WRAP UP ON SUMMIT MEETINGS

Pathway managers Dave McDaniel, Bob Sheehan, and Bev Smith met with 15 groups of faculty members from area high schools and Sinclair to hold Tech Prep Summit meetings in September. The meetings allowed teachers time to catch up on changes in Tech Prep and to network with professional peers. If you were unable to attend this year, contact your pathway manager to get the updates you need for 2009 -2010.

“WE ARE IT” STATE-WIDE INITIATIVE

Sinclair Community College is one of almost two dozen colleges in Ohio that will host a 2009 “We Are IT” event. This one-day conference is a state-wide initiative whose goal is to increase the number of females enrolling in Information Technology (IT) and other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related Career-Technical Education workforce development programs. On November 20, from 8:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m. over 225
9th and 10th grade young women will participate in hands-on activities, learn about career opportunities in technology, meet and have lunch with interesting women who work in IT and technology fields, and walk away with great door prizes. There is even an essay contest where the first place winner will be awarded a laptop!

Register for Sinclair’s event by contacting Bob Sheehan (512.5161). For more information, visit our website at www.sinclair.edu/we-are-it

WOMEN IN STEM CAREERS

2009-2010 will see changes in WISTEM initiatives.

Kay Cornelius, professor of mathematics at Sinclair, will be the new Director for WiSTEM Summer Institute-2010. She takes over from Larraine Kapka, professor and engineering chairperson, who served a two year term.

WiSTEM, Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is a two-week summer institute for junior and senior girls in high schools. The program introduces students to various fields related to STEM and has been running successfully for the past 15 years (earlier as WIET). Visit www.sinclair.edu/organizations/wiet/ for more information and annual reports.

Will a small group, on site session for sophomore girls lead to increased nontraditional enrollment in STEM classes? That’s the question we’ll seek to answer during the next two years with the MVTPC Women in STEM Careers program. MVTPC will bring a program to five high schools this fall that includes engineering professors, professional women working in STEM, and career exploration information to meet with selected sophomore girls. Interested? For more details, please contact Beverly Smith (512.2198).

SHOP CLASS AS SOULCRAFT

You’re invited to join our fall Tech Prep Book Group and read Shop Class as Soul Craft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by motorcycle mechanic and philosopher Dr. Matthew Crawford. The book is the story of his journey from motorcycle mechanic to information age worker and back again. Publisher’s Weekly says, “With wit and humor, the author deftly mixes the details of his own experience as a tradesman and then proprietor of a motorcycle repair shop with more philosophical considerations.”

If you’d like to read the book and join the discussions to be held at local restaurants after school, contact Beverly Smith at 512-2198.

MVTPC WELCOMES JULIE CLAUSS-WHEELER

Staring October 5th there’s a new face at MVTPC! Julie Clauss-Wheeler joins the consortium as the new Data/Transitions Technician. Julie will be assisting with all forms of proficiency testing, admissions applications, A+dvancer administration, and in time, serving as the scholarship ombudsperson. Julie was formerly employed by Sinclair as an IT Lab Coordinator and has assisted Tech Prep before in providing proficiency testing in BIS 160. Her expertise in the IT field will greatly enhance the capabilities and services provided by Miami Valley Tech Prep. Julie can be reached at (512.2406) or at julie.wheeler@sinclair.edu.