Terri Bailey, VALIC financial advisor, will be on campus today from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the VP conference room to answer questions about the 403(b) and 457(b) deferred compensation plan options available to LLCC employees from VALIC. View the invitation to find out how you can register for a consultation time. Deferred compensation options are available to employees from VALIC and TIAA-CREF.

We welcome students as spring semester weekday classes begin today! Volunteers will be assisting at the welcome table in A. Lincoln Commons,  helping answer students’ questions and providing directions.

Special student events during Welcome Week include:

• Tuesday, Jan. 16 – Carnival and turtle apples, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., A. Lincoln Commons
• Wednesday, Jan. 17 – Showings of the movie “The Lion King” and free haircuts sponsored by the Black Student Union, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., A. Lincoln Commons
• Thursday, Jan. 18 – The Ultimate Blowout, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., A. Lincoln Commons

The James S. Murray Gallery features the exhibit “A Fire Within: New Work by Michelle Coakes” now through Feb. 1. The exhibit is open weekdays from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and all are invited to a closing reception with the artist on Thursday, Feb. 1 from 4-6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

Coakes is professor of art and the ceramics expert at LLCC, having taught and managed the college ceramics lab since 2002. She has created ceramic pieces for more than 40 years and taught at schools throughout the country including the University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University, Juniata College (Penn.) and two other community colleges in Illinois. In 2013, she founded Bad Wolf Pottery, a pottery shop and studio producing handmade, functional pottery and sculptural clay objects. She is the author of the book “Creative Pottery: A Step by Step Guide and Showcase” and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts from Northern Illinois University.

Coakes is best known for her functional and quasi-functional vessels in stoneware, most of which are finished in a wood-fired kiln. Almost all of her work is wheel-thrown and manipulated. The rich, variable wood-fired surfaces add greatly to the illusion and references she sets up between old and new. “A Fire Within” is the culmination of a project started in the summer of 2017, when she and others constructed a wood-firing kiln on her property north of Taylorville.

Read more about Professor Coakes, LLCC’s James S. Murray Gallery and its exhibits at www.llcc.edu/james-s-murray-gallery.

LLCC will be closed Monday, Jan. 15 in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. No classes are being held, and all administrative offices at the Springfield campus and outlying locations, including LLCC’s Capital City Training Center, Child Development Center and Illinois Small Business Development Center, will be closed. Classes and regular business hours resume at all locations Tuesday, Jan. 16.

Please join us in welcoming Blake Balster who recently joined LLCC as a human resources assistant. He graduated from Illinois State University in 2017 and previously worked as a human resources intern for BUNN. Blake can be reached at 786-2431 or blake.balster@llcc.edu.

Terri Bailey, VALIC financial advisor, will be on campus Jan. 17, Jan. 30, Feb. 9, Feb. 19, March 13 and March 28 from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the VP conference room to answer questions about the 403(b) and 457(b) deferred compensation plan options available to LLCC employees from VALIC. View the invitation below to find out how you can register for a consultation time. Deferred compensation options are available to employees from VALIC and TIAA-CREF.

You are invited.

Vern L. Lindquist, Ph.D., has joined the administration of Lincoln Land Community College as vice president of academic services. Dr. Lindquist began his new duties Jan. 3.

Lindquist comes to LLCC from Richard Bland College of William & Mary in Petersburg, Va. where he served as dean of faculty and chief academic officer. He was responsible for all academic planning, hiring, assessment, library and support. Prior to that, he was dean of liberal arts and sciences at the State University of New York at Delhi. He also spent nearly 20 years at Sullivan CCC (now SUNY Sullivan), a comprehensive community college, as chair of the Arts and Letters Division, Honors Program coordinator and professor.

“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Lindquist to our college community,” said Charlotte Warren, Ph.D., president of LLCC. “His wealth of leadership experience in community college administration, assessment and instruction and his record of collaboration and innovation will provide a new path forward for teaching and learning at LLCC.”

Lindquist’s scholarly activities include recent presentations on the topics of predictive analytics as a retention tool for at-risk students and developmental mathematics. He is also the author of a number of academic publications and instructional materials.

Lindquist earned his doctor of philosophy degree in English language and literature from Indiana University as well as a master’s degree from the same institution and a bachelor’s degree with distinction and high honors from the University of Michigan. He is the recipient of Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Scholarship and Excellence in Teaching from the State University of New York.

Lindquist replaces Dr. Eileen Tepatti, who recently retired as vice president after 22 years of service to LLCC.

We extend our sympathy to Deborah Brothers, Ph.D., professor of English, on the passing of her stepfather, Donald W. Collins, Jan. 6. At his request, there will be no funeral.

Paul Hudson, D.Mgt., professor of business, is the author of the new book, “Maximize Achievement – Academic Readiness Guide to College Completion and Graduation,” published by Dog Ear Publishing. The book, currently available at the LLCC Bookstore, amazon.com and BN.com, is designed as a resource for high school, college undergraduate and graduate students; faculty and educational administrators; learning centers and college success skills support systems. Dr. Hudson says he has spent the last eight years observing and recording what keeps students energized and motivated to graduate and succeed. He calls the book an academic “blueprint” that will lead, guide and motivate students toward their goal of academic success.

We extend our condolences to Jane Hartman, professor of music, on the passing of her mother, Nellie Allen, Jan. 1. Visitation will be held on Friday, Jan. 5 from 5-7 p.m. at Divernon Presbyterian Church. Services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6 at the church. Read the obituary.