Cutco Corporate College, a continuing education program for Cutco Corporation employees, will receive the Community Partner Award during the JCC Foundation’s annual dinner on October 29.

The dinner, which will be held at Premier Banquet Center in Olean, will also honor Jim Stitt, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of Cutco Corporation, as the recipient of the John D. Hamilton Award, presented by the foundation for exemplary service to JCC.

For information on the dinner, contact the JCC Foundation office at 716.376.7513 or foundation@mail.sunyjcc.edu.

The Community Partner Award recognizes the vital role of organizations that work collaboratively with JCC to provide educational, social, cultural, and civic enrichment of the area.

Top high school students from throughout the region will gather at JCC's Cattaraugus County Campus on October 16 to compete in “Meeting of the Minds,” an academic quiz bowl competition for students in grades nine through 12.

The public is welcome to attend the event, which will be held from 2 to 5:30 p.m. in Cutco Theater.

West Valley Central School, last year’s champion, will compete against schools from Hinsdale, Kane, Friendship, Olean, Salamanca, Otto-Eldred, and Port Allegany. Oswayo Valley High School is an alternate team.

Details on the event can be obtained by contacting Marjorie Litteer, 716.376.7528 or marjorielitteer@mail.sunyjcc.edu.

James E. Stitt, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of Cutco Corporation, will receive the John D. Hamilton Award during the JCC Foundation’s annual dinner on October 29 at Premier Banquet Center in Olean.

For information or tickets, contact the JCC Foundation office at 716.376.7513 or foundation@mail.sunyjcc.edu.

The award is the highest recognition given by the college and is presented to individuals who provide exemplary support to the college.

Stitt served on JCC’s board of trustees from 1999 to 2008. He was instrumental in garnering support for the Cattaraugus County Campus when funds were needed for a $32 million expansion, which was completed in 2003.

Students who were awarded degrees or certificates from JCC's Jamestown and Cattaraugus County campuses in August 2009 include:

High honors, representing a grade point average of 3.50 to 3.99, were earned by: Christina Marsh of Kennedy, Associate in Science (A.S.)-Human Services, Lindy Johnson of Frewsburg and Susan Threadgill of Allegany, A.S.-Individual Studies; Noah Allen of Jamestown, A.S.-Liberal Arts & Sciences: Mathematics and Science; and Elizabeth Ventura of Jamestown, Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.)-Occupational Therapy Assistant.

JCC’s Cattaraugus County Campus will host acoustic guitarist Neil Jacobs at 7 p.m. on October 15 as part of the Rising Star Series. His performance will be held in JCC’s Cutco Theater and is free and open to the public.

Known for his mastery of the 12-string acoustic guitar and relaxed interaction with audiences, Jacobs’ compositions cover diverse music from around the world and highlight Gypsy, Balkan, folk, classical, and jazz selections. For more information, visit www.neiljacobs.com.

The Rising Star Series is made possible through support from the Cutco Foundation, Olean Medical Group, JCC Foundation, and JCC Faculty Student Association. For more information, call Jill Ballard, 716.376.7590.

In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, JCC will sponsor “Missing Spots on the Sun: Anything Wrong?,” a presentation by JCC alumnus Darren Williams, associate professor of physics and astronomy at Penn State Erie, The Behrend Campus, at 7 p.m. on October 7.

The program, free and open to the public, will be presented in the Lenna Teleconference Theatre on JCC’s Jamestown Campus. Program sponsors are JCC’s physics department and the college program committee of JCC’s Faculty Student Association.

During his presentation, Dr. Williams will discuss what is known of sunspots, the history of sunspot observations, and the possible link between the appearance of sunspots and changes to the Earth’s climate.

The Weeks Gallery at JCC’s Jamestown Campus will hold an “ArtBop” at the college and in downtown Jamestown on October 3 to celebrate the opening of Homegrown Excellence: The Weeks Gallery Salutes Regional Artists.

The exhibition, on display through December 8, features artwork by JCC alumni and faculty Nate Arnone, James Colby, Deb Eck, Peter Goergen, Theresa Heinz, Don Hill, Yu Kanazawa, Deb Lanni, Marilyn Martin, Justin Sorensen, Helene Stolzenberg, and William Waite.

Tickets for the event can be obtained through JCC’s box office, 716.338.1187. Admission is $10 for the general public, $8 for area students and senior citizens, and $6 for JCC Faculty Student Association members.

The exhibition is funded by JCC, JCC Faculty Student Association, JCC Foundation, the Arthur R. Gren Company, and the Southern Tier Brewing Company.

A donation by Jamestown Electro Plating will enable JCC to resume offering a chemistry lab component that lacked needed equipment.

Jamestown Electro Plating owners Jay and Alison Churchill have provided an atomic absorption spectrometer, which will be put to use when fall semester classes begin later this month. An AA spectrometer uses light absorption to measure the concentration of gas-phase atoms.

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher will visit JCC’s Jamestown Campus on August 17.

Dr. Zimpher, who pledged to visit all of SUNY’s 64 campuses in her first 100 days as chancellor, will meet with JCC administrators, faculty, staff, students, and trustees as well as local and area elected representatives.

“JCC is honored that Dr. Zimpher will visit our Jamestown Campus,” said JCC President Gregory T. DeCinque. “Taking the time to visit every SUNY campus and interact with those actually delivering direct educational and training service to citizens of New York demonstrates her commitment to making SUNY the best system of higher education in the world.”

An open house will be held at JCC's North County Center on Bennett Rd. in Dunkirk from noon until 6 p.m. on August 12.

JCC’s degree and certificate programs, admissions procedures, financial aid opportunities, and student services will be outlined during the afternoon.

The JCC North County Center is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Additional information on the program can be obtained by calling the JCC North County Center, 366-2255.

JCC President Gregory T. DeCinque has been elected president of the Institute for Community College Development (ICCD) board of directors at Cornell University.

ICCD, a collaborative program between Cornell and the State University of New York, provides leadership programming and research support for current and future community college leaders. The activities of the institute are guided by a board of directors comprised of community college presidents from Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. The presidents are joined by SUNY system administration and faculty administrative leaders from Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR).

JCC's 2009-2010 budget was approved by the college's board of trustees on July 21. The new budget, which totals $29,606,000, is 6% larger than the college's original 2008-2009 spending plan. JCC's new fiscal year begins September 1, 2009.

“Given the turmoil of the economy worldwide, this was yet another challenging budget to build,” said JCC President Gregory T. DeCinque. “We are disappointed and dismayed that the state aid rate for community college students remained at $2,675 per full-time equivalent students, exactly where it has been for the last two years. The state has also forced community colleges to pick up mandated expenses while eliminating a number of forms of state aid through recent years. This places the state contribution well below its promised 40% share of expenses and means that our students continue to be asked to bear a larger burden through their tuition.”