<larry.christiansen@mcmail.maricopa.edu>
Date: March 9, 2005 2:13:38 PM MST
To: <dl-mc@memo.maricopa.edu>
Subject: MCC Accreditation NEWS
This morning Dr. Peg Lee, Team Chair of the visiting team for the
Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, presented
the exit report of the team's visit to Mesa Community College. The
report, extensive in nature, was extremely complementary to the
college, its faculty, staff, students, and the community. The college
received a recommendation for ten years with no focus visits or
monitoring reports. The final report from the team will include
extensive recommendations on the two categories that we had requested
prior to the visit. Those categories are recommendations for the
distance learning program and how we as a college should deal with
growth.Special thanks to Dr. Gayla Preisser, MCC Self-Study team chair; Andrea Greene, who provided tremendous leadership and service in all areas of research, planning and report writing; and Dr. Gail Mee, who served as our administrative lead. The self-study would not have been completed in such an excellent way without such superb work of the eighty-person MCC self-study team who spent over two years writing this thoughtful document. We applaud the many community members who continuously support the mission, vision and values of MCC. Community advocacy for the college was evident throughout the visit. My congratulations to each of you for this outstanding recognition and thanks for going the "extra mile" in supporting the NCA process.
Dr. Peg Lee ended the exit interview sharing the following poem that she felt was reflective of our college during this visit:
To Be of Use
The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half submerged balls.
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.
I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who stand in the line and haul in their places,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
~ Marge Piercy ~
