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| March 2003- Palikir, Pohnpei |
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Update from the President's Office - No.219
February 28, 2003 To: All Regents, Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni, Community Patrons,and Our Valued College Friends From: Dr. Michael Tatum, President Subject: Update from the President’s Office – No. 219
I find it hard to believe that Mid-Terms will be upon us next week! While in the check-out line at Palm Terrace the other day I overheard part of a conversation where one person was asking another, "Where does the time go?" Immediately, I remembered a statement made by an old statistics professor of mine who once said, "Time stays. It is people who go." How true this statement is. Time is constant. We can't save time. We can't make up for lost time, nor can we turn back the time. We can only try to govern our use of time and try to use it wisely and effectively. As we approach mid-semester, I hope that we can all look back and say that we have exercised our stewardships in responsible ways so that as we "Go" we can feel good about how the Time has passed. "Life is about Timing." - Carl Lewis, U.S. Olympian New Stewardships - News from the Director of Personnel Linda Maradol, Director of Personnel has had another very busy month. New hires since the last Update are: * Beverly Ong joined the Office of Admissions and Records (OAR) on
February 7th to fill the Student Services Assistant I position. Anwar, Beverly, and Ermine, we welcome you to the College of Micronesia-FSM! We are glad to have you on board and encourage you to get involved. I encourage all faculty and staff to make an effort to get acquainted with these new campus family members. On February 10th Connie Maipi, Education Instructor for the Chuuk Campus resigned. We are sorry to see Connie leave. She will be missed. Her contribution while in Chuuk and in the FSM were great. Connie, we wish you well as you move on to new opportunities and challenges! Thank You. Australian Embassy News Gary Bloom, Senior Program Officer for the Australian Agency for International Development (Australian Aid), announced in a recent press release that three of our alumni have received Full-Scholarships for study in Fiji. The scholarship recipients are: * Gloreen Malakai (Pohnpei), who will be going to the Fiji School of
Nursing in Suva to pursue a Diploma in Nursing. These scholarships are based on satisfactory completion of eligibility requirements and on competitive merit. Gloreen, Melinda, and Holden, we are proud of your accomplishments! We congratulate you and wish you well! Study hard! We look forward to your return and the many contributions you will make in the future. You are each outstanding young people and future leaders of the FSM. We are proud to have you representing us. Remember that each of you have a little bit of "Shark" in you. Don't forget us here at the College of Micronesia-FSM, because we will remember you! "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors Nation Building is no easy task. We thank our friends at the Australian Embassy for their continued support and for sharing our vision of the role our students play and will have as the future leaders of the FSM. G'Day Mates, and Thanks! Note: More information regarding Australian Aid can be obtained by contacting Gary Bloom at the Australian Embassy in Kolonia, Pohnpei at (691) 320-5448 or at his Email address: gary.bloom@dfat.gov.au "Australian Aid: Investing in Growth, Stability, and Prosperity."
From February 5th - 12th the Yap based Fisheries and Maritime Institute (FMI), which is the sixth campus of the College of Micronesia-FSM, was evaluated by a JICA Evaluation Team and by a FSM Government Evaluation Team. I was fortunate to be the host and a member of the FSM Team. The evaluation began with an intensive three-day visit to the FMI where every aspect of the program was put under the "microscope of scrutiny" by both teams. During the visit interviews were conducted and programs and classes were evaluated. The evaluation ended with meetings at the FSM National Government in Palikir and at the National Campus of the College. The purpose of the evaluation was to jointly review the progress of the FMI and it's various programs based on: Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, and Sustainability, using a Performance Based Criteria. Overall, the FMI received high marks. However, due to some unforeseen problems caused by recent typhoons and delays in hiring personnel, not all program goals were achieved according to schedule. Recommendations included more technical cooperation, obtaining sustainable budget support, and increasing recruitment and outreach efforts. Thanks goes to both evaluation teams and their cooperative efforts, with special recognition and thanks to JICA and the Embassy of Japan for helping to establish and support the FMI. The Japanese Government and the people of Japan can be proud of their work in helping the FSM develop it's fisheries as a Nation Building resource. The College of Micronesia-FSM is most proud and honored to be able to share with JICA the vision of what the FMI can signify for the future economic sustainability of the FSM. "Kaizen" - The pursuit of Constant Improvement (A concept learned during the aforementioned evaluation). Thank You JICA! More News from the FMI "Give a man a fish and he eats only for a day. Teach a man to fish and he can feed himself and his family for a lifetime." - Unknown The last week of February a Local Fisherman's Workshop was held in Pohnpei. The main focus of the workshop was on Outboard Motor maintenance, First Aid, and Survival Techniques. The JICA Experts from FMI conducted the classes, and 20 local fishermen from Pohnpei received certificates representing the nearly 80 hours of training they received. The fishermen and the JICA Experts were honored at a special ceremony held at the Skylight Hotel where I had the honor of addressing the graduates, their families, and their friends. Once again we thank JICA! FSM Judicial Conference "Peace (justice) is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually
changing On February 10th I had the honor of giving the Keynote address at the 9th Annual FSM Judicial Conference. The following day I was invited to make a special presentation as a workshop facilitator for the judicial participants about legal training in the FSM. Highlighted in the presentation was the Legal Counselors Program that has been successfully offered on the Pohnpei Campus. There was much discussion on ways to increase legal education in the FSM and how that might be accomplished, including the possible development of a curriculum that would serve the entire legal community of law enforcement, courts, corrections, and probation. It is hoped that dialogue can continue and a comprehensive program of training for justice practitioners can be established at some time in the future. The NIDA Corporation comes to the FSM "Mans key to freedom and happiness is to know more about everything." Earlier in the month of February two representatives from the NIDA Corporation arrived at the Pohnpei Campus to conduct training of our vocational personnel on the new, state-of-the-art NIDA equipment which is now in place and ready for our students. The training provided by Mr. Kevin Gulliver and Mr. Adrian Ward from the NIDA Corporation, was focused on computer assisted instruction which is specifically designed for the telecommunications and electronics industry. Assisting with the training was Brent Villiers who was here for the week from Australia. The equipment used for this initial training will now be used for classroom instruction of our students. Jeff Steel, Director of Vocational Education at the Pohnpei Campus believes that with this advanced technology the College will be able to attract students from the wider Pacific area as well as from the FSM. Additionally, this training will be a mainstay for training of industry technicians for businesses like Telecom and the PUC, providing them with necessary up-to-date technological training. The NIDA equipment is quite versatile, containing essential Math components which give the added benefit of being able to deliver self-directed and self-paced learning for students beginning with Basic Math through Calculus. Thanks to NIDA for their product support service, with special thanks to Kevin, Adrian, Brent, and Jeff for making it all happen! Yap Faculty & Staff Meeting While in Yap for the FMI evaluation, I had the opportunity to conduct a formal faculty and staff meeting at the Yap Campus. The meeting was productive, with a variety of topics and issues being discussed. In addition to the faculty meeting, I was able to spend some serious time with both Land Grant and Upward Bound personnel for a most fruitful and informative visit. Special thanks to Yap Campus Director Lourdes Roboman, Lead Land Grant Researcher Dr. Muru, and to Jovita Masiwemai, Gertrude Mangarwen, Bob Yangerluo, and the entire faculty and staff for making my visit so pleasant and productive. PEACESAT Conference The week of the 17th the College hosted a PEACESAT Conference where specialized training was conducted by PEACESAT personnel from Hawaii. The conference was well attended. The new updates that were presented will help us to be able to better use the PEACESAT technology in the future. Staff Development Day The first thing we all learned on Staff Development Day this year was that one of the "Keys to Success" is to have a Key. However, once we were able to find a key to open the doors to the FSM-China Friendship and Sports Center, the day moved along flawlessly. Colette Higgins of Kapi'olani Community College / University of Hawaii was our keynote speaker in the morning and the featured workshop facilitator in the afternoon. In her morning address we all learned about how continuous professional development can be attained through the process of ALTER: A - Awareness of Learning and Teaching Styles. In her afternoon workshop Colette taught "Discovering Your Learning Style" and "Strategies for Helping Students Become Effective Learners." The presentation was excellent and at the end of the session everyone felt edified and motivated. All of the other workshops were equally successful. Joseph Nyakairu did an artful job of presenting his session on "Customer Service." It was fun to watch Jazmin and Daryl teach the Tango, while at other locations on campus we had faculty and staff learning how to decorate cakes, and how to develop Web-Pages. From the baking of apple pies, lessons in origami, mwarmwar making, and a timely introduction to music, to learning more about the LRC, and Patty Kelly's session on teaching us how to "See," the day was full of great learning opportunities and most definitely worthwhile. More than once during the day I overheard enthusiastic participants
saying that we should have Staff Development Days more often. I agree! At each of our campus sites, Land Grant activities are continuing despite some short-term funding problems. Our Extension Agents in AES and CES, along with our Researchers are maintaining high levels of optimism as they strive to meet their current goals and set new goals. Overall the focus of our Land Grant activities continues to be related to topics such as: Crop Production and Marketing, Swine Management and Upgrading, Food Safety and Quality, Home Gardening, Nutrition Education, Diet and Weight Management, Water Quality, Youth at Risk, Plant Health and Production, Developing Supplemental Income, and Caring for the Environment. The Pohnpei Campus Land Grant is getting a new and needed face-lift. Drop by most any late afternoon to see how everyone is working to make the offices and surrounding area more professional and user friendly. If you are feeling "artistic" you are invited to a day of painting coming up soon. Contact Jackson Phillip - Lead Painter for more information. The Fund Raising Committee "He who has a thing to sell and goes and whispers in a well,
is not so apt Christmas in July? Dollar a Dip Dinners? Mid-Night Movie Sneak Previews? What is a Poker Run? The Fund Raising Committee recently met to discuss fund raising projects and activities. A number of events are soon to be scheduled that will include many "fun" ways to raise funds for projects at our various campus sites. Watch this space in the up-coming weeks for more details. Do you want to be involved? Do you have some creative and innovative ideas for fund raising? If so, please contact the President's Office. Fund raising can be Fun! The Palikir Laboratory School - Do You Have a Bumper Sticker? Dr. Richard Womack has been working over-time (what else is new?) on raising the level of community support and awareness for the Palikir Laboratory School. The "Lab School" is one of the key components of the B.Ed. Degree Program that Rich and his people have been working on to have in place and operational for this Fall. Just this past week Rich gave me a bright yellow bumper sticker that proclaims "We Support Palikir Laboratory School." I immediately affixed Rich's message to the bumper of my van. You too can do the same by contacting Dr. Richard Womack at extension #113. Let us all be vocal and supportive of The Palikir Laboratory School. Go Rich! Go B.Ed. Degree! Go Palikir Laboratory School! Go Sharks! "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare;
it is because we do Dr. Womack, thank you for your daring!
In closing, I want to thank each of you for the Time that you invest here at the College and in our Students. Teaching and education are vocations of love. The pay isn't all that good. The truth be known, none of us will ever get rich working in the field of education, but we will always be counted as rich in the important aspects of life. "Tell me whom you love, and I'll tell you who you are." - Old Creole Proverb From my vantage point I can see that you all love the field of education and that you love your students. And I feel that I can see Who You are. You are good and dedicated, caring, and valiant people. I am proud to be able to share your vision and be here with you at this place, the College of Micronesia-FSM, at this Time. "Time, the Stuff that life is made of." - Benjamin Franklin Timely and sincere regards, "Mike" Dr. Michael Tatum, President |
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