Company News

The Culinary Arts Professional program at the Institute of Technology (IOT) has officially been identified as an “Exemplary” Culinary Arts Program by the American Culinary Federation (ACF).
At a July 2010 meeting, the ACF Foundations Accrediting Commission (ACFFAC) elected to grant the IOT Culinary division a seven year re-accreditation in addition to the exemplary status award. The IOT schools are now three of only 45 schools nation-wide, and the only schools in California to offer culinary training programs that have been deemed exemplary by the ACF.
A presentation of the awards is scheduled to be made at the 2010 ACF National Convention in Anaheim, CA, on Wednesday, August 4th.
The news was exciting for IOT Roseville’s Culinary Division Director, Don Dickinson, who has put in months of work preparing the campus for the re-accreditation visits that occurred in May and June.
Chef Dickinson said, “It was our goal to be granted exemplary status, it was our hope that we would get there.  And we, of course, believe that we have exemplary programs, but in order to get there you can’t have one single thing go wrong (during the accreditation visits).  So we were very proud and excited to have our programs be granted as exemplary.”
IOT’s Culinary programs offers students the choice between a fifteen month Associate’s of Occupational Science degree or an eight month diploma.
The awards received by IOT’s culinary divisions highlight their position as a leading provider of culinary training in the Central Valley.  Each school utilizes their professionally equipped training facilities to produce polished graduates who have been finding entry-level careers in the local culinary scene.  Carolyn Cozzi, in charge of culinary job placement at the Clovis campus, has found much success placing graduates in 2010.
“Despite the unemployment rate, local employers have been hiring IOT Culinary graduates consistently. They (employers) are extremely happy with their performance, professionalism and dedication, which is why these students come to IOT, to gain the confidence and skills to succeed when they find employment in the field,” said Cozzi.

Our Culinary Division just was awarded a 7 year accreditation and “Exemplary Program” status by the American Culinary Federation. Only 35 schools in the country have this. In addition we have been granted full accreditation for our Culinary Arts Specialist program as well!

Thank you to our team of outstanding chefs who make the IOT Culinary programs great!

Clovis, CA – Rick Bayless, award-winning chef-restaurateur, cookbook author, and television personality will be on campus at the Clovis Institute of Technology Friday, July 23rd.

Fresh off of his trip to Washington D.C., where he was the guest chef for President Obama’s State Dinner at the White House, Bayless will be on campus from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. to conduct a cooking demo, answer some questions from IOT students and guests, and promote his new book, “Fiesta at Rick’s,” which hits shelves this July.

The IOT campus is excited to welcome Bayless, star of the PBS show “Mexico: One Plate at a Time,” to the campus as a special treat for their hard-working culinary students and to the Clovis culinary community in general.

Bayless, who specializes in contemporary Mexican cooking, is known not only for his TV show and top restaurants in the Chicago area, Frontera and Topolobampo, but also for his catalog of cookbooks (“Fiesta at Rick’s” is his seventh).

In 1996, “Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-Class Cuisine” won the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ (IACP) National Julia Child “Cookbook of the Year Award.”

The New York Times praised him as a writer who makes “true Mexican food user-friendly for Americans,” and Time Magazine hailed him as a “cookbook superstar.”

Additionally, Bayless has won several awards over the past two decades.  In 1995, he won a James Beard Award for “National Chef of the Year” as well as an award for “Chef of the Year” from the IACP.

In 1998, the Beard Foundation honored Rick as “Humanitarian of the Year.”  In 2002, Bon Appétit honored him with the “Cooking Teacher of the Year Award”.

“Chef Bayless is world-renowned for his authentic Mexican cooking style, and we feel honored to have him visiting our campus in anticipation of the release of his new book.  We hope that he can impart some of his vast and impressive knowledge of Mexican cuisine to our faculty and students,” said Clovis Campus President Joe Haydock.

“I am excited to spend some time with some of California’s future culinary stars at the Institute of Technology.  I always look forward to meeting those who share my passion for the culinary arts, and I understand that IOT students have that in abundance.” said Bayless.

He can be sure that they won’t disappoint.

Congratulations to Clovis Business Division Director Kim Posey, who completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration at National University on June 28, 2010!

It is my pleasure to announce Olivia Lundeen’s promotion to the position of Corporate Accounting Supervisor.

Olivia is a graduate from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor’s degree in Business.  She joined our company in February of 2008.   Olivia originally started in Accounts Receivable, posting Title IV’s daily deposits to Transcripts and Great Plains.  She was also given the daunting task of property taxes, which as the company continues to grow, becomes even more cumbersome.  Luckily she is a wiz in excel.

While Olivia is involved in many projects, she is now in charge of all cash management, keeping track of all money coming in and going out.  She monitors all bank accounts, Title IV, cash deposits, accounts payable, payroll and wire transfers.  Not an easy accomplishment when you have to balance the money between 3 different accounting systems.

She has also implemented a Capital Expenditures tracking system so you may see her at the campuses doing an annual inventory.

As a Supervisor she will be responsible for overseeing Mona Charron and Rhonda Vanderpol in Accounts payable, and Christine Clawley in Accounts Receivable.

Olivia is a very conscientious and dedicated employee who is always willing to learn more.   Please help me congratulate her on a well deserved promotion.

Hi Janice,

I know that Hospice Office will be sending letters to each of your amazing students who volunteered at our Gala, but I want to pass along my own personal thanks for their outstanding work and wonder if you would be so kind to be the person to convey my comments to everyone (since you are my easiest contact?).

I have heard nothing but praise for your students - their level of commitment, professionalism, enthusiasm and energy is of the highest order. They exemplify the heart of Hospice and we could not have been so successful without them!

Even though it was freezing, they were cheerful, on time, and on task. The caterer was very high on all of them. Believe me, you are on our list of “we want them back!” people! Some of them expressed to me their own experience with Hospice and their desire to give back, which was heartwarming to me and to the Hospice Board and staff.

Thank you, on behalf of all of us who work to continue this service to our community. Please let everyone know how much we appreciate each one who stepped up for Hospice!

 

BrightStar Education Group, Inc. (”BSEG” or the “Company”), a five college for-profit school group located just outside of Denver, CO announced today the appointment of Todd Lardenoit, as the company’s chief operating officer.

Lardenoit has served BSEG as its Vice President of Operation since 2005 and will continue to report directly to Jim Haga, BrightStar President & CEO.

In this new role, Lardenoit will oversee the day-to-day operations of the company’s campuses and play a larger role in marketing and long-range planning.

“We are extremely fortunate to bring Todd Lardenoit’s strong leadership and operating experience to an expanded role,” said Jim Haga, President & CEO.  “His proven track record of operating performance has been incredibly valuable during our rapid growth since 2005.”

Prior to joining BrightStar in 2005 Lardenoit previously served as Campus President of Hamilton College  in Lincoln, NE, where he was instrumental in driving the campus from an Associate Degree level to the Bachelor Degree level, as well as moving the campus from National Accreditation to Regional Accreditation.

“I am very excited to be a part of this wonderful organization which truly helps people change their lives.  We are very fortunate to have extremely hard working and dedicated employees that help with our mission. I look forward to my continuing work with BrightStar Education, and am excited to continue to build upon what we have started in my new position as the COO.”

BrightStar Education Group, Inc. (”BSEG” or the “Company”), a five college for-profit school group located just outside of Denver, CO announced today that it has promoted Curtis Anderson as its new Corporate Training & Development Manager and Quintrell Jones to Director of Admissions at the Institute of Technology-Modesto campus.

Anderson has successfully served at the company as Director of Admissions at our Modesto, CA campus for over three years.  In this role at the Institute of Technology, Anderson was directly responsible for local marketing decisions, sales training and driving top line revenue growth.

Prior to Anderson’s time with the Modesto campus, he worked with Kaplan Higher education for 13 years.  Anderson had the role of admissions rep before being promoted to DOA at Andon College in Modesto and later to the district DOA position.  Curtis took the role of DOA at the IOT campus in Modesto just over three years ago, and has helped the school grow from 380 students to over 1,100 students currently.

“Curtis and I have worked together for a number of years. During this time I have watched him progress and become one of the top sales trainers in the industry.  As with all internal promotions, we are blessed to leverage his expertise on behalf of the entire company, especially as we continue to add several new campuses,” said Jim Haga, President and CEO of BrightStar Education Group, Inc.

“I have worked in admissions for a long time and love the job that we do.  Helping students reach the goal of a better life and a new start is the greatest feeling.  Over the years, I have worked with Mr. Haga and have learned a lot from him that has helped me be better at my job, and I look forward to passing that training on to help others in BSEG.  I have a strong belief in the sales process that we use at IOT, and I know that taking on this role as the CTDM will be challenging as well as rewarding,” said Anderson.

Anderson’s new role is responsible for the training and development of admissions representatives. At BrightStar, we recognize that solid training develops skills, enhances productivity and quality of work, and builds loyalty to the company.

Taking Curtis’ place as the DOA of the Modesto campus is Quintrell Jones.  Quintrell worked previously as a Navy recruiter for more than 10 years, and has been working as Assistant DOA since November of 2009.

“Quintrell came to the Modesto campus with a can-do attitude and has already had great success leading our High School enrollment team, which could be the top in the company this year.  He will be able to use his vast military recruiting experience to his benefit in his new role as DOA. We welcome the new changes and ideas that he will bring to the campus as he continues to push the Modesto team to another successful year,” said Lillian Enger, Modesto’s Campus President.

When speaking of his promotion, Quintrell had this to say, “Leadership is taking a group of every day people and accomplishing extraordinary things, I look forward to the task.  Turn two.”  For those not familiar with the Navy jargon, the phrase “turn two” translates to “get to work!”

Please join me in welcoming Curtis and Quintrell into their new roles.

BrightStar Education Group, Inc. (“BSEG” or the “Company”), a five college for-profit school group located just outside of Denver, CO announced today that it has promoted Shelly Picinich as its new Default Prevention Manager. As the DPM, Picinich brings years of Recovery, Default Prevention, and Financial Aid experience to the organization. By extension, her vast knowledge will now be directly translated into the collection and default prevention efforts dedicated to maintaining cohort default rates (CDR) within the standards established by the Company.

Picinich recently served as Director of Financial Aid at our Modesto, CA campus. In this role at the Institute of Technology, Picinich was directly responsible for Title IV financial aid packaging and bad debt.

Prior to Picinich’s time with the Modesto campus, she served as the director of finance for Kaplan College for 2 years. She was with Heald College at the campus & Corporate level for 9 years prior to that. Overall, Picinich has over 17 years of experience in finance & financial aid, including default prevention.

“Shelly’s vast industry experience and long list of accomplishments is impressive. To be able to leverage her industry knowledge on behalf of the entire company is a true strategic advantage for BrightStar. We expect our CDR to continue to improve as a result of this addition to our senior team. Promoting Shelly from within is an exciting example to all within our organization eager to advance within our fine company,” said Jim Haga, President and CEO of BrightStar Education Group, Inc.

Picinich had this to say about her ascension to her new position, “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve BrightStar as the Default Prevention Manager. The initiatives that have been developed are impressive and I look forward to implementing a successful program not only for the desired short term gains, but for long term success in managing our cohort default rates. Through our efforts we will create a stronger and more desirable environment for our students, graduates, employers and employees.”

This new role is responsible for implementing our default management/prevention strategy initiatives necessary to maintain a proper CDR.  The Default Prevention Manager will collaborate with campus and corporate executive teams to develop and launch proactive measures and process changes.

Please join me in welcoming Shelly Picinich into her new role.

About BrightStar Education

BrightStar Education Group operates for-profit postsecondary education schools that provide quality Medical, Business, Technical, Culinary, Legal and other vocational curricula to over 2,800 students. Headquartered just outside of Denver, CO, BrightStar Education Group is pursuing a consolidation of its postsecondary education offerings. Starting with the acquisition of Institute of Technology, a leading for-profit postsecondary education company serving students at four campuses in northern and central California, BrightStar expanded into Oregon in 2010 with the acquisition of Valley Medical College in Salem, OR.