BlueWave News

May 2022

We celebrated the achievements of thousands of proud graduates during the 55th annual Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 12, 2022, at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Due to the pandemic, this was the first in-person celebration since 2019; virtual ceremonies were held in 2020 and 2021.

Surrounded by an audience of their families and friends, students who completed FSCJ’s bachelor’s and associate degree programs accepted their diplomas from FSCJ President John Avendano, Ph.D., and the College’s District Board of Trustees.

More than 6,300 degrees and certificates were awarded to FSCJ graduates and candidates for the 2021-22 academic year, with some students earning more than one. Of these, 2,070 were associate in arts degrees, 1,026 were associate in science degrees and 925 were bachelor’s degrees.

Thanks to everyone who volunteered and all those who attended to celebrate our students!

FSCJ Receives National Workplace Award

For the second year in a row, FSCJ was selected as one of the Most Promising Places to Work in Community Colleges by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) and “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.” FSCJ was one of only 24 colleges to be selected for the award in recognition of workplace diversity, staffing practices and work environment.

Celebration of Student Success Honorees Named

Faculty and staff nominated students to be recognized in the following categories for the Celebration of Student Success:

Click on the button below to see the names of all honorees.

The CARE Project Updates

There's one more CARE Project information session coming up to make sure you have an understanding of the new classification and compensation structure before the launch on July 1. The final session will be held on Tuesday, May 24, from 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Following the session, employees will receive an individual personalized statement via email outlining their current and new information. Employees will then have an opportunity to attend capacity-limited Q&A sessions to answer questions. For questions or help with myLearning registration, please contact hrtraining@fscj.edu.

FSCJ.edu Redesign Update

The goal of the fscj.edu redesign is to bring a more focused user experience for our current students and those who are interested in becoming a student. Over the past several months, the Web Redesign Committee collected data to evaluate visitor traffic and behavior, and to identify needs and opportunities for enhancement. Based on those findings, the overall design and structure were developed. The web development team is now implementing those designs and building out individual sections, with a targeted release for the Fall 2022 Term.

Be on the lookout for more information, including the next Six Sigma meeting which will be held on June 1 at 10 a.m. Register at myLearning.

FSCJ AFC to Host Voter Registration Events

The FSCJ Chapter of the Association of Florida Colleges (AFC), in coordination with the Duval County Board of Elections, is planning several voter registration events for the week of May 23-26. Faculty and staff are encouraged to visit one of our events below to register to vote and find out more about AFC. Please contact Bryan Stewart at bstewart@fscj.edu for more information.

Monday, May 23

Deerwood Center, Center Stage

11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Tuesday, May 24

North Campus, Courtyard (near the Art Gallery)

11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Wednesday, May 25

South Campus, Breezeway by Skillet's Café

11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Wednesday, May 25

Downtown Campus, A Building Lobby

11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Thursday, May 26

Kent Campus, Courtyard between A and F Buildings

11 a.m.-1 p.m.

FSCJ Foundation Golf Tournament

FSCJ Foundation held the second annual FSCJ Alumni Golf Classic, presented by First Florida Credit Union, on Monday, May 2 at Queen’s Harbour Yacht & Country Club. The event welcomed sponsors, partners and supporters and raised more than $30,000 for FSCJ BlueWave Athletics.

Congratulations to the FSCJ Baseball team! Their winning season, with a record of 30-19, continues with a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II World Series. This will be FSCJ Baseball's fourth overall appearance at the World Series and their first since 2000.

The team took on Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) in a best two-out-of-three super regional matchup for the NJCAA Division II South Atlantic District Championship and a berth to the NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, Oklahoma.

After four days of tough competition in a double-elimination format between FSCJ, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College and ASA College Miami, they became the NJCAA Division II Region 8 Conference Champs and earned their spot at the district championships.

Facilities Update

The Facilities Team has been hard at work, updating and upgrading spaces across the College. Check out some highlights below:

Recently completed projects

Projects in progress

Projects getting started

FSCJ recently hosted trainers from Madison College (now with HueLife) to introduce the general tenets of Interest-Based Problem Solving (IBPS) and share the Madison College IBPS story.

The goal was to train faculty and staff on how to facilitate Collegewide instruction, create a shared understanding of the basic principles of IBPS and identify applications for FSCJ.

In the coming months, we will begin to offer IBPS training to all FSCJ faculty and staff as we continue to build upon our commitment to adopting an interest-based approach to how we work together.

Congratulations to our Workforce Education Team for winning the Contract Training Revolutionary Practice Award from the Learning Resources Network (LERN). The award recognizes a Contract Training Unit that has taken an innovative approach to navigating the rapidly changing environment, developed cutting-edge practices, and/or found impactful ways to support internal and external customers in 2021.

“The Florida State College at Jacksonville Workforce Education team is taking internal

partnerships and cross-collaboration to the next level. Over the past few years, many higher education administrators have pushed for greater synergy between credit and non-credit departments. FSCJ has accepted the challenge,” said LERN Assistant Vice President Travette A. Webster.

Recruitment and Admissions hosted an Open House on May 3 at the Nassau Center and had an incredible turnout! With more than 80 prospective students and their families in attendance, we welcomed close to 200 people to our campus. Thank you to all of our FSCJ community who helped make this event a huge success!

FSCJ is hosting a large Summer Open House event at the Deerwood Center on Saturday, July 30, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. We are still in need of volunteers! If you have not already, don’t forget to register to volunteer by clicking on the green button below. Last year we assisted more than 300 students and hope to make this event even bigger!

April 2022 Outreach Efforts:

As always, if you know someone interested in attending FSCJ, send them our way!

Professor of Biological Sciences Dr. Lourdes Norman-McKay was selected for the 2022-23 cohort of Jefferson Science Fellows (JSF), an initiative of the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State. The program is designed to further build capacity for science, technology and engineering expertise within the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Dr. Norman-McKay will be serving in the Office of the Secretary, Office of Global AIDS Coordinator – one of the few offices at the State Department that reports directly to the U.S. Secretary of State. This office traditionally oversees HIV/AIDS prevention and relief. President Joe Biden recently expanded the office’s mission to orchestrate COVID relief and management in low- and middle-income nations.

Faculty and Staff Accomplishments

Professor of Chemistry Dr. Jayanta Ghosh recently had his research paper, "Building a Bayesian network model of heart disease," co-authored with Dr. Marco Valtorta from the University of South Carolina's College of Computer Science and Engineering, surfaced in Google Search as a scholarly article. The paper was also included in the digital library of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). View the synopsis.

Congratulations to the following employees for completing FSCJ Certificate programs!

Student Success Certificate

New Faculty Institute I

New Faculty Institute II

Active Learning Certificate

 Diversity Certificate

 Administrative Assistant Certificate

2021-22 Leadership Academy Graduates

May's Administrative & Professional Collaborative (APC) spotlight shines on Center for eLearning (CeL) Program Manager Kristin Kristen. In her role, Kris provides Collegewide support for any departments that want to develop and offer fully-online programs and courses to current and prospective students. She engages with the deans, instructional program managers and faculty members in creating a portfolio and program plan for online course developments. In addition, she provides ongoing operational support to the CeL’s development team (instructional designers and multimedia designers).

Students in FSCJ's Legal Studies Association (LSA) recently visited the Duval County Courthouse. They enjoyed a tour with the Clerk of Court’s office and learning about their future career opportunities. The LSA is working closely with the Clerk of Court's office to continue these firsthand learning experiences for future students as well.

Over the past few weeks, multiple pinning ceremonies were held to celebrate students completing the nursing and allied health programs.

Check out the photos here:

Nursing

Physical Therapist Assistant

Respiratory Care

FSCJ's faculty, staff, students, programs and leadership are often highlighted by local and regional media outlets - online, on air and in print. Read articles featuring important updates and activities happening within the College by clicking here.

Upcoming Events

Test your knowledge. To ensure all faculty and staff have an opportunity to submit answers, the quiz winners will be selected at random from entries with all questions answered correctly. You have until 6 p.m. on the day the newsletter is distributed to email your answers to bluewavenews@fscj.edu. The three winners will receive a BlueWave prize pack! Please note: Previous quiz winners, while eligible to submit answers, are not eligible for additional prizes for six months.

1) When is the last information session for The CARE Project?

    a. May 18

    b. May 24

    c. July 1

    d. August 18

2) Dr. Lourdes Norman-McKay will serve in what office as part of her selection to the 2022-23 cohort of Jefferson Science Fellows (JSF)?

    a. U.S. Department of State

    b. U.S. Secretary of State

    c. Office of the Secretary, Office of Global AIDS Coordinator

    d. U.S. Agency for International Development

3) Where will the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series be played?

    a. Texas

    b. Kansas

    c. Florida

    d. Oklahoma

4) What's the topic of the next Business Speaker Series event?

    a. FinTech

    b. Leadership

    c. Financial Literacy

    d. Professional Development

5) How many degrees and certificates were awarded to FSCJ graduates and candidates for the 2021-22 academic year?

    a. 2,070

    b. More than 6,300

    c. 1,026

    d. 925

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