Introducing Karin Heffel Steele, Manager – Tutoring & Academic Support

Hello Campus Community,

I am writing to introduce Karin Heffel Steele, the new Manager of the Tutoring Center and Academic Support. Karin oversees the one-on-one tutoring program and most of the Learning Centers on campus. We are absolutely thrilled to have her join our team. Karin comes to us from Everett Community College, and has been a tutor herself. She has also coordinated and supported tutors for many years. Karin joins Jessica Gonzalez, Program Coordinator of the Tutoring Center. Jessica is fairly new to the office herself, so please stop by the Tutoring Center in the library and introduce yourself to both of them.

Also, oversight of the Tutoring Center has changed from Workforce Education to Student Services, and as Associate Dean of Student Support Services the Tutoring Center will fall under my purview.  We are all looking forward to continuing to provide excellent one-on-one tutoring services and learning centers, and improving our process at the same time.   Feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions.

Contact information:

Karin Heffel Steele, Manager – Tutoring & Academic Support, kheffel@shoreline.edu, 206-546-7852

Jessica Gonzalez, Program Coordinator jgonzalez@shoreline.edu, 206-546-4776.

Kathy Cook, Associate Dean, Student Support Services, kcook@shoreline.edu, 206-546-4544

Submitted by Kathy Cook 

Reminder to keep your calendar free for Open Forums for Dean of Science/Math/Engineering

Please save the date for Open Forums for the hiring of the Dean of Math/Science/Engineering. The tentative schedule for the forums is as follows:

April 20, 22, 25 from 12:45-1:45 p.m.
April 21 from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

We’ll announce candidate names, room numbers, and additional information closer to the dates!

Kathy Langer receives Athletic Department Outstanding Service certificate

Screen Shot 2016-03-17 at 1.17.07 PMKathy Langer is retiring after ten years at Shoreline Community College, and the Athletic Department is honoring her hard work with a certificate of Outstanding Service for her time in the department. Langer was given her award at her retirement party on Mon., March 14, 2016.

Langer has spent the past five years as the Program Coordinator for Athletics, Intramurals, and Wellness. She has been an integral part of the Athletic Department’s transformation and vision under Athletic Director Steve Eskridge for the past two years.

She will be greatly missed by everyone in Athletics, Intramurals, and Wellness and we wish her the best in her retirement.

Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs candidate Dr. Marcia Somer to visit today, Thurs., March 17

As a reminder, this week, finalist candidates for the Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs (EVP-ASA) will be interviewed on campus on Monday, March 14; Tuesday, March 15; Thursday, March 16; and Friday, March 17. All Campus Forums on each of those days will occur in the Automotive Showroom from 3 to 4 p.m. Please plan to attend and participate.

If you are unable to attend, DVDs of each EVP-ASA Campus Open Forum will available in the Library on the day of a candidate’s Forum.

  • Viewing of the DVDs will occur in the Library and will not be available for check-out.
  • Feedback forms (on paper) will be available for those viewing the DVDs to complete.  (A lockbox in which to place completed feedback forms will be in the Library.)
  • The deadline for viewing DVDs and submitting feedback forms is 5 p.m. on Monday, March 21, 2016.

Today’s EVP-ASA candidate is Dr. Marcia Somer:

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Dr. Marcia Somer has been in higher education’s community and technical colleges for the past 25 years. Her most recent experience was as an associate dean of instruction at Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland, Washington. Prior to that, Dr. Somer was a Dean of English and Social Sciences and Dean of Instruction at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, and Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood, Washington respectively.

Dr. Somer has also been a tenured professor for 16 years at Kapiolani Community College teaching human development in Honolulu, Hawaii, and South Puget Sound Community College teaching early childhood education in Olympia, WA.

Dr. Somer’s educational background includes a Ph.D. from Oregon State University in Education – Community College Leadership, MA in Child and Family Studies from Washington State University, and BS in human development from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Three of her proudest accomplishments were establishing a diversity course graduation requirement, receiving the Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Education, and parenting. She has two adult children, one who is a graduate of Western Washington University, and the other a current student at the same institution.

Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs candidate Dr. Dana Grove visit, Tues., March 15

As a reminder, this week, finalist candidates for the Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs (EVP-ASA) will be interviewed on campus on Monday, March 14; Tuesday, March 15; Thursday, March 16; and Friday, March 17. All Campus Forums on each of those days will occur in the Automotive Showroom from 3 to 4 p.m. Please plan to attend and participate

If you are unable to attend, DVDs of each EVP-ASA Campus Open Forum will available in the Library on the day of a candidate’s Forum.

  • Viewing of the DVDs will occur in the Library and will not be available for check-out.
  • Feedback forms (on paper) will be available for those viewing the DVDs to complete.  (A lockbox in which to place completed feedback forms will be in the Library.)
  • The deadline for viewing DVDs and submitting feedback forms is 5 p.m. on Monday, March 21, 2016.

Today’s EVP-ASA candidate is Dr. Dana Grove:

dana groveImmediately before Dr. Dana Grove became President of Morton College in Cicero, Illinois, the school was sanctioned with being On Notice by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) in the areas of Governance, Strategic Planning and Assessment. The Board of Trustees made it clear that his highest priority as the new president was to have the sanction removed by the HLC as soon as possible. Because of his experience in leading assessment and strategic planning efforts at other colleges and because of his years as a peer reviewer for the HLC, the Morton College On Notice sanction was removed within a year. With 82% of its students Hispanic, Morton College is the sixth largest two-year public Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the country, out of 174 such colleges, making it the largest two-year public HSI east of the Mississippi River.

Within eight months of his coming to Morton College, Dr. Grove was able to negotiate with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to grant the college $4.5 million of Illinois Jobs NOW! money for the construction of a ten-classroom facility that was sorely needed on campus. Because of his passion for active learning, Dr. Grove worked with faculty to design these classrooms as Learning Studios that promote cooperative and collaborative learning pedagogies.

For seven-and-a-half years, Dr. Grove was an executive vice president at Johnson County Community College, an institution with a fall enrollment of 21,000 credit students located on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area.   JCCC is one of only 18 community colleges whose CEOs comprise the Board for the League for Innovation in the Community College, the most prestigious two-year college organization in North America, if not world-wide. After arriving at JCCC in 2005, Dr. Grove had the distinction of being the college’s Representative to the League for Innovation Board, and as such, he attended all League for Innovation Board meetings and dialogued regularly with the CEOs and other League “reps.”

In 1985, Dr. Grove received his doctorate in English from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Afterwards, he was hired as a faculty member at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, where for ten years he taught a variety of courses in English and humanities. In 1993 the University of Iowa’s College of Education recognized his classroom efforts by giving him its Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award. From 1993-1995, he was also designated as Director of the English/Humanities Program, which was a faculty-chair position. In 1995, Dr. Grove became the Dean of Arts and Sciences at the college, supervising all liberal arts and transfer disciplines. In 2000, he was selected as the Vice President of Academic Services (CAO) at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Illinois.

After serving as interim president of the Business and Technology campus of Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City, Missouri, for six months, Dr. Grove is currently filling in as interim dean of instruction at the college.