CCM Bus Trip to the American Museum of Natural History
- Tickets: $10 CCM students (with fall 2018 ID card), $15 guest (up to 1 additional). Includes ticket and round trip chartered bus transportation. On sale at the SCC Information Window. (Cash or check only)
- CCM Event Participant’s Hold Harmless Form (must be completed by all CCM bus trip participants)
- Time: Bus leaves CCM at 10:30 am for the American Museum of Natural History
- Sponsored by: Biology & Chemistry Club and PALS
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY POSTER
Dr. Jill Schennum to Speak on the Decline of Unions and Economic Inequality – Posted 9/12/16
Dr. Jill Schennum, chair of the Department of Sociology, Economics and Anthropology at County College of Morris (CCM), will present at the Pennsylvania Labor History Society and Steelworkers’ Archives conference later this month on the decline of unions and economic disparity.
Schennum is one of four people scheduled to speak at the society’s annual conference to be held September 16 – 17 at St. John’s Windish Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. She will speak on September 17.
Schennum, of Blairstown, earned her Ph.D. from CUNY in 2011. Her dissertation, “Bethlehem Steelworkers: Reshaping the Industrial Working Class,” focused on the economic inequality that resulted from the loss of union jobs when Bethlehem Steel closed in 2003.
Having worked in Bethlehem as a social worker during the 1980s, Schennum was struck by the image of the steel mills, which gave her a passion to learn more. As a professor of anthropology at CCM since 1998, Schennum continues to research the lives of former steelworkers and the decline of Bethlehem Steel. She has since turned her dissertation into a book, which she expects will be published next year.
Dr. Sherman H. Master breaks ground for the construction of County College of Morris, 1967. Beside him is James Henderson, the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
County College of Morris (CCM) is located on 222 acres of rolling terrain in Randolph. The college first opened its doors to students in 1968 after Henderson Hall, the first building on campus, was completed. The first class consisted of 592 full-time and 703 part-time students. Enrollment grew quickly, and by the fall of 1969 five additional buildings were under way: the library, later named the Sherman H. Masten Learning Resource Center after CCM’s first president; Sheffield Hall; the Physical Education Building; the Student Community Center and a service building; all completed by 1970.
In the fall of 1973, two additional academic buildings, Cohen and DeMare halls, along with a planetarium, were completed. Through the 1970s, enrollment at the college continued to grow as CCM established itself as one of the premier community colleges in New Jersey. In 1982, the college reached its highest enrollment of 12,012 credit students, with thousands of additional individuals enrolled in certificate programs. That same year the Dalrymple House was renovated.
After two decades of leadership, President Masten retired in 1986 and Dr. Edward J. Yaw became the second president of CCM. Under his leadership, the college continued to grow. In 1989, Emeriti Hall was added and in May 1993 the college completed a 20,000 square-foot expansion of the library. The expansion contained television and audio production studios, additional library seating areas and a 45-seat conference room.
Expansion of the campus continued in 1994 with the construction of two additions that joined the three academic buildings. The 20,417 square-foot expansion added classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, student lounges and an expanded cafeteria. In 1997, the college added a six-lane aquatic facility to the Health and Physical Education Building that is used by the college and local high schools.
In 2004, the college broke ground for the renovation and expansion of the Student Community Center. By the Fall 2005 Semester, the building was open for students to enjoy. All enrollment and counseling functions were brought together in that facility including Admissions, Financial Aid, Academic Advisement, the Bursar and Counseling. The project also included an expanded campus store, renovated auditorium, cafeteria, game room and television lounge. One more exciting feature included a teaching kitchen, plus a dining/conference room for the Hospitality Management Program.
Henderson Hall
Following completion of the Student Community Center project, the college renovated Henderson Hall, CCM’s oldest building which opened in 1968. The renovation, completed in the spring of 2008, houses most of the administrative functions of the college, plus four general purpose classrooms and two corporate business training rooms. That same year, the college celebrated its 40th anniversary. In those 40 years, CCM had graduated more than 40,000 students who were employed in all sectors of the county, most notably half of the county police force and half of the county nurses.
The 2008-09 academic year was also marked by more renovations. Many parking lots, sidewalks, stairs and athletic fields were renovated. In addition, nursing laboratories were renovated along with major renovations to the interior and exterior of Emeriti Hall. During the 2010-11 academic year, the Academic Complex underwent a major renovation including the installation of energy-efficient lighting. That year the college also started construction of a new Landscape and Horticultural Technology building as its first LEED certified building. Included among the building’s many green features are geothermal heating and cooling, photovoltaic roof panels, and a vegetated flat roof and rain collection system.
Building upon the college’s sustainability efforts, the Morris County Improvement Authority in 2012 installed solar panels over Parking Lots 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and on the rooftop of the Student Community Center. New exterior energy-efficient lighting also was installed by the college throughout the campus.
Also in 2012, the college purchased a one-story commercial building on Route 10 in Randolph as its first major expansion in nearly four decades. The 15,500 square-foot building located at 675 Route 10 East allowed the college to increase classroom space to meet growing academic needs and provided for a new access road to and from Route 10.
In 2014, the college completed an extensive renovation to the Masten Learning Resource Center (LRC), which included consolidating the library on the second floor, a major expansion of the college’s gallery and the addition of a café. Also in 2014, Rutgers entered into a partnership with the college to offer bachelor degree programs on the CCM campus.
In 2015, the Media Center, located within the LRC, was renovated and renamed in honor of late Assemblyman Alex DeCroce. That renovation was funded with $1 million from the Morris County Board of Freeholders’ capital budget and $900,000 raised by the CCM Foundation in individual, corporate, private foundation and public support.
In early 2016, the college opened its Music Technology Center, a state-of-the-art facility that houses the digital media technology, drama, media technology, music and music recording academic programs. The facility includes an experimental theater lab – theater in-the-round – that serves as a large hands-on classroom with a recording studio. Also included are two standard classrooms, an electronic music/aural comprehension classroom and piano lab, a second recording studio, scene shop, dressing rooms and multiple student practice rooms. The $8.5 million facility was constructed with funds provided through the Building Our Future Bond Act that was approved by New Jersey voters in 2012.
Dr. Anthony J. Iacono is inaugurated as the third President of CCM on October 6, 2017.
After serving as president for 30 years, Yaw retired in 2016 and Dr. Anthony J. Iacono became the college’s third president.
In 2017, the college became the first community college in New Jersey to gain designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security.
In 2018, as part of the college’s 50th anniversary celebrations, CCM launched a historic $2.1 million FORWARD Capital Campaign focused on funding programs and facility upgrades, including the Paragano Family Foundation Healthcare Simulation Center, a Cyber Security Suite, an enhanced Culinary Arts Training facility, a new Manufacturing and Engineering building, student scholarships and the Faculty Innovation Fund. Also in 2018, the college developed two new academic programs in animation and virtual reality to meet the demand for employees in these rapidly growing areas.
Students Gain an Early Start on a Higher Education
(l-r) Randolph School District Superintendent Jennifer Fano, Randolph High School Principal Debbie Iosso, CCM President Anthony J. Iacono, CCM Trustee Chair Thomas Pepe, New Jersey Commissioner of Education Lamont Repollet, Assemblywoman Aura Dunn and Randolph School Board Vice President Joe Faranetta.
County College of Morris (CCM) and the Randolph School District on Thursday, December 19, signed a dual enrollment agreement to provide high school students with the opportunity to begin their higher education early.
Attending the signing ceremony were the New Jersey Commissioner of Education Lamont Repollet, Assistant Commissioner of Academics and Performance Linda Eno, Assemblywoman Aura Dunn and numerous officials from Randolph Township and its school district.
Through the partnership, CCM will provide Randolph High School students with a pathway to start earning college credits at their high school. The program is aligned with the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education’s vision to provide students with early exposure to college.
The program, known as Titans Express, started this past September with CCM offering a general psychology course to Randolph High School students identical in content to the class offered at CCM. Courses through Titans Express are half the price of the in-county tuition rate. Currently, that equates to $68.50 a credit. As the program develops, other college-level courses will be provided at the high school.
Under the agreement, college-level classes at the high school are taught by Randolph High School teachers working collaboratively with CCM professors. Through the program, participating students also have access to CCM resources, such as the library, tutoring services and academic advisement. In addition, they have the opportunity to visit and interact with CCM faculty teaching the same courses at the college to broaden their exposure to college-level work and facilities.
“We’re pleased to enter into this agreement to provide Randolph students with the opportunity to begin their college education early and to start earning credits toward a degree,” said Dr. Anthony J. Iacono, president of CCM. “Early exposure to college means students can start exploring areas of interest sooner so they can better determine the educational and career pathway they want to pursue.”
“One of our missions at Randolph is to foster innovation. To fulfill that vision, we strive to create an exemplary learning community that prepares students to excel in a complex interconnected and changing world,” said Jennifer Fano, superintendent, Randolph School District. “The achievement of college education is one of multiple pathways for students to explore to become the responsible, capable and progressive world leaders we know they can be. Our partnership with CCM enhances accessibility for students to higher education. CCM’s rich history of academic excellence in Morris County has left an indelible impact on the lives of thousands of students. I am grateful for the partnership and the opportunity for students to pursue college level course work while enrolled at Randolph High School.”
“I am thrilled that we are continuing to enhance our connection with CCM,” said Dr. Deborah L. Iosso, Randolph High School principal. “Our students can only benefit from the work that we are doing to provide them with more college-level opportunities right in their own backyard. The faculty and staff at CCM have been amazing to work with and I look forward to a productive relationship moving forward for the benefit of our students.”
A community college graduate, Assistant Commissioner Eno praised CCM for providing a model for other schools to follow so more students can gain early exposure to college.
“It’s taking the end game and bringing it to the beginning so students can access higher education early on,” added Commissioner Repollet.
Credit hours earned by students will be applied to the corresponding certificate or associate degree program at CCM should they decide to enroll at the college. The college credits also may apply to their high school graduation requirements or bachelor degree programs offered at four-year institutions.
To apply to the program, parents and guardians first need to fill out the application for CCM’s Challenger Program for high school students. The application can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/challengerprogram/. That application then should be submitted to the CCM’s Admissions office or Randolph High School.
CCM currently offers the Titans Express program at Mt. Olive, Hanover Park and Whippany Park high schools and expects to expand it to other high schools in Morris County. In addition to Titans Express, CCM offers several other programs for high school students. To review those programs, visit http://bit.ly/CCMHS/.
To view photos from the signing ceremony visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmK8xTh4.
An Exploration of War, Peace and Healing
Described by the Village Voice as more than a film, the documentary “Karl Marx City” will be the first of three presentations held at the Morris Museum’s Bickford Theatre by the County College of Morris (CCM) Legacy Project this academic year.
“Karl Marx City,” co-directed by the award-winning filmmaker Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker, “is a fascinating conversation about history itself, the very act of forgetting and the persistence of memory,” according to the Village Voice. The film explores the suicide of Epperlein’ father and the life of her family behind the Iron Curtain.
The documentary will be shown as part of this year’s Legacy Project series focusing on “War, Peace and Healing.”
Free and open to the public, “Karl Marx City,” followed by a Q&A with Epperlein, will be shown at the Morris Museum Bickford Theratre, on Friday, November 1, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. To guarantee seating, please RSVP to leagacy@ccm.edu. The Morris Museum is located at 6 Normandy Heights Road in Morristown.
The Legacy Project will offer two additional presentations at the Bickford Theatre in the spring. Specific dates have yet to be scheduled.
In March, poet Seema Reza, will introduce the documentary film, “We Are Not Done Yet,” and then participate in a discussion after the screening.
Directed by Sareen Hairabedian and produced by Jeffrey Wright (Emmy winner for HBO’s Angels in America and two-time Emmy nominee for HBO’s Westworld) and David Holbrooke (HBO’s The Diplomat), the film profiles a group of veterans and active-duty service members as they share their experiences and seek to combat their traumas in a United Service Organizations writing workshop.
The project was inspired by the writing workshops for veterans led by poet Reza, chair of Community Building Art Works, a charitable organization that develops arts programs for veterans and their communities.
In April, Eugenie Mukeshimana, a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, will give a lecture on “Surviving Genocide.” She will share her experiences, discuss forces in Rwanda that fomented the genocide, and educate listeners about the dangers of hatred, inflammatory language, violence and the dehumanization of others.
For additional information on this year’s Legacy Project programs, go to www.ccm.edu/legacy-project/. Specific dates for the spring events also will be announced there.
Over its seven years of existence, the Legacy Project, led by a team of CCM professors and staff members, has presented lectures and programming on a variety of important issues that impact society.
This year’s programming is supported with a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
A year focused on War, Peace & Healing
Book Talk – CCM Community Read
“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien – Read the book in advance to better participate in discussion. Amazon bills the book as a “classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene.” O’Brien’s book is a meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling.
Location: Learning Resource Center, LRC 121
RSVP: Legacy Project or 973-328-5469
Sponsored by: Legacy Project, Learning Resource Center and History & Political Science Department
Featuring the Work of Dover and Student Artists
The County College of Morris (CCM) Art and Design Gallery latest exhibit Conexiones Dover, featuring the work of Dover artists and CCM students, highlights the people, history and heritage of the college’s neighboring community.
A reception, free and open to the public, will be held on Friday, September 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. The CCM Art and Design Gallery is located in the Sherman H. Masten Learning Resource Center, 214 Center Grove Road, Randolph. The exhibit runs until November 11.
The exhibit features photographs, video installations, historical documentation and other media, including architectural designs for multipurpose buildings and interiors.
The exhibit is part of the college’s Dover Initiative to build stronger ties with the community. Participating with the college in the exhibit are the Morris County Office of Hispanic Affairs, the Dover Public Library and the Dover Historical Society.
The gallery is open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Photo by CCM student Melissa Efrus on display in the Conexiones Dover exhibit in the CCM Art and Design Gallery.
Funds to Support Speaker Series and a Renewable Energy Lab at the College
Two educational programs at County College of Morris (CCM), one in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and the other in the humanities, are receiving a well-deserved boost in funding thanks to recent grant awards totaling more than $235,000.
In the STEM area at the college, CCM is collaborating with the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) to create two identical renewable energy labs, one on each campus. NJIT has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to establish the labs at both campuses. CCM’s portion is $223,892 over three years.
The project, titled, “Renewable Energy Systems Training Laboratory Development and Workforce Training,” will focus on how solar energy is converted into electricity for commercial use. At CCM, the lab primarily will be used by students in the Electronics Engineering Technology Program.
“The labs will have a representative array of equipment that is typically found in a solar powered environment,” explains Project Director Venancio “Venny” Fuentes, chair of the Department of Engineering Technologies and Engineering Science at CCM. “Students will be able to work with all of the elements that are needed to convert solar energy to electrical energy.”
CCM students in the college’s Electronics Engineering Technology Program who have taken the renewable energy course would then be able to transfer to NJIT to continue their concentration in renewable energy. Members of the community and students at other institutions also can train in the new lab at CCM through the college’s Center for Workforce Development.
In the area of the humanities, The Legacy Project, CCM’s lecture and panel discussion initiative, has received a $12,685 grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Legacy Project has offered programs across multiple disciplines to students, faculty, staff and the public since launching in 2013.
Events the Legacy Project is planning for the upcoming 2019-20 academic year focus on the theme of “War, Peace and Healing,” which will consist of on and off campus lectures, book discussions in local libraries, traveling faculty presentations, film screenings and an Oral History Remembrance Week for veterans. All of the project’s programs are free and open to the public.
Previous topics that have been explored by the Legacy Project include genocide, the women of the Beat Generation and a 50-year perspective on civil rights.
The two grants are in addition to the $4 million CCM received in July from the United States Department of Labor to lead the expansion of apprenticeship programs in advanced manufacturing and an additional award of $800,000 to assist with developing apprenticeships in health care.
For more information on the Legacy Project, go to www.ccm.edu/legacy-project/. More information on the Engineering Technologies and Engineering Science programs can be found at https://tinyurl.com/y9qkr3ty/.
“Despite My Diagnosis” Series in The Youngtown Edition Receives High Praise
Suffering in silence rarely, if ever, provides relief. Rather it is seeking assistance and being part of a
From left, Freeholder Director Doug Cabana, Freeholders Kathy DeFillippo and Deb Smith, CCM student Marco Mirlas, Freeholder Stephen Shaw, CCM student Raven Resch, Freeholder John Krickus, CCM student Alexa Wyszkowski, Freeholder deputy director Heather Darling, CCM Vice President Bette M. Simmons, CCM President Anthony J. Iacono, and Freeholder Tom Mastrangelo.
community of people who understand that bring the strongest healing. Recognizing that, County College of Morris (CCM) students Raven Resch, of Belvidere; Alexa Wyszkowski, of Rockaway; and Marco Mirlas, of Landing, decided to use their experiences with mental illness to establish a place of acceptance to help others.
As part of a project for her Contemporary Social Issues class at CCM, Resch developed the concept for “Despite My Diagnosis,” a series of columns written by those who have struggled with mental illness. She presented the idea to Wyszkowski, who as editor- in-chief of the student newspaper – The Youngtown Edition – agreed to run the series this Spring Semester.
Resch, who has suffered with post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety, explains that she felt compelled to show others that mental illness does not define a person nor eliminate the ability to have a successful life.
“There are so many people with mental illness and I want to show people that you can strive and thrive if you get the help you need,” she says.
Mirlas, as president of the CCM Writers’ Club, agreed to write one of the columns about his experiences with attention deficit disorder and to find others willing to share their stories. When asked, he would also proofread the works of other participants and offer suggestions as to their wording and content. A history major, who hopes to become perhaps a teacher or lawyer, Mirlas says he welcomed the opportunity “to help inspire others.”
In each of the columns, the writers have focused not only on their disorders, but
also their successes in life on their paths to recovery and acceptance. The series was picked up by Morris County Proud to be Stigma Free, which included each of the students’ stories on its website. The stigma-free communities initiative, https://morriscountystigmafree.org/, is a county-wide program that aims to eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness and substance use disorders. It is dedicated to raising awareness by creating an environment where individuals are supported in their efforts to achieve wellness and recovery.
On Wednesday, April 24, the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders presented Resch, Wyszkowski and Mirlas with certificates of appreciation for raising awareness that those with mental illness should not be defined by their diagnosis.
For Resch, a mother of a four-year-old, the turning point toward wellness took place after she checked herself into an emergency room because she knew she had to get better for her family. Working with social workers, she was encouraged to focus on building a successful life, so she enrolled at CCM and now plans to become a licensed social worker to help others as she was helped. At CCM, she also became involved with the Active Minds Club to assist with its mission to increase awareness about mental illness.
“I have found so much support for my dreams and goals here,” she says. “CCM does that for me.”
Wyszkowski, who suffers from severe food allergies and anxiety and depression, has extensive experience working to help others. She has spoken on panels for Food Allergy Research & Education, writes a blog on food allergies and plans to take Mental Health First Aid Training courses. At CCM, in addition to serving as editor-in-chief, she is vice president of service for the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. A dual major in culinary management and liberal arts, she also is working on two certificates in small business and special events. Her dream position is to be teacher who works with students on school publications, such as the newspaper and yearbook.
Regarding her work on The Youngtown Edition, her goal has been to assist with creating an atmosphere of acceptance and celebration. “Everyone is going through something,” she says. “I believe it is important to create welcoming environments.”
