President Schilling’s Board Report for July 24, 2018
The following is a report to members of the North Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees.
Presented by Cypress College President JoAnna Schilling, Ph.D.
on July 24, 2018
Enrollment: Our summer session ended with an enrollment increase of 1% or 57.8 FTES, exceeding last summer’s total and our projections for this year. This is an encouraging trend which we hope to duplicate for fall.
Campus News: Our M&O staff are working hard to get the campus ready for the fall semester. Albert Miranda, our long-time Director of Facilities, retired in June and Bob Riffle, our Manager of M&O, has been leading his team to ensure we are ready for the fall semester. Bob will also be retiring in August; we hope a new Director of Facilities will be approved at the August 14 Board Meeting.
We have also finalized interviews for an Interim EVP, to address the departure of our EVP, Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay, who left on July 12 to take the position of President at Columbia College. We anticipate this candidate recommendation will also appear on the August 14 Board agenda.
It is with great regret that we announce the resignation of Emily Day, our current VPAS. Emily has done an excellent job in her brief six months with the District and will be missed.
Cypress will be one of three colleges in the state to participate in an Academic Mapping project with the Chancellor’s Office. This mapping project will be part of our Guided Pathways plan to help connect students with their majors more quickly and provide a clear foundation for an informed education plan.
Our Math Department is collaborating with NOCE to move all our credit Math 10 courses to the noncredit Math Labs. This is a great example of the potential collaborations we can facilitate to help our students reach their goals and ensure a pathway from noncredit to credit. In other math news, our math department has also committed to developing OER materials for all math classes by 2019. We will be converting four key courses to OER beginning in the spring semester. We appreciate our faculty recognizing the challenges our students face because of the high cost of books and academic materials.
College Events
- Dr. Schilling, Deans Kathleen Reiland and Henry Hua, and Special Projects Manager Stephanie Teer attended an all-day symposium at the Sunburst Academy at the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Base on June 27. Also attending were various workforce development boards, apprenticeship programs, and other community colleges, to collaborate on a potential 5M Department of Defense grant. The purpose of the grant is to educate at-risk youth. Cypress is hopeful we can partner with Sunburst Academy and educate these youth from across the state.
- Dean Hua and Stephanie Teer also conducted a packed Dual Enrollment Fair at Magnolia High School on Tuesday, July 17. Over 150 students attended to hear about the dual enrollment opportunities at Cypress College.
- Cypress College will be hosting our annual summer Management Retreat on August 6. Events for the day will include Team Building and establishing our shared goals and vision for 2018-19, how to conduct Difficult Conversations, and prioritizing our Guided Pathway projects for the upcoming year. Thanks to Nicola Perry and Geoff Hurst from the District who will be taking us through the students experience and helping us to improve.
- Our second Pledge Night was held on July 17; over 300 students were on hand to participate in a welcome orientation, success workshops, and prepare for fall enrollment. Thank you, Paul de Dios, Gisela Verduzco, and her Charger Experience Team for organizing a successful event and for working to ensure the almost 1,000 Anaheim Pledge students who will be attending Cypress in the fall, will understand what is required of them, how to navigate the college, and the resources available in order to be successful in college.
- Please join us for our Opening Day activities on Friday, August 17 at 9 a.m. in the Cypress College Theater. We will be inspired by staff and faculty accomplishments, a celebration of student stories and successes, and our rollout of the new Cypress College Mobile App.
- We will also be holding our Faculty FLEX Day on Thursday, August 16 and the Welcome Back for Students on August 17. The welcome back event will begin at 4 p.m. in the Campus Theater. We hope you will join us to see our students and their parents get off to a great start at Cypress College!
Community Events
- Our Foundation Americana kick off began with a breakfast meeting of all the City Chairs on July 19. This meeting helped clarify the roles of each chair, ensuring communication with the city councils, and the importance of recruiting a diverse pool of honorees.
- The Foundation Board held its end of the year reception on June 20. Our Spring into Cypress campaign is ongoing, which is a board-led fund raising effort. So far, almost $30,000 has been raised. Thanks to all who have helped us with this important fundraiser.
- Schilling and Chancellor Marshall were guest speakers at the annual LIFT (Leaders Inspiring for Tomorrow) Academy on June 27. This academy is sponsored by CSUF and is open to faculty and mid-level community college managers across the state, looking to develop their leadership skills and, perhaps, move up in their organizations. Drs. Ding-Jo Currie and Pam Walker organized the 4-day event and will be matching attendees with mentors in the spring.
- Schilling also had the opportunity to attend the second Wheelhouse Fellowship session at UC Davis the week of July 10-13. This convening of 15 CEOs and state leaders was a welcome and exciting chance to be a student again. Highlights of the week included hearing from CC Chancellor Eloy Oakley and UC Davis Provost Ralph Hexler, reviewing several case studies on innovative work at colleges across the country, and hearing from Harvard Psychologist, Robert Kegan on resolving difficult situations and operating within the 5th dimension of human interaction.
- Schilling attended the LAOCRC Governance Meeting on behalf of Dr. Marshall on July 18. This CEO committee meets to determine structures, projects, and oversight of the regional Strong Workforce Initiative (SWI) funding. Thank you, Chancellor Marshall, for allowing me to attend on your behalf.
That’s the Board Report from Cypress College. Buen Cypress!