President Schilling’s Board Report for October 8, 2019
The following is a report to the North Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees.
Presented by Cypress College President JoAnna Schilling, Ph.D.
on October 8, 2019
We are proud to announce that Cypress College is the recipient of an HSI Title V grant in the amount of $2.8M to “Enhance the Student Experience through Guided Pathways.” This Department of Education grant is awarded for five years and helps the college move toward a fully integrated pathways model by 2024. The grant award was very competitive: Cypress was one of 43 campuses across the country – only 19% of all applicants were funded this year. Kudos to our Guided Pathways work group for a successful application. Now the work begins!
Cultural Exchange: Cypress College’s Dental Hygiene Program hosted 23 medical hygiene students from Nagano, Japan during the program’s annual cultural exchange on September 17. The Japanese students spent the day learning about how dental hygienists are licensed in California, the new technologies that are available, and what the college’s students in the program are taught. Upcoming, on November 13-15, the Cypress Nursing program will be hosting Osaka-Jikei School of Health Care. This cultural exchange will feature 30 students from Japan who will be on the Cypress campus for three days, interacting with our students, attending special lectures, and visiting various clinical sites to learn the needs of healthcare in the US.
On Friday, September 27, our STEM(2) Program held their kick off orientation at the Cottonwood Church. This program, which began with 40 students in 2012, welcomed over 1000 participants including almost 600 new students, as well as continuing students and peer mentors. It was exciting to see so many students engaged and eager to learn. Congratulations to Yanet Garcia, Rosa Mejia, and Richard Fee for their leadership of this high impact program.
Our Educational Master and Facilities Planning team conducted multiple feedback sessions on campus October 1-2. Over the two-day period over 250 students, staff, and faculty provided input what works, and how we can improve. A campus survey has also gone out to all employees, student, and community members. We are eager to hear all the good ideas for helping our campus improve the educational experience for all.
Americana Events: The campus will be holding its 2020 Americana Honoree luncheon on October 10 at the Cypress Bistro. Then, on November 14, we will be hosting the Americana Kick Off Dinner in the Theater Lobby. The past few years the kick off has been held off campus so we are eager to welcome this event back to our campus. This dinner is to introduce our Americana honorees to their respective communities, while also honoring past awardees for their contributions to our local communities. We hope you have all marked your calendars for the annual Americana Awards on February 22, 2020!
Our Foundation will also be hosting the annual President’s Night at the Theatre on Friday, October 11. President’s Club donors, Legacy Society donors, and special Foundation donors are invited for a pre-theater dinner, a brief lecture by the director, and attend a presentation of the fall production of American Clock by Arthur Miller at 7 p.m. In addition, American Clock runs from October 10-13 at 7 p.m., and 4 p.m. on October 13, so please join us for a vaudeville version of this classic play.
The 34th Annual Cypress College Foundation Golf Classic will be held on Monday, October 21, at the Los Coyotes Country Club in Buena Park. Proceeds support the work of the Cypress College Foundation. Come join us for a fun day and opportunity to participate in golf, dinner and chance to win prizes.
Cypress College has launched a common book reading series. Our first book will be White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk About Racism; by Robin Di Angelo and Michael Eric Dyson an exploration of the counterproductive reactions people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. Please join us on November 12 or 14 for a brown bag lunch discussion of this book. To participate via chat, please click this link to join the Canvas course, which will allow for a public chat discussion.
Our first annual Cypress College Angels night was a great success. Over 730 tickets were sold, 1200 students were sponsored to attend and 16% of all ticket sales will go to our food pantry. Another 5000.00 is anticipated through sales of our Cypress-logoed hat. Thanks to all employees, trustees, and their families who were able to come out to the ballpark.
Cypress will be hosting its annual High School Principals and Superintendents Breakfast on October 15 from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. This event provides an opportunity for college staff to engage with our K12 partners on the initiatives we share, provide and hear updates on ways we can support our students, and continually strengthen the relationship we have with all our high school partners.
Spectrum News Channel 1 was back on campus on October 2 to capture the District’s Hostile Terrain installation. The reporter also came to campus during the opening to interview students and Jason DeLeon, the installation artist. View the news story and video.
The week of October 14 is Undocumented Student Action Week. The flyer on the following page details all the events happening that week, in support of our DACA students. We appreciate AnnMarie Ruelas, our EOPS Director and our student services team for promoting and organizing this important week of activities.
Upcoming Events
On October 10, the college will be hosting its second Coming Out Day on campus. Activities are planned from 11:30 to 1:30 by the Campanile / Gateway Plaza.
Save the Date! NOCCCD and Cypress College will be hosting a Regional Deans Conference on January 15, 2020. We expect over 100 participants from across the OC Region, and will update you on keynote speaker, workshops, and other activities planned as we get closer to the event. Thank you to VPI, Carmen Dominguez and the deans across the district for planning and organizing this conference.
The campus will be welcoming Senator Ling Ling Chang to Cypress to visit our Aviation Simulation Lab on October 16.
And that’s our board report. Buen Cypress. We Take This Journey Together!