ROUNDUP UP therounduponline.net
Woodland Hills, California
Volume 113 - Issue 2
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION September 29, 2010
Record breaking heat Roundup Staff
PJ Daroovar / Roundup
ORCHESTRATE: The 55-muscian San Fernando Symphony Orchestra performed to a nearly full house in the Performing Arts Mainstage Saturday night. The group, led by Pierce College music director Maestro James Domine, performed pieces together and also featured solos by individual members.
Music to your ears The San Fernando Symphony Orchestra performs music from Offenbach and Saint-Saens at the Performing Arts Mainstage
Pierce College experienced record high temperatures Monday, with the campus weather station reporting 110 degrees at 2:10 p.m. Temperatures ranged in the triple digits throughout the day. Pierce College opened its weather station on July 1, 1949. For 55 years, the data was hand collected. In 2003, it was modified into a fully automated station, which cost Pierce College $10,000. The weather station holds the highest and lowest temperatures for all of Los Angeles. In July 1999, the weather station celebrated its 50th year and the website has been used by professionals and students ever since. During the 1950s, its first decade of operation, the hottest Sept. 27 occurred in 1956 when the temperature hit 100 degrees. The coldest daily record of the decade was 47 degrees in 1950. For a daily weather report, check out www.piercecollegeweather.com
Diana Garcia / Roundup
Orpheus in the Underworld. As they began, the audience was in complete silence. The viewers were mesmerized by each unique sound that came from the instruments. Crystal clear sounds came from the piccolo, a half-size flute that added brilliance to the piece. It gave each performer an opportunity to vividly emphasize each instrument. In a mermaid-like blue strapless dress was Jenny Jin, violinist, who performed Saint-Saens Violin Concerto #3 in B minor, Allegro non troppo. Her fantastic performance left the audience in awe as she was the perfect selection for her part. Jin currently plays in the CSUN Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. According to Jin it was her first time performing at Pierce College, then said, “I Flutes, piccolo, oboes, horn, clarinets, baswas nervous at first, but then I started to get soons, trumpets, horns, trombones, tuba, percusexcited.” sion, harp, contrabass, cello, viola, violin, piano The audience’s appreciation for the music and celesta were used to create a jubilant mix of and their attention was so strong. glamour. “I’ve been coming here for years and I This was the scene when the San Fernando enjoy the music,” said Dr. Joseph Silverberg, Symphony Orchestra performed their finest who is a retired Dermatologist in West Hills. music at the Performing Arts Mainstage on “A lot of people here are in his classes. We Saturday night at 8 p.m. PJ Daroovar / Roundup are old folks, and the class is for seniors.” The performance began their introduction to Followed by Chisa Kodaka, violinist, who the program the American way as everyone stood PREPARATION: James Domine prepares to lead the San Fernando Symphony Orchestra on Saturday. wore a long sparkly black dress, performed up in alliance to the Star Spangled Banner. Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in Eminor Al Wearing a black tuxedo and bow with salt and legretto non troppo; Allegro molto vivace. pepper-colored shoulder length hair was Maestro James Doshowcase for some of the finest musicians and composers in mine, the music director who also teaches at Pierce College. Southern California.” SEE SYMPHONY ON PAGE #4 According to the group’s website, “the orchestra is a The performance started off with Offenbach’s Overture to
T
he stage was dimly lit and consisted of a 55-member orchestra each armed with a different set of instruments.
Online Exclusive Bryan Melara / Roundup President Kathleen BurkeKelly sent out an e-mail to Pierce College faculty Tuesday that addressed the current state budget crisis. “Thus far, the State has missed three payments to community colleges statewide totaling $840 million in funding,” she said in the e-mail. “This translates to 15% of the total CCC annual budget. Colleges throughout the state are beginning to run low on cash.”
bmelara.roundupnews@ gmail.com For the rest of the story and other online stories, visit www.therounduponline.net
Former college president gets new gig Rosalinda Pena/ Roundup Robert Garber, the president of Pierce College between 2006 and 2009, is now serving as the interim president at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, CA, a position he started on September 1 of this year. “It’s an opportunity to bring some of my knowledge and experience from working at other colleges to help this college develop and hopefully grow and become a better institution,” he said of his new position at Cuyamaca. Cuyamaca College is one of two colleges in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD). It is a mid-sized college with a population of over 9,000 students. It is growing rapidly with a projected enrollment of 15,000 students by the year 2015. Garber was originally hired on Aug. 1 to fill in as the interim vice president of student services for only a few months, but in the month of August he applied for the position of interim president, a position expected to last until July 1 of next year. “Between the time when I agreed to come as the Vice President of Student Services but before I actually started, the interim president position became available and I decided to apply for that,” he said. In August 2009, Garber resigned from his position as president of
Pierce College so that he could care for his son who was very ill with a serious medical condition. He then moved to the San Diego area. His son has gotten much better and is now doing well. Garber was not planning on going back to work but he was contacted by the chancellor of Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD), Cindy Miles. Miles asked if he could fill in as the interim Vice President of Student Services position while a permanent replacement was being selected. “It wasn’t about going back to work, it was about the campus, the people and me helping out an institution for a period of time during a very difficult transition.” The president of Cuyamaca, Stuart Savin, resigned in the Spring 2010 semester after just one semester at the college to return to the east coast. “Bob [Garber] was referred to us by several colleagues and search consultants from the region who commended his strong reputation and leadership skills,” said Miles. “For the interim presidency, he was selected through a rigorous search process from a field of more than 50 applicants.” Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh was hired by Garber in mid-2006 as Vice President of Academic Affairs at Pierce College. They have remained friends and colleagues ever since.
“Bob [Garber] still has a lot of energy and excitement for community college education. He has a true caring for student development,” said Abu-Ghazaleh. “I think it’s wonderful that he can help a college out and provide all that experience and strong leadership when needed.” Garber is planning on working only until July 1, 2011 when a permanent replacement is set to take over. He does not want to apply for the permanent position. “I want to go back into retirement and work on projects like remodeling my home, professional activities, and skiing at Lake Tahoe,” he said.
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Amber-Rose Kelly / Roundup
ON TO THE NEXT ONE: Former Pierce College president, Robert Garber, began his interim presidency at Cuyamaca College on Sept. 1, 2010.