Thursday, October 23, 2008

A new semester at Mesabi Range - Fall 2008

It's been a while since the last post, but the abscence has not been for lack of news! As always, lots of activity on our wonderful campus as a new semester begins again... here are some of the highlights of the year so far!!





The Library is looking better and better - the final work of re-carpeting the Library is now complete, with the new rampway as the finishing touch...

This is the start of our "re-imaging" of the Mesabi Range College Library. It will take lots of time and money, but we are now moving in the right direction. My ultimate goal is to incorporate the concepts of Library 2.0 and the Information Commons to make this a user-friendly, technology-friendly learning environment for our students, faculty, staff and college community members...


Our college Library is home to the Library Art Gallery, where new shows are installed every few months. The Gallery hosts works from local artists and art groups. Past shows have included paintings, drawings, fiber arts, and ceramics. The newest show features the works of local artist Jake Rosandich. The Art Gallery will hold a reception for Jake on Thursday, November 6, 2008, from 3:00-6:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to stop by to view his work, meet the artist and enjoy refreshments in our lovely Gallery!






...And on the serious side of this business, our campus is preparing for the college's 10-year accreditation visit from the Higher Learning Commission. At Mesabi Range College, we take our Mission, Values and Goals to heart, and everyone is contributing to the work at hand. We have one year to complete our preparations for the October 2009 visit by the HLC Accreditation team. We have every confidence that we will once again pass the scrutiny of the team with flying colors. The Library too will be deeply involved - my task will be to contribute to the documentation on student learning and resources, as well as assembling and arranging all the information the team needs in a Resource Room, set up especially for this visit. We look forward to impressing the HLC team with all we've accomplished in the years since their last look at Mesabi Range College!
The past summer break raced by, as always, and I had some great adventures during those brief months - What did YOU do on your summer vacation?? And what adventures are you looking forward to in this year to come?