May 2011 Volume 11, Number 4 - Cedar Valley College

Cedar Valley College selected toparticipate in Bill and MelindaGates Foundation student successinitiativePhi Theta Kappa students win bigat International ConferenceFive Texas community colleges are collaboratingas part of a national effort to devise and sharenew approaches to help more young peopleobtain a degree, certificate or credential. Theschools will share a $500,000 planning grantto launch the five-year “Completion by Design”project in Texas.Participating colleges include Lone StarCollege System as the managing partner alongwith Cedar Valley College, Alamo Colleges,Dallas Community College District, El PasoCommunity College and South Texas College.The “Texas Completion by Design” collegesare among those chosen from four states forthe national Completion by Design project,which is supported by the Bill & MelindaGates Foundation. The colleges were selectedbecause of their innovative ideas on improvingthe completion rates on their campuses. Theywere picked for the project after a rigorouscompetition that was announced last Octoberat the White House Summit on CommunityColleges.Completion by Design aims to build on proven,existing practices already underway at theseforward-thinking community colleges which arealready working to address the needs of today’sstudents. They are doing this by focusing onnew approaches to areas such as financial aidcounseling, course scheduling and advising.At the 93rd International Convention of PhiTheta Kappa in Seattle, Cedar Valley Collegewas 7th runner up for the most distinguishedchapter, based on Hallmark entries that werejudged by the Phi Theta Kappa headquarters’staff. Only three Texas chapters were amongthe finalists. The college was among tenchapters winning Beta Alpha ExcellenceContinued Excellence Chapter awards forremaining in the Top 25 chapters internationallyfor the 10th consecutive year. A chapterhas to stay in the top 25 chapters for threeconsecutive years before the chapter is nameda Beta Alpha Excellence Chapter. The collegewon the most number of chapter awards ofany chapter at the convention and won theonly Texas Distinguished Officer Team award.Students Glenda Stallsworth, Deanna Danielsand Susan Nicole Stallings received the award.Deanna Daniels was also named a Gold CocaCola Scholar. In addition, the college won aDistinguished Issue Award--Honors in Action(Education); there were only three awardsgiven in this category. In addition, the collegewon the Distinguished Honors in Action Projectaward. The college’s Honors in Action Projectis connected to their Quality EnhancementPlan for SACS.Focus Daily News recently published a storyabout the chapter. The story can be viewed atthe following link: http://focusdailynews.com/cvc-honor-society-gets-national-nod-p3752-1.htm

Cedar Valley students earnnational recognitionCedar Valley students continue to excel academically and athletically, gaining national exposure fortheir accomplishments. Here are a few of the outstanding achievements attained:Cedar Valley College had the most academic achievers in the Metro Athletic Conference for the 3rdsemester in a row. In addition, two players were recognized as NJCAA All American team members intheir respective sport; Aaron McCuin, Men’s Basketball player; Shereka Smith, Women’s Soccer player.At the Phi Theta Kappa International convention, Glenda Stallsworth, Deanna Daniels and SusanNicole Stallings were each given the Texas Distinguished Officer Team Award. In addition, DeannaDaniels was named a Gold Coca Cola Scholar and will receive a gift in the amount of $1500.The students of Professor Bill Crawford and Adjunct Professor Jeremiah Glover participated in aninternational filmmaking competition from the creators of the “48 Hour Film Project” and KDHXCommunity Media. The students won Best Graphics with their entry. Participating teams had oneweekend to write, shoot and edit a short film or video.Klarke Crittendon, a recent graduate of Cedar Valley has been accepted to the Disney College foradmission this fall. During her tenure in the Disney College Program, she will have the opportunityto develop transferable skills, including guest service, problem solving, service recovery, effectivecommunication, teamwork, leadership, attention to detail, time management, personal empowerment,self-confidence, responsibility and cultural sensitivity.These are just a few of the awards and recognition for which we have received notification. If you knowof other students who have received scholarships, awards or other recognition, please send your listto Sonya Spencer.