President Schilling’s Board Report for October 9, 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 October 9, 2018
Campus News
- On September 26, four Cypress College students received a Bill Snyder Scholarship, awarded to outstanding college students in Hospitality and Hotel Management programs. Six scholarships were awarded by the Orange County Association of Hotel Managers; two- to four-year university students, and the other four were given to Cypress College students. Such an outstanding showing by our students! Kudos to these young scholars, as well as Hospitality chair, Lisa Clark, faculty member Jeremy Peters, and Dean Kathleen Reiland.
- The college is gearing up for our inaugural Connect2Cypress event on November 6. This will replace our Senior Day, which traditionally occurs in the spring. The event will kick-off our Guided Pathways initiative. Each student will be encouraged to choose a meta major – receiving a t-shirt that designates them as a part of the meta major community. In addition, we will be incorporating our annual Majors2Careers on the same day so Cypress Students will be mingling with prospective Cypress students at the career and program fair. We expect over 1000 seniors to attend the event as they begin to prepare for college.
- Hunger Initiatives: On October 24, there will be a meeting of the Affordability, Hunger and Housing Access Taskforce and over 20 other organizations who are also trying to address these important issues. Attending from Orange County are Pathways of Hope, United Way OC, Orange County Business Council and HomeAid.
- On September 27, the Cypress College Gallery opened the show: A Different 1% focused on the .05% of American citizens who serve in the military. The LA Times featured this exhibit on Wednesday, October 3, 2018. All artists in this exhibit are veterans and the main focus of the show is how art has healed these young men and women from the scars of war. I encourage you all to stop by and share it with us. At the opening was former President Bob Simpson and his wife, Denise, and other guests. Congratulations to curator, Janet Owen-Driggs!
- On October 3, the Cypress College Honors Program and Associated Students hosted the annual Donate a Day of Service event. Featured were speakers and representatives speaking about the power of giving back to our communities. We appreciate all who attended and to Honors coordinators Kendyl Covey and Penny Gabourie for their leadership on this event.
- The Cypress College Theater and Dance Departments open our fall musical production, Little Shop of Horrors which will run at 8 p.m. October 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, and 2 p.m. on October 7 and 14. Please join us! On October 12, Dr. Schilling will be hosting our President’s Club, Legacy Society, and Foundation donors for a special Night at the Theater.
- Cypress College will be participating in Undocumented Students Week – featuring a week of activities dedicated to supporting undocumented students at Cypress College. A recent report in the LA Times identified a continued fear in our undocumented community and many of these students attend our colleges. The following activities will be featured: UndocAlly Training on October 15; a Student Panel & Ferias Legales on October 16; a Resource Fair on October 17; a Financial Aid Workshop for undocumented students on October 19.
- Cypress alumni Alex Alpharoah completed a run at the Skirball Center performing his show “WET: A DACAmented Journey,” detailing what he hid for years: his immigration status. The former Cypress College theater student’s effort to make sense of government policies around undocumented immigrants led to the creation of this autobiographical play, and a spot on the cover of “American Theatre” magazine’s May/June 2018 issue. Congratulations, Alex!
Community Events
- Our Foundation Golf Classic was held on October 1, 2018 at the Seacliff Country Club in Huntington Beach. New Executive Director Howard Kummerman presided over the event, along with former Executive Directors Raul Alvarez and Gail Taylor. The event was extremely successful – bringing in over $60,000. We appreciate all our generous donors, vendors, employees, and Foundation members for their hard work and participation.
- On September 24, Dr. Paul de Dios and Dr. Schilling met with former Cypress alumna, Lucy Dunn, President and CEO of the Orange County Business Council. Lucy has an amazing story and we were thrilled to learn about her experience at Cypress College. We are eager to begin setting up business roundtables for Cybersecurity, Aviation, and Science, Engineering, and Math, which OCBC will assist us with.
- On October 11, Cypress College will be participating in the ribbon cutting of the new Forest Lawn Patriot Chapel – a facility focused on those who have served in our Armed Services. In partnership with Forest Lawn, we will be honoring our veterans and receiving a $100,000 check from Forest Lawn for our new Veterans Resource Center.
- One Monday October 8, Cypress College will be participating in the AUHSD Educational Summit, an opportunity to share ideas with our counterparts for the benefit of our students. Faculty, counselors, and administrators will be in attendance.
That’s the Board Report from Cypress College. Buen Cypress!