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YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT DR. LISA RHINE OUTLINES INVESTMENTS IN THE VERDE VALLEY TO BOARD DURING FRIDAY WORKSHOP

By R. Oliphant

Friday, January 28th, 2022

Notes 15.1% population growth on west side of Mingus since 2010 while only 4.8% growth on east side

Yavapai Community College President Dr. Lisa Rhine provided the County College District Governing Board with an overview of the investment the College has made in the Verde Valley during the Friday, January 25 Board workshop.

At the beginning of her slide presentation, she noted the most recent democratic trends in the County. According to data the Community College has collected, overall population growth in the County has been the most significant on the west side of Mingus. She told the Board that since 2010 there was 15.1 percent growth on the west side of the County and only 4.8% growth on the east side.

She did not explain how the difference in growth may impact future investments in the Verde Valley.

In the remaining portion of her presentation (see below) she outlined the College’s investment in the Valley beginning with the 2014 Southwest Wine Center. She highlighted the Wine Center and vineyard, the 2017 Sedona Center renovation, the 2020 Building L renovation and construction in 2021 of the Verde Valley Skilled Trades Center and small greenhouse.

She described creation of new classrooms for the beer brewing program and renovation of the Verde Campus Café. She also pointed to new mini-classes for eighth-grade students and other programs and efforts made as a part of the investment in the Valley.

You can see all of Dr. Rhine’s eleven-minute slide presentation (absent questions that followed) in the video below.

Categories : Verde Campus

YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND COTTONWOOD-OAK CREEK SCHOOL DISTRICT PARTNER ON NEW EIGHTH-GRADE “Mini-CLASS” PIPELINE PROJECT

By R. Oliphant

Thursday, January 27th, 2022

College provides transportation, faculty and facilities at no cost to the District; hopes to expand these “hands- on” courses throughout the Valley

Yavapai Community College and the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District have partnered in a unique training program for eighth-grade students. Students in the District are given an opportunity to sign up for one of six three-week classes designed and taught by the Community College. There is no cost to the school district or the students. Students receive hands on training at the Community College in a selected mini-class.

Students attend their chosen class for four days a week for three weeks. The six mini-classes are: Law enforcement, construction, culinary arts, nursing, CNC machining, and Greenhouse growing.

Verde Valley Campus Dean Dr. Tina Redd explained to the Sedona Council on January 25 that she hoped to expand the program to other school districts in the Verde Valley.

There are benefits to the Community College and the school district. For the Community College, it is developing a pipeline that will encourage these future potential students to consider enrolling there once they graduate. For the District, it is an opportunity of getting the eighth-grade students involved at an early age in the skilled trades and a particular profession.

The classes are very “hands-on.” For example, the course in law enforcement involved classes showing students how to run radar detection, bike safety, crime scene investigation, crime searches, and real-life reenactments. The police officer instructors are from the Verde Valley.

You may view Dr. Redd’s short report on this program made to the Sedona Council January 25, 2022, on the video below. You may review all of her presentation to the Sedona Council on video by clicking here.

Sources: Sedona Council meeting video of January 25, 2022; story in the Verde Independent by Vyto Starinskas published January 23, 2022.

Categories : Verde Campus

VALERIE AND DANIEL WOOD NAMED YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S 2021 VERDE VALLEY ALUMNI OF THE YEAR

By R. Oliphant

Thursday, November 18th, 2021

Careers exemplify scholarship, character and public service | “The education and experiences we received in the Verde Valley helped us change our lives and achieve our dreams”

Valerie and Daniel Wood were named Yavapai Community College’s 2021 Verde Valley Alumni of the Year. The award exemplifies the recipients commitment to scholarship, character and public service.

Below is the press release issued by the Community College announcing the award:

Yavapai College honored a Verde Valley success story on Wednesday; two former Fortune 500 executives who reinvented themselves through education, put literal roots down in our community and bottled wonders from its very soil. In a lunchtime ceremony yesterday, Cornville residents Valerie and Daniel Wood, Southwest Wine Center graduates and co-owners of Heart Woods Cellars, were named Yavapai College’s 2021 Verde Valley Alumni of the Year.

“Recently we were asked how has YC impacted our lives,” Valerie says. “Honestly, we don’t know what we would be doing today if it weren’t for Yavapai College. The education and experiences we received there helped us change our lives and achieve our dreams.”

Valerie and Daniel Wood both had professional careers in a Fortune 500 company. In 2003, they put down roots in the Verde Valley. New tasting rooms and restaurants were supporting the accelerating momentum of Arizona’s growing wine industry. Valerie and Daniel were meeting people and making new friends. Relationships are important to them, and they were enjoying new friendships, the beautiful environment and the peaceful pace. They looked forward to spending more time in Arizona.

Valerie explains, “Daniel and I each had good careers and worked for the same company, but we didn’t see enough of each other. We needed to find a way to spend more time together.”

In 2009 they left the corporate life and moved from Tokyo to Cornville for big blue skies, fresh clean air, rural setting and down-to-earth people. They immersed themselves in their new lifestyle, with plans to contribute and participate in a growing sector of the economy. That growing sector turned out to be the Arizona wine industry.

Their quest led them to a pivotal conversation with a local wine maker, who suggested they check out Yavapai College’s (then) brand-new Viticulture & Enology program in the Verde Valley. “So we took some classes thinking we would get a good overview,” Valerie and Daniel chuckle at the memory, “and we did not stop.”

“We were learning so much, the vineyards were being planted and the new Viticulture & Enology program was becoming quite the learning center for winemaking and grape growing and we became Founders at the Southwest Wine Center for contributing to the capital fundraising to build the winery.” Valerie said.

Valerie and Daniel helped plant thousands of grapevines in the College’s 13-acre vineyard. The Viticulture & Enology program instructors were experienced and passionate about sharing their knowledge and helping students gain experience and knowledge. “The instructors cared, and we felt it.” Daniel says.

Valerie says the program was eye-opening: “We were learning a lot; our brains were on overload, and we loved it. We were enjoying the camaraderie from students and instructors. We’d be in a class with other students and get to know their stories and their background. We were humbled by some of their life challenges and struggles. Some of our classmates couldn’t afford the books, or a babysitter, or the gas to drive from Phoenix to Verde Valley and back for a class. We would hear their dreams and feel their struggles. We all came together with a common interest of learning about winemaking and grape growing in Arizona.”

While attending college, they worked part-time at the Yavapai College Southwest Wine Center and are still part-time employees. In 2015, Valerie and Daniel graduated, with honors, in the second class of the Viticulture & Enology program.

The plan for their own winery unfolded gradually as established skills and new enthusiasms began to blend. “One of our last courses involved developing a business plan,” Valerie says. “We recognized that we could do it from a business point of view. We also acknowledged we did not have the capital for the start up. Serendipitously, we were invited to be part of the first Alternating Proprietorship Winery in the State of Arizona. It’s like a Co-Op where tenants share the large equipment & facility that is owned by a landlord who operates its own winery.”

Heart Wood Cellars is now a jewel of Arizona’s wine industry. In five years, they have produced 29 wines, and been awarded over 40 medals from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and the Arizona Grand Wine Competition. Valerie and Daniel have achieved their dream of spending time together and growing meaningful relationships and participating in the community. “We are a part of our community now,” Daniel says, “we have a wonderful support network.”

The Woods have been studious also, about sharing their time. Valerie has taken a leadership position at the Yavapai College Foundation, where she is in her third year as president. Daniel volunteers his time and leadership skills in the Verde Valley Wine Consortium, currently on a committee, working with the Federal Government (TTB) on obtaining approvals for the Verde Valley to be a nationally recognized grape-growing region named the Verde Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) and is past treasurer of the Arizona Wine Growers Association.

“We are grateful for all the support people have given us in our journey.” Valerie says. Valerie and Daniel want to support students in the Viticulture & Enology program at the Southwest Wine Center, where they have learned so much, and see how students and alumni have continued their relationships after classes.

Valerie and Daniel helped start the College’s student organization named Grand Crew, for students, alumni and wine industry supporters. Valerie says, “We wanted to find a way to help part-time and full-time students realize their dreams.” After graduation, they funded the Valerie and Daniel Wood VEN scholarship, which offers eight scholarships per year, for ten years. Now in its fifth year, their scholarships, like a healthy vineyard, have reached into the community and helped provide an impressive yield. Valerie says. “I have been out in the College vineyard harvesting next to a student, who says, ‘Thank you for the scholarship.’ One student walked up to us at a wine festival and said, ‘You gave me a scholarship. You gave me my life back. You changed my life, thank you.’ We hear from some students who have received our scholarships. It’s heartwarming to see their smiling faces and to know we had a positive impact.”

Yavapai College’s Alumni of the Year Award is bestowed annually to Prescott and Verde Valley Campus graduates whose careers exemplify scholarship, character and public service. For additional information on YC’s Alumni of the Year Awards, please visit: www.yc.edu/alumni

Source: Yavapai Community College Press release dated November 12, 2021 and authored by Mike Grady. See https://www.yc.edu/v6/news/2021/11/wood.html

Categories : Southwest Wine Center, Verde Campus

PRESIDENT RHINE SUGGESTS FUTURE COMMUNITY COLLEGE IMPROVEMENTS ON EAST SIDE OF COUNTY

By R. Oliphant

Thursday, September 30th, 2021

Says enhanced partnership with VACTE “critically important” | Will offer unmanned aviation systems at “east high school” | Expand east side cultural opportunities | Investigate “affordable on-campus housing opportunities” | But provides few specifics

Yavapai Community College president Dr. Lisa Rhine outlined some of the future considerations for improving the College’s educational opportunities in the Sedona/Verde Valley area of the County at the September 14 District Governing Board meeting on the Verde Valley Campus. She offered no specific details about the future plans and did not identify by campus where the improvements might occur in the future.

She emphasized that enhancing the Community College’s partnership with the Valley Academy of Career and Technical Education was “critically important.” At least 25% of the Community College enrollment at the large CTEC campus operated at the Prescott airport comes from high school students on the west side of the County. She did not indicate what percentage of high school students are now enrolled in Career and Technical Education training at the College’s new CTE facility. Or, at the VACTE training center on highway 89 in Cottonwood.

Another promise she made was to expand the cultural opportunities for residents of the east side. For over 50 years the Community College has pumped millions of dollars into the west side of the County in its commitment to bring cultural activities to that area of the County while mostly ignoring the east side. Whether it has any money available to back up this commitment in a meaningful fashion is problematic.

Dr. Rhine also hopes to expand athletics into the east side of the County. Again, for 50 years the large and growing athletic program has been exclusively one for the east side of the County. By 2022 there will be at least eight athletic programs with a multi-million dollar support program driving them. It remains questionable whether Community College athletics will find a significant place on the east side of the County. There is little interest and all of the major matches and events are scheduled on the west side of the County. The distance and challenging driving conditions plus an absence of public transportation between the east and west sides of the County are major obstacles for east side residence attendance at west side events.

While suggesting the future possibility of an affordable residence hall on the east side of the County for Community College students, Dr. Rhine appeared somewhat less than enthusiastic about the idea. While the Community College has built three residence halls on the west side (one was recently torn down), it has never seriously considered construction of a single one of the east side. It remains problematic whether such a facility will arrive any time soon on the east side of the County.

You may view her remarks in the short video clip below.

Categories : Verde Campus

COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO HOLD NAMING CEREMONY FOR VERDE CAMPUS ART GALLERY IN HONOR OF PATTY MCMULLEN-MIKLES

By R. Oliphant

Sunday, September 26th, 2021

District Governing Board approved naming the art gallery on the Verde Valley Campus for Patty McMullen-Mikles a year and a half ago at its February 2020 meeting; naming ceremony to be held September 30 at 5 p.m. at the gallery on Verde Valley Campus

The Yavapai Community College District Governing Board unanimously approved naming the art gallery on the Verde Valley Campus for Patty McMullen-Mikles at its February 2020 meeting. Mikles was a former Yavapai College art instructor who passed away from cancer in 2015. The honor recognized the ongoing financial contributions (at $40,000 in 2020) being made by her family in support of aspiring art students at the Verde Valley Campus, and celebrate and recognize her lifetime of teaching and giving to others.

Ms. Ruth Wicks spoke of Ms. Mikles’ work at the college during the Governing Board meeting. Bob Oliphant commended the president and faculty for its support of this honor. Mr. Paul Kirchgraber, then executive director of the Community College Foundation, presented the resolution to the Governing Board.

In a September 22, 2021 press release, the Community College announced a naming ceremony to be held on Thursday, September 30 at 5 p.m. at the gallery on the Verde Valley Campus in Clarkdale. The press release from the Community College follows below:

Yavapai Community College Press release: September 22, 2021 (Mr. JJ McCormick)

The woman universally described by her former students and colleagues as a fiercely dedicated champion of Yavapai College art programs is being honored posthumously with the renaming of the YC Verde Art Gallery in her honor.

The Patty McMullen-Mikles Gallery of Yavapai College naming ceremony, celebrating the life and legacy of the successful artist and beloved former YC art professor who died in 2015, is happening at the YC Verde Valley Campus art gallery at 5 p.m. Sept. 30.

The ceremony coincides with the opening reception for an exhibition titled “Don Reitz Follow Your Bliss.” The exhibition showcases the art and life of Reitz, a renowned ceramic artist and longtime Verde Valley resident who, before his death in 2014, gifted the college a mural that now decorates the east wall of the Southwest Wine Center.

McMullen-Mikles’ family, friends and former YC colleagues are cheering the fact that she is being memorialized with her name gracing the Verde campus gallery that she founded and directed early in her 20-year tenure with the YC Art Department.

“She is severely missed and well-deserving of this memorial renaming of the Verde campus art gallery,” said YC Professor Dr. Barb Waak. Although a talented artist whose paintings, drawings and fiber art pieces were represented by galleries throughout the Southwest, Waak said teaching was McMullen-Mikles’ “true gift. She could take students who were daunted at the prospect of putting pencil, charcoal, or brush to paper and coax the very best work out of them,” Waak said.

YC Professor Dr. Amy Stein said she is grateful the gallery renaming is happening after a concerted campaign by YC faculty members past and present. Stein called McMullen-Mikles a “generous teacher” who was passionate about art and education. “And her greatest gift to all of us the last year of her life was she taught us all how to leave this landscape with grace, beauty and dignity.”

McMullen-Mikles taught drawing, two-dimensional design, oil, acrylic and watercolor painting, among many other credit and community education classes for YC. She is credited with developing YC’s Associate degree program in fine arts and was a talented vocalist who did some touring in Europe, the United States and Canada early in her career.

The Patty McMullen-Mikles Gallery naming ceremony and the opening reception for the Don Reitz exhibition are free and all are welcome. Learn more about the combined events at yc.edu/artgallery.

Categories : Art programs, Event, Verde Campus

VERDE VALLEY CAMPUS OPEN HOUSE SET FOR AUGUST 7 FROM 10 A.M. TO NOON

By R. Oliphant

Friday, July 23rd, 2021

Opportunity for prospective students to learn how tuition for an entire fall semester is free if enrolled in trades classes at the Verde Valley Skilled Trades Center

Yavapai Community College will have an in-Person Open House at the Verde Valley Campus in Clarkdale on Saturday, August 7, 2021, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Tours will be conducted of the new Skilled Trades Center facility where potential students can learn more about the certificates that will be offered starting fall 2021. The Community College will also have staff available who can explain how a student enrolled at the Skilled Trades Center can attend the first semester tuition free.

Trades Center programs that are tuition free for one semester include: Construction, Electrical, HVAC and Plumbing.

Visitors during the open house can also tour the new Brewing facility. During the tour, prospective students can learn more about the Brewing Technology Certificate that will be offered beginning fall 2021.

Other areas on the Campus that are new and open to the public during the open house are the following: Greenhouse used in the Horticulture Program; Nursing Labs; Phlebotomy Lab; Fabrication Lab that houses CNC and Pre-Engineering; lab space for EMT program.

Yavapai Community College is located at 601 West Black Hills Dr., Clarkdale, AZ 86324.

Categories : Career and Technical Education, Verde Campus

SEVEN VERDE VALLEY STUDENTS AMONG 22 TOP STUDENTS HONORED BY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

By R. Oliphant

Thursday, April 15th, 2021

Students recognized during the traditional “Evening of Recognition” at ceremonies on the Verde Campus

Yavapai College faculty and leadership honored the top 22 students across academic and technical education disciplines during traditional “Evening of Recognition” ceremonies at both the Verde Valley and Prescott campuses. The limited-attendance events featured congratulatory remarks from President Dr. Lisa Rhine and Academic Affairs Vice President Dr. Diane Ryan.

The highest student honors of the evening were the President’s and Vice President’s Awards for Academic Excellence. Earning the college-wide President’s Award this year was Kari Warne, a judicial studies student on the Prescott Campus who is one of only 20 community college students nationwide to earn an All-USA Academic Team Scholarship. Culinary Arts student Nika Roberts was the Vice President’s Award winner for the Verde Valley Campus and Sedona Center this year.

“The students recognized at this ceremony have worked hard to distinguish themselves from others academically and through leadership and/or service. This group is particularly distinct because they continued to excel, grow, develop, lead and serve in the midst of pandemic,” President Rhine said in her remarks. She noted that each student honoree was vetted by faculty and staff – a difficult task given the Community College’s talented student population.

Speaking directly to the honorees, Rhine said: “You have proven yourself as outstanding leaders in our community. As educators, we are very proud of you and we thank you for your contributions. Your tremendous potential is very clearly reflected in your accomplishments. We are so fortunate that Yavapai College gets to be part of your journey and personal story.”

You may view the April 5 award ceremony on the Verde Campus by going to this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiMXHGyvPcg or by clicking here.

The following seven students are the Verde Valley Campus and Sedona Center Outstanding Student by discipline for the 2020-2021 academic year:

English, Daniel Fradenburg

Sociology, Hannah Roderick

Biology, Thomas Blatz

Biology, Giacomo Gandolfi

Viticulture and Enology, David Finch

Culinary, Benjamin Casas

Culinary, Ethan Anderson

The following 15 students are the Prescott Campus Outstanding Student by discipline for the 2020-2021 academic year:

Visual/Graphic Art, Dedra Smith

Visual Arts, Rachelle Sturdevant

Dance, Shannon Shea

Instrumental Music, Emily Schuler

Choral Music, Keiona Mack

Performing Arts, Andre Sylvester

Performing Arts, Gabrielle Baker

Sociology, Elizabeth Smith

Paralegal, Hannah Hovelsrud

English, Amanda Borja

English, Leah Farrington

Business, Brenda Clemen

Video Game Development, Stephen Driscoll

Allied Health, Katherine Morace

Early College, Alexander Cyr

Categories : Verde Campus

COMMUNITY COLLEGE MAKES $11,000 GIFT TO HELP PAVE PRIVATE HASKELL SPRINGS ROAD IN CLARKDALE

By R. Oliphant

Thursday, April 15th, 2021

Road serves from 30 to 40 residences in the area who own it and rejected turning the mile or so road over to the Town; provides access to upper Vineyard; College wisely built its own road on its own land earlier this year that leads to the vineyard

There is a road stretching about a mile or so from the public Black Hills Drive in Clarkdale into an area called Haskell Springs. It has an old asphalt road that is still owned privately by the 30 or 40 homeowners in the area. Anywhere from 50 to 75 or more vehicles a day may use the road. The residents have refused to give up control of the road to the Town of Clarkdale. As a result, they are responsible for its repair.

Over the years the road, which provides access to the Yavapai Community College’s upper vineyard , has fallen into a dangerous disrepair with potholes estimated at more than a foot deep in some places. These can easily seriously damage an unwary driver’s automobile’s undercarriage. To repair the road, residents set up a private fund raising campaign.

So far, the campaign has raised more than $86,000 dollars in pledges and contributions. Yavapai Community College contributed $11,000. The head of the campaign thanked the Community College but said the College isn’t receiving anything new as a result of its donation.

In what appears to be a wise move by the Community College, it completed construction of a gravel access road to the upper vineyard on the Verde Campus earlier this year. (See photo in April 1, 2021 Blog posting.) The new road will provide students with greater access to the upper vineyard directly from the Verde Valley Campus.

Source: Story by Jason W. Brooks, Verde Valley Independent Newspaper, p. 3, April 14, 2021.

Categories : ADMINISTRATION, Verde Campus

VIRTUAL RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY FOR BUILDING “L” SHOWS OFF HI-TECH CLASSROOMS ALONG WITH FACULTY EXPLANATIONS ABOUT PROGRAMS; A GAME CHANGER FOR THE VERDE VALLEY

By R. Oliphant

Friday, October 16th, 2020

You can still view the virtual ribbon cutting ceremony on your computer; and you should if you’re seriously interested in Community College education in the Verde Valley

Dr. Tina Redd; Board Chair Deb McCasland; President Lisa Rhine; VP Dr. Diane Ryan

Yavapai Community College held a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony for Building “L” on the Verde Campus at noon on Thursday, October 15 at noon. The ceremony introduced the community to many of the programs, state-of-the-art equipment and faculty who will be using Building “L.”

The hi-tech equipment for the healthcare program and advanced manufacturing was featured. The Community College believes the new cutting-edge equipment and it outstanding faculty will be a “game changer.”

The approximate twelve minute virtual ceremony can be viewed at the Community College website at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEl8V0tOLoc&feature=youtu.be&t=4 on Youtube or you can view it below.

Categories : Career and Technical Education, Verde Campus

COMMUNITY COLLEGE UNVEILS PLANS FOR SKILLED TRADES CENTER ON VERDE CAMPUS

By R. Oliphant

Wednesday, October 14th, 2020

Anticipated that work will begin in December 2020 with plans to open facility by fall 2021

The first architectural sketches for the Skilled Trades Center building on the Verde Campus have been released. (See below.) The Center will be located between buildings A and L on the Verde Valley Campus.

The College states that the building “is being programmed for Residential Construction, Residential Electrical, HVAC, and Plumbing. The building will be approximately 10,000 square feet of shop space with restrooms and faculty offices. There will also be covered exterior space for additional activities associated with these programs. It is anticipated that earthwork will begin in early December and building erection beginning at the end of January. The goal is to have the building ready for students for the 2021 fall semester.”

Below is the first sketch of the new building released by the Community College.

Sketch is from October 2020 Yavapai Community College Facilities Management Newsletter.

Categories : CTEC, Verde Campus