A JCC Alumni Ski Day is planned at Peek ‘n Peak Resort on February 4 and 20.

The event is open to JCC alumni and their family and friends and features discounted pricing on lift tickets, rental equipment, and learn to ski packages.

To receive a voucher for the discounts, contact JCC’s alumni office at 716.338.1056 or www.sunyjcc.edu/alumni.

Voucher requests must be received no later than three days before the event. Vouchers must be presented at the Peek ‘n Peak ticket window to receive the discount.
 

Over 1,500 of JCC's part-time students are concurrently enrolled in high school, according to a report delivered by Marilyn A. Zagora, JCC's vice president and dean of academic affairs, at the December meeting of the college's board of trustees.

Dr. Zagora presented a comprehensive summary of College Connections, JCC's concurrent enrollment program which has allowed thousands of high school students to enrich their high school experiences while earning college credits since the program began in 1998.

"The College Connections program is an important partnership effort," Dr. Zagora told the trustees. "It strengthens our relationships with high schools and acts as a recruitment vehicle, but most importantly, it begins the process of college success for area high school students.”

Slam poet Gayle Danley will present “Slam It! Powerful Poems to Tell My Story” during the annual community-wide observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at 6 p.m. on January 16 on JCC’s Jamestown Campus. The program is free and open to the public.

The event, coordinated by representatives of JCC, the Jamestown YWCA, and Ebony Task Force, also includes recognition of winning entries in art, dramatic presentation, public service announcement, speech, poem, and essay contests organized by the Jamestown YWCA.

The program also features a performance of celebratory and ceremonial drumming rhythms from South Africa and Haiti by the Infinity Visual and Performing Arts Program’s African drumming ensemble. Another program highlight will be a reading from one of Dr. King’s speeches by Jamestown city councilman Michael Taylor.

The Community Reads Project at JCC’s Cattaraugus County Campus has chosen The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan as its next reading selection.

The Community Reads Project, sponsored locally by JCC and the Olean Public Library, is part of the “one book, one community” movement that originated in Seattle.

Paperback copies of The Omnivore’s Dilemma will be available for $5 in JCC’s campus store beginning January 12.

In his book, Pollan guides readers on the journey of four meals from their origins to the food table. He explores the American way of eating and its implications from industrial to organic foods -- from Chicken McNuggets to wild pig -- in an engaging, entertaining, and thought provoking manner.

JA $5,000 donation from the Johnson Foundation of Jamestown has enabled JCC to expand and improve JCC’s biotechnology program through the purchase an electroporator.

Electroporation is a technique used to move DNA from cells of one organism to another and is an essential part of biotechnology.

Jacqueline Crisman, Ph.D., director of the biotechnology program, emphasized, “We have integrated real scientific research into the curriculum drawing from my experience as a researcher. Currently our students are engaged in breast cancer and immunological research and will study other topics like E. coli food contamination in the near future with the assistance of local biotechnology employers such as AFA Foods and Trinity Biotech.

Thomas I. Flowers, a partner in the law firm of Price, Flowers, Malin and Westerberg, received the John D. Hamilton Award during the JCC Foundation’s annual recognition event in November.

The John D. Hamilton Award, established by the JCC Foundation in 1995, recognizes individuals whose contributions exemplify those of Hamilton, a trustee emeritus of JCC.

The Community Partner Award, which recognizes organizations that work collaboratively with JCC to provide educational, social, cultural, and civic enrichment for the area, was given to the Hultquist Foundation and Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation. Linda Swanson, executive director of the Sheldon Foundation, and Flowers, president of the Hultquist Foundation, accepted the award.

JCC President Gregory T. DeCinque thanked the Hultquist and Sheldon foundations for their support of many projects throughout the college’s history.

Nearly 800 high school sophomores from throughout Cattaraugus, Allegany, Potter, and McKean counties explored the future by participating in the annual Career Horizons event held December 2 at JCC’s Cattaraugus County Campus. 

Designed to stimulate college and career preparation, the annual event is sponsored by JCC, the Cattaraugus County Counselors Association, and Cattaraugus/Allegany Workforce Investment Board/Workforce New York.

Volunteers representing 35 career areas met with the visiting students to discuss topics including academic pathways, employment outlooks, working conditions, salary expectations, and certification/licensing requirements. Students also participated in workshops focusing on entrepreneurship and employment skill development.

Nominations for the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Award are being accepted by the JCC Alumni Association for the Jamestown  and Cattaraugus County campuses. The award recognizes JCC alumni who have distinguished themselves in their careers and/or in service to their communities.

To receive a nomination form, individuals are asked to call the alumni office at 716.338.1056 or 1.800.388.8557, extension 1056, or print a copy of the form. Nominations are due March 2.
All nominations will be reviewed by representatives of the Alumni Association board of directors, and up to two awards will be presented at the college's commencement ceremonies in May. The award is an annual form of recognition on behalf of the association.

The JCC Cattaraugus County Campus women’s soccer team finished the season with an overall record of 18-3.

The team claimed the Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) and Region 3B championships (the first for any sport in the JCC Jaguars athletic department), and finished sixth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national tournament.

Sophomore midfielder Emma Ylias from Perth, Australia and sophomore defender Mary Mabon of Marion, NY were named to the NJCAA Region 3 All-Region 1st Team. Freshman forward Ashley Skelly of Fredonia was named to the All-Region 2nd Team.

Ylias, Mabon, and Skelly were also named to the All-WNYAC 1st Team. Named to the All-WNYAC 2nd Team were sophomore goalkeeper Autumn Woods of Allegany and freshman midfielder Jill Slawiak of Portville.

The public is invited to attend a ribbon cutting for the new Science Center on JCC’s Jamestown Campus at 12:45 p.m. on November 20.

The $12 million building houses JCC’s biology, biotechnology, chemistry, and geology programs. The college's goal is to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification with advanced commissioning.

Representatives of the Hultquist Foundation and Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation will participate in the ribbon cutting. The two foundations are lead donors for the project, contributing $1 million each toward the construction of the facility.

The ribbon cutting ceremony precedes JCC’s annual fall open house, which will be held from 2-4 p.m. The program is designed for high school students and their parents interested in learning more about the academic programs and student services JCC offers.

The effects of the Ice Age on the Chautauqua-Allegheny region will be examined in the inaugural seminar of the Celebration of Science speakers series at JCC's Jamestown Campus on November 18 and 19.

“Reliving the Pleistocene,” led by Robert Feranec, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the New York State Museum, and Tom Erlandson, retired JCC professor, will conduct a lecture at 7 p.m. on November 18 in JCC’s Carnahan Center Theatre and a field trip at 8:45 a.m. on November 19. The cost of the field trip is $15; participants will depart from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) on Curtis St.

The Celebration of Science series is being sponsored by JCC’s Earth Awareness Club in cooperation with RTPI.

During their November 18 program, Drs. Feranec and Erlandson will outline what fossil evidence indicates life was like in the region when glaciers melted 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.

The JCC Uncommoners will perform The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee during November.

The comedy will be performed at 8 p.m. on November 11, 12, 17, 18, and 19 in JCC’s Scharmann Theatre. A matinee performance will be given at 2 p.m. on November 13. Tickets can be purchased by calling JCC’s box office, 716.338.1187.

JCC students and area performers chosen for the production are Hillary Belin and Maddie Schlick of Jamestown, Daman Holland of Randolph, Amanda Wickmark, Michael Hawk, and Raleigh Hawk of Fredonia, Gabby Carr of Dunkirk, Michael Correy of Cassadaga, and Steve Wendell.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a musical comedy, focuses on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the spelling bee, run by three equally quirky grownups.