Laker Nation News

Lake Land College is working with community leaders to develop a plan to assist employees and families affected by the closing of LSC Communications in Mattoon and Rowe Foundry in Martinsville.

Lake Land College has an official role in the closing as the grant administrator for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the umbrella for the Dislocated Worker Program. The college also is a coordinator for the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act better known as Illinois WARN.

In addition to partnering with the state and local agencies to serve impacted employees, Lake Land College faculty and staff are available to help employees explore education and training programs. Options range from eight-week bootcamp training programs to two-year degree programs offered in face-to-face and online options. The college also offers classes that assist individuals in transitioning back to school and acquiring basic skills in computers and technology.

“Lake Land College is here for the LSC and Rowe employees. We know this is a difficult time and we welcome individuals who are exploring new career paths and training and educational options to contact us,” Lake Land College President Josh Bullock said.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will schedule Rapid Response events on-site at Rowe Foundry and LSC Communications. C.E.F.S., Lake Land College, and other state agencies will be a part of the Rapid Response team. During these group meetings, Lake Land College and C.E.F.S. staff will be available to help those interested in retraining or educational opportunities.

Rapid Response is a federal service strategy which coordinates services with an employer and employee representative to maximize efforts and avert a planned layoff and/or minimize disruption for individuals and communities in dislocation events.

During the Rapid Response events, employees will learn of all resources available to meet their needs including unemployment insurance and training support services. Those interested in furthering or updating their work skills may set-up an appointment with a CEFS career planner, who will talk with them about their interests, skills and work history. The career planner will share area employment opportunities and projects and lead them to a plan for further training and education and/or area job openings.

The Dislocated Worker Program can provide funding to LSC employees who are interested in pursuing further education and training. “The goal is to help people secure a new job with a sustainable wage,” Gerry Schlechte, director of workforce investment, said.

In addition to providing services to each employee, WIOA is a resource for area businesses that are interested in hiring dislocated workers who could benefit from on-the-job training (OJT). Through this grant, a percentage of the employee’s salary will be reimbursed to the employer while the new employee is receiving the on-the-job training. To qualify for OJT, an agreement must be in place prior to the first day of employment.

Lake Land College History Instructor David Seiler, Effingham, was recently named Leo Welch Faculty of the Year by the Illinois Community College Faculty Association (ICCFA) at the 2019 ICCFA Teaching and Learning Excellence Conference in East Peoria. Seiler follows Geography/Earth Science Instructor Mike Rudibaugh as the second Lake Land College instructor to receive the award in the past 10 years.

Seiler’s college career has gone as full circle as they come. Beginning his education at Lake Land College, Seiler received an associate degree before transferring to Eastern Illinois University where he received both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in history. He later continued on to receive a doctorate at Indiana State University. After teaching at Effingham High School for several years, Seiler moved on to teach history at Lake Land College.

“I loved having Mr. Seiler as my teacher. He is kind and funny and presents interesting points of view on the subject matter,” said a student nominator.

Apart from teaching both lecture style and online history courses, in his 19 years at Lake Land College, Seiler has served on numerous college committees. Seiler served as vice president to the Lake Land College Faculty Association and served two terms as president. He also served as a member of the association’s executive committee. He is currently the president of the State Universities Annuitants Association (SUAA) chapter at Lake Land College.

“David is a great teacher with a lecture/discussion style. He encouraged class discussion and was open to hearing student opinions on modern day and historical events. He makes the students his focus and is very good at explaining assignment expectations,” said a second student nominator.

ICCFA is a statewide organization that promotes teaching and learning excellence, communication and common interest representation among community college instructors.

For more information about ICCFA and its role in higher education within community colleges, visit www2.iccb.org/iccfa/.

Lake Land College is accepting nominations for the Pacesetter Award, Retiree Wall of Fame, Distinguished Alumnus Award, Alumnus Achievement Award and Distinguished Alumni Society.

All nominations for these listed awards are being accepted until Feb. 1, 2020.

The Pacesetter Award is an ICCTA award that recognizes the accomplishments of Illinois’ more recent community college graduates. Nominees must have completed a recognized program of instruction (including dual credit courses) or attended at least 30 semester hours at an Illinois public community college.

The recipient of the Pacesetter Award will be presented an appropriate plaque on March 9, 2020 at the Board of Trustees meeting.

A committee consisting of two members of the following: Lake Land College Board of Trustees, Lake Land College Alumni Association Board of Directors, Lake Land College Foundation Board of Directors, faculty, staff and the President will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, who will make the final selection.

The past Pacesetter Award recipient is Amanda Tucker (2019).

The Retiree Wall of Fame Award goes to retired faculty and staff who have made significant contributions to the College and/or who have made contributions through their profession or community at the local, state, regional or national level that reflect positively on Lake Land College.

Recipients of the Wall of Fame status must have been employed at Lake Land for a minimum of 15 years and must have been separated from his or her SURS-eligible position for a minimum of 5 years.

The recipient of the Retiree Wall of Fame honor will have his or her plaque unveiled at the annual Employee & Retiree Recognition Celebration on March 18, 2020 designed to reflect upon the past contributions of the honoree.

A candidate for consideration may be nominated by another person, or may submit his or her credentials directly to the College Advancement Office.

A committee consisting of two members of the following: Lake Land College Board of Trustees, Lake Land College Alumni Association Board of Directors, Lake Land College Foundation Board of Directors, faculty, staff and the President will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, who will make the final selection.

Past Retiree Wall of Fame recipients are Dennis Gathmann (2008), Max Jaeger (2008), Joe Albin (2008), Marilyn Gover (2008), Charles Womack (2008), Gerald Parker (2008), Thomas Reedy (2008), Bill Rich (2008), Helen Smith (2009), David Greeson (2009), Larry Gutzler (2009), Hal Kottwitz (2009), Joyce Shull (2009), Marianne Morgan (2010), Robert Orr (2010), Richard Heller (2010), Carol Sanders (2010), Jack Browning (2010), Joe Hanley (2011), William Little (2011), Mildred Flottmann (2011), Roberta Hollada (2011), Roberta Williams (2011), Charles Wieck (2012), Jalee Cox (2012), Wayne Weaver (2012), Robert Luther (2013), Marion Rohlinger (2013), James Luedke (2014), Robert Jurgens (2014), Carroll Gibbons (2014), Roy Culp (2015), Marilyn Fuqua Thompson (2015), Ron Sanderson (2016), Dave Stapleton (2016), Cletis Underwood (2016), Bill Hollada (2017), Jim Dudley (2017), Curt Rincker (2017), Kathleen Doehring (2018), Tom Kerkhoff (2018), Ben Ragle (2018), Larry Larvick (2019) and Rick Gresens (2019).

The Board of Trustees presents the Alumnus Achievement Award annually to an individual who has attained outstanding success and distinction in his or her field of endeavor; has gained favorable statewide or national recognition; or has performed service, which has proven beneficial to society.

The recipient must hold a certificate and/or a degree from Lake Land College and be active in the endeavor in which he or she has achieved distinction.

The recipient of the Alumnus Achievement Award will be presented an appropriate plaque at the Spring Commencement Ceremony on May 15, 2020. The recipient will also be nominated for the Distinguished Alumnus Award with ICCTA. The Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes the many success stories of Illinois’ community college graduates. Nominees must have completed a recognized program of instruction or attended at least 30 semester hours at an ICCTA member college. Currently serving trustees and presidents are not eligible for nomination. Posthumous nominations are not eligible for submission.

A committee consisting of two members of the following: Lake Land College Board of Trustees, Lake Land College Alumni Association Board of Directors, Lake Land College Foundation Board of Directors, faculty, staff and the President will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, who will make the final selection.

Past Alumnus Achievement Award recipients Richard West (1981), Eric Randall Heiple (1982), Tom Stoutenborough (1983), Carol S. Spannagel (1984), Michael Neal (1985), E. Dennis Charney (1986), K. John Livesay (1987), Gail Marie Darling (1988), Karolyn Kristene Koontz, M.D. (1989), Edward Ward (1990), Larry W. Wilson (1991), Thomas E. Cox (1992), Lieutenant Daniel E. Wise, United States Navy (1993), Patricia McNutt (1994), Gina L. Spinner (1995), Randal J. Miller (1996), James Winfield, D.M.D. (1997), Richard Smith (1998), Dianne Schultz (1999), Carolyn Kolling (2000), James Zimmer (2001), Harry Carter, M.D. (2002), Michael Searles (2003), Greg Grunloh (2004), Larry Lilly (2005), Commanding Officer Zack Taylor, United States Naval Reserves, Retired (2006), Scott M. Frailey (2007), David Storm (2008), Thomas Wright (2009), Monte Reel (2010), Larry Blackerby (2011), Rex Morgan (2012), Frank Brummer (2013), Greg Conrad (2014), Chad Moutray (2015), Kenin Smith (2016), Diane Sterchi (2017), Cari Rincker (2018) and Greg Sapp (2019).

The Distinguished Alumni Society recognizes alumni who have utilized the Lake Land experience to make an imprint on their profession or community. An alumnus is anyone who has graduated from Lake Land College or has taken classes.

The Distinguished Alumni Society inductees will be honored for their accomplishments and contributions to Lake Land College and their communities at homecoming festivities Sep. 26, 2020. Nomination information of those selected Distinguished Alumni Society inductees will be used for publicity.

Nomination forms will be distributed to the Alumni Association Executive Committee each year.

Past Distinguished Alumni Society inductees are Ann Bacon (2007), Jodi Baker-Dart (2007), Bert Bradley (2007), Frank Brummer (2007), Cindy Bushur-Hallam (2007), Gail Bushur-Irwin, D.V.M. (2007), Dr. Harry Carter (2007), Ken Fearday (2007), Scott Frailey (2007), Gary Gaetti (2007), Greg Grunloh (2007), Kristene K. Gugliuzza, M.D. (2007), Dr. Dan Hallam (2007), John Inyart (2007), Joe Kingan (2007), Larry Lilly (2007), John Livesay (2007), Carl Meinhart, Ph.D. (2007), Randy Miller (2007), Chad Moutray (2007), Steve Myers, Ph.D. (2007), Mike Neal (2007), Nancy Neal (2007), Dr. Gary Niehaus (2007), Karen Noffke (2007), John Phipps (2007), Rick Reid (2007), David Reis (2007), Jeremy Rickey (2007), Jill Rogers (2007), Greg Sapp (2007), Charlie Schwerman (2007), Michael Searles (2007), Larry Smith (2007), Jan Storm (2007), Zack Taylor (2007), Denny Throneburg (2007), Jon Van Dyke (2007), Dick West (2007), Bill Whitworth (2007), Larry Wilson, Ph.D. (2007), James Winfield, D.M.D. (2007), Tom Wright (2007), Mike Yager (2007), James Zimmer (2007), Larry Blackerby (2008), Dr. Lyn Marnee Fieldman (2008), Margaret Merry-Niebrugge (2008), Larry Norton (2008), Milton Sees (2008), Don Jesse (2009), Linda Sue Kull (2009), Carla Lundy (2009), Monte Reel (2009), Tim Fedrigon (2010), Brian Hastings (2010), Patrick Kirchhofer (2010), Bub McCullough (2010), Julie Thomas (2010), Bob Black (2011), Tom Grunloh (2011), Tony Halsey (2011), Dr. John Killough (2011), Cari Rincker (2011), Tracie M. Egger, Ph.D. (2012), Julie Ann Janssen (2012), Rush Record (2012), Dave Storm (2012), Adam Bohnhoff (2013), Matt Bowyer (2013), Carol Jo Fritts (2013), Chris Rennels (2013), Terrall Stewart (2013), Tony Aghaei (2014), Brett Henschen (2014), Patty Montgomery (2014), Mike Sullivan (2014), Wendy Greeson (2015), Brian Henningsen (2015), Mike Kallis (2015), Ryan Montgomery (2015), Mathew Cekander (2016), Kerry Fearn (2016), Renee Fonner (2016), David Greeson (2016), Kristopher Vansickle (2016), Todd Gartner (2016), Thomas L. Overymyer (2017), Dr. Sally Salmons (2017), Katie Williams (2017), Paul Crutcher (2018), James (JC) Fultz (2018), Donna Homann (2018), Dave Pruemer (2018), Gary Sullivan (2018), Amanda Perdomo (2019), Richard M. Clapp (2019), Kelly Sager (2019), Mark McCully (2019) and Wesley Wise (2019).

Forms are available from the College Advancement office by calling 217-234-5376 and on the college’s website at lakelandcollege.edu/alumni/award-nominations/.

The Lake Land College community is saddened to learn of the announced closure of the Mattoon LSC Communications Plant. According to a recent announcement by LSC Communications, this facility will cease operations by July 2020.

Dr. Josh Bullock, Lake Land College President, said, “As the full impact of this announcement is realized throughout the region, Lake Land College stands ready to assist our fellow community members who will be affected by this unfortunate news. The college offers a variety of educational and training opportunities and will work closely with impacted individuals to create a transition plan for their future career path. Lake Land will utilize its vast resources and partnerships to assist members of our local community during this difficult time.”

Lake Land College has begun collaborating with area partners including Coles Together, the cities of Mattoon and Charleston, the local Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Mattoon and Charleston Chambers of Commerce to serve the individuals and families impacted by the closure. Lake Land College also administers the dislocated worker services program through WIOA. These services can provide funding and support for impacted workers to attend a variety of training programs at Lake Land College.

“To the LSC Communications employees, we want you to know we have successfully assisted community members who have experienced similar workforce transitions and we are here for you,” said Dr. Bullock.

Laker Athletics announced members of the Student Athlete Leadership Council for the 2019-2020 academic year. The Student Athlete Leadership Council consists of one freshman and one sophomore student athlete representative from each Laker Athletic program.

The 2019-2020 Student Athlete Leadership Council members are Jadyn Princko and Adam Price representing men’s basketball; Ashlyn MacDonald and co-chair Kaitlin Creager representing volleyball; Riley Parsons and Madison Evans representing cheerleading; Bryce Lohman and Ben Schuler representing baseball; co-chair Kyrsten Darrough and Frankie Izard representing softball; and Lucy Smith and Josie Orris representing women’s basketball.

“These student athletes are the voice of Laker Athletics,” Bill Jackson, director of athletics, said. “They are selected by the coaches at the beginning of the year based on their leadership skills and their willingness to represent Laker Athletics in an outgoing and positive manner.”

As leaders both on and off the field, members of the council organize their team’s involvement with fundraisers and events throughout campus and the community, including the St. Louis Cardinal Caravan held on campus every spring.

This is the fourth year Laker Athletics has implemented the Student Athlete Leadership Council. Members of the council meet twice a month with Jackson to discuss ways in which to enhance the student athlete experience.

“Being chosen to be on the council has been a privilege, because I have been able to be a part of a group of student athletes that look to grow the presence of athletics on campus,” co-chair Kyrsten Darrough said. “We are looking to better the experience of the students involved in athletics at Lake Land College.”

For more information about the Laker Student Athlete Leadership Council, visit lakelandcollege.edu/athletics/student-athlete-leadership-council/.

What happens when you take some of the most brilliant minds from area high schools and put them under one roof? Nothing other than an academic face off, where teams are pitted against each other in eight subject areas in order to take home the Academic Challenge regional championship title.

The regional Academic Challenge will be held at Lake Land College on Friday, Feb. 7. Twenty-five high schools will come together to battle in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering graphics, English, mathematics and physics.

Each high school will compete against other high schools in the same division, which is based on school enrollment, and awards will be given to both individual competitors and teams. Students advancing at the regional competition will compete at Eastern Illinois University with another round for advancement, which will be held at the University of Illinois.

During the event, students will be tested from 9:20-11:10 a.m., with an awards ceremony following at 1:30 p.m.

For more information about the Academic Challenge, contact Lisa Shumard-Shelton, director of dual credit and the honors experience, at 217-234-5044 or email DCP@lakelandcollege.edu.

Lake Land College Athletics and Mattoon High School Baseball are sponsoring the St. Louis Cardinal Caravan on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 12 p.m.

The event will be held at the Lake Land College Field House. Doors open at 11 a.m. There is no preferred seating. Tickets can be purchased in the Laker Athletics office in the Field House or at Washington Savings Bank.

The cost of the ticket is $10 and includes a hot dog, chips and drink. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door.

According to the Cardinals Caravan website, the first 400 children, 15 and under, through the door on the day of the event will receive a free Autograph Ticket which guarantees one autograph from each current and former player. Due to high demand, autographs will only be available for fans 15 and under. All attendees have a chance to talk baseball with current players, alumni and broadcasters.

The 2020 Cardinal Caravan is presented by Missouri Farm Bureau Insurance and is sponsored by Lake Land College Athletics and Mattoon High School Baseball.

Attending players for the Mattoon stop will be announced closer to the event date.

For more information, visit mlb.com/cardinals/community/caravan or contact Wrobria Roberts, administrative assistant to field house operations, at 217-234-5333 or at wroberts52500@lakelandcollege.edu.

Lake Land College is offering a Painting with Oils or Acrylics class at the Kluthe Center in Effingham. The eight-session class is available to register and will be on Wednesdays beginning Feb. 12 through April 1 and will meet from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The class will be taught by Vera Keplar, who has a master’s degree in art from Eastern Illinois University and has taught art at K-12 and adult level for many years. In addition, Vera has been a judge for several art competitions.

Beginner and experienced artists are all welcome to attend. Students will paint on canvas using oil or acrylic paints and will be able to choose their own subject matter. Students will need to bring their own paint supplies. The supply list includes: basic colors of oil or acrylic tubes of paint, variety of sizes of oil or acrylic paint brushes and 16” x 20” minimum size canvas panels or stretch panels. The cost is $52 for the class.

To register, go to lakelandcollege.edu/learn. Drop date for a refund is five business days prior to the class.

For more information, contact Jackie Wake, professional development support, at 217-234-5087 or email jwake@lakelandcollege.edu.

Lake Land College Adult Education will hold an orientation for free manufacturing skills classes on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 9 a.m. at the Lake Land College Workforce Development Center, room 105.

Classes begin March 23, 2020 and run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., for qualified applicants. The classes count as college credit and there is no cost to attend. Registration is limited to the first 12 applicants.

For more information contact Adult Education at 217-238-8292 or adulteducation@lakelandcollege.edu. Visit the Adult Education Facebook page at Lake Land College Adult Education.