The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) Associate Degree Board of Commissioners recently awarded Riverland Community College, in Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna, Minnesota, initial accreditation for its five business degree programs.

I am excited to be spending the next year as Riverland Community College’s interim president. I see Riverland as a college with unlimited potential while serving three impressive campus communities and the surrounding region. One thing that I noticed immediately upon my arrival is Riverland’s overwhelming dedication to student success. With the academic year just beginning and the nationwide search for Riverland’s new permanent president moving forward, I felt this was an excellent opportunity to introduce myself and my plan for Riverland this year.

Award-winning poet and essayist Gary Holthaus and internationally acclaimed musician Lauren Pelon team up to offer a unique new program called The Story of Music, Stories from Home. Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Riverland Community College Austin Campus in the Frank W. Bridges Theatre.

Pelon plays a variety of ancient and modern instruments ranging from lute, lyre, and concertina, to recorders, gemshorn, electric wind controller and pedalboard.  Holthaus reads from his poems and essays. Both the music and the readings offer unique perceptions of the natural world, and celebrate our sense of place, community, and home.

The Riverland Community College theatre 2012-2013 season opens Thursday with Eurydice. Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual effects, Eurydice is a fresh look at a timeless love story. The play is suggested for ages 12 and over.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system plays an essential role in developing workforce through 1) traditional, credit-based programs, and 2) training for transitional, entrepreneurial and incumbent workers. Within MnSCU, the name for the latter unit is Continuing Education/Customized Training (CE/CT). Our College’s name for the unit is Riverland Training and Development.

Riverland Training and Development strengthens business, industry and public safety organizations through consultation, program development and customized training solutions. This rapid-response division works directly with employers and employees to develop and reinforce the existing workforce. Annually, we work with more than 450 companies and organizations across our region and online, serving more than 5,700 workers.

Riverland Community College, in conjunction with College Application Week, will waive the application for all high school seniors that apply to attend Riverland Nov. 12-16.

Riverland Community College Theatre and Music departments present the classic holiday musical, White Christmas. With music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by David Ives and Paul Blake, White Christmas is a modern theatrical adaptation of the classic Paramount Pictures film starring Bing Crosby. In this heartwarming musical, World War II veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis have a successful song-and-dance act. With romance in mind, the two follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge, which just happens to be owned by Bob and Phil’s former army commander. Based on the beloved film, the dazzling score features classic Irving Berlin standards including “Blue Skies,” “I Love a Piano,” “How Deep Is the Ocean,” and of course, “White Christmas.” This musical is appropriate for all ages.

The 2013 legislative session will be important for higher education including Riverland Community College and the other 30 institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. This legislative session comes when our region faces a vexing challenge: many employers in industries such as manufacturing, truck driving, and health care, are in dire need for workers with both strong technical and foundational skills. The painful reality is job openings exist, but many of the 174,000 unemployed Minnesotans lack the education needed for the new economy. We also see projections that show 70 percent of the jobs in Minnesota will require a post-secondary credential by 2018. If left unaddressed, this “skills gap” will take a tremendous toll on individuals, families, employers, and the state’s economy.

Unfortunately, we face significant obstacles in meeting this challenge. We ask for your support of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities request.

The first “Put your Metal in the Kettle” event was held at Riverland Community College on Dec. 11 across all three campuses. The Albert Lea campus raised $1,032. The Austin campus donated $1,062.25 (approximately $100 came from community members) and Owatonna donated $165 to the cause.

Each campus raised funds for the Salvation Army Red Kettle fund’s local chapters in Albert Lea, Austin and Owatonna where Riverland campuses are located.

Riverland Community College Austin Veterans Resource Center will host an Information session for veterans Tuesday, February 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Luke Johnson from the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Outreach Division and Luke Weinandt from the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MAC-V) will be available to assist with benefit questions.

Riverland Community College is pleased to announce the students whose academic achievement placed them on the 2012 fall president’s and dean’s lists. Riverland congratulates these individuals for their outstanding academic accomplishments.

Riverland’s Be Your Best College Prep Academy is now accepting applications for this summer. Applications are due March 15. The Be Your Best Summer College Prep Academy is a free program for teens and young adults between the ages of 16 and 22. At Be Your Best, students have the opportunity to prepare for college level courses by taking pre-college Math, Reading, Writing, and Career Planning. Students at Be Your Best receive guidance and support through dedicated instructors, advisors, counselors and tutors. Students in Be Your Best will also benefit from the educational seminars designed for college success and participate in fun activities and field trips throughout the summer.

The Riverland Multicultural Center will host a "Racism in Music" presentation in the Frank W. Bridges Theatre at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 11. The event is being sponsored by Riverland Music, Global Education, Multicultural Club, Student Senate, and Holiday Inn Austin. The event includes a lively discussion with music. Free pizza and pop will be served prior to the event.

Scratch Track talks about the History of Racism in Popular Music. Their 45 minute lecture will cover many aspects of how society views racism in popular music and the walls that limit music based upon formulated restrictions we have placed on music.

Riverland Community College Nursing Program will host a site review for continuing accreditation of its Associate Degree Nursing Program by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc. (NLNAC).

Austin Adult Learning will offer a tuition-free college prep academy at Riverland Community College beginning summer 2013. The academy, called SPARK, will be for recently graduated high school students or those between ages 18 and 22 who are no longer in high school. SPARK staff have been working closely with the successful and award-winning Be Your Best Summer College Prep Academy to create the most benefits to students. This collaboration includes a dual application as well as a shared workshop one morning a week during the dates that the two programs coincide.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) has named three semifinalists who are under consideration to be president of Riverland Community College. The candidates are Adenuga Atewologun, Mary Davenport and Annette Parker. The candidates were recommended by a search advisory committee comprised of students, faculty, staff and community leaders and chaired by Tim Wynes, president of Inver Hills Community College.

The Windom Eagles, from Windom Middle School and High School were awarded the Excellence Award at the Dream It Do It Northern Minnesota VEX Robotics Tournament hosted by Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College in Bemidji this past weekend. Riverland Community College provided the robotics kit that enabled Windom team to participate. With this award, the Windom Eagles qualified to compete at the VEX Robotics World Championship in Anaheim, California, in April against top teams from 30 countries worldwide. This was the team’s first VEX Robotics tournament.

The Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system Tuesday appointed Kent Hanson to be the president of Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Anoka Technical College. Hanson will continue as Interim president at Riverland until June 30 and assist with the transition to the new Riverland president scheduled to begin July 1. The process to name a permanent president for Riverland is in the final stages.