President Schilling’s Board Report for April 13, 2021
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 April 13, 2021
The Cypress Chargers are Back in Action! The Chargers kicked off their first competition in over a year on March 24, when women’s basketball hosted the Golden West Rustlers. Cypress College opted into competing in Spring I and Spring II competition earlier this year. Cypress men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball will participate in an abbreviated season over the four weeks as part of the Spring I competition. Spring II sports, including baseball, softball, men’s golf, men’s and women’s swim, women’s beach volleyball, and women’s tennis will begin competition April 12. Due to COVID restrictions, no spectators are able to attend Cypress Athletics events this year.
April is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion month. In celebration, Cypress is participating in the statewide social media campaign on the importance of DEI on our campuses. The college will also be honoring April 19-23 as Black Student Success week, by featuring the stories and accomplishments of our Black students each day during this week.
Cypress College welcomes Interim Dean of Kinesiology & Athletics, Colin Preston. After five years as Athletic Director at El Camino College, Colin has accepted the Interim Dean of Kinesiology & Athletics role at Cypress College. Originally from Modesto, CA, Colin grew up playing soccer and was an avid sports competitor. As our new Interim Dean of Kinesiology & Athletics, Colin is ready to make an impact on our student-athletes academically and support all 14 of our athletic programs at Cypress.
Cypress College student Catherine Cueva, one of 23 students nationwide selected as the inaugural cohort of #RealCollege’s Student Leadership Advisory Council, has now been appointed as one of the Stanton Commissioners on Public Safety. Catherine is a Political Science major at Cypress and wants to become a Supreme Court Justice one day. Congratulations, Catherine!
The CalWORKs association publishes a collective book of CalWORKs students and their stories across the regions titled “CalWORKs Student Voices.” Cypress College CalWORKs program had the second most submissions from all regions in the state! The book will be published with our student stories by the end of April.
On March 19-21, Cypress College Theater Arts Department presented the spring virtual play, Water by the Spoonful, directed by Professor Jenni McMillin-Brick.
Cypress Soroptimist held their Live Your Dream Awards program on March 24, 2021.
Awardees from the EOPS/CARE programs this year included Charity Racaniello, Samantha Arroyo, Amber Portillo, and Emily Kosmol. Over $5,000 in scholarships were provided to our students. We thank the Soroptimists of Cypress for their continued generosity!
On April 5, the Queer-Straight Alliance and Theater Arts Department, with the support of our Student Equity and Achievement Committee, hosted actress and activist Alex Billings. Alex has starred in multiple Broadway plays, as well as appearing on Transparent, and other TV series. She shared her experience, challenges, and success as a trans woman with students and employees. The event helped create more visibility and understanding of our trans students and employees. Thank you to our LGBTQ coordinator, Jenelle Herman, and theater professor, Donny Jackson for hosting the Q&A.
The Career Planning Center is hosting More Than A Pathway: Connecting Social Justice to Careers Conference on April 13 and 14 from 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Our own Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Lee Douglas, will be the keynote speaker. Attendees will gain information on career options with a social justice focus, opportunities for networking, and community resources, information, and tools for providing services to diverse and underserved populations.
A new article from EdSurge, “AI Is Changing the Workforce. At This District, It’s Changing the Curriculum Too” features AUHSD, Superintendent Matsuda, Cypress College, and our Career Preparedness Systems Framework.
Dr. Marshall, Dr. Schilling, and Superintendent Matsuda will be presenting to the CEO Leadership Alliance of OC on April 15 on Artificial Intelligence and the plans for the Cypress College CAIRE center (Center for Artificial Intelligence Resources and Entrepreneurship), a new resource space for students, faculty, community, and industry partners.
The Cypress College Health Center and Fullerton College Health Center will be co-hosting a Virtual Spring Health Fair on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 and Thursday, April 29, 2021. Each day will have two programs, a morning program (10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.) and an afternoon program (2–4:30 p.m.) with specific themes. We have invited community health and wellness organizations to present information about their services.
The Sustainability Committee will celebrate Earth Day week with a screening of the film, Kiss the Ground, on April 22 at 6 p.m., followed by a discussion. On Monday, April 19, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m., we will be hosting a panel discussion on sustainability featuring Aditi Mayer, fashion designer; Diandra Marizet, Co-founder of Intersectional Environmentalist Platform; Isaias Hernandez, Creator of Queer Brown Vegan; Kamea Chayne, Creator of Green Dreamer Podcast; and Lauren Ritchie, Founder of It’s Eco Gal. Please join us!
Please join us for our 5th annual Yom HaShoah Day of Remembrance, Thursday, April 15, at 7 p.m. The event is free and you can register here. We will never forget!
Here is the overview of the recent national student basic needs survey by the Hope Center. Cypress College is a member of the #RealCollegeCalifornia alliance. This survey reveals that the needs of our students, and those across the country, continue to be serious, and that the pandemic only accelerated the challenges that already existed before — and will exist afterwards. We must continue to seek solutions to help provide the essential services and support to our most vulnerable students. Buen Cypress, We Take This Journey Together!