Governing Board Meeting Highlights
At the August 17 meeting, the Governing Board:
- Ratified on a 5-0 vote to accept the Grossmont College Accreditation Midterm Report, following a presentation by GC President Sunny Cooke. Her report acknowledged the Steering Committee participants, collegial consultation on the seven recommendations and accomplishments for each recommendation.
- Heard Trustees offer positive comments about GC’s Convocation event. Arlene Satele, Cuyamaca College Acting Administrator, also attended and commented on the sneaker contest. Trustee Mary Kay Rosinski said she was pleased that the college’s commitment to excellence has not waned during tough budget times. Chancellor Cindy L. Miles said it was “an inspiring Convocation.”
- Heard Trustees and others also offer congratulations to Sue Jensen, 2010-2011 Distinguished Faculty honoree. President Garrett said the Board supports the Student Success program.
- Heard Vice Chancellor Sue Rearic report that a second District Services survey is being developed and will be administered this fall. The goal of the survey is to seek input that will help inform planning and decision making as part of the continuous improvement cycle of District Service. A Board budget workshop is planned for Sept. 7, and a presentation on capital projects is scheduled during the regularly scheduled board meeting Sept. 14.
- Heard Chancellor Miles express appreciation to Tim Flood, Dale Switzer, and the entire college and district facilities and operations teams their efforts in setting-up the modular village. Special recognition of GC Foundation board member Ron Oberndorfer and his wife Lisa for full funding of an Osher scholarship. Chancellor also mentioned a recent meeting that GC President Sunny Cooke and herself attended with the National University President, Patricia Potter. Chancellor also presented a proclamation to Deanna Weeks upon her retirement after nearly 25 years of service to the East County Economic Development Council. Next week, Chancellor has a meeting with the Gates Foundation to discuss Cal-PASS funding, she said.
- Heard President Cooke report on the success of Convocation due to a team effort, including the campus’ commitment to institutional excellence (it’s as easy as Planning, Implementation and Evaluation, or “PIE”). She also noted the positive feedback received as a result of the group activity featuring faculty, staff and administrators discussing great teaching, great learning and great student support. She also mentioned the opening of the Veterans Resource Center and the upcoming appearance of Soviet poet Ilya Kaminsky.
- The Board approved the GCCCD response to the 2009/2010 Grand Jury with changes that notes the limitations of state law to manage competition and outsourcing programs.
- Authorized appointments to the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee, including GC student Pablo Perez and CPA Paul Botte of La Mesa to serve in the Committee position requiring a qualified professional in a financial or accounting-related field.
- Authorized the Chancellor to execute a license agreement between the Center for Natural Lands Management, MS Rialto Sky Ranch CA LLC and GCCCD to provide access across District property to a 33-acre parcel located north of the baseball field that is designed for mitigation purposes to remain undeveloped.
- Heard the mother of Solene Goycochea, a former GC student. Solene will start at Yale University next week. Solene was a member of Phi Theta Kappa at GC. Solene started attending GC as a high school student, and she credits her instructors at GC for helping her discover her passion for mathematics, science and Spanish.
- In Staff Communications, the Board heard GC Academic President Chris Hill congratulate Sue Jensen on her award. AFT representative Mary Rider acknowledged the exceptional efforts of the Student Services employees in serving our increased number of students due to budget constraints and re-location but emphasized that she was proud to be a member of the Student Services team because of their tremendous commitment to students. In addition, Classified representatives Debi Miller commented on a recent meeting that covered the college planning process and Jan Reckenwald discussed an upcoming compensation study.
Other Governing Board highlights will appear in the Courier which is distributed electronically from the District Office.
Fall Semester Enrollment
| Fall 2010 | Fall 2009 | Count Variance | %Variance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headcount | 17,208 | 15,807 | +1401 | +8.9% |
| Units | 154,161.5 | 145,328.5 | +8833 | +6.1% |
Enrollment is going very strong at this point in the registration cycle. Although we have cut 164 more sections this fall compared to last fall, students are still flocking to register for classes at a rate that exceeds previous years.
TOPConvocation Held
We began our Professional Development Week yesterday morning with a different setting for Convocation by assembling in the Main Gym. Following a continental breakfast provided by the GC Foundation and Grossmont Schools Federal Credit Union, our Convocation program included a State of the College address and a college-wide activity with the theme of “What We Do Best: Great Teaching, Learning and Student Support.” The energy level was high and we received some terrific feedback from the participants. The activity was held in various locations, including the LTRC Library Side, Science Lab Building and Health and Science Complex Lobby. Among the day’s highlights, besides the President’s BBQ, was the awarding of prizes for wearing sneakers at Convocation since the new gym floor could not accommodate heels, dress shoes or street shoes. Categories for the prizes included most grungy/worn sneakers, most colorful, sneakers that demonstrate outstanding school spirit, newest-looking sneakers (shoes that need to be broken-in) and most attractive apparel-and-sneaker combination.
TOPWhooping Cough Immunization
The Grossmont College Student Health Services Office reports that whooping cough (Pertussis) cases in San Diego are greater than ever. Everyone is encouraged to protect yourself, protect your family and get immunized. Immunizations for Pertussis are available to students, faculty and staff at Health Services for $35, at Kaiser Permanente Nurse Clinics at no cost and at selected San Diego County Public Health clinics for $10. Whooping cough disease causes coughing fits that make it hard to breathe. The disease spreads easily when someone with the disease coughs or sneezes. Early symptoms start mild and are like a common cold, including runny nose, sneezing, low or no fever, mild cough. Symptoms can get worse after 1-2 weeks and can last for months. Bad coughing attacks can include vomiting, red or blue face, a “whoop” sound, problems breathing, extreme tiredness and sweating spells. For more information, contact Health Services at ext. 7192.
TOPSue Jensen Honored
Sue Jensen was honored at Convocation as the 2010-2011 Distinguished Faculty honoree. Sue has been an educator for 37 years, first as a teacher at Lincoln High School and then as a part-time instructor at San Diego State and at Grossmont College before becoming a full-time faculty at Grossmont College. During her career at GC, she has been the recipient of the 2001 Innovator of the Year award, served as the Accreditation Steering Committee co-chair in 2002 and secured numerous grants for student success initiatives. She is a regular presenter at a number of venues, including the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, the American Association of Community Colleges, and a number of learning communities conferences. As a co-founder and coordinator of Project Success for the past 15 years, Sue has facilitated links in courses both within and across disciplines, from developmental through honors level.
Dr. Chris Hill, Academic Senate President, presented the award at Convocation by saying, “At a time when most of us would be happy to relax and enjoy the fruits of our career accomplishments, our recipient keeps going strong. She recently co-founded the California Learning Communities Consortium and helped host its first convention here at Grossmont. For the past two years, she has served as the co-chair of the college Student Success Steering Committee and, in that role, has been instrumental in the launching of a number of initiatives for faculty development including an annual Summer Institute and Faculty Inquiry Groups. She also developed a working partnership with Kingsborough College in New York, a collaboration that recently lead to Grossmont's inclusion in a three-year FIPSE grant-funded project for student success.”
Also at Convocation, Chris quoted Mary Rider, one of Sue’s nominators and a former recipient of this award. Mary said about Sue: “Her enthusiasm and commitment has not waned in the 20 years I have known her. She continues to inspire me as well as many other colleagues to remain steadfast and hopeful in our efforts to assist students in achieving their educational goals."
TOPLive Web Broadcast Of All Griffin Football Games
The GC Athletic Department is proud to announce that every Griffins football game this season, both home and away games, will be heard and seen live in real-time on www.KBCSports.com. So, from the comfort of your computer, all football fans can follow their favorite football team when the Griffins play both their away games (Sept. 17 at Southwestern, Oct. 1 at College of the Canyons, Oct. 15 at Saddleback, Oct. 29 at Fullerton and Nov. 12 at Palomar) as well as their home games (Sept. 4. vs. San Diego Mesa, Sept.11. vs. El Camino, Sept. 25. vs. Orange Coast, Oct. 23. vs. Mt. Sac and Nov. 6. vs. Pasadena). Kurtz Broadcasting Co. (KBCSports.com), founded in the Fall 2002, broadcasts high school, college and semi-pro sports events. KBC Sports is also offering the availability of commercial airtime for advertisements featuring local businesses. Associate Dean James Spillers has more information about the commercial airtime.
Meanwhile, official practices for all Fall 2010 sports began last week. Grossmont’s Fall sports include football, women’s volleyball, women’s cross country, women’s soccer and men’s and women’s water polo.
TOPVeterans Resource Center
With the start of classes, we are very excited at the opening of our new location for the Veterans Resource Center (VRC) in Bldg. #21 near the Stagehouse Theatre. We currently have about 900 veteran students who are taking advantage of benefits from the Veterans Administration, and a total of about 1,200 veteran students. Our VRC will provide a central entry point for veterans and their families as they transition from the military into the Grossmont College community. Staffed by veterans, the VRC will deliver tangible tools and services to optimize students’ academic success, and will focus on three primary areas: academics, camaraderie and wellness. Services will include access to computers, academic counseling, peer support and mentoring, financial aid information and referral to on- and off-campus resources. A group of “Welcome Home” veterans are assisting our students during this first week. We are one of only 15 community colleges in the state, and the only one in San Diego County, with a VRC that will be supported this semester by the California Operation Welcome Home (COWH), as part of a pilot program with the State of California Employment Development Dept. San Diego Workforce Services. The Welcome Home staff is providing unemployment insurance information, referrals to employment and training services and other services in the community.
TOPSoviet Poet To Visit Grossmont
Soviet born poet Ilya Kaminsky has been booked by Grossmont’s English Department for a Fall 2010 reading on campus on Oct. 21. The event will be open to the community. Kaminsky’s book of poems, “Dancing in Odessa” (Tupelo Press) was named the Best Poetry Book of the Year in 2004 by Foreword Magazine. He is also a recipient of the Whiting Writer’s Award, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Metcalf Award’s Dorset Prize. In 2008, Kaminsky was awarded the Lannon Foundation’s Literary Fellowship. In 2009, sections from Deaf Republic, a work in progress, received Poetry magazine’s Levinson Prize. In March of this year, HarperCollins published his anthology of twentieth century poems in translation, the Ecco Anthology Of International Poetry. The San Diego resident teaches Contemporary World Poetry, Creative Writing and Literary Translation at San Diego State University’s MFA Program in Classic writing. More information about the Creative Writing Program’s literary events in Fall 2010 and the 15th annual Literary Arts Festival in Spring 2011 can be found at www.grossmont.edu/english.
TOPNew Advisor To Student Newspaper
We have a new adjunct advisor to the Summit, our student newspaper. Don Harrison, creator of San Diego Jewish World, an online newspaper, will assist students in the publishing of a print version of the Summit as well as the creation of a web-based “Griffin News Service” that will feature a calendar of events, announcements from departments and divisions and stories written by students. Also on this new website will be audio and video files in order to take full advantage of the medium. Harrison has more than 40 years of experience in journalism. He was the managing editor of the Daily Bruin as a student at UCLA, and has worked for the Associated Press, San Diego Union and Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. He also co-founded the San Diego Cruise Industry Consortium and the Old Town Trolley Tours Company, and has authored “Louis Rose, San Diego’s first Jewish settler and entrepreneur,” which was published in 2003. He also has served as editor of the San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage and a columnist with the San Diego Jewish Times.
TOPRecent Honors
Lisa Stefani, instructor of Communication 128, “Global Communication,” a distance education course offered on the Internet, reports her two recently authored books will be released on Aug. 23 by Ready or Not Press (www.readyornotpress.com). Her first book, “Global Communication: Interaction Within the Cultural Merge,” presents an overview of globalization, a world of interconnectedness in which time and space are compressed. It also identifies cultural foundations that influence global communication in daily life. Her second book, “Cultural Encounters in Cyberspace: Virtual Travels and Activities Around the World,” is an interactive book that offers virtual travels to other countries via the Internet and provides activities to enhance understanding of other cultures.
Rick Griffin with our Office of College and Community Relations was recently honored by the San Diego Advertising Club with the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Silver Medal Award for outstanding contributions to the advertising industry. About 30 to 40 individuals across the country are honored annually with the Silver Medal by their local advertising trade organizations that are affiliated with AAF, a national organization representing an estimated 40,000 advertising professionals who belong to about 200 local advertising industry groups in various U.S. cities. It was the first time in three years, and the fifth time in the past 10 years, that the San Diego Ad Club has bestowed an AAF Silver Medal Award to one of its members. Rick has served on the Ad Club board of directors since 1993, and, in his spare time, writes a weekly media news column that is read by local advertising industry professionals.
TOPRecent Events
We had strong participation at a recent presentation for all Classified Staff on the planning process. In coordination with the GCCCD Classified Senate, the presentation from Academic Senate President Chris Hill and President Cooke answered questions about how the college planning process works. The presentation was held in the new Health and Sciences Complex.
TOPUpcoming Events
- A painting exhibit featuring the work of Wade Cline, William Glen Crooks and Suong Yangchareon opens Aug. 23 and runs to Sept. 16 at Hyde Art Gallery.
- The Scholarship Department and Grossmont College Foundation will present the Fall 2010 Scholarship Awards Breakfast on Saturday, Sept. 11, in the 200 Building Courtyard. The breakfast begins at 9:30 a.m., and the program begins at 10 a.m. With questions, contact Selam Gebrekristos at ext. 7121.
- The Grossmont College Foundation’s upcoming Auction and Dinner Gala will be held on Saturday, Oct. 16 at the Barona Resort & Casino. The theme is “Griffin Gold Rush, 49 Years of Excellence.”
Dr. Sunita V. Cooke