Rose State College News

Business Workshops on Calendar at Rose State College

A free workshop on the SBA's HUBZone and 8(a) Programs will be held on Thursday, November 5, at Rose State Small Business Development Center (SBDC) from 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. Experts from the Small Business Administration Office in Oklahoma City will be conducting the workshop. These programs provide contracting benefits to small businesses that are socially or economically disadvantaged or located in a HUBZone.  The goal of these programs is to stimulate economic development and job creation for small disadvantaged business or those located in targeted urban and rural areas... Workshop will be held at Rose State College, OSBDC, 1720 Hudiburg Drive, Midwest City, OK.  There is no fee, however preregistration is required. Call 405-733-7348 for additional information or to register.

            December 7, 2009.  9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.  The Workshop Covers taxes for the State of Oklahoma.  During this three-hour session, you will learn about new business registration, business tax report form completion, sales and withholding record keeping requirements, sales tax deductions and exemptions and vendor responsibilities.  The workshop will be held at the Rose State College SBDC, 1720 Hudiburg Drive, Midwest City, OK.  There is no fee, however seating is limited so registration is required.  Call 405 733 7348 for more information.

            Small Business Federal Tax Workshop from 1:00pm-4:00pm on December 7, 2009.  The workshop covers basic IRS Tax requirements.  During the three-hour session you will learn about record keeping/bookkeeping systems, business income tax, business deductions, and federal tax forms and filing dates.  The workshop will be held at the Rose State College SBDC, 1720 Hudiburg Drive, Midwest City, OK.  There is no fee, however seating is limited so registration is required.  Call 405 733 7348 for more information.

            Small Business Loan Briefing held from 6:00pm-8:00pm on December 10, 2009.  Learn what lenders and SBA look for in Business Loan applications, includes a video on the loan application process and explanation on the aspects of the business plan. .  The workshop will be held at the Rose State College SBDC, 1720 Hudiburg Drive, Midwest City, OK.  There is no fee, however seating is limited so registration is required.  Call 405 733 7348 for more information.

Rose State College to host Admiral for Veteran’s Day

Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic, USN Retired, will give a luncheon talk about what veterans mean to the United States, and vice versa, from 12:30—2 p.m. Wednesday, November 11, 2009, at the Rose State College Student Center Dining Room. The luncheon is free.
             Admiral Slavonic retired from the United States Navy after 34 years of service to his country. He is widely regarded as one of the Navy’s most inspirational leaders. His career spanned service in Vietnam, Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom (Iraq).
            For more information, contact the Rose State College Special Services/Student Outreach 733-7373. The college is conveniently located just off Interstate 40 and Hudiburg Drive, with plenty of free parking.

Rose State College Butterfly Garden Bears Winged Fruit

Monarch butterflies migrating from Central and South America are stopping over at the Rose State College campus to bask in the autumn sun in the campus’ recently built butterfly garden.
            Completed in June, college officials had warned that the garden might not start attracting the migratory creatures for two years, yet the butterflies have already started visiting. Monarchs stop to sip nectar from a variety of plants specially cultivated for them, including milkweed plants, which now boast numerous feasting, yellow-and-black-striped Monarch caterpillars.
            “We have a lot of the little guys visiting us on their way through,” said Rose State President Dr. Terry Britton. “After they rest here they’ll move on.”
            Monarchs migrate north in the summer and south at the onset of winter, as birds do. The colors of the butterfly warn would-be predators that the butterfly has a bitter taste given to it by its ingestion of milkweed sap.
            The Rose State butterfly garden was completed as a part of the college’s overall environmental improvement initiative.

Rose State College Expands Free Tuition Program

   Hundreds more high school students will be able to attend classes tuition-free at Rose State College due to the expansion of a popular benefit.
The benefit, called “Ticket to Rose”, already allows students graduating from three area high schools to attend Rose State College without having to pay tuition.
            Now, graduates of Choctaw High School in eastern Oklahoma County will join students from Midwest City, Del City and Carl Albert high schools in the program. The Rose State Board voted to expand the program at a recent meeting since the Choctaw District and the Rose State College Technical Area Education District overlap significantly.
            “It is a fulfilling and important mission for Rose State to extend a helping hand to students in need of a solid college education,” said Rose State College president Dr. Terry Britton. “Expanding that mission allows us to better serve our community.”
            Students who wish to enroll through Ticket to Rose must graduate high school with a 2.5-weighted grade-point average, must complete the Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) and enroll in at least 6 credit hours at Rose State College.
            “We know that every year there are students who would love to get a college education and can’t, for various reasons. This gives every student at Choctaw who meets the qualifying standards—which are very fair—the chance to get a degree,” said Choctaw High School superintendent Jim McCharen. “We just think it’s an amazing opportunity for the students.”
            “We are excited that students who in the past who have not been able to attend college, to whom financial reasons were a barrier, that those are no longer a barrier. We know our students will take advantage of it and we are looking forward to more and more students going to college,” said Choctaw principal Donny Black. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”
            Choctaw graduates more than 300 seniors each year, most of whom would be eligible for the Ticket to Rose program.
            Mid-Del schools superintendent Bill Scoggan said Ticket to Rose has grown very valuable to his district’s graduates, especially in the recent economic downturn.
            “A lot of our strong students are taking advantage of this program, simply because of the financial conditions,” said Scoggan. “Some real solid kids who plan to go to OU or OSU are saying, ‘You know, I think I’m going to take my first two years at Rose.’ They get a real solid education.”
            Figures at Rose State College show that first-time student enrollment increased by approximately 20 percent this year.
            For more information about Ticket to Rose, call the Student Welcome Center at (405) 733-7372.

Cutline:
Rose State College President Dr. Terry Britton (second from left) presents a symbolic Ticket to Rose to Choctaw High School superintendent Jim McCharen (far left) and Choctaw principal Donny Black (center). They were joined by Tracy Mosley (second from right), executive vice president, Choctaw Chamber of Commerce, and Mid-Del Schools superintendent Bill Scoggan. 

Cyber security Grant To Help Rose State and Education Partners Stop Job Drain

National Security and State education officials announced today a $2.7 million grant to a cyber security partnership, which includes Rose State and several other state institutions.
            Called the Cyber Security Education Consortium, or CSEC, the partnership of educational institutions was given the $2.7 million three-year Advanced Technological Education grant from the National Science Foundation to help reverse the outsourcing and off shoring of high-tech jobs.
            “Partnerships such as this…is the way we should be doing it. … We’ve seen already the opportunity for Oklahoma to become a world leader in this field,” said Houston Davis, vice-chancellor, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
            The grant, titled “Reversing the Outsourcing Tide in Mission-Critical Disciplines,” will be distributed among several institutions with cyber security education and workforce development programs in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. 
            Davis singled out the Rose State program as a leader in cyber security education in the state.
“ Rose State is the only community college in the country that has certification in all six of the systems administration and information systems security exams—that’s something to brag on,” Davis said.
The announcement was made at the Oklahoma State Capitol Blue Room. In attendance were several executives from partner institutions, including the University of Tulsa, Career Tech, Oklahoma City Community College, as well as other government, education and security officials.
            Richard George, technical director, Information Assurance Directorate, National Security Agency (NSA) in Fort Meade, Md., said Rose State’s program was critical to national defense.
            “We have to address these threats. We have an obligation to our country to do it. You all have an opportunity to build the students to address that threat, who can make a difference in the security of the nation. I see the difference they make every day,” George said.
            George said Rose State’s prominence as the only community college with all six levels of federal certification was “phenomenal.”
             “That is phenomenal. Those are great guiding principles of what we should be teaching. The fact that you have all of them shows that you have a faculty that understands and can impart that information to the students and get them prepared to go out and make a difference. This is a phenomenal achievement, and that’s why there is only one.”

Rose State President Cites Large Enrollment Increase

Rose State College President Dr. Terry Britton said enrollment at the college is surging at the beginning of the college’s 40th school year, with the largest increase in first-time students.
Dr. Britton said that although the numbers have fluctuated somewhat, and the final numbers haven’t been tallied, the current enrollment increase is partly due to the college’s “Ticket To Rose” initiative, in which local high school students are provided full-ride funding to attend Rose State College.
            “We can cite numerous reasons for the increase, including a weak economy, increased financial aid, and the Ticket To Rose Initiative. Such factors do play a part, but I think it is our renewed attention to success and retention that is paying dividends,” Britton said.
            Current statistics show Rose State has enrolled so far 960 more students than last year’s total on the first day of classes.  Rose State College figures show a 26.6 percent increase in first-time students with 551 for a total of 2,650 new to the College.  The numbers will increase as the College has additional enrollment periods the semester.
            Dr. Britton told faculty that the incoming students are often at a crucial place in life and will benefit from education.
            “Our students are on myriad journeys; many are at critical junctions. We want to help them make good decisions and choose preferred pathways,” Dr. Britton said. “We do not want them standing paralyzed at the fork in the road.”  

“Treadmill-athoners” log more than 2,000 Miles at Rose State College

            Treadmill marathon runners and walkers, 105 of them, finished what they started at Rose State College’s first “treadmill-athon”, laying down 2,751 miles as they did, said Wellness Center Director Chris Leland.
            “I am really excited about the numbers,” Leland said. “Almost a third of the people that signed up finished, and more than half of those finished before me.”
            Leland himself logged the 26.2 miles required to finish the “marathon”, which was run entirely on the Rose State Wellness Center’s treadmills. The miles had to be finished before the end of October.
            All who completed the treadmill-athon were awarded T-Shirts. Additionally, those who completed before Leland, 38 women and 17 men, were put into a drawing for a grand prize, a Polar heart monitor watch, Leland said.
            The winner of the Women’s Grand Prize Watch was Rose State College student Amanda Wyatt. The winner of the Men’s Grand Prize Watch was Rose State employee Terrance Grayson.
                                                                       

Rose State Graduates Record Number of Nurses

Rose State College graduated this spring the greatest number of nurses since the program began, according to figures just released.
            A total of 73 graduates received their pins in a recent ceremony, according to program director Rebekah Ray.
            Ray said the high number of graduates is the result of a program created for Rose State College with funding from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. The special funding was created three years ago in order to meet a strong need for more nurses in the state, she said.
            “The funding was there to increase the number of registered nurses in the workforce in order to meet the increased demand. The demand is still high and the need has not yet been met,” Ray said.

“Go for Baroque” Premiers New Piece at Rose State College in September

            Eclectic jazz/classical ensemble Go For Baroque will present the regional premier of a new Latino music piece Sept.14 at the Rose State College Performing Arts Center, taking the stage at 7:15 for a music lecture and with music at 8 p.m.
             “Route 66: El Camino a la Fiesta” (The Road to the Fiesta), is a musical exploration of  Latino rhythms found along Route 66, for people of all ages and all backgrounds.
            Route 66, which winds through Oklahoma, is the historic American highway, which came to symbolize the road to opportunity.  Route 66 cut a  course across the land linking hundreds of rural communities and, consequently, the lives and cultures of those on its path.  Many of the families who settled along the route brought with them many Hispanic traditions including their rich culture of music featured by Go for Baroque in the ensemble’s exciting new program Route 66: El Camino a la Fiesta (The Road to the Fiesta).
            The performance will feature the live regional premiere of “Concierto Barroco,” a piece written by Enrique Gonzalez Medina . It beautifully illustrates the  Latino  forms of the Tango and Fandango, as well as the classical style of the Toccata and Gigue. Medina’s clever writing of this piece encompasses flute, violin, cello, harpsichord and percussion.
            Go for Baroque will take the stage at 7:15 for a short lecture about the music, with the performance starting at 8 p.m.

Rose State College Cybersecurity Expert: Recent Cyber Attacks a Growing Threat

Rose State College Cybersecurity expert Ken Dewey said the recent attacks on the White House, Pentagon and other sites highlight a growing problem that the government is rushing to fix though educating “cyber fighters” from programs such as the one at Rose.
            “It’s a problem that is going to continue,” Dewey said. “Whether it’s these attacks they say are coming from North Korea,  or others, they are going to continue to happen. Today they are attacking the White House but they can just as easily attack your home computer.”
            Dewey said that by using “bot-nets”, or a network of computers that are being secretly controlled by hackers via the Internet, they can mass thousands of zombie computers to attack a website and cause it to shut down.
            “They can even use your home computer to attack the White House,” Dewey said.
            At Rose State College, Dewy heads the only cybersecurity educational program in the country at a community college that is certified at all six levels of government training for cybersecurity. Dewey said his program is being partially funded by the National Science Foundation so that students demonstrating financial need can take classes for free—but even so, the government is having trouble filling all the slots.
            “There is a very high demand for this occupation and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down anytime soon,” Dewey said. “I’ve even got more openings for fall in the free program.”
            Call 405-7337977 or email kdewey@rose.edu for more information.

Rose State College Offers Paralegal Courses at Norick Library

Rose State College is offering paralegal studies courses downtown in the heart of the legal community. The courses will be offered at the OKC Downtown College, located on the 4th floor of the Norick Library, 300 Park Avenue. Classes will meet Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30 pm beginning August 24th. The Rose State College’s Paralegal Studies Program was the first in Oklahoma and has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1976. Paralegals perform a wide variety of professional duties and tasks specifically delegated by an attorney. For additional information, or to inquire about admissions and enrollment, please email Jimmie Sue Baker at jbaker@downtowncollege.com, or call 232-3382. Downtown College’s website at www.downtowncollege.com contains a complete listing of all available classes.

Rose State Graduate Accepted in Honors Program

Rose State College 2009 graduate Lorenzo F. Alferos III  has been admitted to the University of Oklahoma’s Honors College starting this fall.
A history major at Rose State, Alferos graduated with honors this May. Alferos is a resident of Midwest City.

Margaret Cho Performs for Rose State Live!

Actress, singer and comedian Margaret Cho is one of the acts headlining this fall’s Rose State Live! series of performances.

Taking the stage October 1 at 8 p.m., Margaret Cho’s new show is a mix of new stand-up and live music. Cho will be showcasing songs from her forthcoming comedy album along with her distinctive material that’s developed a cult following through tours, concert films and TV specials. Cho’s trademark raunchy, socially relevant and politically charged comedy at Rose State Live! follows her fifth stand up concert film, Beautiful, and her new dramatic series, Drop Dead Diva, on Lifetime. Cho’s Rose State Live! show is for mature audiences only. Tickets go on sale at the Civic Center Box Office at 10 a.m. August 4.