Category Archives: Quality Council

04.03.23

April 6 Salsa event

Julio Barrenzuela wearing a hat that says "Salsa" and holding a microphoneCome see Julio Barrenzuela, the “Salsa Ambassador,” and learn how to dance the Salsa on April 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in A. Lincoln Commons.

Barrenzuela has been teaching Salsa for over 10 years in any place that he can, including nursing homes, facilities for those with disabilities and youth organizations. He says, “Music brings people together, and that’s what I want to do through my efforts. The hope is to make a difference by giving the community’s most unlikely people, be it from their wheelchair or jail cell, the opportunity to see themselves as salsa dancers and therefore members of a much larger ‘salsa community.’”

He is a veteran of the Navy and has a doctorate in cultural studies from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. He is currently president of CIELO, a culturally integrated organization dedicated to promoting the education, employment and culture of Latino Americans in communities that are within about a 60-mile radius of Springfield.

Julio dipping dance partnerJulio dancing with a partner

03.31.23

LLCC DEFI Grant

The IDI-funded LLCC Diversity & Equity Fellowship Initiative (DEFI) is making great progress this spring. The grant was awarded to the diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) program as a faculty recruitment tool with the goal of increasing the diversity of the health professions faculty pool.

Leigh and TraceyA DEFI fellow, Tracey Benn-Cockayne, was selected to assist with a curriculum proposal for a new cardiovascular sonography (CVS) AAS degree program. Tracey is a registered echocardiographer who is from a minoritized group. She serves as the co-chair for the CVS Planning Committee along with current DMS Program Director Leigh Giles-Brown.

During her short time as a DEFI fellow, Tracey has developed and administered a workforce needs analysis survey which identified staffing shortages and the crucial need for a CVS program to be established in central Illinois. Tracey serves on all subcommittees for the CVS program planning process and presented progress notes during recent DMS Program Advisory Committee and CVS Planning Committee meetings. “Her expertise is invaluable to crafting the many sections of the required ICCB Form-20. Tracey’s details and insights are helping us design a quality CVS program that will benefit students and the workforce,” said Leigh Giles-Brown. Currently, Tracey is contributing to the review of all CVS curriculum components for alignment with accreditation and industry standards. The target completion date for submission to the LLCC curriculum approval process is this May.

In addition, Tracey has gone above and beyond the expectations of the fellowship by identifying two prospective student recruitment opportunities taking place in April. These events will give the DMS program an opportunity to present the current sonography program to more interested students.

03.30.23

April 6 Salsa event

Julio Barrenzuela wearing a hat that says "Salsa" and holding a microphoneCome see Julio Barrenzuela, the “Salsa Ambassador,” and learn how to dance the Salsa on April 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in A. Lincoln Commons.

Barrenzuela has been teaching Salsa for over 10 years in any place that he can, including nursing homes, facilities for those with disabilities and youth organizations. He says, “Music brings people together, and that’s what I want to do through my efforts. The hope is to make a difference by giving the community’s most unlikely people, be it from their wheelchair or jail cell, the opportunity to see themselves as salsa dancers and therefore members of a much larger ‘salsa community.’”

He is a veteran of the Navy and has a doctorate in cultural studies from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. He is currently president of CIELO, a culturally integrated organization dedicated to promoting the education, employment and culture of Latino Americans in communities that are within about a 60-mile radius of Springfield.

Julio dipping dance partnerJulio dancing with a partner

03.13.23

OTA IDI Grant debut at Dubois Elementary School

Student standing in a big circle in the gym
Student with their hands over their heads as they stand in a big circle in the gym
LLCC grant funding has promoted a partnership between the LLCC Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois.  The grant initiative aims to increase diversity of OTA student applications by increasing community awareness of the occupational therapy profession. This funding has supported development of a first-year OTA student service-learning project in collaboration with the Boys & Girls Clubs after school program located at Dubois Elementary School in Springfield. The project, “Healthy Minds, Hearts and Hands,” brings engaging activities promoting fitness, emotional well-being and social language development for building student confidence and success at school. Additionally, the program offers traditional school-based occupational therapy strategies to help students who struggle with homework to build skills that will carry over into the classroom.

Thank you to the LLCC Foundation; Dr. Cynthia Maskey, dean of health professions; Tiffany Mathis, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois; Ms. Shamill Hill, Boys & Girls Clubs Site Director; and Hirut Harris, COTA/L, an LLCC OTA graduate and grant co-author, for making this service-learning project possible! The first session brought many smiles during Minion zumba, yoga, relaxation breathing and a craft activity called “Say Hello to Me.”

Yvonne Cosentino, OTD, OTR/L
LLCC OTA Program Director

02.28.23

Complete survey on priority messages for students yet today

The Progress Sub-team of the Enrollment Management Team developed and proposed a student communication project which was approved by Quality Council in December 2022. This project involves monthly, college-wide messages that will be relayed to students in a coordinated, consistent manner from a variety of college representatives (advisors, faculty, financial aid reps, PRM, bookstore, etc.). Examples of messages could be completing the FAFSA application, registering for the next semester, applying for LLCC Foundation scholarships, etc. Besides a means of disseminating college-wide information, the vision of this form of communication is to strengthen the connection between the college community and the students. This idea is patterned after a similar, successful project at Mizzou.

The Progress Sub-team would like your input on what priority messages (by month) should be communicated to students. We kindly ask you to complete the Progress Sub-team Employee Survey by today, Feb. 28. We appreciate you taking time to complete the survey as we hope to get participation from all areas of the college. Our hope is to test the monthly messages this summer with full implementation in fall 2023.

02.27.23

Complete survey on priority messages for students by tomorrow

The Progress Sub-team of the Enrollment Management Team developed and proposed a student communication project which was approved by Quality Council in December 2022. This project involves monthly, college-wide messages that will be relayed to students in a coordinated, consistent manner from a variety of college representatives (advisors, faculty, financial aid reps, PRM, bookstore, etc.). Examples of messages could be completing the FAFSA application, registering for the next semester, applying for LLCC Foundation scholarships, etc. Besides a means of disseminating college-wide information, the vision of this form of communication is to strengthen the connection between the college community and the students. This idea is patterned after a similar, successful project at Mizzou.

The Progress Sub-team would like your input on what priority messages (by month) should be communicated to students. We kindly ask you to complete the Progress Sub-team Employee Survey by tomorrow, Feb. 28. We appreciate you taking time to complete the survey as we hope to get participation from all areas of the college. Our hope is to test the monthly messages this summer with full implementation in fall 2023.

02.22.23

Complete survey on priority messages for students

The Progress Sub-team of the Enrollment Management Team developed and proposed a student communication project which was approved by Quality Council in December 2022. This project involves monthly, college-wide messages that will be relayed to students in a coordinated, consistent manner from a variety of college representatives (advisors, faculty, financial aid reps, PRM, bookstore, etc.). Examples of messages could be completing the FAFSA application, registering for the next semester, applying for LLCC Foundation scholarships, etc. Besides a means of disseminating college-wide information, the vision of this form of communication is to strengthen the connection between the college community and the students. This idea is patterned after a similar, successful project at Mizzou.

The Progress Sub-team would like your input on what priority messages (by month) should be communicated to students. We kindly ask you to complete the Progress Sub-team Employee Survey by Feb. 28. We appreciate you taking time to complete the survey as we hope to get participation from all areas of the college. Our hope is to test the monthly messages this summer with full implementation in fall 2023.

02.16.23

Complete survey on priority messages for students

The Progress Sub-team of the Enrollment Management Team developed and proposed a student communication project which was approved by Quality Council in December 2022. This project involves monthly, college-wide messages that will be relayed to students in a coordinated, consistent manner from a variety of college representatives (advisors, faculty, financial aid reps, PRM, bookstore, etc.). Examples of messages could be completing the FAFSA application, registering for the next semester, applying for LLCC Foundation scholarships, etc. Besides a means of disseminating college-wide information, the vision of this form of communication is to strengthen the connection between the college community and the students. This idea is patterned after a similar, successful project at Mizzou.

The Progress Sub-team would like your input on what priority messages (by month) should be communicated to students. We kindly ask you to complete the Progress Sub-team Employee Survey by Feb. 28. We appreciate you taking time to complete the survey as we hope to get participation from all areas of the college. Our hope is to test the monthly messages this summer with full implementation in fall 2023.

02.10.23

Complete survey on priority messages for students

The Progress Sub-team of the Enrollment Management Team developed and proposed a student communication project which was approved by Quality Council in December 2022. This project involves monthly, college-wide messages that will be relayed to students in a coordinated, consistent manner from a variety of college representatives (advisors, faculty, financial aid reps, PRM, bookstore, etc.). Examples of messages could be completing the FAFSA application, registering for the next semester, applying for LLCC Foundation scholarships, etc. Besides a means of disseminating college-wide information, the vision of this form of communication is to strengthen the connection between the college community and the students. This idea is patterned after a similar, successful project at Mizzou.

The Progress Sub-team would like your input on what priority messages (by month) should be communicated to students. We kindly ask you to complete the Progress Sub-team Employee Survey by Feb. 28. We appreciate you taking time to complete the survey as we hope to get participation from all areas of the college. Our hope is to test the monthly messages this summer with full implementation in fall 2023.

12.14.22

IDI Grant winners announced

idi Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion Grant ProgramThe Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion Grant Project Team is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s IDI Grants! It is important to note that this year we received more submissions than all the previous years combined. All the projects examined dynamic aspects of LLCC with creative problem solving, but alas, we can only fund a few.

In partnership with the LLCC Foundation, we are pleased to be able to fully fund the Might Minds, Heart and Hands, service-based learning project proposed by Yvonne Cosentino, program director, occupational therapy assistant, in the areas of Training, Teaching and Learning, Recruitment and Retention, and Other Innovation Strategies. This collaborative and innovative project promotes OTA health care education through the creation of a community-based, service-learning program for at-risk youth. This project will give our students the opportunity to work directly with community children in need.

We are pleased to be able to fully fund a LLCC Diversity & Equity Fellowship Initiative project in the Recruitment and Retention strategy, proposed by Leigh Giles-Brown, program director diagnostic medical sonography. This project will aim to address the lack of diversity of LLCC Health Professions faculty and to provide positive representation to attract a diverse student body to health professions (and sonography in particular). The DMS program will use the funds to attract participation of a minority echocardiographer who will help develop the curriculum for a new cardiovascular sonography AAS degree program. The LLCC DEFI project will be used as a faculty recruitment tool with the goal of increasing the diversity of the Health Professions faculty pool.

Last, but not least, we are pleased to be able to partially fund the Hip Hop and Higher Education project submitted by Kimberly Williams-Wilson and written by Dr. David Leitner on behalf of Black Student Union club. This project falls under the Other Innovation strategies, but is aligned also with Recruitment and Retention. This project seeks to address the problem of retention, specifically the existing gap between the number of African-American students who enroll and the number who graduate. A series of activities will be created that align with significant cultural events that begin with Black History Month in February 2023. These events will continue through March and April to reinforce the spring semester drive to register students. Ultimately these events will be designed to close the retention gap by creating a sense of cultural and academic inclusion within African-American students enrolled at LLCC.

Congratulations to the winners again. We are excited to see these projects come to fruition.

The IDI Grant Project Team
Laura Anderson
Michelle Pulce-Flynn
Sonja Spencer
Jamil Steele
Adam Watkins