Update from the President's Office - No. 199

December 05, 2001

MEMORANDUM

To:       All Regents, Faculty, Staff, and Students

From:     President

Subject:  Update from the President's Office-No.199

Board meeting agenda. The COM-FSM Board of Regents is scheduled to meet at Pohnpei Campus December 10-14, 2001. A copy of the draft meeting agenda is attached for your information. Campus Directors will be meeting Friday afternoon and all day Saturday prior to the Board meeting. As always, the Board meetings are open except for executive sessions on legal matters and individual personnel issues. Please attend as your schedule permits.

Chuuk Campus update. According to the November 2001 report from Chuuk Campus, the following films have been produced under the Chuuk Multi-media Project: Satawan World War II Commemoration Festivals; Teen Pregnancy, Youth, Drug and Alcohol, and Violence Against Women,\; and Traditional Farming Concepts. Another film, Immunization for School Children, is still in progress. Under the Oral History Project, tapes from anthropologist James Nason that were donated to the Chuuk Campus collection are being transcribed. Two boxes of books, magazines, and journal articles related to the larger Pacific were received from a donor from the Association of Social Anthropology in Oceania.

The Math and Science Department concluded the study period for MS 100 on November 23, 2001, but the tutorial services were continued until the end of November.

The Vocational Education Department has been preparing for a VocEd open house by setting up a display for visitors to the facility during December 6-7, 2001. Some of the students' work will be exhibited at the Chuuk Campus Information Booth during the Chuuk State Leadership Summit to be held December 3-7, 2001.

A total of 161 students took the COM-FSM entrance test. The answer sheets were sent to the National Campus for scoring. The library recorded a total of 806 students using the computers and/or library materials during the month. The library is now open in the evenings from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday

In the Upward Bound program, all of the 27 new students have completed their individual educational plans based on the Educational and Career Assessment. The first PTA meeting of the year was held on October 13, 2001, with 74% of the parents in attendance.

Chuuk Campus held Drug and Alcohol Awareness activities on November 1, 2001, at the FSM Supreme Court building. Activities included a panel discussion with guest speakers and poster and essay contests.

Kosrae Campus update. According to the October and November, 2001, report from Kosrae Campus Director Kalwin Kephas, the Kosrae Student Body Association held its election with the following results: Kilafwakun P. Sigrah, President; Shiro R. Sigrah, Vice President; Gloria A. Sigrah, Secretary; and Satako Noda, Treasurer. Congratulations to all of the officers!! Both the SBA and the Village Organization Officers have been actively planning campus activities including a Thanksgiving Lunch celebrated on campus on November 22, 2001. The Kosrae Campus Christmas celebration is scheduled for December 18, 2001.

Four (4) carpentry students have been placed on a Workforce Investment Act (WIA) internship program for a period of 6 months during which they work at the following sites: MJ Furniture, Rural Development, Housing Renovation, and Raimond Construction Company. Also, 8 students in the Agriculture Certificate Program are undertaking internships with the Department of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries as well as the College's Land Grant program. Positive feedback has been received from supervisors of both programs.

Kosrae Campus participated in the Kosrae Annual State Fair which was held on November 15, 2001. The fair attracted local farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, weavers, and the public. Kosrae Campus Upward Bound students sold local food and crafts and demonstrated local wall weaving, while the Land Grant Program displayed Vitamin A rich fruits, locally sewn dresses, and tissue culture bananas. The agriculture students sold over 100 heads of Chinese cabbage and won first prize for Chinese cabbages and eggplants and second prize for watermelon. Congratulations, agriculture students!!

There are 444 students in grades 8-9 being served by the GEAR UP program this year. The program is being run by 3 staff members from 3-5 p.m. 5 days a week and focuses on the following goals:

• To provide an environment for tutoring and mentoring services for
  middle school children and their parents to gain early awareness and
  readiness for undergraduate programs;
• To have students raise their grade point average;
• To lower the dropout rate for high school;
• To have students succeed and pursue college education; and
• To improve college attendance.

Under the Cooperative Extension Services (CES) component of Land Grant, staff continue to collaborate with the Kosrae State Department of Education in assisting vocational teachers teach health and nutrition in the schools.

A workshop was held on October 15-19, 2001, to promote local foods and home gardening. During this workshop, Assistant Director Kenye Killin provided lectures on the Improtance of Protective Foods, Vitamin A, and Advantages of Home Gardening. A total of 21 women completed the workshop.

Sewing classes were conducted in the municipal buildings 4 times a week. Thirty-one (31) women successfully completed basic and intermediate levels and 26 completed all three levels.

Under the banana tissue culture project, 6,340 banana plants were distributed to over 200 farmers. More than 10,000 shoots are regularly maintained in the laboratory. Approximately 2000-2500 shoots per month are rooted and transferred to the greenhouse. These micro-propogated bananas are reported to grow faster, yield better, and bear earlier than the field-grown suckers.

Under the Poultry Project a total of 130, 11-week old chicks and 6 sacks of chicken feed were provided to 3 farmers. It is projected that the chickens will start laying eggs sometime in December.

A total of 79 Upward Bound participants successfully completed the fall quarter. Services provided by Upward Bound during the quarter include 10 Saturday sessions, 20 evening tutorial sessions, 1 cultural site visit, 1 career site orientation visit, and 1 community service project activity. Individual and group counseling, guidance, and advising were also provided to the students. Upward Bound seniors are also enrolled in the Career Work Study Program funded by WIA.

Land Grant Board of Regents meeting. A meeting of the Land Grant Board of Regents was held November 22-23, 2001, in Guam. The directives of this meeting are attached for your information.

World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day was observed at the National Campus on Monday, December 3, 2001. The ceremony included a reading on an AIDS patient by one of the students, a presentation by Dr. Ekiek, unveiling of the AIDS billboard, and a raffle drawing. Other activities later in the day were held in the MITC. Special thanks to Goldi Myers, Benina Ilon, Morehna Santos, and the Peer Counselors for organizing this activity.

COM-FSM intramural championship. The COM-FSM intramurals championship was held on Saturday, December 1, 2001, at the Pohnpei State Gymnasium. Results are as follows: Women's Volleyball - Pingmok (1st), Yap (2nd), and Kosrae (3rd); Men's Volleyball - Chuuk (1st), Yap (2nd), and Pohnpei Campus (3rd); Women's Basketball - Pohnpei National (1st), Kosrae (2nd), and Chuuk (3rd); and Men's Basketball - Staff (1st), Yap (2nd), and Kosrae (3rd). Congratulations to all winners!!! And a big thanks to all who organized and participated in this competition.

Personnel. A warm welcome is extended to Cynthia Welles who assumed her position as a clerk typist at Pohnpei Campus on November 19, 2001. We are glad to have you with us!

Land Grant Research Assistant Rodasio Samuel resigned from his position effective November 16, 2001. We would like to thank Rodasio for his years of service to the College and wish him the very best in the future.

Attachment

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