Thank you for the care and concern everyone showed regarding my recent illness on Tuesday during our Institutional Development meeting. Luckily, it looked more serious than it was. Although I felt embarrassed to be the center of such strategic intervention, I’m more grateful that we have staff, faculty, and administrators who are not only trained to respond in urgent situations but do so with such kindness and compassion. Thank you all, again, and special kudos to Cynthia Maskey and Officer Mike Hanson. They kept me comfortable and calm, and Cynthia took me to the doctor and stayed with me until family arrived.

Deborah Brothers

Public Relations and Marketing (PRM) will have a professional photographer on campus Monday afternoon taking classroom shots for the website. We will knock and ask permission before entering any classroom.

LLCC Police will be blocking off parking lots 9 & 11 at 5 p.m. today for the Girls on the Run event being held on campus this weekend. GOTR staff and other vendors will be on campus to begin tent setup and other preparations for the event.  The 5K run begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and traffic may be delayed  as runners make their way off campus and back to campus. Police will be directing traffic.

GEAR (General Education Assessment by Rubrics) is an assignment-based project which was initiated in the fall semester of 2009. Each year a general education outcome is selected by the Assessment Team to be measured. Assignments that addressed and assessed critical thinking outcomes of the college were collected from faculty during the spring semester of 2014.  On Institutional Improvement Day, a group of 23 faculty met and scored 45 sets of types of assignments. Results will be aggregated and used for accreditation and improvement purposes.

Our deepest sympathy to Jeff Mehan, professor of computer networking, on the passing of his mother, Betty, on Nov. 4. Visitation is from 4-7 p.m. tonight, Nov. 6 at Staab Funeral Home, 1109 S. Fifth St. An additional visitation will be held from 9-9:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7 at First United Methodist Church, 2941 S. Koke Mill Road, Springfield, prior to the funeral service. Burial will follow at Camp Butler National Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to: Spaulding Veterans Memorial, P.O. Box 21, Riverton, IL 62561 or First United Methodist Church.

Using Blackboard for Course Communication • Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1-2 p.m. SGMN0119
Facilitator: Andy Mitkos, learning management systems coordinator

What happens when you are sick or can’t make it to class? How do you communicate information to students outside of class? In this workshop we will discuss ways to use Blackboard to communicate with your students. Topics covered in this workshop will include: using Blackboard to send emails, how to post notifications, and how to use the new text messaging function that is built into Blackboard. To register, click HERE.

Creating Interactive Maps • Thursday, Nov. 6, 10 a.m.-Noon, SGMN0119
Facilitator: Barry Lamb, director of instructional technology services

Google Mapping Tools can be used for much more than looking up driving directions. This workshop will demonstrate how to use Google Tour Builder to create instructional virtual tours, which can be anything from mapping historical events to charting the important places on a fictional literary character’s journey, and more. Participants will be given the hands-on opportunity to learn how to create and share their own tour.
To register, click HERE.

Bistro To Go is open TODAY from 4-6 p.m. Today’s menu: Bistro To Go 11 3 14

LLCC made the Illinois Times’ Best of Springfield 2014 in several categories! Jane Hartman, professor of music, was voted best in the jazz group/artist category. “As the senior music professor at Lincoln Land Community College, she shapes and prods, cajoles and molds students searching to further their abilities in music knowledge.”

LLCC’s Child Development Center placed as a runner-up in the Best Day Care category and College for Kids made runner-up in the Best Summer Camp category.