President Schilling’s Board Report for May 25, 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 May 25, 2021
As we end the year, we want to thank each of you for attending our Cypress College Virtual Commencement. This year our students have earned 2,016 associate degrees in our 98 degree programs. In addition, 1,249 students have earned occupational certificates from one of our 145 career-certificate programs. This would be a remarkable feat in any year, but especially during this past year, when 98% of our courses have been in a remote format. We congratulate our resilient students, as well as our faculty and staff for their continual support.
Other commencement activities held the week of May 17-21 included our Nursing Pinning Ceremony on May 17, our DSS Graduation on May 20, and our Drive-Up EOPS event to honor our graduates on May 20. This year’s EOPS cohort featured an historic 209 graduates – the most in EOPS history. We are so proud of all our graduates!
This year 13 faculty members will be receiving tenure. Cypress College acknowledges this important milestone in their academic career. Congratulations to Jill Bauer, ESL; Michael Coronado, Journalism; Damon de la Cruz, Mortuary Science; Juan Garcia, Counseling (Veterans); Amanda Gargano, Culinary Arts; Anthony Hall, Physics; Ernesto Heredia, Counseling; Jeannie Jo, Management & Marketing; Jennifer Page, Communications; Thu Pham, Nursing; Jacquelyn Rangel, Counselor; Scott Roby, Mathematics; and Patricia Spitler, Health Information Technology. Many in this illustrious group of colleagues have already been honored individually for their excellence and we are grateful they are joining the ranks of tenured professors at our college.
Cypress College was ranked the #1 program by NursingProcess.org in their 6 Best Ultrasound Technician Schools in California for 2021. We are proud of our dedicated faculty and students for achieving this honor. In addition, our Radiological Technician Program underwent its accreditation site visit May 13-14 and although the report will not be final for a few months, the exit report was stellar. Thank you to faculty members Lynn Mitts, Michael Frianeza, and Barry Siegel, as well as counselor Kelly Carter for their outstanding work in support of our students.
A team comprised of five students from the Dual Enrollment, Automotive Technology Program at Cypress College participated in the Orange County Auto Dealers Association’s “Automotive Technology Competition.” Five students placed in the top 10 of the competition. Students were awarded scholarships totaling over $3000, and Snap-On Tools sets for their achievements. Christina Do, a Cypress High School student, took first place – the first woman in 28 years of competition to finish first! Congratulations to all these students on their success.
Michael Klyde was named as 2021 Instructor of the Year by the California Auto Teacher Association. Professor Klyde is our Automotive Technology and T-TEN Coordinator, and many of you know that our Toyota T-TEN program has been a national leader for years — and will be yet again this year. Our auto instructors are also active with the Orange County Auto Dealers as well as the California Auto Teacher Conference each year. We are proud of Professor Klyde’s acknowledgement by CAT and for the outstanding work he and our team do at Cypress College.
April was the California Community Colleges inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Awareness Month and Cypress College celebrated by offering activities to highlight our students throughout the month, concluding with Black Student Success Week April 26-30. May is now AAPI Awareness Month and the college has been highlighting a student daily for the past two weeks, as well as announcing our Alumna of the Year, Nancy Matsui, who is our first AAPI alumnus to be honored.
The Puente Program celebrated 25 years at Cypress College on April 30. It was a joyful celebration, reuniting past and present Puentistas, including Trustee Rosales. Dr. Mosqueda-Ponce, who has led this program since 1996, was surprised with a special award presented by Dr. Troy Davis and Lela Beck. Participants also enjoyed a guest performance by East L.A.-based band Las Cafeterias. Happy Birthday, Puente!
Dr. Nina Lanza, Team Lead for Space and Planetary Exploration at Los Alamos National Laboratory, joined our STEM(2) Scholars on May 7 to share her presentation How to Get to Mars and Back Without a Map about her journey as one of the lead geologists on the current Mars expedition. Over 107 scholars and faculty members joined her virtually for this exciting and empowering presentation. Thank you, Yanet Padilla and team for continuing to bring important speakers to inspire our students.
The Professional Development committee hosted our campus-wide End of the Year Fiesta on May 5, 2021. It was wonderful to be together – even virtually – and to celebrate retirees and service pin recipients for their service and commitment to the college. Congratulations to Court Reporting faculty member, Carolee Freer, who earned her 40-year service pin. And thank you to our PD committee and Ruth Gutierrez and Michael Brydges, for planning such a great event.
The virtual Cypress College Foundation Scholarship Awards Ceremony was held on May 18, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. This virtual celebration provided the opportunity for donors and recipients to meet and celebrate their accomplishments. This year, $250,000 in scholarships were awarded to over 300 students, with the average total per student of almost $700 per award. Alumnus of the Year, Nancy Matsui, provided an encouraging message to our scholarship awardees. Thank you, Trustee Dunsheath and Irma Ramos, who donate a memorial scholarship each year, for attending!
Our ESL faculty keep leading the way on the creation of important ESL certificates in the state. Cypress participated in a case study conducted by the RP Group on our initial ESL Course Transferability Certificate. They will now be featured in another case study for their Guided Pathways ESL Milestone Certificate. Thank you to ESL faculty Kathryn Wada, Alison Robertson, Jenelle Herman, Samantha Simmons, and Jill Bauer for their exemplary leadership in ESL education.
The Cypress College Classified Appreciation Day will be held on Friday, June 4 at 12 noon. Each year our managers contribute to a raffle and this year will be no different. In addition, the President’s Office will be providing a Grub Hub e-certificate to all classified employees, whether or not they are able to attend the luncheon. We are eager to celebrate our classified professionals and look forward to being together in person soon.
Over 100 employees are participating in the Camino de Santiago Virtual Challenge this spring. Participants have until August 20 to log their miles and complete the 480-mile trip. We already have our first five participants to cross the finish line. They are: Sarah DeMartino, James Tapia, Joel Gober, Monica Doman, and Holly Segoviano. Each will receive their medal and Compostela (certificate of completion) on Opening Day. Kudos to our colleagues!
Buen Cypress, We Take This Journey Together!