Soundings

I n the library, we talk all the time

about how to tell our story so people

get what we do. We fret that our com-

munity believes that libraries have be-

come irrelevant and that the Internet

is the new library. Librarians, faculty,

administrators, legislators, and the

business community talk about what

students need, so when the opportunity

arose for Corey Murata, a graduate stu-

dent in the Master of Communication in

Digital Media program at the UW, to

make a video story about the library,

he chose to do it from a student’s per-

spective—that of honors student Chisom

Chibuogwu, who transferred to Shore-

line after studying for a year at the

University of Puget Sound.

And what was most surprising from the

video story was Chibuogwu’s emphasis

on the library as a place where commu-

nity is formed. We hope you enjoy the

video and that it sparks ideas about

ways to incorporate library resources

into your courses.

AFT Local 1950 E-Board Meeting Monday, March 12 PUB 9202 3 to 5 PM

All-Campus Meeting Wednesday, March 14 PUB Main Dining Room 1 to 2 PM SCCFT Quarterly All-Federation Meeting Friday, March 16 2925 2 to 3:30 PM SCC Board of Trustees Meeting Wednesday, March 21 Board Room, 1000 building 4 to 6 PM

Volume 39 Issue 6 March 12, 2012Volume 39 Issue 6 March 12, 2012

calendarcalendar

in this issuein this issue Becoming

Who I Am

Claire Murata, Information Literacy Librarian [email protected]

President’s Corner 2

English Placement Test Scores Revised 4

Innovative Alternatives for Elementary and Intermediate Algebra 5

Changes Coming to a Grade Near You 5

COPE Donors Needed 6

Upcoming AFT Conferences & Workshops 8

Making Waves—the ceramics work of Sam Scott 10

SCCFT Executive Board 12

Click on the image

below to watch the

video on YouTube.

SoundingsSoundings

2

President’s CornerPresident’s Corner

O ngoing uncertainty best describes the forecast

for higher education funding in Washington State.

State legislators meeting in Olympia in regular session

were unable to agree on a supplemental budget to fill

the state’s revenue shortfall, and a special session will

convene at noon on March 12.

Anticipated adoption by House and Senate Democrats

of a majority budget that largely spared higher educa-

tion from additional cuts was thwarted by Senate Re-

publicans, who (with the support of three defecting

Democrats) approved a last-minute Republican budget

that upended the budget process. While higher educa-

tion cuts in the Republicans’ Senate budget amount to

a relatively-light

$30 million, and

House Democrats

passed a budget

that does not cut

higher education at

all, the political

impasse between

the parties in

Olympia delays

confirmation of

how much state

funding the college

can expect to re-

ceive for the com-

ing year.

This is unfortunate, because the college needs to move

forward despite the inability of legislators to agree to a

budget. Faculty can take some comfort in the fact

that amid the political wrangling, steep cuts to higher

education seem to be off the table, and eventual pas-

sage of a supplemental budget that avoids significant

cuts to higher education remains likely.

Looking at higher education budget scenarios at the

end of February that were not much different from

what now seems likely to occur, President Lambert said

he hoped the college could absorb this year’s projected

higher education cuts “without letting people go.” It

continues to be my hope as well that when a state

budget is finally adopted higher education cuts will be

minimal and layoffs will not be necessary.

Other faculty concessions should also not be under dis-

cussion this year. Faculty made substantial concessions

last year that reduced full-time faculty pay for summer

quarter instruction in 2011 and 2012, and suspended

sabbaticals for two years. These concessions total over

4 percent of faculty payroll for each year.

Individually, full-time faculty who teach during summer

quarter lost thousands of dollars in compensation for

summer 2011 and

sustained pay cuts

of 15 percent and

more of their sum-

mer pay. They will

suffer similar losses

for summer 2012.

In addition to pay

concessions that

faculty voted to

accept locally, dur-

ing the past few

years faculty have

absorbed other

compensation loss-

es that are beyond our immediate control.

For four years, faculty received no cost of living adjust-

ments, a loss which alone is equivalent to a 12 percent

reduction in faculty income. And it’s been five years

since the legislature appropriated funding for the step

increases that are promised in our faculty contract.

The tiny amounts of increment funding available locally

through turnover dollars, welcome as they are, have

not begun to make a dent in the COLA and increment

funding the state has not allocated to faculty.

Total faculty payroll has been further reduced through

Ongoing Uncertainty

Amy J. Kinsel Professor of History & AFT Local 1950 President [email protected]

“An all-campus meeting is scheduled for

Wednesday, March 14, from 1:00-2:00 pm

in the PUB Main Dining Room. Announced

agenda items for this meeting are the

budget, organizational structure, and

campus-wide initiatives.”

3

layoffs and attrition of full-time faculty. During

the last six years, the ranks of tenured and tenure-

track faculty on our campus have fallen by 23 per-

cent.

These losses are felt not only in missing colleagues.

Associate and full-time faculty are doing more

work across the board as classes are filled to ca-

pacity and fewer full-time faculty remain to take

on everything from advising and committee work

to curriculum planning and program review.

Looking at the significant sacrifices faculty have

made to help sustain the college, nobody can rea-

sonably suggest to faculty that we have not done

our part to help the college through its financial

challenges by accepting salary concessions, endur-

ing layoffs, and taking on more work.

What faculty can offer now are not additional loss-

es of colleagues from among our ranks or further

reductions in our already-stagnant salaries. What

we can offer now is our expertise as first-rate pro-

fessional educators.

An all-campus meeting is scheduled for Wednes-

day, March 14, from 1:00-2:00 pm in the PUB Main

Dining Room. Announced agenda items for this

meeting are the budget, organizational structure,

and campus-wide initiatives.

Early afternoon is not a great time for a meeting,

but I urge those of you who are not in class or

working with students to attend. Faculty must be

involved in campus discussions and decision-making

about the college’s budget, its organization, and

its initiatives.

Faculty know and love this

college and its students.

S CCFT’s quarterly All-Federation meeting is scheduled

for FRIDAY, MARCH 16, FROM 2:00-3:30 PM IN ROOM

2925. All associate and full-time SCCFT members are

invited to attend this meeting. Federation membership

forms will be available for faculty who have not yet

signed on as union members.

The theme for this quarter’s meeting is Faculty Build

Colleges to Last.

Come to the meeting to discuss how you can advocate

effectively for associate and full-time faculty to be re-

spected and treated as professional educators during an

era of budget cuts and institutional change.

Agenda items will include:

advocating for our profession in challenging times;

news about the state budget and any cuts to higher

education that the legislature adopts for fiscal year

2013;

the latest information from administration about

college budget plans for the 2012-2013 academic

year;

an update from Chief Negotiator Karen Kreutzer

about faculty contract negotiations;

a report from COPE/Legislative Representative Gary

Parks about the AFT-WA political endorsement pro-

cess;

reports from Federation officers and division repre-

sentatives.

Please contact your division representative(s) if you

would like to add an agenda item for this meeting, or if

you would like to contribute a homemade snack.

Be sure to attend to get your Faculty Build Colleges to

Last button!

4

“Offering many opportunities

for success helps students

gain confidence in their math

skills that they may

otherwise never achieve.”

English Placement Test Scores Revised

Grading & Placement UpdatesGrading & Placement Updates

5

Innovative Alternatives for Elementary and Intermediate Algebra Lauren Sandven, Professor of Mathematics [email protected]

I f you’ve advised a frustrated student who just can’t seem to make it

through the developmental math sequence, you know the fast pace of

the traditional classroom experience isn’t a good fit for everyone. In the

Math Department, we are continually seeking creative solutions for our

students. In Winter 2011, after several months of development, we be-

gan offering an alternative pathway—Math 085 and Math 095. These self-

paced computer-based courses are equivalent to Math 080 and Math 099.

Students meet in a computer lab for two scheduled class hours per week.

In addition, at least twenty hours of open lab time are available to stu-

dents each week. Instructors provide one-on-one instruction and volun-

teer student tutors offer individual help as students work through the ma-

terial at their own pace. Each course is divided into five one-credit mod-

ules consisting of video lectures, online homework, oral quizzes, and a

proctored exam.

The self-paced courses have several advantages for students. One of the

biggest benefits is that students are allowed up to a year to complete

five credits, so they can work at a pace that is comfortable for them.

Because tests can be taken multiple times with no time limit, perfor-

mance anxiety is greatly reduced.

Offering many opportunities for success helps students gain confidence in

their math skills that they may otherwise never achieve. Students can

enroll or add credits through the seventh week of the quarter, and open

lab hours and many schedule options make the courses convenient for

busy students. Conversely, Math 085 and Math 095 also meet the needs

of students who are able to move through the material at a quicker pace.

The Math Department is currently evaluating the success of Math 085 and

095. One adjustment you can expect to see beginning summer quarter is

a numbering change that will allow better tracking of enrollment and

completion. Math 085 will become five individual one-credit courses:

Math 081, 082, 083, 084 and 085. A similar change will affect Math 095.

It is a challenge to make sure courses of this type adequately prepare

students for future coursework. We want to maintain the same high

standards in the self-paced individualized format as we have in our Math

080 and Math 099 face-to-face and fully-online classes. You can expect

to see the self-paced courses evolve over the next several quarters as the

Math Department receives feedback and modifies the courses to continue

to best serve and meet our students’ needs.

J ust a reminder to all faculty

that state institutions no

longer accept any grades below

1.0 for transfer credit. Keep

this in mind as you enter your

grades for Winter Quarter.

Faculty Senate Council has been

working this year on revisions of

the Grading Policy (6260) and the

Academic Dishonesty Policy

(5033). We plan to circulate

drafts to the campus early in

Spring Quarter and after final

revisions submit the new policies

to a vote of the faculty. Follow-

ing the approval of the entire

faculty, we hope to have all the

revisions complete and sent to

the Board of Trustees for their

information by the end of Spring

Quarter. Please feel free to

share any questions or concerns

with your division representa-

tives, Vice Chair Diana Knauf, or

me.

Changes Coming to a Grade Near You Terry Taylor, Professor of History & Faculty Senate Chair [email protected]

6

W ith races for Governor, Senator, Attorney General, and others in 2012,

it's an important political year for AFT. The Washington State Labor

Council and AFT-Washington recently endorsed Jay Inslee for Governor, Maria

Cantwell for Senator, and Bob Ferguson for Attorney General. The winner of

each of these positions could greatly affect the future of higher education in

our state. Can you imagine a Republican Governor (even one with a good Irish

name like McKenna) and an Attorney General at work in our state?

One concrete thing you can do to help labor-endorsed candidates this year is

contribute to the AFT Committee on Political Education (COPE) fund. COPE

is a program whereby union members can contribute funds to be used specifi-

cally to support candidates and causes important to education. COPE contri-

butions can occur through one-time donations or through payroll deductions.

Currently, our local union is one of the best COPE contributors in the state—

Thanks! Through payroll deductions alone, our local donates over $350 per month to the COPE fund

through about 25 members who donate anywhere from $5 per paycheck to $20 or more.

Please consider either starting or increasing your COPE donations. An SCCFT member will be approaching

each of you within the next month regarding COPE. With so many wealthy and powerful interests working

against us right now to re-shape education in ways that may not benefit students, these kinds of ground-

level efforts make a huge difference. If you are interested in either starting COPE donations or increasing

your current donation level, or if you need to know your current monthly donation amount, please contact

Gary Parks, AFT Local 19050 COPE/Legislative Representative, for more details and donation forms.

COPE Donors Needed! Gary Parks, Professor of English & COPE/Legislative Rep. [email protected]

Don’t Forget!

SCCFT’s quarterly

ALL-FEDERATION MEETING

is scheduled for

Friday, March 16

from 2:00-3:30 pm

in Room 2925.

7

8

A FT-WA’s 77th annual convention will be held at the Shilo Inn in Ocean Shores, Washington, on Friday, May 4

and Saturday, May 5, 2012. The convention theme this year is “Sea Change.” AFT-Washington aims with

this theme to emphasize the communities in which its members work and live. As the convention call states,

“Engaging our community, including our students and their parents, is critical if we want to build a positive nar-

rative about labor unions and the value of investing in education and other public services.”

Featured speaker for the convention is Eric Zachery, national AFT Human Rights and Community Relations Direc-

tor, who will challenge AFT members to participate in community activities that show the public what profes-

sional educators do and why we do it.

Other activities planned for convention include a short union leadership workshop, deliberation of resolutions

sent forward by locals, endorsement of political candidates, and consideration of an AFT-Washington request for

a per capita dues increase, the first such request since 2007.

AFT-WA has asked all locals to send at least one delegate who has never been to convention before and is a

newer member of our local. Based on a review of the Federation budget, E-Board will determine at its March 12

meeting how many delegates our local can fund to attend the convention. SCCFT (AFT-Local 1950) is eligible to

send up to 14 delegates, even if we are unable to fund expenses for all 14.

If you are interested in serving as a delegate from AFT-Local 1950 to the 2012 AFT-Washington convention,

please contact me or another member of E-Board as soon as possible. The deadline for reserving hotel rooms in

Ocean Shores is April 4, and SCCFT must send credentials and registration fees for its delegates to AFT-

Washington no later than April 14.

AFT-Washington Annual Convention Set for Ocean Shores

Amy J. Kinsel Professor of History & AFT Local 1950 President [email protected]

Get Linked InGet Linked In

A FT-WA invites you to “get connected” to AFT and its affiliates online to track current information about

“public education issues that matter to the economic vitality of our community.”

“Like” AFT-WA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aftwa. AFT-WA assures its fans, “Your privacy is im-

portant to us. When you click ‘Like’ on our Facebook page, you will become a fan. But your wall, photos,

and newsfeeds are not visible to any fans on our site, only to your ‘friends’ and others determined by your

privacy settings.”

John AFT-Washington’s social network for faculty at facultyforthefuture.ning.com. AFT-WA’s Faculty for the

Future website is a member-only site, and requests to join are approved by site administrators.

Follow AFT-WA on Twitter at AFTWA for behind-the-scene tweets from Olympia.

Check out AFT-Washington’s “Save Our Students, Occupy Education” website at save-our-students.net for

updates on AFT’s campaign to protect public education.

Visit AFT-Washington’s public website for general union information: http://wa.aft.org.

Be inspired by Seattle Community College District AFT-Local 1789’s “Enough Already” campaign: http://

teacherswithspine.org/about/.

“Like” our own AFT-Local 1950 Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/AFT-Local-1950-

Shoreline-Community-College/315095181872012.

Visit SCCFT’s web page to read our contract and local news: http://www.sccft.org/.

Subscribe to SCCFT’s Soundings online newsletter: http://issuu.com/soundings/docs/soundings_2.21.12.

9

10

Making WavesMaking Waves

A ssociate faculty, Sam Scott, is an internationally

recognized potter and ceramic artist. He is one of

the many part-time faculty employed on the SCC cam-

pus, but you probably don’t recognize him since he pri-

marily teaches evening classes catering to working

adults. Scott likes teaching after sundown since he is a

night owl himself. It is a schedule he said he got into

when his kids were young—going to work in his studio

after he’d helped with dinner, and staying up frequently

until five a.m. to focus on his craft. Even though his

kids are all grown up and now have kids of their own,

the night owl schedule just stuck with him.

A short while ago, I sat down with Scott before his even-

ing class in SCC’s glaze room to chat about the work he

created for the upcoming National Council on the Educa-

tion of the Ceramic Arts conference. The actual confer-

ence hits Seattle March 28 – 31, but there are opportuni-

ties to see ceramics work all over town before, during,

and after the official conference weekend. While sever-

al Art faculty and staff members—including Laura Ward,

Bruce Amstutz, Brendan Fuller, and Natalie Niblack—will

show their work at the conference, as well as in an exhi-

bition open from

March 7 to April 8

in our own gallery

in the 1000 build-

ing, Scott will have

nine pieces show-

cased at different

venues and exhib-

its during NCECA.

As Scott said, “This

is the time if you like clay . . . [the NCECA conference]

is the most important venue . . . to see work and have

work shown in the ceramic world.”

One of the six pieces Scott will show at the Bellevue Arts

Museum is a plate called Push Play (which also happens

to be the theme of the exhibition). He said that he real-

ly enjoyed making the plate since it visually mixes clas-

sic ideas about what constitutes play—jacks, dice,

chess—with contemporary versions of play—remote con-

trol, computer chip, Pac-Man. The centerpiece to this

contradiction is the inclusion of versions of the iconic

Pixar characters Buzz Lightyear and Woody from the Toy

Story trilogy. Buzz represents a newer version of tech-

nologically advanced “play” and Woody represents a

more analog version. NCECA was so impressed with

Scott’s interpretation of the theme that they included

this plate in the cover art for the conference program.

Scott’s interest in

ceramics stems all

the way back to his

high school days

when he decided

that working with

clay was a good

alternative to tak-

ing a typing class.

(Plus there was a girl he was interested in who happened

to like making pots as well.) After graduating from

Shoreline Community College in 1972, Scott went on to

earn his BFA in ceramics at the UW in 1975. Initially, he

said he hadn’t been interested in teaching. However, in

1975, he decided to accept a part-time position teaching

at Everett Community College, which he held for 25

years. He’s been at Shoreline since 1999. He enjoys

teaching part-time and loves the opportunity to interact

“When they are digging up civilizations, they are digging up pots.”

Ruth Gregory, Associate Faculty of Cinema & Digital Filmmaking [email protected]

“This is the time if you like clay. [The NCECA

conference] is the most important venue . . . to

see work and have work shown. . . .”

11

Making WavesMaking Waves

with other people interested in his area of expertise.

Scott feels that one of his strengths as an instructor

comes from the fact that he is a model for students

struggling with questions of how to make a living from

their craft. He also sees his night owl schedule as a

benefit for students coming to his evening classes

straight from work since he is still fresh and ready to

talk about clay.

All of Scott’s work as a faculty member and artist fit

into his current goals for what he calls the “third” part

of his career (aka the “end” or post-kids era). He is

concerned about making sure that his legacy as an art-

ist is documented, and that future generations are

aware of his large body of work. Part of his interest in

getting the word out about his work is that “{w}hen

they are digging up civilizations, they are digging up

pots.” Undoubtedly, having his work shown in so many

venues during the most prestigious annual conference

for ceramics can’t help but cement his legacy.

In the column Making Waves we take a closer look at what is going on with our faculty peers across campus. What sort of research are you working on? What unique activities are you employing in your classroom? Got a performance coming up? An exhibition of your work? Let Soundings know how you are “making waves” on campus and in the community.

NCECA Invitational Exhibition: Push Play

Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA

January 19 - June 17, 2012

Opening reception: March 29, 6-9 pm

Drink Me: Use and Imagination in the Ceramic Vessel

Shoreline Community College Art Gallery

March 8 - April 17, 2012

Opening reception: Thursday, March 29, 5-8pm

Extreme, Extraordinary, Exquisite:

Teapots On The Edge

Bellevue College Gallery, Bellevue, WA

March 5 - April 5, 2012

Opening reception: March 28, 1-5pm

Bridging the Gap: Faculty of Puget Sound’s Community

Colleges

Art/Not Terminal - Sub T Gallery, Seattle, WA

March 3 - April 4, 2012

Opening receptions: March 29, 6-9pm

The Clay Edge: Ceramic Artists from the Northwest

Designer Craftsmen

Northwest Woodworkers Gallery, Seattle, WA

March 22 - April 22, 2012

Opening reception: March 29, 5-9pm

Pots with a Purpose

Throwing Mud Gallery, Tacoma, WA

March - April, 2012

Opening reception: March 27, 12-6pm

Contemporary Northwest Ceramics Collection at Har-

borview Medical Center

Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA

Norm Maleng Building, Ongoing.

Vessels

Glenn Richards lower level Gallery, Seattle, WA

March 25 - 31, 2012

Opening reception: March 27, 4-8pm

NCECA Gallery Expo

Exhibit from 18 Hands Gallery, Houston, TX

WA State Convention Center, room 606-609,

March 27 - 30, 2012

Opening: March 27, 6:30-8pm

Venues where you can check out Sam Scott’s work during NCECA:

12

SCCFT Executive BoardSCCFT Executive Board

Office Officer Email Phone President Amy J. Kinsel [email protected] 206.546-4679 1st Vice President/Parliamentarian Kira L. Wennstrom [email protected] 206.546-4578 2nd Vice President Rachel David [email protected] 206.546-4760 3rd Vice President Bonnie Frunz [email protected] 206.546-6987 Secretary Elizabeth Hanson [email protected] 206.546-4555 Treasurer Shannon Flynn [email protected] 206.546-4705 COPE/Legislative Representative Gary Parks [email protected] 206.546-4785 HO/PE/BUS Rep. 1 Alison Leahy [email protected] 206.546-5891 HO/PE/BUS Rep. 2 Sueanne Seegers [email protected] 206.546-4710 HO/PE/BUS Rep. 3 (Open) Humanities Rep. 1 Ruthann Duffy [email protected] 206.533-6766 Humanities Rep. 2 Dutch Henry [email protected] 206.546-5807 Humanities Rep. 3 Ruth Gregory [email protected] 206.546-4789 Math/Science/Auto/Mfg Rep. 1 Steve Bogart [email protected] 206.546-6986 Math/Science/Auto/Mfg Rep. 2 (Open) SS/ES/LIB/Media Rep. 1 Betsey Barnett [email protected] 206.546-4680 SS/ESJ/LIB/Media Rep. 2 Tom Moran [email protected] 206.546-4774 King County Labor Council Rep. 1 Tim Payne [email protected] 206.546-4706 King County Labor Council Rep. 2 T. Sean Rody [email protected] 206.546-6983 The following positions do not include E-Board membership: King County Labor Council Rep. 3 Jonathan Betz-Zall [email protected] 206.546-6939 King County Labor Council Rep. 4 Elizabeth Hanson [email protected] 206.546-4555 King County Labor Council Rep. 5 Amy J. Kinsel [email protected] 206.546-4679

W e welcome submis-

sions of articles to

Soundings. Priority will be

given to information that

aids faculty in their profes-

sional pursuits, informs them

of union-related issues and

their understanding of the

contract, or provides infor-

mation about campus-

related news and events.

Any other information is

printed on a space-available

basis.

All submissions may be edit-

ed for length, factual accu-

racy, spelling, and grammar.

We also reserve the right not

to publish any submissions

that are potentially libelous

or which may violate a per-

son’s right to privacy. All

submissions must include the

author’s name and contact

information, including phone

number and/or email ad-

dress, as well as a photo of

the author. Soundings does

not publish anonymous let-

ters to the editor.

To submit an article, please

send it is as an email attach-

ment to the editor of Sound-

ings, Ruth Gregory.

Soundings submission policy Soundings staffSoundings staff

Assistant Editor

Ruthann Duffy

Professor of ESL

[email protected]

Editor & Production

Designer

Ruth Gregory

Associate Faculty of Cinema & Digital

Filmmaking

[email protected]

Get Linked InGet Linked In SCCFT website

AFT Local 1950 Facebook page