.

“It is the ambiguities that happen in abstract painting I amattracted to. I am interested in things that don’t existphysically in the world and I can bring to life.”

Smith has worked at three museums – the Kennedy Museumat Ohio University; Kansas City Jewish Museum ofContemporary Art, Overland Park; and the Nerman Museum,where he started in August 2007 prior to the museum’sopening in October 2007, allowing him the opportunity tobe with the museum as it has defined itself in the first fiveyears. Smith says the museum work complements his art.

“I can’t think of a better type of environment to be around.The collections and shows at the Nerman are cutting-edge,at the forefront of what’s going on in the art world. If Iworked in an historical museum, it would be a juxtapositionof what I’m doing at home. With my position here, I have alot of the same issues and interests in my work life and artlife.”

While keeping his day job, Smith is ready to expand hispainting exhibitions to other cities.

“I want to continue to make work that I feel excited about.”

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New Program

completed the pilot classof JCCC’s Health

Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health(HITECH) program, part of an initiative to develop anational health information network that provides secureexchange of information among health providers.

One of 17 colleges in the Midwest Community CollegeHealth Information Consortium, JCCC has been designatedto deliver two certificate programs – Health InformationSystems Specialist and Health Information RedesignManagement Specialist. Of the first 20 graduates, eightcompleted the first certificate, 12 the latter.

Community colleges in other parts of the Midwestconsortium provide training in four other HIT career roles –clinical/practitioner consultants, implementation supportspecialists, implementation managers and trainers. JCCC isthe only college in Greater Kansas City and Kansas todeliver HIT systems training, although JCCC has recentlypartnered with Hutchinson Community College to assist withonline delivery across Kansas.

JCCC’s first six-month training programs began two nights aweek in September 2010. Thirty-one students enrolled in thesecond set of JCCC’s HITECH training, scheduled forcompletion in June. A third set of classes begin in May. Inthe fall semester, HITECH students will be eligible to takethe classes as continuing education or information systemscredit classes. Deb Elder, HITECH program director, JCCC,anticipates 70 to 80 HITECH graduates by the end of 2011.

According to Elder, the job outlook for program completersis “tremendous.”

“The Office of the National Coordinator for HealthInformation Technology estimates that hospitals and

physician practices will need an additional 50,000 HITworkers nationwide during the next five years. We areproviding the workforce to make that happen,” Elder said.

U.S. community colleges are the ones in charge of trainingstudents to meet requirements by the HITECH Act (2009),which mandates that every U.S. citizen have an electronichealth record by 2014. JCCC will receive $292,247 as part ofthe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009) fromApril 2010-2012 to implement its two components of thehealth information technology workforce training. Five ofthe 20 students in JCCC’s pilot classes received WorkforceInvestment Act monies, targeted at displaced IT/IS workers,and 15 students in the second set of classes.

“Most of our students are between the ages of 40 to 55, and 90 percent of them have bachelor’s or master’s degrees,”Elder said. “They are experienced professionals withbackgrounds in IT and/or health care who have come to usfor specialized training.”

“This experience can be used in many ways,” said Bob Rumbach, a HITECH graduate who worked in the ITbanking field for 36 years. “Health care and IT are a goodmix; the two complement each other.”

In order to assist students with employment, Elder and aHITECH advisory board implemented a HITECH workforcepanel informing students about potential jobs and on-campus employee interviews. Future goals includedeveloping internships, field experiences, class field trips,mentoring, shadowing and other hands-on EHR systemstraining. Elder says the HITECH program demonstrates theunique ability for community colleges to respond quickly tothe needs of industry.

In March, 20 students

Bob Rumbach (left) and Glenn Mills work on their final project for the Health Information Redesign Management Specialist class.

HITECH fills industry need

Katherine Jennings collected beerbottles from a Lawrence bar and

transformed them into Raising Glass, 15 windmills with beerbottle arms mounted on steel poles.

“I want people to see that you can make somethingbeautiful out of discarded bottles you often see broken bythe side of the road,” Jennings said. “Light coming throughglass has a nice effect, and the windmills are meant toconvey a peaceful feeling of the wind.”

Jennings is one of five students in Mark Cowardin’s Sculpture IIclass who had their works selected for display on campusMay through October in the first-ever Student SustainabilityCommittee sculpture competition. Themes for the public artcenter around recycled materials or sustainability issues,according to Sarah Carpenter, SSC co-chair.

The five winners and their works are Reda Carr, Shawnee,Spirit Tree; Katie Dallam, Spring Hill, Tired Beast; Jennings,Chicago, Raising Glass; Daniel Johanning, Olathe, AlmostTrash; and Reuben Stern, Prairie Village, Joshua Tree.

Johanning recycled boxes from trash containers behind therestaurant where he works to create a series of smalldumpsters filled with his own trash.

“The interactive portion of this sculpture is me reusing thisalmost trash and creating works of art,” said Johanning,whose work is to be displayed on pedestals near thehydration station outside of the Craig CommunityAuditorium. “Reusing is far more important than recycling,and this station is a great step in that direction. I want todraw attention to this area by having my pieces on pedestalsalong the wall, drawing attention to the recycle bins andhydration station.”

The other piece for interior display is Carr’s large tree made

out of paper she salvaged at a swap meet.

“The challenge of sustainable art is finding the right trashcan with the materials you need,” Carr said. “We are workingwith materials that are not readily available in retail stores.You have to go out and collect discarded materials. It isrewarding to see something beautiful made out of trash.”

Jennings, Dallam and Stern’s pieces are all sited for the outof doors. Dallam’s Tired Beast is a 3-foot tall, 5-foot long halfman/half pony made out of what else? – recycled tires.

“The recycled tires create a texture for the creature that isalmost prehistoric or snake-like,” Dallam said. “Recycled tireswere chosen as a way to be proactive for recycling tires. Asan artist, it is exciting to go down a new path and embracechanges, combining sustainability and sculpture.”

Stern had no problems finding the materials for his JoshuaTree – a 10-foot tree fashioned from woven plastic bags anda 10-foot steel rod.

“My goal is to raise people’s consciousness about the fact thatthere are lots of plastic bags out there. They represent the useof a lot of oil and water and don’t degrade readily in landfills.”

“In judging, we weighed half the merit on the environmentalconcept and half on aesthetics,” Cowardin said. “We got anice balance and good results.”

There were eight judges composed of four fine arts faculty,three Center for Sustainability staff, and Carpenter as the SSCrepresentative. Carpenter says she hopes the SSC will beable to fund the sculpture competition annually.

Cowardin also had two Sculpture II students whose workswere selected for temporary display in the Overland ParkArboretum. The students are Chad Hull, Kansas City, Mo.,and Michael Leister, Lenexa.

15Late Spring 2011 | Imprint

Katherine Jennings cleans beer bottles for her sculpture Raising Glass.

Sustainability

Class from trash

JCCC student

Johnson County Community College will have itscommencement exercises at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, in theJCCC Gymnasium.

GED graduation is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, in the JCCCGymnasium.

Other JCCC graduations are:

n Respiratory Care Recognition Program, 6:30 p.m.Wednesday, May 18, Polsky Theatre

n Nursing Pinning, 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, Yardley Hall

n Honors Graduation, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 19, CarlsenCenter 211

n Dental Hygiene Graduation, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19,Polsky Theatre

n Polysomnography Recognition Ceremony, 6:30 p.m.Thursday, May 19, M.R. and Evelyn Hudson Auditorium,Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

n Cosmetology Graduation, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 24,Polsky Theatre

n LPN Graduation, 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, PolskyTheatre

A reception follows each graduation.

For more information about commencement exercises,contact the Student Information desk at 913-469-3807.

JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

12345 COLLEGE BLVD

OVERLAND PARK KS 66210-1299

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGEPAID

Johnson County Community College

JCCC police officer Larry Ealy, now retired, presents his wife, Rose, with her diploma in May 2010.

JCCCgraduationsscheduled