Welcome to the 2019-2020 Campus Kick-off!

(for BTC Employees only)

Opening Day has gotten a makeover and a new name. Some things have stayed the same, some have changed over time, and some will be brand new as we start another season at BTC. The employee-only day will include breakfast, updates & introductions, conference-style workshop sessions, an inspiring keynote presentation, and the first annual Kick-off Cook-off. 

In keeping with the theme and to encourage people to connect, we invite you to wear swag from BTC, your high school or college alma mater, or your favorite team. We look forward to seeing everyone in September for a day spent together building our individual skills and strengthening our campus community.

Dr. Perry and the Opening Day Planning Committee, Chaired by the incomparable Heide Willbrandt

Agenda:

• 7:45-8:15      Breakfast

• 8:15-9:15      Trustee Welcome, Introductions, President's Message

• 9:15-9:30      Public Service Announcements

• 9:30–9:45     Break

• 9:45-10:45    Workshop Session A

• 10:45-11:00  Break

• 11:00-12:00  Workshop Session B

• 12:00-1:00    Kick-off Cook-off (or lunch on your own)

• 1:00-2:30      Keynote presentation (optional for faculty)

• 2:30              Closing

Workshops

Register on this site for sessions focused on our strategic priorities of Teaching & Learning, Student Career Preparation & Achievement, Campus Community & Culture, and Innovation & Responsiveness. Scroll down to read a description of each topic, choose your workshops, then continue on to the registration pages to indicate your selections. Some will fill quickly, so don't wait to register!

Cook-off

The Combined Fund Drive team is hosting a crockpot creation competition! Your donation to the cook-off will allow you to sample a variety of dishes and vote for your favorite. You will also enjoy salad, treats, and beverages, compliments of the Foundation. Proceeds from this Combined Fund Drive event will go to the Student Food Pantry Fund (suggested donation is $7.50, but any amount is appreciated!). Donate when you register here or contact Traci Taylor to pay with cash, check, or CFD deduction. Want to compete? You may bring any type of sweet or savory recipe that cooks in a crockpot, InstaPot, or similar "one dish wonder" appliance. You can register on this site or contact Traci to participate.

Keynote

Shifting From "Me" to "We": The Power of Common Ground

Conflict conversations often promote a division between people. However, even when emotions are high and differences are obvious, there is almost always a way to find common ground. It is from common ground that we can start to turn a conflict into a new type of experience that promotes collaboration and mutual benefit.  In this session we will discuss what contributes to conflict, how conflict can divide us, and how to frame conflict as an opportunity to identify shared interests so we can move from division and toward collaboration.

Speaker Luke Weisner of the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center has been supporting Whatcom County interactions with conflict in productive and meaningful ways since 2014.  As a certified mediator under Resolution Washington and the Washington Mediation Association, Luke helps community members navigate difficult conversations in a variety of situations including: workplace dynamics; parent-teen relationships; business partnerships; and neighborhood issues.

Session A workshops

1. New Faculty Rookie Training 1 - New Faculty Information Session: Heide Willbrandt - Come to get important BTC information and resources that will help you through your first few days of the quarter and beyond.
2. Bridging the Racial Generation Gap in Whatcom County - Opportunities and Challenges: Racial Equity / Healthy Democracy Committee of the League of Women Voters of Bellingham / Whatcom County - Across the United States, communities are undergoing two significant demographic shifts: our senior population is increasing, outpacing the growth in the youth population, and we are becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, especially among our youth. Whatcom County trends are following this same demographic divergence identified by PolicyLink as “the browning and graying of America…a phenomenon known as the racial generation gap. We depend on the social compact between seniors and youth: the older generation invests in the younger generation so that they can thrive, providing security for their elders and prosperity for our community. Recent studies show that investment decreases as the racial generation gap widens. Bridging the gap will require not only strengthening the social compact, but also developing policy and investment strategies that benefit multi-generations. Join us to learn about and discuss the impacts, opportunities, and challenges the racial generation gap presents in Whatcom County.
3. Dash to the Dashboard and Wave Goodbye to ADP Pro: Chris Flack, Anita Peng, and Dave Dettman - Learn to customize your myBTCbridge dashboard for early alerts. You will see how to streamline your processes and follow-up tasks.
4. From Zero to 360 (how Access360 helped get us up to accessible speed): Mary Gerard and Dawn Hawley - BTC was awarded an Access360 grant from the SBCTC to identify an accessibility baseline for our campus. Our findings led us to develop simple ways to incorporate accessible practices into our daily work. Join us and learn how to create inclusive emails and documents using basic accessibility tools. We will have treats and swag!
5. Giving First-Gen Students the Home-Field Advantage: Amy Navarro and Kelly Vogel - TRIO invites faculty and staff to join us for a sharing session and discussion highlighting one of BTC’s most important populations: first-generation college students! A common question we hear is, “What does TRIO do again?”, so we’ll begin with a brief introduction to TRIO’s mission and clarify how TRIO works at BTC. We’ll discuss some of the common barriers that first-gen students face at BTC, reveal insights and lessons learned from coaching conversations, highlight the strengths and assets that first-gen students bring to our campus, and share BTC first-generation student stories through video and written testimonials. Faculty and staff will have an opportunity to share their work with first-generation students and discuss ideas for collaborative support. We’ll end with an invitation to strengthen students’ sense of belonging by participating in National First-Generation College Student Day in November. Join TRIO in advancing the national narrative on first-generation student experiences and outcomes!
6. Kick-off with a coach - How to coach students in 10 minutes or less: Melissa Wechter and her All Star Staff - Introduction/refresher to Inside Track Coaching model and how it is used by BTC student support staff and faculty. Participants will walk away with a greater understanding of how and why coaching works and strategies on weaving coaching into their own interactions with students.
7. Recruiting New Players: Kim Perry and Tami Willett - Recruitment and selection of qualified, effective and diverse employees is one of the most important factors in providing quality BTC programs and services. This workshop will provide an overview in the recruitment and selection of regular employees, with particular focus on the newly revised Procedure 508: Hiring Regular Employees: Administrators, Exempt and Faculty. Procedure 505.0: Hiring BEST and Teamsters Employees will also be reviewed with the intent of seeking input from the workshop attendees since this procedure was last revised in March 2008.
8. Zoom into the New Year!: Melisa Nelson and Curtis Perera - Ever wanted (or needed) to host a large meeting and couldn’t get everyone here to campus? How about needing to attend a meeting but you would have to drive (or fly) hundreds of miles? What about when one of your colleagues is unable to make it to a standing meeting but you still want them there because they provide valuable input? Did you know you can do all of this via Zoom? Come check out how to do all of this, and more, with Zoom meetings. Learn how to create a meeting, host a meeting, join a meeting, use Zoom Mobile, and pretty much everything you might need to get started!

Session B workshops

1. Rookie Training 2 - Get Set With Canvas: Sallie Davis and Dawn Hawley - Hands-on workshop for new faculty to learn how to fill out a shell and get started with Canvas.
2. Schedule Your Season With 25Live: Curtis Perera and CISS staff -Want to learn how to quickly find a room, see if it is available and then request it for your group session, meeting or event here on campus? Computer and Information Support Services can show you how in this informative and interactive session!
3. The Ins and Outs of ctcLink: Nat Reilly - ctcLink will be replacing Legacy/HP throughout the community and technical college system. ctcLink is being deployed in six different groups. BTC is in the 5th deployment group and is currently in Gate 1 of the 5 gates leading to “going live” in February 2021. A BTC ‘ctcLink Project Team’ has been identified and have been working hard to guide the college through the implementation of ctcLink’s 3 pillars. Say What? This session will provide a broad overview of the implementation of ctcLink at BTC.
4. Refereeing the Recruiting Process - Search Advocate Info Session: Rachel Worthy and Wendy Riedy
5. The Data Petting Zoo: Diana David and the IE Team - Have you ever wondered how your students do in future classes after they leave yours? What about if there are equity gaps in student outcomes? Or perhaps you’ve wondered what day-by-day enrollment trends look like leading up to the start of a quarter? Come get up close and personal with Institutional Effectiveness’s docile new dashboards. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about where these dashboards come from and the people who care for them. You’ll even get to handle one or two yourself! (Don’t worry—our trained staff will ensure a safe and positive experience.) These dashboards are the perfect way to explore student success and identify ways you can continue to support it. This session is a petting zoo that is sure to please faculty and staff alike!
6. Who's on First? MBTI and Team Dynamics: Kathryn Matthews - This interactive workshop will focus on how preference, when understood, can foster engagement, cooperation and inclusion. Eliminate your blind spots and internal assumptions about others and theirs about you by recognizing key differences that, when misunderstood, can derail communication and collaboration. By examining how we uniquely reenergize, process information, make decisions and approach the external world, you will better understand yourself and those around you. This session will focus on preference as it relates to leadership, stress, change, and communication styles. Through the lens of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, you will develop strategies for communicating and working with others even when their preferences are in opposition to yours.
7. Caring for Yourself and Your Team: Nyssa Howell and Michele Waltz - Mental health and suicide prevention strategies. Assessing the impact of new legislation.