ROUNDUP UP therounduponline.net
Woodland Hills, California
Volume 113 - Issue 1
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
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September 22, 2010
Vice President of Academic Affairs says his goodbyes Bryan Melara / Roundup
Amber-Rose Kelly / Roundup
BUILDING: Kelly Woods works on a new shaded area being built for students on the Mall in front of the Business Center.
Mall construction set to end in November One of many new Pierce projects is nearing completion Sienna Jackson/ Roundup Reconstruction of the second half of the Pierce College Mall is expected to be complete by early November, according to officials supervising the construction. This is welcome news to the student populace, who have been using the pedestrian detours to navigate around the construction site, which stretches from Parking Lot 7 to the Business Education Building. “It’s kind of disturbing, it makes us get to class late,” said Daniel Ortiz, a 19-year-old criminal justice major. However, when asked about the renovation itself, he said that the campus facelift “sounds good, it makes the college look nice.” Many students on campus shared mixed sentiments about the construction. “It’s annoying, the first day I came here was orientation and this whole area [the stairs] was blocked,” said Shannon Seufert, an 18-year-old freshman and undeclared major.
The extra walking that the detours bring doesn’t perturb John Sung, a 22-year-old accounting major. “It’s fine, I’ve been through worse,” he said. Sahara Ahal was another student who doesn’t mind the walkways. “I don’t have a problem with it,” said Ahal, a 19-year-old fine arts major attending her last year at Pierce. “It [construction] doesn’t normally stay in one spot, and it makes the campus prettier, being at a nice school is relaxing,” she said. Her only complaint was lack of cool seating on the Mall. “They need more benches in the shade, there’s no umbrellas or anything,” she said. Fortunately for Ahal and other students, a covered seating area is also going to be a part of the new Mall, according to representatives of Swinerton Management and Consulting, who oversee the current construction. Other new additions to the Mall include a fountain, a relatively life-sized Brahma
Bull statue, as well as a large working sundial, which will have to be meticulously designed and positioned if it is going to tell the time. “Overall, what is happening is a complete regeneration of this campus,” said Paul Nieman, Director of College Facilities at Pierce. “I guess what you could say is the campus is going through a renaissance,” he said. “The campus is looking much more like a four-year university than a two-year college.” All funding for the campus’ new four-year-look comes from state bond money that Los Angeles voters approved for use on campus infrastructure and facilities. These bond funds, which total $5.725 billion according to an LACCD report, can only be used for building on community college campuses. Payment of nearly $2 million in bond money has already been approved so far to pay a general contractor, United Contractors
Company Inc., for the second part of the construction on the Mall, according to representatives at Swinerton. Next on the slate of renovations after the Mall is complete will be Project North of Mall, projected to begin Sept. 24. That construction is estimated to cost $28-$29 million, and will renovate all the buildings surrounding the Botanical Garden as well as the Campus Center building. The Botanical Garden itself will remain the same. “The students will have a better environment. It’s a little bit of pain to get there, but it’s going to be a much, much nicer environment,” said Nieman. According to Nieman, this update of the campus will improve the school experiences of both students and faculty, which will raise everyone’s morale and performance. In the end, “it’s more than a facelift,” he said.
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Pierce College has gone through many changes in the past couple of months, from building and campus renovations to new hires and even a new president. Another change will come at the end of October, as Vice President of Academic Affairs, Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh has taken a position with the Coast Community College District (CCCD), in the Costa Mesa area. “It’s certainly a promotion for me,” he said about his new position. His new position as Vice Chancellor of Educational Services and Technology will be effective Oct. 1 of this year and will continue through June 2013. The CCCD consists of three colleges: Coastline Community College, Golden West College and Orange Coast College. The position will entail coordinating the three colleges on instruction, student services and technology. The CCCD’s Board of Trustees made the announcement at a meeting Sept. 8. Abu-Ghazaleh said in an e-mail he will work until his last day on Sept. 30, unless his wife convinces him to take an early vacation. He lives in Glendale with his wife Rita Gonzales who teaches Speech Communications at Pasadena Community College. According to President Kathleen Burke-Kelly, there has been no mention of a replacement yet. Any interim hired will take the position from Oct. 1 until Jun. 30 of next year, when a permanent replacement is expected to be in place. Kathy Oborn, chair of political science, economics and criminal justice, who met Abu-Ghazaleh 15 years ago before working at Pierce, shared her sentiments. “He will be missed, he’s a really great guy,” said Oborn. “[I] wish he could’ve stayed longer.” The two were in the same Ph.D program at UCLA and were reunited in 2006 when AbuGhazaleh began working at Pierce. In the four short years AbuGhazaleh was at Pierce, he worked under three different presidents; Robert Garber who resigned in the fall of 2008 due to personal reasons, Dr. Joy McCaslin who worked as an interim president when Garber left and the most recent, Burke-Kelly. McCaslin, Vice President of Student Services, credits
UD / Roundup
FAREWELL: Vice President of Academic Affairs Nabil AbuGhazaleh will formall resign from his position on Oct. 1 after four years with Pierce College. Abu-Ghazaleh with keeping the accreditation process on track and selecting faculty. “He showed great leadership for the college,” she said. “I’m sad about him leaving, he’s an excellent administrator.” CCCD Board of Trustees’ President Jerry Patterson was unavailable for comment, but described why he chose AbuGhazaleh in a press release. “Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh’s experience as a leader in educational services is impressive,” said Patterson. “He has a unique combination of academic and technological skills that will serve the District well.” Abu-Ghazaleh described having “mixed emotions” about the change of scenery. “I’ve built a very strong relationship with a very capable Academic Senate,” he said. “It’s difficult to leave that behind me.” Abu-Ghazaleh has been a member of the Academic Senate and has participated in the American Cancer Society’s 24hour Relay for Life fundraisers the past 10 years. Pierce’s Dean of Academic Affairs, Barbara Anderson attended graduate school with Gonzales and worked with AbuGhazaleh at Moorpark College while she worked in the Speech Department. “I’m grateful I got the chance to work with him,” said Anderson. “I deeply admire him.” “I worked for the wonderful team of deans,” said Abu-Ghazaleh about his departure. “I will miss the boundless energy to be the best.” Additional reporting by Lorreine Castellanos and Kat Mabry
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Brahmas take historic win against Fullerton Madison Bell/ Roundup
UD / Roundup
BREAKING AWAY: Freshman Pierce College quarterback Clinton Granger (12) bolts past defenders in Saturdayʼs 24-21 overtime win against the Fullerton Hornets.
An orange Gatorade bucket was poured over Head Coach Efrain Martinez’s head Saturday night as fans and players celebrated one of the biggest victories in Pierce College history. The Brahmas have now won back-to-back games, defeating the 5th ranked team in the nation, the Fullerton College Hornets, 24-21 in their house. “This is the biggest victory in Pierce College history dating back to the early eighty’s because of the
caliber of the team,” said Martinez. Beating the Hornets is a step in the right direction toward winning their division. “My biggest concern is that we’re going to get big headed so it is now [the coaches] job to keep them level headed,” said Martinez. According to Martinez, the team plans on celebrating all weekend, but come Monday, when they get back on the practice field, they’ll start preparing for their next game. While the Brahmas celebrated their victory, the Fullerton’s head
coach Tim Byrnes said, “it’s an embarrassment losing to the Brahmas.” Pierce had to step up their game in order stop the Fullerton passing game led by one of the top junior college prospects in California, quarterback Darius Banks. Running back Greg Wanamaker had a big run in the first quarter that put him close to the goal line, which set up a Pierce touchdown pass from Exavier Johnson to Kiyle Playter. SEE FULLERTON ON PAGE 8