New Associate Dean Blake Walter Joins COD The College’s new Associate Dean of Learning Resources and Library Director is Blake Walter. The Wheaton resident has worked as an academic librarian in Chicago for 25 years. Most recently, he spent 12 years at Northern

Seminary in Lombard, where he worked as director of the Brimson Grow Library, as an assistant professor and, since 2008, vice president of Academic Administration. Walter did not grow up wanting to be a librarian. He actually attended a seminary in hopes of becoming ordained. While there, he worked in the seminary library and enjoyed it so much that his career interests changed. “I fell in love with the whole aspect of providing library services to an educational institution,” he said. Read More

Dec. 12, 2014

Ideas to Profits Business Conference Matt Quigley, founder of the startup Deziner Software, presents his business pitch to a group of distinguished judges during the Center for Entrepreneurship’s recent Ideas to Profits Business Conference at College of DuPage. Quigley was one of three finalists in the competition, which included a Business Pitch Contest, received the $5,000 grand prize. More than 125 participants gathered for this inaugural event that brought together students, alumni and industry experts to learn new skills as a startup, understand how to execute a new business and learn about resources to grow sales. Jim and Jason Ebel from Two Brothers Brewery discussed a turning point in their 17-year business and how they have become one of the largest microbreweries in the U.S.

Giving Garland Holiday Event Dec. 18 All gifts collected through the Giving Garland Project will be wrapped at a special event hosted by COD Cares on Thursday, Dec. 18. More than 50 COD Cares Action Heroes have signed up to help at the program, which includes hot chocolate and treats for the wrappers, as well as a showing of the (in)famous film, “Elf.” The first 30 volunteers who show up in “holiday ugly-wear” will also receive a special gift.

Santa Gets the Best Gift of All “Santa” receives an early and awesome Christmas present at the inaugural Holiday Shop at the MAC event last weekend. Guests enjoyed discounted tickets, beautifully packaged gift certificates and holiday treats. Ticket buyers at the event received a 10 percent discount on the MAC’s holiday performances, including country music legend Clint Black’s Christmas Show (Dec.12), Von Heidecke’s Chicago Festival Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” featuring live music by the New Philharmonic Orchestra (Dec. 20-21), as well as New Year’s Eve with the New Philharmonic (Dec. 31). Guests also had an opportunity to win tickets or a gift certificate for free massage offered by COD’s Wellness and Massage Training Institute. Tours of the MAC and Cleve Carney Art Gallery were also provided. Click here for more photos.

Kudos to…English instructor Trina Sotirakopulos (pen name Trina Sotira) who co-edited a new anthology titled “Shifts.” The book includes a collection of short stories, essays and poems written by 35 women from different age groups, geographic locations, marital status, parenting status, professions and sexual orientations who share their experiences of growth as a result of change. The anthology highlights the strength of women as their life shifts

ultimately lead to increased confidence and internal peace. The book is available at Amazon.com.

More Kudos to…Graphic and Web Designer Jeremy Huggins whose work is included in The Best American Infographics 2014. Click here for more information.

More Kudos to…COD alum Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz, a businesswoman and public speaker who was recently honored at Suburban Life’s “Best Under 40” ceremony.

More Kudos to…Motion Picture/TV student Rob Logan whose film “Slit Scan Tango” was selected for screening at the Mosaic Film Experience competition in Michigan. More kudos to MPTV students Chad Novotny who received an Award of Excellence in the Undergraduate/ Animation/Experimental category and Daniel Carrera an Honorable Mention in the Undergraduate /Fiction category at the Say It in Eight Student Film Festival sponsored by the After Hours Film Society.

More Kudos to alum Dr. Edward E. Raspiller, the new president at John Tyler Community College in Virginia. Read how his experiences at COD changed his life.

More Kudos to…Radiation Therapy Professor Jeff Papp (above) who was featured in a recent Career Builder’s story in the Chicago Tribune. Click here to read the article. And Even More Kudos to…Assistant Meteorology Professor Victor Gensini who recently presented “Hazardous Convective Weather in the U.S.: A Dynamical Downscaling Approach” at NIU. More kudos to the Meteorology team whose lab data was used by the Washington Post and WUSA during their coverage of the massive snowstorms hitting Buffalo, NY, just before Thanksgiving weekend.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow… Holiday break at College of DuPage is Wednesday, Dec. 24, through Sunday, Jan. 4. The College reopens Jan. 5. Classes are not in session but the College remains open on Dec. 22 and 23.

Holiday Reminder… Please take a moment to set your “Out of Office” messages for your Outlook and voice mail accounts before leaving for the holiday. Here’s a suggested message that can be personalized for use by all employees: “Happy holidays. College of DuPage is closed for Winter Break from Dec. 24 through Jan. 4 and will reopen Jan. 5, 2015. For Waterleaf hours call (630) 942-6881 and for MAC performances please call (630) 942-4000. Online registration will continue during Winter Break for spring term at MyAccess.cod.edu.”

Faculty Art Exhibit thru Jan. 10 Open during Holiday performances in the Belushi Performance Hall, an exhibition of new work by College of DuPage full-time studio art faculty, Mara Baker, Charles Boone, Glenn Hansen, Jennifer Hereth, Kathleen Kamal, Brad Killam, David Ouellette and Terry Vitacco runs now through Saturday, Jan. 10. Left: “Gothic Spine” by Kathleen Kamal.

COD, Benedictine Host MLK Breakfast Jan. 19 College of DuPage and Benedictine University will sponsor the 20th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at 8 a.m. Monday, Jan. 19, at the Krasa Center Dining Room on the Benedictine campus, 5700 College Road in Lisle. Please visit www.cod.edu/mlk for more information.

Purchasing Dates For an item to be recommended for purchasing approval to the Board of Trustees at the March 19, 2015, Board meeting, all specifications, rationales, requisitions and IT equipment reviews must be in Purchasing by Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015.

Job Opportunities To view and apply for any posted internal job opportunity, go to: https://cod.hiretouch.com. Job opportunities will be posted to the external web page after they have been posted on the COD Portal for seven days. For questions, please call ext. 2639.

Employment Information Lines? (630) 942-2460 – For a listing of faculty, classified and administrative positions. (630) 942-2639 – For detailed information and to schedule skills testing for clerical positions. Apply at www.cod.edu/hr.