Chancellor’s C-DIRECT
March 16, 2016
Dear Colleagues:
This issue of C-DIRECT will feature some changes in the administration at Laney, a
couple of compliments from one of our students, a legislative update from Washington,
our meeting with Biotech Partners, and, finally, a nice dose of accreditation news from
Dr. Dambrosio.
New Interim President for Laney College
Dr. Patricia Stanley, former Interim President at Merritt and Retired
President of Frederick Community College, Maryland, and former
Assistant Undersecretary of Education, will serve as Laney’s Interim
President. A search will get underway, after the summer, for the hiring
of a permanent president. In the meantime, I am very glad to have Dr.
Stanley join us. She is very experienced and is in a good position to help
move Laney into a new era.
Meeting with Biotech Partners
When I met Lynda Gaydon at an event for Biotech Partners, I was happy she wanted to
meet and discuss revamping the Biotech Partners’ relationship with the Peralta
Colleges. Biotech Partners is a program funded by the pharmaceutical firm Bayer as
part of an agreement with the City of Berkeley. Lynda is Executive Director, and the
company provides millions of dollars to ensure that high schoolers who are
underrepresented, first-time college goers, etc., have access to the sciences and perhaps
have an internship with the company and compete for a job and a career in the
industry. The Program is meant to promote access and success in the sciences.
I was not aware of how much our Colleges and Biotech Partners needed to hear each
other, until Lynda, our biotech faculty and I met this past week and spent a full hour
updating and conversing about what is going on and what needs to happen, as it
appears that for several years, the communication between Biotech Partners and the
Colleges has been broken. The overall tone of the recent discussion was heavily focused
on the success of students, as well as high expectations and support for students, which
revealed the need for high-level coordination between the Colleges and the high schools
in order to achieve our goals. This meeting rekindled some of that much-needed
communication. The moral of the story is that Biotech Partners and the District are now
moving forward in a positive way, so braving the rain was a good thing. To be able to
bring Biotech Partners and the Colleges together once again. We set the next meeting
for March 29.
Award-Winning Photo
I received the following email from Drew Gephart in our International Program.
Congratulations to Faiza Ali on your award-winning photo!
Chancellor Laguerre:
As I mentioned to you earlier this week, one of our
international students from Thailand, Patsaralak
Siripaweennakorn, who was enrolled in COA’s Apparel
Design and Merchandising program, will be featured on
the cover of the American International Education
Foundation (AIEF) UScampus Guide Spring 2016
magazine.
The contest theme was “Favorite Class in Action”, which
was voted on through AIEF’s Facebook page. UScampus
Guide is a free magazine that features useful articles and
information to help students succeed in their journey to
study in the United States. Students can read online or
download the magazine through AIEF’s website
here: http://aief-usa.org/uscg. Peralta will also have an
inside front advertisement to complement our
appearance in the upcoming edition.
I would like to thank Jeff Heyman and Faiza Ali from our Department of Public Information,
Communications & Media, who provided the photo for the contest. Also, to everyone who voted
on Facebook to help our photo win!
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Faculty and Staff Compliments From a BCC Student
I received the following email from one of our students at Berkeley City College:
I am a straight A student at Berkeley City College, and my name is Mei Jiang. […] The purpose I
am writing this email is, that I'd like to appreciate some faculty and staff's enormous help and
hard workings at Berkeley City College. Especially thanks to Ms. Loretta Newson at Admissions
and Records office, Ms. Kimm Blackwell at EOPS office, and Ms. Hermia Yam at counseling office.
I worked with Ms. Newson for a semester in 2013, and she is a person very informative,
professional, patient, easy-going, and always smiling. Whenever I did not know the subject at the
office, she always taught and guided me in a very patient and professional way. Around Christmas
Day in 2015, I surprisingly received a Christmas gift for my baby from Ms. Newson, I felt very
warm because I got a serious domestic violence last March, and my baby and I got a 3-year
restraining order against my husband. I am a new immigrant from China, with no family and
friends here. You know, how amazing and moving to receive a gift at a cold Christmas Day.
Because of domestic violence, I dropped out of school in the spring of 2015.
However, immediately, I obtained a lot of help from counselors Ms. Hermia Yan and Kimm
Blackwell. Ms. Yam hosted me for transfer and education plans at her lunch time although I did
not make an appointment with her ahead of time. Ms. Blackwell helped me pay childcare and with
Calworks problems. Those two counselors meet with me about my future education over and over
again.
My sole desire is to let the school's Chancellor know how wonderful and thankful we have those
hardworking, professional, informative, accommodating and helpful faculties and stuff in the
community.
Please convey my sincere thanks for those people […] Thank you very much!
Best regards, Mei Jiang
Activity Report from Ackerman, LLP
Rick Spees and Jane Sargent of Ackerman, LLP, our lobbyists in
Washington, DC, sent me their latest activity report:
In February a number of trustees attended the annual Association of
Community College Trustees (ACCT) legislative conference. Attending were
Trustees Brown, Withrow, Handy and Bonilla along with Yashica Crawford from the Chancellor's
office. While they were here we also arranged a number of meetings with federal agencies and
Congressional offices.
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The trip was timely because in early February the President released his Fiscal Year 2017 budget.
Also in February, the Congressional leadership expressed a goal to pass legislation this year to
reauthorize and reform the nation's higher education laws.
Regarding the President's FY2017 budget, it again proposes to make community college free
through grants to States. Unfortunately there is no chance that the Republicans in Congress will
pass legislation to implement the free Community College program. Instead, the Appropriations
Committees will provide level funding for most domestic discretionary programs including the
higher education institutional programs. There is simply not enough resources available to do
much more.
The trustees (and Yashica Crawford) visited four Congressional offices to discuss the budget and
the prospects of passage of the Higher Education Act. Peralta has been involved in the
reauthorization process for at least three years. Some of the trustees have met with the staff of the
House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over higher education issues. They have
expressed the need for more institutional resources coupled with increased flexibility on how to
allocate the funds. They also expressed opposition to unfunded mandates. Finally they expressed
concerns about actions by the Department of Education to make community colleges responsible
for managing the students' aid and loan programs. These points were raised again during the
meetings in February.
The first meeting was with Congressman Joe Heck's office. Congressman Heck is a member of the
House Education and Workforce Committee, which has jurisdiction over higher education. We
were there to ask about the chances that the Higher Education Act will pass this year.
We were told that it is too soon to tell. The Congressional leadership would like to pass the bill.
However, the bill will have a wide range of provisions, several which will be controversial. It may
not be possible to get a massive bill done. So instead, the House leadership is now planning to pass
a few narrow bills to see if they can pass on the House floor. If the initial bills pass easily, the
House leadership will keep passing more. If all the component parts of the Higher Ed bill pass
individually, the Senate leadership will consolidate them for consideration in that body.
After that meeting we met with the staffs of both California Senators and Congresswoman Lee. As
in the past, they agreed to work with Peralta to protect its interests when the legislation is
considered.
On the second day the trustees met with the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of
Commerce. At DOL they meet with the professionals that run the apprenticeship program. DOL
has a long list of industries that want to partner with community colleges to develop trained
workforces. There is an individual located in California whose job it is to assist community
colleges set up apprenticeships. We now have the contact information.
At the Department of Commerce there is a an agency called the Economic Development
Administration that provides grants to local governmental agencies for projects to facilitate
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economic development. For example, EDA grants can be used to covert an empty warehouse into
specialized class environments to train workers.
Finally, on the third day we met with the Democratic staff director of the House Veterans Affairs
Subcommittee. We had a wide ranging discussion about the need for more federal support for
educational institutions that serve veterans. For example, money should be made available for
counselors for veterans.
We told the staff about the creation of a California Community College Veterans Association. The
staff expressed a willingness to work closely with that organization.
Also in February we visited Oakland and met with the Chancellor and Yashica Crawford. We
discussed the follow-up items from the trustee's trip, we also discussed Peralta's federal agenda
for 2016.
Accreditation News
Submitted by Dr. Annette Dambrosio
Once again, I want to call your attention to the ACCJC District Recommendations and the
“leads” who are in charge of drafting narratives and collecting evidence for each:
Recommendation 1:
In order to meet the Standards, the team recommends that the District follow the 2014 audit
recommendations and develop an action plan to fund its Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB)
liabilities, including associated debt service (Standards: III.D.1.c, III.D.3.c). (Lead: V.C. Little)
Recommendation 2:
In order to meet the Standards, the team recommends that the District resolve the ongoing
deficiencies identified in the 2013 and 2014 external audit findings (Standards: III.D.2.b, III.D.3.h).
(Lead: V.C. Little)
Recommendation 3:
In order to meet the Standard, the team recommends that District General Services (DGS) work
with college personnel to implement a plan to address the total cost of ownership for new
facilities and equipment, including undertaking critical deferred maintenance and preventive
maintenance needs at the college, in order to assure safe and sufficient physical resources for
students, faculty and staff (Standards: II.B.1, IIB.1a, IIIB.2.a). (Lead: V.C. Ikharo)
Recommendation 4:
In order to meet the Standards, the District should clearly identify the structures, roles and
responsibilities, and document the processes used to integrate human, facilities, technology,
planning and fiscal planning in support of student learning and achievement, and regularly
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evaluate the process in order to fairly allocate resources to support the planning priorities.
(Standards: III.A.6, III.B.2, III.C.2, III.D.4, IV.B.3.g) (Lead: V.C. Orkin)
Recommendation 5:
In order to meet the Standards, ACCJC recommends that the District ensure the retention of key
leadership positions, and that the adequate staffing capacity is available to address the needs of the
colleges in three critical areas reflected in the accreditation standards: Institutional effectiveness
and leadership, institutional research and financial accountability and management (Standards:
III.A.2, III.A.6).
(Lead: V.C. Largent)
Recommendation 6:
In order to meet the Standards, the team recommends that the District clearly delineate and
communicate the operational responsibilities and functions of the district from those of the
colleges, consistently adheres to the delineation in practice, and regularly assess and evaluates the
District role and delineation and governance decision-making structures and processes, to assure
effectiveness in assisting the colleges in meeting educational goals. (Standard: IV.B.3) (V.C. Orkin)
Recommendation 7:
In order to meet the Standards, the team recommends the Governing Board adhere to its
appropriate role. The Board must allow the chancellor to take full responsibility and authority for
the areas assigned to District oversight (Standards: IV.B.1, IV.B.1a, IV.B.1.e, IV.B.1.j). (Chancellor
Laguerre)
Recommendation 8:
In order to meet the Standards, the team recommends that the District systematically evaluate the
equitable distribution of resources and the sufficiency and effectiveness of district-provided
services in supporting effective operations of the colleges (Standards: IV.B.3.b, IV.B.3.c, III.D.1.a,
III.D.1.b, III.D.1.h). (V.C. Little)
These eight District Recommendations and their respective Action Plans, as well as
other relevant documents, are posted on the PCCD Home page (just “click” on the blue
Accreditation button). The intent is to keep you informed of the work that is being done
to address the ACCJC Recommendations and to meet the Accreditation Standards. For
example, you should examine the District Service Center Functions’ Charts constructed
by V.C. Orkin; here the intent is to clarify the delineation of functions between the
District and the Colleges.
The Functions’ Chart is interactive and is very useful in determining how the District
serves the Colleges. If you have any suggestions for addressing these Recommendations
and/or any of the documents that are posted, please contact me and/or one of the
“leads.” We are working to satisfy the ACCJC Standards, but need contributions from all
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of you if we are to make a marked difference in our Accreditation status, and, most
importantly, in how well the District serves the Colleges.
On March 3, I attended an ACCJC Workshop on Taking Assessment to the Program Level.
The presenter, Linda Suskie, addressed the concept of “curricular coherence and
progression” spelling out how assessment of student learning must tie to Program
Learning Outcomes (PLOs) and, ultimately, how best to inform Institutional Learning
Outcomes (ILOs).
Although ACCJC has asked us to articulate clear and measurable Student Learning
Outcomes (SLOs) for the past several years, the focus of the March 3 workshop was how
our courses must articulate in a meaningful sequence to our Programs, i.e., to degrees,
certificates and transfer curricula. The speaker emphasized ACCJC’s expectation that
Program Level Outcomes tie directly to the Institutional Planning Process, and that
assessment results should engage faculty to reflect on course strengths and areas of
improvement in teaching and learning.
Practical advice included: “Keep your curricula lean” (often we have too many courses);
“don’t just merely collect data” (but use data to inform Course, Program and
Institutional planning, and to ensure that budget requests are supported by pertinent
data); offer Professional Development training that focuses on ensuring that outcome
assessment must be “clear, observable, relevant, rigorous, and realistic.”
The Assessment Workshop was well attended and included faculty and administrators,
as well as ACCJC Commission staff and President Barbara Beno. I enjoyed sitting at a
table that included Laney College’s Peter Crabtree, Dean of Career and Technical
Education, and Heather Sisneros, Laney’s Assessment Co-Chair. Also in attendance were
folks from Merritt College and College of Alameda, so the Peralta presence was strong.
As always, engaging in dialogue with colleagues reminded me that accreditation values
would be better integrated as a part of our educational culture if, for starters, we would
regularly exchange ideas about what is working in education and assist one another in
making those needed changes for reforming education to better serve students (I took
seven pages of notes if anyone wants more specific information from the ACCJC
workshop).
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As always, I invite anyone to contact me with questions, huzzahs, or criticisms
pertaining to Accreditation. My email: adambrosio@peralta.edu.
Thanks To All
I want to thank Annette for leading the Accreditation charge and everyone who is
involved in this important effort at our Colleges.
Jowel C. Laguerre, Ph.D.
Chancellor
March is Women’s History Month
“The most important part of teaching is to teach what it is to know.”
-Simone Weil
“We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”
-Malala Yousalzai
Remember
Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
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Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.
-Joy Haro
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