The Third Thursday Reading Series event on Aug. 17, 6-8 p.m. at the Sherman Public Library will host the launch of John Paul Jaramillo‘s new book, Little Mocos. It is a novel in stories set in southern Colorado, published by Twelve Winters Press.

The event will begin with an open mic from 6-7 p.m., with John Paul’s reading starting at that time. Discussion and book signing will follow the reading. There will also be Little Mocos cupcakes by Charlotte’s Cakes.

John Paul’s stories and essays have appeared in numerous journals, and his debut collection, The House of Order, was named an International Latino Book Award Finalist in 2013. He is professor of English at Lincoln Land Community College.

You are invited to come out and support a local writer and local press — and share some of your own work!

Terri Bailey, VALIC financial adviser, will be on campus Monday, Aug. 14 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. Those interested can register online for a consultation time. Deferred compensation options are available to employees from VALIC and TIAA-CREF.

You Are Invited

Many of LLCC’s faculty and staff have shared their artistic talents throughout the years at the college’s On My Own Time displays. Photography has long been a favorite OMOT category, but did you know there are 11 other categories for you to show your creative talents?

Do you make jewelry? Create fiber, fabric or needlework? How about sculpture? Then enter your work in LLCC’s 2017 On My Own Time show and share your inspiration!  A detailed list of all 12 categories, as well as the rules are attached.

Faculty and staff may enter up to three artworks each, created since 2014, for a fee of $5 per entry. The fee assists with costs of the Springfield Area Arts Council’s OMOT program. Artwork and registration fees should be submitted by Wednesday, Sept. 6, which is coming right up. So use your imagination, creativity and originality to create new artwork!

The Springfield Area Arts Council’s OMOT program provides individual artists the opportunity to display original work they have created outside the office, truly “On My Own Time.”  LLCC’s in-house exhibit this year will be featured in Trutter Museum.

Please contact us with any questions.
Misty Hagstrom, 786.2466, misty.hagstrom@llcc.edu
Judy Jozaitis, 786.2420, judy.jozaitis@llcc.edu
Janet Semanik, 786.2217, janet.semanik@llcc.edu

2017 OMOT Categories and Descriptions

2017 OMOT Rules

Mark your calendars! The fall 2017 Campus Visit Day will be Monday, Oct. 9. Two sessions are being held that day from 10 a.m.-noon and 5-7 p.m.

Campus Visit Day is a special campus preview event designed for individuals interested in starting or finishing a college degree or certificate. The events includes an informational presentation on how to get started with the enrollment process, how to pay for college and other information relevant to becoming a successful college student. Also, visitors can view exhibits and speak with LLCC representatives from various academic programs and student services. Tours are offered of Menard and Sangamon halls and the Workforce Careers Center. Refreshments are provided by LLCC Culinary Arts.

If you would like to participate with an informational table, please email terri.hinrichs@llcc.edu or call her at 786.9657.

Facilities Services will be conducting annual testing of the fire alarm systems on the main campus as well as the outreach centers beginning on Monday, Aug. 7. While it is the goal to keep disruptions to a minimum, it will be necessary to occasionally operate the horns and strobes. Your patience and cooperation is appreciated as these necessary tests of our life-safety systems are performed.

It’s come to light that when individuals change offices, that information is not always updated in Colleague. Please check the online directory  for yourself (and if you are a supervisor, for your staff members) and inform the Help Desk if an office number is incorrect.

The LLCC farm stand will be closed the first three Mondays in August. However, it will re-open again Aug. 28.

Andy Mitkos, learning management systems coordinator, was a presenter at the recent Blackboard World ’17 in New Orleans. This was Blackboard’s annual conference for system administrators and power users. His presentation was titled, “From self-hosted to SaaS: How and why we made the switch.”

Andy, a Blackboard MVP, discussed the process of working with Blackboard Cloud Services to migrate a self-hosted system into a SaaS (software as a service) environment. LLCC moved from an outdated server system housed on campus to a completely updated and large server system housed through Blackboard (in the cloud). The SaaS portion of the system ensures LLCC will be running the most current and up-to-date version of Blackboard.

Please join us in wishing Dr. Valerie Wright, associate dean, nursing, all the best! Her very pink and very fabulous farewell party is Thursday, Aug. 3, from 1-3 p.m. in the Millennium Center, room 2216.

Dr. Wright’s Farewell Celebration Invitation

Becky Croteau, professor in biological and health sciences, and her students in Local Flora and Introduction to Prairie Restoration recently visited Nachusa Grasslands, a 4,000-acre preserve located near Franklin Grove, Ill. They were delighted to get  a close look at our very own Illinois bison herd!