New Degree Info Session
Michelle Hernandez comes from a law enforcement family – her dad and a brother are police officers – and she plans to make it her career, too. The 21-year-old Cary resident already holds two associate degrees and has hands-on experience in the form of internships at two Chicago-area police departments. But there’s one thing Hernandez doesn’t have that she says would prove invaluable as she pursues her career: a bachelor’s degree in public safety. Her alma mater, Harper College, now has an answer. Hernandez was one of more than a dozen potential students who attended a December information session on the new public safety bachelor’s degree being offered by Northern Illinois University on the Harper College campus. Another session is scheduled for 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 13 in room W218 in the Wojcik Conference Center on Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. The session will explain the basics of the new degree, formed this fall through a partnership between the two institutions, and provide details on tuition and financial assistance. “I know that having a bachelor’s degree will do nothing but help me once I’m working in the field,” says Hernandez, who is in the process of applying to police departments. “Obtaining this degree with this new program seems like an affordable and convenient way to achieve my goals.” The new NIU degree, a Bachelor of Science in Applied Management (BSAM) with an emphasis in Public Safety, can be completed entirely on Harper’s Palatine campus. Courses address homeland security and disaster preparedness, communications, ethics, budgeting and management theory, with an eye on giving police officers, firefighters and other first responders the skills and knowledge they need to excel in their careers. The degree is designed both for people like Hernandez – who hold a college degree and have experience, perhaps extensive, in the field – and those with no law enforcement background and no previous college credit. To RSVP for an information session, or for more information, visit www.harpercollege.edu or call 847.925.6081.
Media Note: Reporters and photographers are welcome to attend. Reporters interested in interviewing Michelle Hernandez or other potential students in the new degree program can contact Media Relations Specialist Erin Brooks, 847.925.6159, [email protected].
Mozart and More
Works by Mozart and Brahms will be performed at Harper College’s fifth annual Chamber Music Festival, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 23 in the College’s Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. This year’s edition will feature faculty members from Harper’s Department of Music, and include performances by the Harper Chamber Winds and the critically acclaimed Anaphora String Quartet ensembles-in-residence. Tickets are $15 for general admission, with discounts available for seniors and students. Children ages 12 and under will be admitted free. For tickets, call 847.925.6100 or visit www.harpercollege.edu/boxoffice. To learn more about studying music at Harper, visit www.harpercollege.edu.
Press Contact: Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].
Reading Minds
Mentalist Christopher Carter – a mindreader and magician who uses hypnotism in his shows – will kick off Harper College’s Spring Welcome Week with a free show on Wednesday, January 20. Carter’s performance, at noon in the Student Center Lounge on the main floor of Building A, is open to all. Carter, who developed an interest in mindreading and magic at a young age, promises plenty of awe at his Harper show – saying he’ll persuade audience members to see things that don’t exist and take control of fluorescent light bulbs, turning them on at his command as students hold them. Welcome Week, a series of activities that salute the start of Spring Term 2010, also will feature Harper information tables, a Harper Hawks pep rally, free hot chocolate and a live remote broadcast by the student-run radio station. All events are free. Harper’s main campus is at 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. For more information, call the Student Activities Office at 847.925.6242 or visit www.harpercollege.edu.
Press Contact: Terry Karow, Marketing and Public Relations Specialist, 847.925.6627, [email protected].
Textbook Rentals
Harper College students next semester will have the new option of renting their textbooks – an alternative that could save them more than 50 percent on the texts they need for class. The pilot rental program, Harper’s latest effort to keep student book prices down, comes on the heels of the bookstore’s launch of e-books – textbook titles that can be downloaded to a desktop computer or browsed from the Web. “This is really a reflection of us listening to what our students want,” says Richard Seiler, Manager of Retail Services. “We want to give them lower prices whenever we can, and provide them with as many options as possible right here on campus.” This month, Harper’s bookstore began offering more than 50 titles for rent, representing nearly 200 sections of College courses. Students will pay an average of $50 for the rented books, Seiler says, compared with average costs of $110 or more for new purchased texts. Harper’s program requires no deposit; students pay only the book’s rental fee. Students also still have the option of purchasing used texts and reselling their books at the term’s end. Textbook rentals are a growing trend nationwide, with colleges across the United States signing on.
Media Note: Photographers and reporters are welcome to stop by Harper College’s bookstore to talk with students about the College’s new book rental program. Contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159 or [email protected], to arrange a visit.
Small Business Help
Planning for a potential disaster that might not even happen isn’t typically at the top of a small business’ priority list – but “a disaster can put you out of business faster than any recession,” warns Bonnie Richter, Director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Harper College. With an eye on the potential risks facing businesses that are ill-prepared, Harper is hosting a series of free “Survive and Thrive” workshops aimed at teaching owners, managers and entrepreneurs how to assess the likelihood of disasters, determine the potential impact and lessen the negative effects. The next workshops are from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 20 and Tuesday, February 9 in the Small Business Development Center Office at the Harper Professional Center, 650 E. Higgins Road in Schaumburg. Others will be held Tuesday, March 9 and Tuesday, May 11. The College also is offering one-on-one disaster preparedness advising for entrepreneurs seeking help through Harper’s Small Business Development Center. “Most small business owners don’t want to deal with this, and most small businesses don’t have a plan in place,” Richter says. “We really want them to have one – particularly as winter, and the threat of storms, again approaches – and we’re here to help them in that capacity.” Business owners need to know, she says, what they’ll do if they lose power, how they’ll get in touch with employees in the case of an emergency, and where they’ll operate from if their office is unavailable. Statistics show that one-quarter of businesses that close because of a disaster never reopen, and 80 percent of those that don’t recover within a month are likely to out of business. Harper’s disaster preparedness workshops and advising are being funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. To register for the workshop, call 847.925.6520 or send an email to [email protected]. Space is limited. For an advising appointment, call 847.925.6520.
Press Contact: Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].
Photo Opportunities
Event: First Day of Spring Term 2010
Date: Tuesday, January 19. (Call to confirm best locations and times.)
Location: Harper College main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine
Event: Mindreader Christopher Carter performing free show for Welcome Week
Date: Noon on Wednesday, January 20
Location: Student Center Lounge, main floor of Building A
Event: Chamber Music Festival featuring performances by Harper faculty
Date: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 23
Location: Performing Arts Center