Lakisha D. Beck, Registrar Lakisha now serves as the current registrar in the Student Records Office and will be approaching her 13th year at GRCC. Lakisha isn't a stranger to GRCC or the Student Records Office as she has worked in the office when she was a student employee, a contingency employee, and in various roles in the department as a full-time staff member. She earned her Master of Education from GVSU, but always gives credit back to GRCC where she earned her first degree. Valerie (Val) Campbell, Associate Registrar Val started with GRCC in February of 2024.  Prior to accepting the associate registrar position at GRCC, she worked at Ferris State University for 10 years in the Office of International Education where she gained well rounded experience in international student admissions, recruitment, and student services. Valerie began her educational journey at GRCC where she earned an Associate in Arts. She then completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Grand Valley State University and a Paralegal Certificate at Davenport University.  After working for several years, she attended Ferris State University to complete her MBA. Christopher (Chris) Remley, Associate Registrar – Graduation   Chris is starting his 11th year at GRCC.  He started in the Experiential Learning office as a part-time support professional.  In February of 2017 he applied and got the office manager position in the Student Life office.  He was with Student Life until July 2019, when he received the assistant registrar role in the Student Records Office.  Chris was held that position until he became the interim assistant registrar - graduation in May 2022.  In May 2024, he applied for and earned the role of Associate Registrar – Graduation. Chris attended Western Michigan University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Mathematics.  Chris earned his Masters of Arts from Michigan State University in Student Affairs Administration. Philip (Phil) Blanchard, Associate Director of Veteran Services Phil started at GRCC in November 2023.  He served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for four years and completed one combat tour to Afghanistan in April 2010-2011. After fulfilling his service, Phil enrolled in school where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Social Work at Ferris State University. It was during his time as an undergrad that he grew a passion for helping members of the veterans’ community with their educational goals and bettering their overall quality of life. While in college, Phil was an active member of the Student Veterans of America (SVA) and worked as a student employee. He has enjoyed getting to know the campus and its military-affiliated population while doing what he can to help students achieve their higher education goals.  Please feel free to visit Phil in his office in the Veterans Center if you need assistance or would like to introduce yourself.  Phil’s office is located in 002 RJF Hall (just down the hall from Winchester Alley)   Isabel Vargas, Associate Registrar - Curriculum Operations Isabel Vargas has been with GRCC since 2016, starting as a student employee with the TRIO SSS Department. In 2018, she became the part-time support professional in the Apprenticeship Office of the School of Workforce Training, and in 2021 started working as a full-time support professional with the Student Records Office as the Student Records and Transfer Evaluator. She is continuing her career at GRCC after earning the position of Associate Registrar of Curriculum Operations just this past August. Isabel is a proud GRCC alum, earning her Associate of Arts Degree in 2018 and earned Bachelors of Integrative Studies with an emphasis in Leadership and Business at Grand Valley State University in 2020.  She is currently pursuing her Master of Higher Education at GVSU.   

Foodology is open to GRCC staff, students and the greater community Tuesdays through Thursdays, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center. In addition to hot paninis, soups and chicken fingers, Foodology offers grab-and-go lunches, protein snack boxes and bakery items, all made by culinary students and staff.  

I'm thrilled to share some exciting news with you. We have a new Associate Director of the Foundation, Mary Reed!  As many of you already know, Mary is exceptionally qualified for this role, having served in several different roles in the Foundation over the last 15 years. Mary's extensive experience, her long tenure at the college and strong relationships she has built only enhance the value she brings to this position. I'm excited for our team, the Foundation and the College - we are fortunate to have Mary in this capacity. Mary's official start date in this new role will be Tuesday, Sept. 3. Mary will be responsible for the management and day-to-day operations of the Foundation. Please feel free to share this with your teams.  Thank you, Erin Van Egmond Vice President of College Advancement  and Executive Director of the GRCC Foundation  

The Fall semester is officially underway and GRCC has extended the deadline for Take 5 and Thrive advocate sign ups through this Thursday, September 5. If you haven't already done so, please consider signing up!  Announced by President Lepper at opening day,  Take 5 and Thrive is a simple mentoring program that partners five first-time students with a volunteer faculty or staff advocate.  As a volunteer,  you will communicate by email or phone at least four times with each of the five students throughout the semester and assist in connecting students with appropriate resources. No need to worry about knowing everything about GRCC - this can be a great opportunity for you to learn as well!  Email templates and dedicated support will be provided to all volunteers. Sign up by Thursday, September 5 by completing the  Take 5 and Thrive Advocate Sign Up form. Additional information, along with the next steps, will be emailed by September 11, 2024. If you have questions about the Take 5 and Thrive initiative before signing up to be an advocate, please contact David Lovell at  davidlovell@grcc.edu .

We’re thrilled to share some exciting changes coming your way! Starting the week of September 9, we’re launching a brand-new Employee News webpage, and the daily GRCC Today email will transition to a weekly email newsletter sent out every Friday. Why the change? As part of our commitment to improving internal communications, we recognized the need for a more efficient way to keep everyone informed about the latest internal developments at GRCC. The new Employee News page and our revamped weekly newsletter are designed to address this need by providing a more streamlined and accessible platform for important updates. What is the Employee News page? The Employee News page will be your go-to source for internal updates and essential information. It will be part of the main website and integrated into the Drupal CMS, but distinct from the  main News section , which will continue to focus on news and stories relevant to external audiences. The Employee News page will be regularly updated with similar stories you currently see on GRCC Today like: Administrative updates Employee events and updates HR-related information Health and wellness Policy changes and more You’ll need to log in with your GRCC Google credentials to access it, and we’ll provide the new URL next week for easy bookmarking. You’ll also find links to the page in our weekly newsletter and main website navigation. What to expect from the weekly email newsletter? Every Friday, our new weekly email newsletter will highlight the latest updates and stories from the week. In addition to summaries from the Employee News page, the newsletter will include: The latest stories published on the main News section of the website Links to external news stories featuring GRCC Updates on higher education trends and news from across the state and country How can you contribute? You can continue to share your updates and news with us just as you did with GRCC Today. Simply email your submissions to  marcomm@grcc.edu . Please ensure all content is directly relevant to the college and our stakeholders. Remember, we can only accept text, images, and links—PDFs are not suitable due to accessibility requirements. Thank you for your ongoing dedication and enthusiasm for GRCC. Stay tuned for the next update, which will include the link to the new Employee News page!

It's almost  National Payroll Week ! In anticipation of that, we have two payroll-related reminders for you. First, did you know that twice a year there's a third pay date in a month on our biweekly pay schedule? GRCC follows a biweekly pay schedule - which is not the same as bimonthly. Bimonthly is twice a month, or 24 pay dates. We are biweekly, which is every two weeks, or 26 pay dates. One of the third-pay-date months this year is in August on 8/30/24. (The last one was in March 2024 and the next one will be in January 2025.) Items like health insurance premiums are not deducted on third pay dates, so your pay amount may be somewhat different than normal. That's why! You can always reference the  Payroll Schedule  to keep on top of the dates. And remember to review your pay stubs anytime in your Online Center so you can compare the pay breakdowns. Second reminder: as we prepare for the long holiday weekend, don't let timesheet due dates sneak up on you for the 9/13/24 pay date (for the pay period of 8/19-9/1/24). Because of the Labor Day holiday on Monday, 9/2/24, timesheets will be due one day later than normal. The extended due date is Tuesday, 9/3/24. If you're taking time off, please take steps to ensure that the most accurate version of your timesheet is submitted on or before Tuesday, 9/3/24. And, supervisors, please ensure you have a backup approver if you're away to review and approve timesheets by the extended deadline of Wednesday, 9/4/24 (also one day later, as approvals are usually due by the Tuesday following a pay date). More information on setting up a backup approver can be found  here . As always, please reach out to us with questions at  hrpayroll@grcc.edu .

The MI OER Conference planning team is happy to announce scholarship applications for the MI OER Conference, on September 20 at Grand Rapids Community College.  See also the  July GRCC Today announcement  for Keynote Speaker and other details. Three GRCC Faculty members are presenting at this conference and  2024 Conference Registration  is still open!  Additionally, we welcome you to complete the  Scholarship Form  to request funding assistance to attend the  2024 MI OER Network Conference, Framing Open: The ART of Open Education on Sept 20, 2024  at Grand Rapids Community College. We want to get as many people to the conference as possible, so please be mindful of requesting only the amount you need for attendance.  Scholarship requests will be awarded as available funds allow. Requests need to be submitted by September 4. Awardees will be notified on September 6th. Awards will be disbursed following conference attendance. Please email  laurenwoolsey@grcc.edu  with any questions. Funding is provided in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library of Michigan. Additional funding provided by the Midwest Higher Education Compact and the Michigan Academic Library Association.  

There will be an open house retirement celebration for Math Professor Nancy Forrest. Monday – December 2, 2024 GRCC Secchia Piazza 5-7 PM Everyone is invited to stop by and wish Nancy the best in retirement as we celebrate her 41 years of service at GRCC!  Nancy started as an adjunct in 1983 but has been full time for 35 years.  

Do you want to support our native and indigenous students? Attend the upcoming TLDE workshops on September 18, 4-5 p.m. and September 19, 4-5:30 p.m., both virtual.  Led by Dr. Shaina Philpot, a member of the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians and Director, Native American Student Support & Success Program at Cosumnes River College, these workshops will offer professional development in the area of supporting Native and Indigenous students in higher education.  The focus will be on historical context, the current issues within the field, and promising practices. Participants will have the opportunity to develop an action plan during the second day workshop. These workshops are open to faculty and staff.  To register, log in to your Online Center, choose employee self service, then select the Professional Development tile. Click TLDE on the tab that reads Training Course Type. Select the session you wish to enroll in and click register.