Special Edition
Please join us in congratulating this year's retirees!
Under Kim’s leadership, innovative community-based field learning experiences under faculty supervision have been developed and implemented, fulfilling the OTA Program’s need for Level 1 Fieldwork as well as meeting various community needs. In addition, Kim was a member of a research team consisting of AFWCs from the OT Programs at Salem State University and Tufts University along with NSCC’s OTA Department Chair investigating the effectiveness of a collaborative OT/OTA intraprofessional Level II Fieldwork experience. This IRB-approved pilot study was successfully completed and provided data to promote collaborative intraprofessional fieldwork models in occupational therapy education. Kim’s leadership in fieldwork education was also demonstrated in her engagement within the New England Occupational Therapy Education Council, a consortium of Occupational Therapy Educational Programs dedicated to supporting the academic and clinical aspects of Occupational Therapy Education. The faculty, fieldwork supervisors, students and alumni of NSCC’s OTA Program thank Kim for her steadfast commitment to fieldwork education and wish her the very best in retirement.
Mary Malone is a 1974 NSCC Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Program alumnus who has made valuable
contributions to the occupational therapy profession as an occupational therapy practitioner
and educator. Since graduating as an OTA in 1974, Mary worked in various health care
environments and, after earning her bachelor's degree in health care administration
followed by a master’s degree in occupational therapy, came back to NSCC as a full-time
faculty member in 1995. Mary’s genuine respect for the role of occupational therapy
assistants within the profession as well as her steadfast commitment to supporting
OTA students in their efforts to be successful have fueled her passion for teaching
within NSCC’s OTA Program. Her teaching practices are creative and collaborative in
their design, and although Mary is a strong believer in a “high touch” pedagogical
approach for our community college students, she has embraced technology as an effective
tool in the teaching-learning process. She has initiated several technological advancements
within the OTA curriculum including the most recent virtual simulation conducted in
Blackboard Collaborate as a telehealth service delivery session performed by OTA students.
Along with these noted attributes, students appreciate Mary’s humility and humor, both of which she shares within the classroom as well as within advising sessions. Her longstanding tenure as faculty advisor to the Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) Club attests to Mary’s student-centered focus beyond the classroom and her strong belief in the value of student engagement to promote both success and satisfaction in one’s life. Mary herself has consistently engaged within the NSCC community serving on various governance committees, ad-hoc committees and special task groups as well as in MCCC Chapter positions. In addition, Mary has served in various leadership positions within the Massachusetts Association for Occupational Therapy and the American Occupational Therapy Association, all of which have facilitated success and gratification in her occupational therapy career. OTA faculty, students and alumni thank Mary for her valuable contributions and wish her the very best in retirement.
Betsy Mariere joined NSCC in August of 2008 as the Coordinator of Advising after having worked
many years at Bunker Hill Community College. Betsy was chosen to attend the Community
College Leadership Academy which led to the development of a college-wide survey of
advising. Over the course of her time at NSCC she has been part of the NSCC Leadership
Program, NCBI and was a leader in bringing the MCCADA (Massachusetts Community College
Advising Association) conference to NSCC. In retirement Betsy will continue to practice
kindness as a volunteer driver for cancer patients. In addition, she plans to continue
honing her event planning skills, becoming a Justice of the Peace, attending musical
theater, swimming, traveling with her family and continuing her quest to be the best
Scrabble player New England has ever seen.
Robert (Bob) Murphy began his long career at NSCC in the Information Systems department as a member of
the IT systems support team in July of 1999 and retired in September of 2019. During
his many years of service he provided tremendous and skilled technical support to
the College faculty, staff, and students, primarily at the Danvers campus. He always
approached customer service and his work with a cheerful disposition, regardless of
the problem or situation. Bob was a hard-working, dedicated employee who also had
a big heart. He understood the needs of NSCC students, since he was an alumnus of
the College himself, and was passionate about helping them succeed – making friends
with many students along the way. Bob and his wife Mary have been, and continue to
be, generous donors to the NSCC Foundation through a scholarship set up in Mary’s
father’s name, as well as a new scholarship that they started aimed at aiding our
Adult Learning Center students. Bob was also an active member of the NSCC Alumni
Association for many years. His colleagues in IT miss his humor and willingness to
pitch in on any problem or project. We wish Bob a wonderful retirement and know he
is enjoying time with his family, friends and many hobbies – particularly photography.
Marion (Mel) Potoczak came to North Shore Community College in January of 1996. She started as an Office Manager in the Center for Alternative Studies and Educational Testing. She began working for Enrollment Services in 2006 and became the Registrar in 2013. She was the recipient of the Student and Enrollment Services Award in 2008. She retired in December of 2019 and the college wishes her well.
Pam Quinlan started her career at Essex Agricultural and Technical Institute in February of 1991 as a Pediatric Nursing instructor and worked in this role until 1996. She left this position and then returned in 1999 when Essex Aggie and NSCC were merging. She worked as a full-time faculty member and achieved the rank of Professor. She continued teaching multiple courses and nursing laboratory, clinicals and simulation. In the Fall of 2017 she assumed the role of Department Chair for the Practical Nursing Program, becoming Department Chair in Fall 2017.
Pam feels her most important accomplishment is the integration of simulation in a planned and purposeful way into the Practical Nursing Program . She made it a goal to develop expertise in simulation and attended numerous simulation conferences and received a Certificate in Simulation Education from St. Anselm's College. When the Practical Nursing Program lost clinical sites for pediatrics and maternity Pam assumed the role of simulation faculty coordinator for the Program. She is very proud of the simulations she developed for student learning including fundamentals, pediatric and mental health nursing. Most recently she developed the capstone simulation project for the Practical Nursing students with the focus on end of life care. A critical component of the practice role for the Licensed Practical Nurse.
As a new Department Chairperson Pam led the Faculty in the reaccreditation process through the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and the program received a full 8 years of reaccreditation under her leadership. One last bragging point is the high achievement on the National Licensure exam for Practical Nurses. The most recent pass rate was 96%.
Charlene Random came to North Shore Community College in April of 1994 when she started as a Professional Staff Member in the Financial Aid Department. Charlene has managed the $9 million Federal Pell Grant program as well as the disbursement of all of the financial aid funds. Charlene was an integral part of the operation of Student Financial Services. Her attention to detail, understanding of regulations and commitment to students will be sorely missed. We hope she enjoys her retirement with her grandchildren.
Joe Richardson started his career in 1994 as a full-time custodian and retired in July 2019. He transitioned over to trades and became the Painter 1 and really was the inhouse mechanic. As he grew with the job he moved up to the Painter 2. Joe's true passion is being outdoors hiking and enjoying nature. Joe, the place isn't the same without you!
Marty Rodweller joined NSCC in January of 1994 as an Educational Planning Specialist in Financial Aid/Student Support. Five years later she moved to working in Student Support full time. Over the course of her time at NSCC, she has held the positions of Academic Counselor and Senior Academic Counselor. In 2010 Marty was the recipient of the NISOD Award. Marty’s plans for retirement include sitting in the sun on Good Harbor Beach, rowing with the Gloucester Gig Rowers and traveling the world.
Judith Schena came to North Shore Community College in March of 1987 as a technical services librarian. During
her tenure, she provided much of the “back of house” processing that makes a library
go: receiving and cataloging library materials and working with the specialized bibliographic
data that is used by all of us at North Shore every time we search the library’s catalog
for information. In recent years, Judy could be regularly seen at the access services
desk, directly assisting students, faculty and staff with their use of the library. Judy’s
time at North Shore coincided with major changes in the library world, as the first
integrated library systems had come online not long before Judy’s arrival. She took
part in the implementation of four major library system migrations at NSCC, the last
taking place just before her retirement when the library joined the HELM network.
Judy retired in October and we wish her all the best in her retirement.
Donna Stefano came to North Shore Community College in 1991 and was an alumnus from the class of 1988. She started her career as the TRIO Math Lab Coordinator. During her 29 years at the college, she has served in many different roles including having been an adjunct math instructor for 10 years, working in staff assistant roles in Information Services and ultimately concluding her illustrious career as the Curriculum and Database Analyst for Academic Affairs. Donna has been a chief architect behind the scenes in Banner for the implementation of new and redesigned curriculum and the implementation of the guided pathways model. She played a pivotal role in the launch of our online catalog in 2017 and maintains the database for this information. Her strong technology background also led to the development of most of the Cognos reports the Academic Affairs Office uses today to track our enrollment. As Donna begins her next chapter, we wish her a wonderful retirement and more quality time with Art and her family.
Jill Thornton came to North Shore Community College in 1996. She started as a part-time instructional
specialist in the Center for Alternative Studies. Over the last 24 years, Jill has
taken on numerous new roles and responsibilities at the college including having been
promoted to the Director of the Center for Alternative Studies, serving in that role
for a decade. She went on to be promoted again to several assistant dean roles and
ultimately culminating her stellar career as the Dean of Strategic Partnerships.
Based on her unique journey at NSCC, Jill has left her influence on several key areas
across the college including, but not limited to, Center for Alternative Studies,
Early College and Dual Enrollment, Gateway to College, CommUniverCity, TRIO programs
including Talent Search, Upward Bound, and Educational Opportunity Center and our
new partnership with Year Up. Jill’s reflective and collaborative nature coupled
with her strong facilitation skills led the foundation of many key partnerships with
area school districts, community-based partners and laid the foundation for college’s
roots in recognizing credit for prior learning. As Jill starts her next chapter,
we wish her a wonderful retirement and more quality time with her Julia and her family.
Nancy Tufo started her career at NSCC in January of 1979 as the Tutor Coordinator for TRiO’s
Motivation to Education. In 1980 Nancy taught math full time and supervised the Math
tutoring program for TRiO. Eventually she moved over to Student Support as a full-time
Academic Counselor in 1995. Nancy spent 8 years overseeing the Bridges to the Stars
(STEM) program and could always be found with her Bridges students in and out of her
office. Nancy brought her background in math and technology to advising and was a
longtime, and much needed, Banner expert for the department. Although Nancy is retiring,
you may still be able to find her on campus at NSCC teaching math or advising.
Gary Williams joined NSCC as an Academic Counselor in August of 2001 and retired in August 2019.
Having previously worked with the department of employment, Gary is very passionate
about helping students translate their academic degrees into careers. For those who
have had the pleasure to know Gary, they know he’s a renaissance man. Having been
involved in fashion and music throughout his life, he will find no shortage of ways
to spend his retirement in addition to travelling the world and spending time with
his grandchildren.
Our newest Professor Emerita!
Congratulations to Professor Janis Soferr, who retired in 2019, on joining the ranks of NSCC's Professors Emeriti!
2020 Employee Appreciation Video featuring NSCC faculty and staff
2020 Faces of NSCC video highlights students, staff, faculty, and events at the College. Thank you, Diversity Leadership Council!
NSCC's Fall 2020 course schedule will be unavailable for a short time.
The safety and security of the NSCC community is our top priority. The College is adjusting the fall schedule to accommodate a significant shift to virtual instruction; expanding online, hybrid and videoconference instruction. Limited face-to-face courses will be offered in the fall for prioritized content in health professions, veterinary technology, culinary arts, biotechnology and some lab based courses utilizing social distancing and personal protective equipment. In order to make these adjustments the fall schedule will be offline for approximately 2 weeks. Once changes are made, we will market the new offerings in order to recruit and build enrollment for the fall!
#GivingTuesday
Congratulations to the Development department on an outstanding #GivingTuesday! The end result is 46 donors and $5,460, which will be matched by 8 Foundation Directors giving $5,050. In all, the campaign raised $10,470 for the NSCC Covid-19 Relief Fund, and 100% of those funds will be used for student needs! Many thanks to all in the NSCC community who contributed and kudos to Nicole Marcotte and Jean Martinho, assisted by Mariflor Uva, with special thanks to Ejyo Katagiri in Marketing.
PACE Update
Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate in the PACE Survey. The results haven’t been finalized, but the National Initiative for Leadership & Institutional Effectiveness, which conducted the survey, notified me that we had more than 300 responses to the survey, which translates to a response rate of 50% or more. That is the highest response rate ever to a PACE survey! The results will be analyzed over the next few months and we should receive the final report before the end of the summer.
Tell the world what makes NSCC special!
Let everyone know how much we care about our students!
Tell us in your own words how you help students every day and you could play a part in the #nsccspirit We’re Here to Help video project. We’re looking for words from the heart - of hope, encouragement and advice - from our faculty and staff to share with our current students and students interested in enrolling at NSCC.
Here are good tips to keep in mind:
- Keep your video to 15 seconds.
- Standard File Types: MP4, MOV
- Max Size: 25MB
- Make sure you can be seen! (No bright windows or lights behind you).
- Keep your camera horizontal, not vertical.
- Submit your video by Monday, May 18, 2020!
Questions?
Please email your questions to storylab@northshore.edu.
Happening Now!
Annual Enrollment open until June 1st for Changes Effective July 1, 2020
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Click GIC 2020-2021 Benefit Decision Guide for changes to the plan year and updated monthly rates
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Clickhttps://mygiclink.com/ to make changes to your health plan
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Check your mail for your participating benefits statement – review this information carefully. The GIC and the State Board of Retirement have included change forms and self-addressed envelopes if you need to make any changes and to mail to them directly.
If you are making any changes to your benefits, completed enrollment forms must be submitted no later than Monday, June 1, 2020.
If you are not making any changes, an enrollment form does not need to be completed.
Flexible Spending Accounts - Benefit Strategies
You MUST RE-ENROLL in the Flexible Spending Accounts EVERY YEAR to PARTICIPATE!
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Click https://www.benstrat.com/gic-fsa/for more information to enroll as either a new participant or a current participant in the Health Care Spending Account or the Dependent Care Account.
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When entering your personal information, please choose “Agency Type – HRCMS” and “Agency – NSC1000 North Shore Comm. College”.
If you are planning to enroll in the Health Care Spending Account or the Dependent Care Account it must be completed no later than Monday, June 1st.
Check your email for more detailed information. If you have any questions please contact: Jenn Chavez at jchavez@northshore.edu or Jen Burgess at jburgess@northshore.edu
Job Openings
Administrative
Assistant Comptroller, Fiscal Affairs
Assistant Director of Enrollment (Staff Associate)
Curriculum and Database Analyst (Staff Associate), Academic Affairs
Dean of Strategic Partnerships
Full Stack Integration Specialist, Information Systems
Registrar, Student Affairs
Campus Police
Institution Security Officer II (3rd shift)
PT Administrative Assistant, TRIO-Talent Search Program
Summer Assistant, TRIO Upward Bound Program
Summer Community Team Leader, TRiO Upward Bound Program
Summer Learning Leader, TRiO Upward Bound Program
Faculty
FT Faculty, Medical Assistant Certificate Program, Fall 2020
FT Faculty, Surgical Technology Program (Associate Degree), Fall 2020
Summer Instructors (Math, English, Science, Foreign Language, and Social Science)
Upward Bound
Professional
Assessment Officer (Military Prior Learning Assessment Specialist)
Assessment Officer, Center for Alternative Studies and Educational Testing
For more information, contact Kim Bevan at kbevan@northshore.edu
Virtual Relaxation
I recorded two meditations I recently led at NSCC and am sharing the links in case you and yours would like to listen, whenever you have time. We can all use some relaxation and encouragement.
Each is roughly 25-minutes long and includes some breathing work, muscle relaxation and then a peaceful journey among the evening sky or to a tropical island beach. All you have to do is click on the link (no account necessary / sound clip only) to get started on your trip to the stars or sea -- a very nice way to sit back, close your eyes, and unwind after a long day.
Please feel free to share these:
https://soundcloud.com/user-
https://soundcloud.com/user-
And you are welcome to join us any Friday between 12-12:30pm (ending May 15th) for the live version. Just use this link:
Sending positivity and healing energy your way!
--Donna Davis, Senior Academic Counselor
Coronavirus Updates and Resources
Due to COVID-19, NSCC campuses are under restricted access. Student learning, teaching, programs, and services are being conducted remotely. Please monitor your college email and check www.northshore.edu/corona for frequent updates and resources.
NSCC family, please stay well! #InThisTogether #nsccstrong
#StayCalmAndWashYourHands