CHANCELLOR’S C-DIRECT
November 16, 2016
Dear Colleagues:
Just like most people in America, I stayed up until the early hours of 11/9 to watch the results of the election. I saw Trustee-elect Weinstein win, along with the educational support propositions passed (Proposition 55 and others) that will benefit our Colleges. As Chancellor, it is important that I appear politically neutral, not only to serve the interests of the District, but also out of respect for all our of students, faculty, staff and community members who embrace diverse political positions. Yet, in the aftermath of the Presidential election, I struggled to maintain my objectivity, while at the same time not appear unfeeling. I am concerned that those students, who are perhaps most affected by the complexities of the election, are our undocumented students as well as our international students – students with the greatest need to understand our electoral system. I have written an Open Letter (below) in which I will share my statement on democratic values:
Dear Students and Members of the Peralta Community Colleges Family: An Open Letter
It has been an amazing fall semester filled with unexpected sets of events internationally, nationally and locally. We have seen the best of the worst, and, at times, ourselves and have questions that remain unanswered. Nevertheless, we must continue to advance the ideals of America.
The Presidential election results were stunning for all to behold. Despite one’s political allegiances, I believe that Americans are still committed to fairness, and to giving a chance for unforeseen events to play themselves out. The American system is so strong that however shaken, it will always survive. Above all, the compassion of the American people will not wane.
Americans have within ourselves enough goodness to transform any challenges into opportunities for overall human betterment. Exemplars of this moral strength are seen in heroes the world over: anti-slavery Haitian Toussaint Louverture; Abraham Lincoln; Nelson Mandela; Rosa Parks; Cezár Chavéz; Mahatma Gandhi; John F. Kennedy; Harriet Tubman; Saint Theresa, and many more. The goodness in Americans is not defined solely by who is elected President of the United States of America; collectively we have more power to transform this country than does any one person. What’s more there is a good chance that the office of the Presidency itself may educate Mr. Trump into the enlightened and caring leader that we deserve.
I do not want to downplay the fear that many citizens and many undocumented students have, given the upcoming Trump presidency. Yet, we should take heart that it was during the Bush administration, for example, that the Dream Act was initiated and resulted in the state of California granting limited privileges to undocumented students. Our efforts now should be to ensure that during Mr. Trump’s Administration we further cash in that Dream instead of giving up on it.
Peralta’s promise is to strengthen our efforts to support the achievement of our undocumented students, to welcome more of them to our Colleges, and to ensure that they are well prepared to be scientists, teachers, physicians, farmers, mathematicians, workers, politicians—all of whom will continue to enrich America. May our faculty and staff and those who interact regularly with these students redouble their efforts to ensure their comfort and educational success at Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College and Merritt College and in the instruction WDCE will provide in the near future.
The Social Justice work we are committed to will not be stopped. As someone said recently on NPR, America is not a place, it is an ideal. I urge us all to bring substance to that ideal: a more perfect union.
Let’s keep the faith.
Accreditation Team Visits
The Accreditation Teams that visited Peralta Colleges expressed general satisfaction with the progress each College and the District Office have made on a range of issues. The Chair of the Team commented on the greater quality of the Reports from the Colleges (to include the District responses) in comparison to what they were in 2015. Yet, there were a few areas where the Team questioned our ability to continue our progress. So, we have reasons to be optimistic, although the isolated comments of some members of the Team do not constitute an ACCJC formal and final report. The Commission should issue its formal findings at the beginning of February. In the meantime, Accreditation Coordinator Annette Dambrosio and the Colleges’ Coordinators are convening to start preparing for the 2018 Mid-term Reports. This action should keep the momentum going on the progress we have made and to ensure that there is not an accreditation “mad dash” at the time the Report is due. Our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Dr. Dambrosio and everyone who played a role in making the report happen. We owe the coordinators a great debt of gratitude:
· Laney College Coordinators John Yu, Denise Richardson, and Rebecca Bailey
· Merritt Coordinators Mia Kelly and Jeff Lamb
· COA Coordinator Tim Karas
· BCC CoordinatorTran Vo-Kumamoto
Welcome Center – Welcome Day at Merritt
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and I were guests of Merritt College for the annual Welcome Day at the Welcome Center. The staff put on quite a nice program to recognize the importance of the Welcome Center. The Mayor praised Merritt and Peralta for the work we do to educate and give “second chances” to many students and for the critical role we play in the community. She particularly praised the work of Student Services to help those who need a little extra push to make it—help she herself needed before she dropped out of college. I want to congratulate the staff for a good program and its strong commitment to ensuring that entering students are feeling supported.
The following employees planned and delivered a very impressive program: Margie Rubio and Merritt’s student workers for the Student Presentations, Special recognitions (Veterans Certificates & Medals), Special Guest Speaker (Mayor Libby Schaaf), T-Shits, Catering Menu, Student Testimonials, Decorations and Red Carpet; and Dr. Lilia Chavez, who supported the vision; Marie-Elaine Burns, Interim College President who invited Chancellor Laguerre and suggestedthe “Moving In” Theme; Dr. Arnulfo Cedillo, Vice President of Student Services, who funded the food through Student Equity; the ASMC, which funded the T-Shirts, decorations, Medals for the Vets and the flowers and swag bags.
Finalists for COA Presidency
Two finalists for the COA Presidency have been identified. Tim Karas, the current Vice President of Instruction is one and the other is Brenda Thames VP at Modesto Junior College. The final interviews are scheduled for Thursday, November 17th at the College of Alameda. There will be an open forum for all to attend: Dr. Karas speaks at :00 pm, and Dr. Thames speaks at 2:00 pm. Dr. Crawford and I will interview the finalists. The successful candidate will be presented to the Board for approval at the December 13th Board meeting. The Laney College pool did not yield enough strong applicants, so the position was re-advertised.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day at Merritt College
Merritt College hosted an Indigenous Peoples’ Day last week in which Native American Cultures were celebrated, featuring a group of Women Drummers and a keynote speech given by a doctoral candidate, who has been studying the effect of displacement on Native Americans here. A former student of Merritt College brought pictures from the North Dakota “Stand off” for the Keystone Pipeline. The Huey Newton and Bobby Seal Student Lounge was arranged into a beautiful circle for the event. I want to give a shout out to Tim Brice and his Maintenance Colleagues at Merritt for effectively responding to multiple challenges over the past month. Tim and his colleagues prepared multiple open forums, the Indigenous Peoples’ gathering, the Welcome Center Day and a month-long series of lectures for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Black Panther Party. I want to thank them!
Roots Organization and Dr. Cribbs
Dr. Art Cribbs and a couple of his colleagues visited us last week to discuss potential partnerships with Peralta. The Roots organization works with churches to reach out to immigrants, formerly incarcerated individuals and Native Americans to help them tell their stories, convert the stories into written forms and perform the stories in songs. This project has the effect of transforming individuals’ lives through retrospection. We are exploring the possibilities of working together for the Fall 2017, if outside funding can be obtained for the project.
PRO Luncheon
The Peralta Retirees Organization (PRO) held its annual fall luncheon last week and invited me to share with them an update on how the District’s plans for the future affect PRO. Dr. Riley, Benefits Manager Seifert and President Jaramillo were there, as well. I discussed three activities with the Retirees:
· How PRO Officers and I are working together strengthen the organization to better serve our retirees and to tie our retirees to the District.
· The establishment of the Management Leadership Development Academy at Peralta (MLDAP) as a project that will help transform our recruitment for new leaders in the District, with the potential to help us better stabilize our leadership. A more stable leadership will strengthen the District and, thus, better serve the PRO
· Workforce Development and Continuing Education unit as a game changer for the District in several ways:
o WDCE helps us bring into our Colleges individuals who would not have otherwise been reached out to. This is a real practical “Social Justice” achievement.
o WDCE helps us to put more focus on non-credit education that has the potential to increase our enrollment and ultimately our apportionment. With approximately 2,000 FTES we cannot collect for this year alone, our budget could have been more than $9M.
o The region is rich in potential for Continuing Education training. WDCE allows us to build strong reserves while taking care of our current needs. This endeavor will ensure that during the times of state budget reductions we do not reduce our enrollment. Reducing our enrollment has a negative effect on the employment status of our employees, and, at the same time, denying our students the training and educational opportunities they badly need to prosper.
In short, our aspiration and dream is to ensure a strong financial base for our District based on taking care of the less fortunate in our community, while also generating the resources to serve the long-term needs of the Colleges.
An Invitation for Noncredit
The Northern Alameda Consortium for Adult Education (NACAE) is sponsoring a workshop on “Non-Credit Course and Program Development” to be led by Dr. Madelyn Arballo, Dean of the School of Continuing Education at Mt. San Antonio College.
Date: Friday, December 9, 2016
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Lunch will be provided
Location: TBA
Audience:
· Any Peralta instructor in ESL, Math, English, or CTE who has been or is planning to develop courses and programs utilizing the new Enhanced Non-Credit (also known as Career Development/College Preparation or CDCP) option
· Adult School teachers and administrators working on transitional pathways within NACAE
· Counselors and student services staff from both community college and adult school
· Administrators from both systems who want to learn more about the mechanics and promise of non-credit offerings in creating pathways for adult learners
Dr. Arballo has many years’ experience with non-credit course and program development and is a recognized leader in the statewide Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG) discussions about the issues related to the new Enhanced Non-Credit opportunities.
This workshop will include presentations and time for small group discussions / planning time.
Topics addressed in this workshop will include:
· The “nuts and bolts” of enhanced non-credit course and program development
· The potential role of enhanced non-credit in designing pathways and transitions within the AEBG initiative
· Navigating the college course approval process
· Various issues related to Title V regulations and examples of how colleges and consortia around the state are addressing these issues
· How CDCP impacts or aligns with other initiatives such as SSSP, Student Equity, and Basic Skills Transformation Grants
Please register for this event via the following link: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=qwbh7ecab&oeidk=a07edg0luis9c94972a REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016.
For more information, please contact Peter Simon, Career Ladders Project, or Shemila Johnson, NACAE,
We look forward to a great workshop!
Best,
Shemila “Mila” Johnson, MA
Executive Director, Northern Alameda Consortium for Adult Education (NACAE)
Bachelor’s Degree Programs Conversations: Advancing the Community College Baccalaureate Degrees
Senate Bill 850 – the Community College Baccalaureate Degree Pilot Program - By Larry Galizio, President/CEO, Community College League of California
On November 1st, I participated in an Informational Hearing of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee on the status and implementation of Senator Marty Block’s 2014 legislation establishing the community college baccalaureate degree pilot program. The hearing took place at San Diego City College’s Corporate Education Center and was hosted by Chancellor Constance Carroll and the San Diego Community College District.
The hearing included updates and perspectives on California’s demand for the baccalaureate degree, the status and next steps of SB 850 implementation and discussion of San Diego workforce needs.
Subcommittee members were engaged throughout the two and one-half hour hearing peppering panelists with questions on a wide variety of pertinent issues. Questions included: “What obstacles do colleges and districts face in establishing baccalaureate degree programs?” “Are we accurately defining duplication when considering where and when to launch community college baccalaureate degree programs?” “Why 15 pilot programs, why not 30”?
Dr. Patrick Murphy, Director of Research and Senior Fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), presented data and the analysis leading to the projection that by 2030 California will have a deficit of 1.1 to 1.4 million baccalaureate degree-holders needed to meet the demands of industry. PPIC policy papers detailing this information are available here: