Our fast-paced semester continues, with all-GCC headcount enrollment at 19,393, as of March 5.

New Employees
Please welcome the following new GCC employees, approved by the Maricopa Governing Board on Feb. 27: Ytshak Artzi, Mathematics; James Brinegar, Biology; Dawn Lovings, English; Lisa-Lea Plinski, Performing Arts; Robert Rodriguez, Institutional Effectiveness; Joseph W. Springer, Chemistry; and Eugene Zatezalo, Business.

Possible Changes to the Budget Review Process
As many of you are aware, the GCC budget process is a major focal point of activity for dozens of people throughout the campus each year. I believe that the process can be refined, streamlined and improved. To that end, I met last week with the co-chairs of the Budget Development Committee, Faculty Senate President Carmela Arnoldt, and others who know the history and evolution of the planning and budgeting process at GCC. Our conversation was productive and encouraging. We plan to meet again to continue developing a framework for the next budget development process that more effectively connects planning and budgeting in ways that take into account Higher Learning Commission/NCA challenges, Futures Committee recommendations, District priorities, and accommodating growth, such as at GCC North. We're excited about the possibilities, and will be presenting to the college community the preliminary results of our planning soon. Please stay tuned as I bring all of you updates about our progress and ask for your input.

New Employee Group Leadership
Please welcome GCC custodian Robert Mendoza in his new role as the M&O employee group representative. I enjoy working with all employee group representatives, especially in our ongoing President's Advisory Committee (PAC) meetings.

Midwestern University Partnership Update
My congratulations to Dr. Kathleen Goeppinger, President of Midwestern University, for winning the YWCA 2003 "Tribute to Women" Award. She will be on our campus March 13 as the keynote speaker at the Women's Leadership Group luncheon. It has been my pleasure to work closely with Dr. Goeppinger in her new role as chairman of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. With the Chamber, she is off to a great start in advocating for education as her top priority. Our GCC students transfer to Midwestern, and both institutions are looking at ways of increasing those numbers and further strengthening our partnership.

Reaching Out to the Community Through Events
It has been a busy two weeks of major events hosted by GCC, all of which underscore our increased interest and activity level in broad-based community service. I appreciate being invited to meet and greet at several, highlighted below. It is important, I believe, that we keep the perspective that campus events serve multiple college advancement purposes, especially in building mutually beneficial relationships with people throughout the community: Some highlights follow:

Latino Institute Conference/Information Fair, Feb. 22 - sponsored jointly with the City of Glendale and others, brought more than 100 adults and children to GCC for practical, bilingual sessions on health care, identity and culture, and much more.

Auto Theft Prevention Day, Feb. 26 - a very successful safety-themed outreach in which almost 500 free car locking devices were distributed to GCC employees and students,, via the City of Glendale and other generous entities.

Science Olympiad, March 1 - the 15th consecutive year to be hosted by GCC, in which 200+ high schools students competed in creative, hands-on science projects.

Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) induction ceremony, March 2 - Ninety four student were inducted into PTK in an event showcasing and rewarding GCC's ongoing excellence in high student achievement.

Honors Program Open House, March 4 - where many prospective GCC students and their parents made decisions about attending college.

My heartfelt thanks to so many who have made all these events successful, notably Al Gonzales and the Facilities crews, along with the Media Department, for tremendous after-hours support.

Another Traveler Award
Our record of success with GCC's literary and arts magazine, The Traveler, is continuing. The publication won third place in the Community College Humanities Association Southwestern Division literary magazine competition. Congratulations to faculty adviser Casey Furlong, plus faculty members Johnnie Clemens May, Joy Wingersky, Dean Terasaki, and others, and the many students whose creativity was featured.

More GCC Points of Pride
Some late-breaking good news has come to my attention, and I want to share it with all of you: Phyllis Sweet, program advisor in Student Life, has been invited to be a keynote speaker at an upcoming Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) national conference. What an honor for her and for the college. Also, on Wednesday night at GCC, the Gaucho Men's Basketball Team won the Division II Championship, 80 to 72 over South Mountain Community College. Congratulations Head Coach Howard Brown, players, and so many others behind the scenes contributing to this big win. The team now advances to round one of the national playoffs.