Lynx completes yoga textbook
Larson Gallery Director and Instructor David Lynx recently published a new textbook, “Art of Yoga,” through Kendall Hall Publishing. “Art of Yoga” explores art history from a yogic perspective, starting with the visual art history of yoga beginning in India, then expanding to China, Japan and the west. Lynx also recently completed a 500-hour yoga teacher training and is a member of the Yakima Yoga Alliance.
Allied Health program recognized
The Allied Health Center of Excellence (COE), hosted at Yakima Valley College, was recently identified as a promising practice in the Community College Baccalaureate Association’s new eBook that highlights promising practices implemented by 20 baccalaureate-conferring community colleges across the nation.
Focused on the central question: “What practices make community college baccalaureate (CCB) programs valuable to students?,” the eBook features practices that contribute to more equitable education and employment outcomes for students, many of whom represent historically underserved groups.
“Promising practices, as defined for this project, are the keys to making innovative, workforce-focused CCB programs succeed,” says CCBA President Angela Kersenbrock. “They include critical ingredients required to produce high-quality CCB programs that promote equitable education, employment and life outcomes for students and graduates. They also demonstrate what works in a real-world setting that may be rooted in practical experience and also in evidence such as qualitative and quantitative data gathered by program faculty and staff.”
Established in 1999, CCBA is dedicated to promoting baccalaureate degrees on community college campuses as a means of closing racial, ethnic and economic gaps by providing its members access to research data and strategic guidance as they develop and implement their baccalaureate degree programs.
Doty presents undergraduate research
Business Administration Instructor Donald Doty recently presented his undergraduate research findings, “Goals, Values, and Motivations of University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) Incoming Students,” at a meeting held by the University of Maryland.
“In the Program and Career Exploration (PACE) class incoming students were asked to provide their Goals, Values and Motivations as a part of the class,” Doty said. “A content analysis of the students’ submissions provides insight into our student body.”
In his presentation, Doty led the audience through some examples of students’ own words and discussed the overarching themes and patterns that emerged from the data — providing participants with a better understanding of what goals, values and motivations influence undergraduate students.
Seveyka publishes paper on undergraduate research
Biology Instructor Jerred Seveyka recently published an article connected with YVC’s undergraduate research projects. The article, “Cellobiase activity as an indicator of fungal decay in the wood of woodpecker nest cavities in the Pacific Northwest,” was a collaboration of Seveyka, Jeffrey Kozma and Teresa Lorenz.
Woodpeckers require trees and snags with decayed wood in order to excavate nest and roost cavities, and interior wood hardness is considered an important factor determining where a woodpecker can create a cavity. In most ecosystems, saprophytic fungi are responsible for the decay and softening of wood and are thought to be important in providing soft wood for woodpecker cavity excavation. Seveyka’s work included a study of cellulose degrading enzymes in the wood surrounding woodpecker nest cavities collected in 2017. The team measured wood hardness, percent wood density loss and cellobiase activity within wood surrounding the nest cavities of the northern flicker, black-backed woodpecker, white-headed woodpecker and hairy woodpecker in Oregon and Washington.
Several former YVC student researchers’ contributions are noted in the finished article. Seveyka also recently attended the Botany Society of America’s meeting in Anchorage, Alaska.
This trip was funded in part by the Inclusive Teaching Initiative through Boy Scouts of America. Seveyka had the opportunity to network with other Washington community college instructors.
Byrn selected for diversity fellowship
Ethnic Studies and American Indian and Indigenous Studies Instructor Jonathan Byrn was recently named as a recipient of the Donald H. Wulff Diversity Fellowship from the Professional and Organization Development (POD) Network in Higher Education.
Named to honor the memory of former POD President and early supporter of the POD Diversity Committee, the fellowship program aims to increase and support sustained participation of individuals from historically underrepresented groups in the field of educational development.
“I’m looking forward to attending the POD Network conference in Seattle,” said Byrn after his selection. “as well as participating in the Wulff Fellows round table, and working with POD Network’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee over the next year to advance their programs and ours here at Yakima Valley College. I’ll also be bringing the training and insights gained back to Washington’s statewide committees for American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) program development.”
Facility Operations staff recertified
All members of YVC’s Facility Operations Department have recently completed re-certification in the areas of first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), automated external defibrillator (AED) and bloodborne pathogens.