FIRST WEDNESDAY REPORT/ OCTOBER 2013 Is it fall already? Even if we don’t have a federal government this week, multi-hued pumpkins of
various shapes and sizes are appearing at the grocery store.
Congratulations to newly elected 2013-2014 Planning, Review, and Budget Committee (PRBC) cochairs Sandra Genera and Ken Grace, who follow in the (metaphorically) giant footsteps of last year’s
chair, Jan Novak. This hard-working group is undertaking a number of key initiatives this academic
year, including a review and updating of the College’s Mission Statement and a continuation of our
strategic planning process as we review Unit Plans through the Program Review Process with
reference to our strategic goals and objectives. Our sage Accreditation Liaison Jim Matthews is in
attendance at each PRBC meeting, a significant fact as we move into this next accreditation cycle.
One important theme emerging from last year’s PRBC work is resonating this semester through the
convening of the Presidential Taskforce on Learning Communities, chaired by Dr. Jeanne Wilson and
Deonne Kunkel. Someone asked me if the Taskforce was “by invitation only”! ALL College shared
governance committees are open to all. Come on by.
Another theme across the Colleges and District is, of course, the set of legislative mandates rolled out
across the State by the Student Success Agenda. Dean Matt Kritscher and Interim VPs Wagoner and
Shimada attended last week’s Student Success Summit in the Capitol and debriefed with
administrative staff and classified and faculty reps about updates on new and forthcoming legislation.
At the October 1st Board Study Session meeting Vice Chancellor Kingston, our own Articulation Officer
Jane Church along with LPC Interim President Jan Noble gave an update to the Trustees on Student
Success developments, with a focus on the new Transfer Degrees (per SB 1440) at both campuses.
Jane did us proud, and kudos again, to Jane and the many faculty leads who worked on our new
transfer degrees. A number of Trustees raised important questions about the larger State agenda, and
to what degree it alters the community colleges’ missions under the Master Plan. It was a good
discussion.
Second Level interviews take place this week for our permanent VP of Academic Services, and the
committee to screen the Foundation/Development Director position is in place and getting started with
their process. As we emerge from a period of deep austerity across the State (into what I’ll
characterize as a period of “lesser austerity”), we badly need to restore functionality to any number of
areas starved by recent years of drought. Among many other important roles, we need a web master
and we need to provide faculty support in the process of aggregating SLO and related “accountability”
data. At this month’s College Forum (yes, we are still looking for a date that works!!!), VP Connie Willis
and I will be presenting the College’s Adoption Budget for scrutiny and review by the College
community. It should be interesting. I’ll soon be presenting recommendations for administrative
organization recommended by admin staff over the summer, as well as the recommendations of the
Classified Senate regarding classified hiring at PRBC, the Senates, and College Council.
Our annual Law and Democracy Lecture was well-attended and continues a tradition of civic
engagement that is deeply meaningful to the College and community. Ditto our ongoing Faculty
Lecture Series which highlights some of our home-grown brilliance. On October 15th the Board of
Trustees will meet in regular session here at Chabot with a special presentation by Dean VoKumamoto on recent developments in the MESA Program. Before the Board meets, there will be a
ribbon-cutting ceremony for our newly updated Automotive facility, with a number of old friends and
luminaries in attendance, including, it is rumored, some of the BMW brass themselves (who I hear are
pretty thrilled about the program.) Onward and upward into autumn!
Best,
Susan
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