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DISABILITY NEWS The LIGHT Center, T-90, College of the Redwoods (476-4290) - May 7, 2001 |
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ANOTHER
YEAR CLICKS BY It’s
hard to believe that another year has gone by.
While it has been a year of many student success stories, it has also
been a year full of challenges for staff and faculty.
How one views those challenges colors somewhat their perceived
success or failure in rising up to meet those challenges. It
seems that this past academic year has been one filled with significant
change, and has created new challenges for all of us.
One change that was faced by both staff and students was that of the
semester length. Moving from an
18-week semester to a 16-week semester creates a whole new perspective on
how to operate within the time frame. Also,
the idea of an intersession is new to the campus, and again provides us with
an entirely new challenge of setting up instructional opportunities during
that three-week period. While
there is always fear and reluctance when new ideas are presented, eventually
everything evens out and settles down and we all seem to rise to and meet
the challenge at hand. The
change around campus has not been restricted to the calendar.
There is the new construction that has taken place.
Not only are there plans and debates around what should go where,
there is also the excitement of having a new building which will look great
and serve the students proudly. Again, there are many challenges around the emerging building
including deadlines that must be met, plans that must be finalized etc.
It is always amazing that despite the amount of work that has to be
done, it all manages to get done on time and without disaster. Oh
yeah, there were also the changes surrounding the reclassification study
that was completed by the classified staff.
Then, we have the reorganization of Student Services as well as all
the physical and conceptual moves that such reorganization requires. There
is a good deal of stress that goes along with moving your workspace,
redefining your function within a new conceptual framework, and doing all of
this with a relatively cooperative attitude and dignity. Finally,
there have been a number of new faces hired on campus, as well as some
leaving. This is not new,
people come and people go in any given year.
Perhaps it’s just more noticeable this year because of all the
other change and uncertainty that has been present.
So, you might ask, why rehash all of this?
Well, sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the “big picture” that
we forget about all the good things each of us did this year.
It is so easy to overlook the day to day things that actually can
touch and change others lives. These things we often forget about when we
feel overwhelmed with “bigger picture” events.
Perhaps this is a good week to just sit back and consider all the
movement that has taken place this year, and how well everyone has handled
it. Comments? mailto:trish-blair@eureka.redwoods.edu |
FEEDBACK Given that this is the final newsletter
for this academic year at least, I want to thank all of you for your
feedback. Whether the feedback
is positive or negative, it has all been helpful in guiding me as to what
would be relevant topics. I
appreciate all of you and your comments or anecdotes about the newsletter. So, here is my chance to once again ask for your help. If you have a moment please send me an
e-mail telling me what you like, dislike, approve of, disapprove of etc.
related to the newsletter. If
you just hate it, that too is useful information.
If you have recommendations I would also appreciate those. Finally, once again take the time to see how much we have all done this year. Sit back for a moment and give yourselves a pat on the back for another successful year. I hope you all have a wonderful summer. Quotation
of the Week
Finish
each day -- Ralph Waldo Emerson |