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- - _. ..... ..... .,,,. .,,,. Volume 5/ Issue 5 Alpena Con1n1unity College April 1, 2003 Dr. Davis Retires.After 17 Years JESSICA THIEM Managing Editor After 17 years at ACC, Dr. Curt Davis, Vice President for Instructional, Student, and Community Services, has initiated many projects at ACC. Unfortunately, this semester will be his last at ACC. Dr. Davis decided to retire at the end of this school year to do something different with his time. Dr. Davis began working at ACC in 1986. Before he moved to Alpena, he was the Dean at Owens Technical College in Toledo, Ohio. After Owens, he went to the University ofToledo to get his Doctorate. After finishing the doctoral program at, his wife, Shari, and he decided they wanted to live in a smaller community. Dr.Davis and ACC proved a good match Dr. Davis said one of the best things about being at ACC is that it gave him the opportunity to work with students. He said that if he were at a major university, in his job, he would very seldom come in contact with students. "What I like about this college and being at a college this size is that you get to do a variety of things, and you get to interact with all kinds of people all in one day," stated Dr. Davis. One of the biggest accomplishments that Dr. Davis has been part of at ACC is the bringing in of new staff members. Over the past 17 years, he has replaced nearly 75% of the teachers on staff due to retirement. Davis believes thatACC has always had a good faculty, and the challenge over the years has been to hire in staff that was just as strong in the classroom as the previous staff was. He feels he has done a good job in accomplishing that. Anotheraccomplishmenthe has helped along is the reintroduction of fine arts and performing arts to ACC. Dr. Davis said that when he came to ACC in 1986 none of those programs existed. Dr. Curt Davis talks with Michael Dean Bergman after the 2002 Academic and Athletic Awards ceremony. A.CC now has dance, Jazz Ensemble, performing arts and fine arts classes. The third largest accomplishment he feels he has helped in is the occupational areas at ACC. Davis has helped make sure they have the tnost current • t eqmpment and up-to-date labs. Dr. Davis believesACC has to keep its technology current so that students have the type of equipment to learn on that they will find in the industry they are going into. Dr. Davis also had an impact on the ACC staff. M ary Skiba, Dr. Davis' ass· tant, said one of the ' she will miss about him · s ability to pull everyone ether at the college or in Photo courtesy Jay Walterreit "The thing I enjoyed the most about working atACC is that there is a wonderful group of people that work here at the college," stated Dr.Davis. He and his family chose Alpena because it had a combina~ion of two things they liked; the climate and the lake. Dr. Davis had grown up near Lake Erie in Ohio and thought it would be nice to live near a lake again. Alpena also had a climate similar to that of West Germany where he and his wife had lived. They moved to West Germany because he was in the Army and that is where the job senthim Heandhiswifestayed thereforayearandahalf. They then decided to stay longer because Dr. Davis had started a Community College, which provided programs for Army and Air Force personnel in that area He decided to retire this year because there are more things he would like to do and it's hard to fit everything into a fixed schedule. Dr. Davis said he's been in this line of work for 35 years and feels it's time for him to do something different He and his wife plan on traveling the United States. They have friends all over the country that they would like to get reacquainted with. Dr. Davis also said that he plans on getting in a little more time for golfing and fishing after he retires. State CutsBudget; TultionHikeUkely merica Goes to War KARAEUBANK Features Editor Dr. Newport, President of ACC, laid out an overview of the up and coming budget changes at a meeting held on March 13th in the Granum Theatre. Dr. Newport simplified Governor Granholm 's proposal and what it means to the college and the community as a whole. With the economy in a slump, cuts in the budget have to be made in order to stay on top. Dr. Newport stated that this would be a multi- year budget procedure. "The problems we are facing will not disappear in just one year," siadDr. Newport. Nearly 50 percent of ACC's budget comes from the Michigan State Appropriations. Thirty percent of the budget is from tuition and fees . and the last 20 percent mostly comes from property taxes. Alot of the budget (77%) is used towards salaries and fringe benefits. Withthe substantial cut in state funding, ACC seeks solutions. 0 March 20th, the United St tes entered into war against the Iraqi Regime. After many months of inspections, warnings, and probing, thousands of troops were sent into and around Iraq after the United States officially declared war. Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq,and his leadership were initially the target of the attack. Many air raids occurred that night in Baghdad, and at times it was believed that Hussein and his advisors were killed. However, Hussein appeared on Iraqi television the next day, and though it was originalythought to be Index News .............................. .......................... page 2 & a Features.......................... ......................... page 4 & 5 Showcase Artist....................................... page 6 Sports .................... ,................................. page 7 & 8 Point of View .......................................... page 9 Entertainment........................................ page 10 & 11 Photo Story.............................................. page 12 one of his doubles, experts now believe Hussein is alive. The day after, Baghdad and other Iraqi cities went under aerial attack in what U.S. officials said was a major escalation. The only U.S. casualties at that time were a result of a helicopter accident. In the following days, the coalition pushed on. The U.S. led forces seized key areas of southern Iraq as they pushed on to Baghdad, which went under heavy bombardment. On March 23 rd , five captured U.S. soldiers were shown on Iraqi televison as coalition forces met determined resistance, causing an uproar on the humanitarianism of Iraqi Journalism Heavy bombing was reported outside ofBaghdad on March 24th. The U.S. commanders said that progress was "dramatic" despite stiff resistance. The next day, sandstorms moved into the region and slowed down the military advances. Regardless, heavy bombing of the Republican Guard occurred. On Thursday, March 27th, President Bush said the U.S. led forces would press on for "however long it takes" to topple the iraqi leader. As of Saturday, March 29th, U.S. casualties had reached a number of 57. Experts say that the U.S. underestimated the Iraqi regime and the war will last longer than expected.