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Community Outreach |
Jim Needham
Dean, Community Outreach Department
Personal Information
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The American Democracy Project is designed to educate, motivate and provide opportunities for students, faculty and staff to actively participate in the democratic process.
Faculty Showcased at Outreach Council
Diana Cardenas and Susan Loudermilk - Technical Writing Program
Marsha Grace - Reading
Karen Middleton - Leadership & Managerial Effectiveness
Karen Murray - Community Health Nursing
Renee Nank - Public Administration & Nonprofit Management
Diana Wenzel - Educational Leadership
Multi-disciplined Team Works on Community Outreach Grant Proposal
Summer Camps Start June 1st
City Council Approves Hike & Bike Plan
Robstown Oceanography Class Explores Wetlands
Summer Conferences on the Island
Youth Adventure Program
Advanced Placement Teacher Summer Institute
Surveying II: The Advanced Course
Outreach News - April 19, 2005
Help with Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup on April 23rd
Gretchen Arnold Appointed to Corpus Christi UDC Committee
First Annual "CARQUEST CARFEST" Special Olympics/Torch Run
Roadmap2 Workshop to Tackle Math Curriculum Alignment
Summer Camps at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Start Soon!
HUD Grant Designed to Fund Civic Engagement & Service-Learning
Outreach News - March 16, 2005
Nonprofit Management Assistance Program Needs Assistance
Parking Woes Have You Fuming?
BEST Robotics Prototype Revealed at Kickoff
Needham Elected Coastal Bend SECC Chair
Peterson Appointed to City's Small Business Advisory Committee
Professional Development Available to Campus and Community
FranklinCovey: Building Trust Friday, March 25, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
FranklinCovey: 4 Roles of Leadership© 3-day workshop to be held April 12, 19 and May 3,
9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Who Moved My Cheese? Friday, April 8, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Communication Derailed Friday, April 22, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
The Behavioral Interview Tuesday, April 26, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Now Discover Your Strengths Friday, April 29, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Outreach News - February 16, 2005
The BAD NEWS
The GOOD NEWS
GO Centers Hire Mentors
GO Centers Award Stipends to High School Students
Pollution Prevention Partnership Featured at National EPA Conference
At the Community Outreach Council held May 13, the following seven faculty members were showcased for their contributions towards enhancing and expanding A&M-Corpus Christi's community engagement:
Students in the English department's technical writing courses worked on a wide variety of writing projects benefiting local nonprofits including grants, public relations materials, and websites.
Education students in Dr. Grace's Reading course gained hands-on experience and new friends by helping children at the Boys & Girls Club improve their reading skills.
Each Fall, business students in Dr. Middleton's Leadership courses learn the real challenges of project management by developing and implementing renovation plans for local community centers.
This Spring, nursing students in the Community Health Nursing applied what they learned by working with local healthcare agencies to assess the needs of their target populations and develop and implement intervention strategies to address at least one of the needs identified.
Dr. Nank challenges students in the Masters of Public Administration program to work with local agencies and nonprofits to develop complete strategic plans as part of her Strategic Planning course.
Doctoral students in Dr. Wenzel's Educational Leadership class collaborate with community organizations to address local education issues such as high drop-out rates, early childhood development, and developing service-learning curriculum.
A multi-disciplined team of faculty, staff and community members are developing a proposal for a $400,000 Community Outreach Partnership Center grant from HUD to build the community's capacity to solve the complex problems of Corpus Christi's inner city neighborhoods. FMI contact Carole Peterson at 825-5966 or carole.peterson@mail.tamucc.edu.
Beginning June 1st, 1100 children and youth from across the Coastal Bend will become Islanders participating in summer camps and conferences. These young Islanders will be part of a continuing tradition of great summer programming including Upward Bound, Theatre Camp, Islander Basketball Camps for boys and girls, Band Camp, Cross Country Camp, National Youth Sports Program (NYSP), Vocal Camp, Furthering the Underrepresented in Science and Engineering (FUSE), Baseball Camp and Young Authors Camp. We encourage you to extend a warm Islander welcome to our young Islanders. For more information about youth programming contact Victor Davila via email at
victor.davila@mail.tamucc.edu.
The Pollution Prevention Partnership collaborated with the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in the development of a bicycle and pedestrian plan for Corpus Christi and the surrounding area. The plan provides guidelines to City, County and TxDOT planners to provide for bicycling and pedestrian activities in their transportation planning and maintenance operations. Bicycling or walking to work and class instead of driving are part of the City's and Pollution Prevention Partnership's recommendations on ozone action days. On Tuesday, May 13, Gretchen Arnold with the Pollution Prevention Partnership and Tom Niskala with MPO presented the plan to City Council which unanimously passed the plan. FMI contact Gretchen at 825-3070 or garnold@falcon.tamucc.edu.
Jim Needham partnered with Jay Tarkington of Center for Coastal Studies to take a Robstown Oceanography class on a field day at Estes Flats and Little Bay. The day included a trip on the Wetland Explorer vessel and kayaking to Bird Island in Little Bay. Students participated in a variety of scientific activities and had a great learning experience. FMI contact Jim at 825-2708 or jneedham@falcon.tamucc.edu.
Texas Association of Student Councils
We are happy to announce the return of Texas Association of Student Councils to our campus this summer. The TASC middle school conference will be hosted on campus June 12 - 15th and the high school conference will be hosted July 17th - 22nd. This summer we expect 200 middle school and 240 high school student leaders from across the Coastal Bend and the state of Texas. For more information about Texas Association of Student Councils visit their website at
www.tasconline.org.
Texas A&M University's Youth Adventure Program (YAP) will also return for a second summer on the Island. Youth Adventure Program participants will be living and learning on the Island June 26 th - July 2nd. YAP is designed to encourage career exploration in marine biology and photography, this year's fields of interest, to gifted and talented students of the Coastal Bend and across Texas. For more information about YAP visit their website at
www.coe.tamu.edu/~yap.
The first A&M-CC Advanced Placement Teacher Summer Institute will be on the Island June 26th - July 1st. Endorsed by the College Board, the Advanced Placement Teacher Summer Institute (APTSI) will host more than 175 local and area teachers seeking continuing education training in Advancement Placement subjects. We are offering nine courses for new teachers including Pre-AP English, History, and Mathematics for middle and high school. AP courses include English Literature, English Language, History, Spanish Language, and Biology. Some consultants have requested guest speakers for their courses. If you are interested in providing expertise in one of these areas, please contact
Crystal Seehorn.
Geographic Information Science will host Surveying II: The Advanced Course
July 24th - 30th. The Advanced Course is an in depth intense week long continuing education surveying course designed for experienced survey technicians, office and field personnel, supervisors and managers. We are expecting 40 surveyors from across the state to attend. For more information about Surveying II: The Advanced Course please visit our website at
outreach.tamucc.edu.
TAMU-CC and Padre Island Kiwanis cosponsor the Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup, April 23rd, on Padre Island. Sign in is at 8:30 am at Padre Balli Park Headquarters (near Bob Hall Pier). Everything is provided including lunch beginning around noon. This is a great opportunity to combine service with a fun morning at the beach. Contact Jim Needham at 825-2708 for more information. Sign in is at the event, no pre-registration is required.
Gretchen Arnold with the Pollution Prevention Partnership has been appointed to the City of Corpus Christi Unified Development Code restructure committee. The Unified Development Code sets forth a plan and structure as to how the area grows, transportation effects, environmental effects, green space, zoning issues and more. She can be contacted at 825-3070 or
garnold@falcon.tamucc.edu.
Alex McNair of Community Outreach worked alongside Local TECH-NET Auto Service Professionals at the first annual "CARQUEST CARFEST" Special Olympics/Torch Run fundraising event on April 9, 2005. CarQuest Auto Parts of the Corpus Christi area along with local auto repair professionals conducted full automotive safety inspections for free. The automotive health of over fifty cars and trucks was measured by Alex and other technicians using new Genisys automotive scantools. A local muscle car club also joined the activity for a crowd drawing car show. In all, the event raised $1,521.86 towards Special Olympics. This event was held in conjunction and right next to the "Cops on Doughnut Shops" Special Olympics fundraiser promoted by Krispy Kreme Doughnut Shops. All total this event raised over $4,000.00 to support Special Olympics. For more information, call Alex at 825-2197.
Community Outreach and Title V Cooperative grant collaboration with the math faculty from Texas A&M CC, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Del Mar College and Coastal Bend College will be holding a second workshop Roadmap 2 at Calallen High School on April 21, 2005 from 4:00pm -7:30 pm. This is a follow up of Roadmap 1 held at Del Mar College in November. The expected number of faculty from higher education to school districts is approximately 100-150. They will be representing various areas of the Coastal Bend. Curriculum alignment between higher education and school districts is designed to combat low test scores and develop a dialogue of ways in tackling this issue. For more information contact Victor Davila at 825-5967 or Victor.Davila@mail.tamucc.edu.
Youth Summer Camps are around the corner. Visit the Community Outreach website to see all the academic and athletic camps that will be held for kids of all ages at TAMU-CC this summer: http://www.tamucc.edu/%7Eoutreach/youthdevhome.html. For more information contact Victor Davila at 825-5967 or Victor.Davila@mail.tamucc.edu.
The U.S. Dept of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) is seeking proposals for Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) grants for 2005. The COPC is designed specifically to fund civic engagement and service-learning projects that will help address the multifaceted problems of severely distressed neighborhoods. There will be a meeting Friday, April 22, 10 AM - 12 PM, in NRC 2003, to review the COPC requirements and discuss possible project ideas. For more information contact Carole Peterson at 825-5966 or carole.peterson@mail.tamucc.edu.
The Volunteer Center of the Coastal Bend will discontinue its Nonprofit Management Assistance
Program in June, 2005. Community Outreach is working with other community organizations to determine
how area nonprofits and not-for-profits can best obtain the information, training and resources they need to operate effectively. An online survey was conducted in February. You can review the results at the following link. For more
information or to offer suggestions or insights, contact Carole Peterson at 825-5966.
Gretchen Arnold and graduate student, Ryan Fikes, with the Pollution Prevention Partnership are
coordinating efforts with a campus committee to relieve parking and traffic congestion stresses
on campus. Why? Because the mission of the Pollution Prevention Partnership's Air Quality
program is to keep Corpus Christi in attainment of air quality standards and vehicles are a
major source of air pollution in Corpus Christi. Are you tired of paying $70 a semester to not
find a place to park? Is the time you spend sitting in traffic valuable to you? Is driving in
slow lazy circles trying to find a place to stow your wheels for a few hours driving you nuts?
Wouldn't it be grand to be catch up on last minute cramming or put on make up instead? We want
to make it easier for you to get to class or work, and we want to know what it will take to
get you out of your car and get to class. Contact Gretchen
at 825-3070 with suggestions or input.
The BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology) Robotics competition is held annually
to inspire and interest high school students in the fields of science and engineering. With
guidance from adult mentors, local teams design and built remote-controlled machines to accomplish
specific given tasks. Each year a new game scenario is developed in preparation for the Fall
competition when area high schools pit their robotic creations against each other to solve an
engineering challenge. The 2005 BEST Robotics Prototype was revealed for the first time to
insiders at a kickoff in Dallas, March 12. Alex McNair and Crystal Seehorn, representing the
local Coastal Bend BEST Robotics Hub and Community Outreach, were there to learn what kind of
challenge students will face. The goal of the Coastal Bend BEST in 2005 is to double the
number of robotics teams competing locally and involve more schools and volunteers from Corpus
Christi. Alex McNair will involve you too if you contact him
at 825-2197, or Crystal Seehorn at 825-5773.
Jim Needham was elected chair of the Coastal Bend Region State Employee Charitable Campaign
(SECC). The Local Employee Committee also selected a campaign manager and is planning the
2006 campaign. A 2005 Recognition Celebration will be held later this year where Texas A&M
University-Corpus Christi will be recognized. For more information or to offer suggestions
about SECC, contact Jim at 825-2708.
Carole Peterson was appointed by the City Council to the Corpus Christi Small Business
Advisory Committee (SBAC) and elected chair. The purpose of the SBAC is to advise and
recommend services, programs and approaches for creating, sustaining, and expanding minority,
small, or disadvantaged businesses. For more information or to offer ideas, Contact
Carole at 825-5966.
The following professional development opportunities are available to A&M-CC employees, as well
as to the general community. Contact Carole Peterson
at 825-5966 for more information on these and other future courses.
Transforming an organization, work team, or family begins at the personal level. When mutual trust
exists, people are motivated to help and support one another. Participants will discover how
building trust is the key to positive change and sustaining high performance. $275 for non A&M-CC
participants.
This workshop is designed to teach supervisors or persons in leadership positions universal
principles that help them lead their teams towards the results they want. Participants must attend
all three sessions to complete the program. $350 for non A&M-CC participants.
This 1-day workshop presents a simple way
for people and organizations to deal with change more effectively. $199 for non A&M-CC participants.
A realistic, absorbing game for
all organizational levels. It demonstrates the impact of poor communication and teaches the skills
needed to get communication back on track. $199 for non A&M-CC participants.
Learn how to use a
systematic method of applying objective criteria to the hiring process. Based on the idea
that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. $225 for non A&M-CC participants.
This revolutionary workshop uses Gallup's proven StrengthsFinder to identify your top 5 strengths
and then shows you how to use them to better manage your career and personal life. $225 for non
A&M-CC participants.
Dr. Linda Avila, Dean of Community Outreach Programs, retired on
January 31. The Outreach team will miss her leadership and dedication immensely.
Community Outreach is committed to continuing the legacy that Linda began. Dr. Jim Needham
is heading up the Outreach team as Interim Dean and welcomes input from faculty and community
members on how we can best fulfill our mission of "extending the University to teach and serve
the community."
Five A&M-CC students have been hired to work as mentors for the GO Centers in the Coastal Bend:
Sunshine Corliss, Ashley Harris, Sally Howden, Lisa Perez and Mary Semler. Funding for these
mentors is made possible through a Title V grant.
Six area high school students were awarded $500 stipends for their hard work in getting GO Centers
off the ground at their school and helping fellow classmates get to college. We expect great things
from these students in the future as well! Flour Bluff High School - Natasha Clark La Raza Charter
School - Angela Hampton and Eduardo Eguia Moody High School - Charles McAdams Robstown High School -
Shelby Gonzales and Sergio Villarreal The stipends were made possible through the Title V grant.
Gretchen Arnold, Program Director for the Pollution Prevention Partnership (P3), was invited
to present at the 2005 National EPA Air Quality Conference in San Francisco in February. P3's
air quality public education and outreach program is recognized by EPA as a national model.
Activities such as school curriculum, community relations, Smog Frog and the annual Clean Air
Fair were highlighted. To view information on the air quality public education and outreach
program of the Pollution Prevention Partnership, check out
http://outreach.tamucc.edu/aqeducinfo.html
or call Gretchen at 3070.