Women's Empowerment Network celebrates International Women's Day & Women's History Month

After a semester on hiatus, the Cincinnati State Women's Empowerment Network is announcing a series of programs to mark Women's History Month, starting today with a celebration of International Women's Day.

Programs and activities are open to Cincinnati State students, faculty, and staff members.

• Monday, Mar. 8, from noon to 1 p.m., is an International Women's Day "virtual tea" and panel discussion with students representing five countries.
• Join the Zoom event (co-sponsored by Student Activities) at https://cincinnatistate-edu.zoom.us/j/84227283849 - Meeting ID: 842 2728 3849 - Passcode: woman
   
• Wednesday, Mar. 10, starting at 6 p.m., is the first in a series of Wellness and Healing Workshops with Kami Lerma from Wheelwork Wellness.
• Additional workshops will take place March 17, 24, and 31.
• Workshops are free, but registration is required: https://cincinnatistate-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrdOmqrDktHNXdXLy733fgybMmVx4_raRc
   
• Thursday, Mar. 11, from 6 to 7 p.m., the Women's Empowerment Network and the Leadership Club will host the virtual workshop "From RBG to AOC: Women in Political Leadership Roles."
• Join the Zoom event at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89038970835?pwd=U2YraUxmVS9RMHZRRERRZy9PM2l5QT09 - Meeting ID: 890 3897 0835 - Passcode: w5VEna

You can stay informed about the Women's Empowerment Network, including updates on programming and empowering messages, on social media:

• Instagram - @cstatewen
• Facebook - Cincinnati State Women's Empowerment Network 

For more information, or to be added to the Women's Empowerment Network email list, contact Jayne Dressing (jayne.dressing@cincinnatistate.edu).

Welcome, new Senior Lab Tech Karen Brinton

Dr. Karen Brinton is the new Senior Laboratory Technician for the Chemistry Department in Humanities & Sciences.

Karen has been an adjunct instructor of Chemistry at Cincinnati State since 2018.

Her experience as a community college adjunct instructor began in 2005 in southern California, where she taught both chemistry and earth sciences.

A native New Yorker, Karen has lived most of her adult life in southern California. She moved to Cincinnati a few years ago to be closer to family.

Karen earned a B.A. in Chemistry from Oberlin College, an M.S. in Chemistry from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.

Prior to becoming a teacher, Karen worked as a geochemist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, studying the reactions of amino acids in extreme environments similar to those on Mars.

Karen said, "I'm looking forward to getting the chemistry labs up and running again for in-person classes, with the extra safety challenges brought on by the pandemic."

She added, "As someone who loves to cook and bake, I'm excited that the Chemistry Department will be offering food science-based labs to support the Culinary and Food Science bachelor's degree at Cincinnati State."

Karen's hobbies are playing the cello, knitting, sewing, and baking, and she says she plans to add gardening and raising chickens to the list.

She also enjoys spending time with family and her greyhound, a rescued racer named Poppy (who posed with Karen for the photo).

Faculty: Look for Spring Starfish Progress Surveys

Starfish Progress Surveys for Spring Semester courses are available to faculty starting today, Monday, Mar. 8, and need to be completed by Sunday, Mar. 14.

Your survey responses help monitor and assist the academic progress of students in specified classes and student support programs.

Faculty members receive an email message to let you know if you need to complete Progress Surveys for your students.

The online Progress Surveys are available in the Starfish tab of Blackboard.

If you have questions about using Starfish, please send a message to starfishhelp@cincinnatistate.edu.

Online Learning Support for Mar. 8-12

The Office of Online Learning is offering several opportunities this week for faculty seeking:

• assistance using Blackboard
• help in improving your online courses
  

Other assistance (including help with Zoom and Blackboard Collaborate) is available by appointment.

For more information, visit the "Support/Training" section of the COVID-19 Faculty Resources site in Blackboard.

• Look for this site near the bottom of your list of Blackboard courses.
• If you are a new instructor and need access to this resource site, please contact a division administrator.

Blackboard Open Office Hours/Help with Blackboard Tools are facilitated by Dr. Jon McKamey (via Zoom)

• Open Office Hours can be used to get help with any element of Blackboard, but these are not in-depth training sessions.
   
• Days/times are below. Join a session via Zoom at https://cincinnatistate- edu.zoom.us/j/81060585299?pwd=QVRaMDJBcWNEcUxMeE4vQnZtTnU3QT09

Meeting ID: 810 6058 5299  |  Passcode: 672017

• Monday, Mar. 8 - 10-11 a.m.
• Monday, Mar. 8 - 1-2 p.m.
• Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 11 a.m.-noon
• Thursday, Mar. 11 - 1-2 p.m.
• Friday, Mar. 12 - 9-10 a.m.

Online Course Delivery: Improving the Student Experience is facilitated by Dr. Jon McKamey (via Zoom) 

• Join a session to review specific elements of your Web, LiveWeb, or Web Hybrid course that could be refined to improve the experience for your students. Discussion topics will flow from participant questions and needs.
   
• Days/times are below. Join a session via Zoom at https://cincinnatistate-edu.zoom.us/j/83285934234?pwd=S3RkME55eFZ2UEhDckJ0SFM4VHJHZz09

Meeting ID: 832 8593 4234  |  Passcode: 881480

• Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 2-3 p.m.
• Wednesday, Mar. 10 - 9-10 a.m.
• Wednesday, Mar. 10 - 1-2 p.m.
• Thursday, Mar. 11 - 8-9 a.m.
• Friday, Mar. 12 - 11 a.m.-noon

Faculty members are encouraged to sign up for the self-paced, 6-module online course Teaching Online for Cincinnati State, facilitated by Jon. Faculty can enroll in the course at any time. See the weekly PDF training schedule for more information.

Paul DeNu from the Office of Online Learning is available by appointment to provide Zoom training and/or troubleshooting.

Paul is also available by appointment to help with individual concerns related to Collaborate, audio/video work, Screencast-O-Matic, closed captioning, accessibility, and other Blackboard assistance.

To schedule an appointment, send email to Paul at pddenu@cincinnatistate.edu

Julee Johns, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, is available by appointment.

Call (513) 569-1724 to leave a message for a return call.

I-75 / I-74 Construction Update: Overnight ramp closure on Mar. 9

The following overnight restrictions are scheduled for Tuesday, Mar. 9 on I-75/I-74:

• Closure of the ramp from I-75 South to I-74 West from 12:10 a.m. to 4 a.m. Traffic will be detoured by way of the Hopple Street interchange.

All scheduled work is contingent upon weather.

To help ensure the safety of construction workers and the traveling public, motorists should remain alert, reduce their speed, and watch for stopped traffic while passing through the work zones.

For detailed traffic and construction information, visit OHGO.com.