Official SLCC Blog

SLCC employees at ice cream social SLCC’s 4/10 Summer Pilot Program   From mid-May to late July, SLCC staff participated in a 4/10 weekday pilot program. Staff were permitted to try out a 10-hour work day, 4 days per week, with Fridays off.    Many staff members opted into the program, and some decided to stick with the 5/8 workweek. Staff who stayed with a traditional schedule were required to work remotely on Fridays, as campuses were closed during the trial period.    Here are a few stories on how participating staff members used their Fridays during the pilot:    Peta Owens-Liston – Public Information Officer    I made visiting my mom on Fridays a priority—a walk with her or lunch. I also ran all my errands and avoided the Saturday crowds. It was also a great day to get out and hike early without a ton of people on the trails.   Starting early—7 or 7:30 a.m. was key since mornings are my high-focus time and go by quickly. I also took...

  There is more to a lowrider than a flashy car. Not only is there a lot of incredible mechanical and artistic work that goes into creating these cars there is also a rich cultural history that can be traced back to the early 1930s in the Southwest of the United States. Xris Macias, Co-Chair Annual International Lowrider Studies Conference, mentions that people need to see who the lowrider community is “what we (do) through our cars is an active act to maintain and preserve our culture.” A frequently misunderstood community lowriders have roots with Mexican American farmers who could not afford their own cars and would come together and purchase a car as a community. By 1940 using cars to express cultural pride started to pick up momentum with more people fixing old cars and customizing them. Taking cast-off parts and creating beauty is symbolic of the struggles, triumphs and history of this vibrant community. Lowering a vehicle's rear end is a way for owners to symbolically keep t...

  Complimentary food truck fare, live music, and family activities spotlight new campus.   There’s something for everyone at the upcoming Herriman Campus Community Open House on Friday, August 4 (3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.). See schedule below.   The public is invited to celebrate the opening of this new campus with festivities that include free local food truck fare, live music, and a Mocktail Mixer, where you can mingle with others, including Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and University of Utah (U of U) faculty.   Families with kids can engage in face painting and a craft station, see the Super Mario Brothers movie, and high-five mascots Brutus, Swoop and Yeti.   This is an opportunity to have some summer fun for all ages and to check out the Juniper building on the new 88-acre SLCC Herriman campus.    At the open house, prospective students and their families can meet SLCC and U of U faculty and staff, take a tour the building, or even check out th...

    Discovering the feeling of walking through a geode-filled ravine in the new Juniper Building, on Salt Lake Community College’s new Herriman campus, is a delightful surprise. The glass art installation Luminous Ravine, by Michele R. Gutlove , captures sunlight throughout the day as it illuminates each level of a three-level staircase.   As an architect, Gutlove recognizes the power of light to shape space and the power of glass to shape light. As a watercolor artist, she has a passion for color, transparency and depth inherent in the medium. She sees glass as “three-dimensional watercolors.”   One of the best times to witness the illumination is around the summer solstice, from about 3:30-4:30 p.m., when sunlight slices through the ravine and illuminates the glass at the third level, then the glass located at the second level, and finally the glass on all three levels.     Gutlove created this piece to elicit the wonder of hiking in the Wasatch or Oquirr...

On September 14, 1948, the Salt Lake Vocational School (SLVS) opened its doors to train and prepare students for employment in different fields, one of those first programs was welding. Additionally, the school offered a welding apprenticeship program for students already working in the field but required additional training. In order to facilitate the apprentice program, several companies contracted with the College to help their employees furthering their skills. The most significant and consistent company was Kennecott Copper Corporation, which maintained its welding apprenticeship with the College from 1970-1985. The welding apprenticeship program started, discontinued and restarted several times. In 1973 the welding program became eligible for an Associate of Applied Science from the recently renamed Utah Technical College at Salt Lake. Furthermore, in 1974, the Skills Center started offering non-credit courses in welding. In 1975 the annual Utah technical college report for 1975-...

This summer Salt Lake Community College, in partnership with Verizon Innovative Learning, provided a free STEM summer camp to 180 middle-school students. The three-week course offered hands-on projects for students to learn valuable skills such as design thinking, coding, 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality.  Students discovered and engaged with their specific interests and new passions within the STEM realm. In addition to new skills, making new friends, and the experience of working on a local college campus, the STEM-based program was provided through The Mill and focused on technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. “Seeing the excitement and enthusiasm radiating from the kids has been so cool,” says Brian Acord, director of Salt Lake Verizon Innovative Learning, who worked to bring the summer camp to SLCC. He says that Verizon contributed over $100k in technology and that the students “had a blast diving into the world of augmented reality, robots and 3D printing.” T...

Twenty-three students proudly graduated from Salt Lake Community College’s (SLCC) Prison Education Program at the Utah State Correctional Facility on Monday, July 10, 2023. Sixteen received an associate’s degree, all but one in General Studies, and seven received a certificate of completion for General Education.     “As these individuals are released from prison and become our neighbors, they often face a tough transition. SLCC is happy to be helping them gain the skills and education they need to find meaningful employment,” said SLCC President Deneece G. Huftalin. “This allows them to support their families, possibly end cycles of poverty and incarceration, and become productive members in their communities.”    In the past year, more than 220 students, men and women, have participated in SLCC classes offered at the Utah State Correctional Facility. The community college anticipates around 300 students to register next...

  Selina Payan-Jurado Name:  Selina Payan-Jurado Degree(s) earned and institutions:  Associate of Science degree in General Studies from Southern Utah University and actively working on a bachelor's degree from Utah Valley University.  (If new to the College) Start date at SLCC:  June 1, 2023 Current title:  Administrative Assistant  Department:  People and Workplace Culture What is a typical day or week like for you?  I am still new to my position and am still figuring things out. Every day looks different, but in brief, I provide support to my AVP and my colleagues.  What are the most challenging aspects of your job?  Every day is different. Having tasks planned and things are quite spontaneous, and I need to be super organized so I can get things done. What rewards come with your job?  It is nice to feel appreciated by colleagues. I also enjoy checking things off from the to-do list.  Who or what inspires you at work or...

  SLCC esports student Lehi Quiroz who took second place nationally. National Video Game Day is on July 8 and it's a perfect time to learn about Salt Lake Community College's esports program and the world of competitive gaming. What is esports? Esports, short for electronic sports, refers to competitive video gaming organized and played at a professional level. It involves teams or individuals competing against each other in popular video games such as Halo, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. Just like traditional sports, esports requires skill, strategy, teamwork and quick reflexes. The esports program at SLCC began in the fall of 2020, but has picked up steam this last year, and now competes with other colleges through the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE) and Generation Esports. Each semester, much like any traditional sport, there are matches and playoffs, where teams and individuals compete.  “I never thought I had the skills to make it as a pla...

  Aye Chan and President Huftalin at SLCC Commencement this year. The Fourth of July is a day of significance for all of us in America, but holds an even deeper meaning for those who have recently obtained their US citizenship. Aye Chan, a refugee from Myanmar who received his citizenship, shares his story and what this holiday as a new American means to him.   When did you receive your citizenship:  I got my citizenship on September 21, 2022.  Where are you originally from:  I was born in a country called Myanmar. However, when I was six years old, my family and I had to leave Myanmar, and we lived in a Thai refugee camp for seven years. Eventually, on December 15, 2015, we arrived in the United States.  What brought you to the US:  My family decided to move to the US because Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) has experienced long-standing political instability, ethnic and religious conflict, economic hardship and natural disasters. Many people le...

Salt Lake Community College is saying goodbye to 85 valued team members as we close out our 2022-23 fiscal year.    While sending off so many is bittersweet, we are excited for the new adventures that await our colleagues and friends. Before departing the college, some of our retirees shared with us what they will miss the most, their advice to those they are leaving behind and who influenced them the most during their time here.     What will you miss most about SLCC?  Marianne Buie -Government Affairs  Deidre Tyler – SLCC Faculty and Poet Laureate Lisa Greenhalgh – Institutional Advancement Clifton Sanders – SLCC Provost What person influenced you the most during your time at the College?  Marianne Buie – Government Affairs  What advice do you have for those at the College you are leaving behind? Deidre Tyler – SLCC Faculty and Poet Laureate A complete list of our 2023 retirees is below. Good luck to all and best wishes during your next cha...