President Schilling’s Board Report for November 23, 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 November 23, 2021
The Campaign for College Opportunity hosted the Champions of Higher Education Celebration, on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, from 10–11:30 a.m. via Zoom. Assemblymember Marc Berman provided remarks, and it was gratifying to be acknowledged for the equity work. Cypress College was acknowledged as a 2021 Equity Champion of Higher Education for our exemplary work in awarding Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT) to Latinx students on our campus. See below for our degrees awarded by ethnicity. In 2019-2020, we awarded more degrees and certificates than any previous year.
The Speech & Debate Team will be hosting monthly campus speaking/performing events open to all Cypress College Students. A prize of $50 will be given each month. Judges for each monthly event will be Speech & Debate Team Alumni, faculty, staff, outside volunteers, and administrators. November’s theme was “Thanks-Speaking: Speeches of Thanks and Dedication” and events were held on Tuesday, November 9 from 4–5:30 p.m. via CypressZoom and another on Tuesday, November 20, also from 4–5:30 p.m. Thank you to Josh House and Jennifer Page, our Forensic Teams instructors, for hosting these events and showcasing our students.
Our Associated Students are once again assisting students during the holidays. The A.S. council has placed collection boxes around the campus for non-perishable items that will help fill the Thanksgiving baskets that will be distributed to students who have expressed an interest in receiving a basket. Thank you for considering donating to assist students who have this need. Our goal is to distribute 30 baskets this year. Our community partner, Golden State Water, will be donating 50 turkeys to fill the baskets! We appreciate our Foundation Board President Ken Veccherelli of GSW for his continued generosity! A.S. is also hosting an ongoing coats and jackets drive to provide homeless shelters, or students in need, with warm coats this winter. All sizes are needed!
Our October Student Services Spotlight featured Belinda Allan, who just celebrated her fifth year at Cypress supporting our students in the Career Planning Center. Read Belinda’s profile. Our November Student Services Spotlight features Gloria Ortega, who is the executive assistant to Dr. Paul de Dios. Gloria is completing her second year with Cypress College and we are so grateful she is here. Read Gloria’s profile.
On November 10, T-TEN student Vincent Lagasca was awarded a $10,000 CNCDA scholarship, presented to the outstanding student of the year. At the event was Assemblyperson John Cho, who thanked Cypress for its outstanding T-TEN program, joined by other top executives from Toyota in attendance. We are so proud of this outstanding program, of our instructors Michael Klyde and Paul Kelley for their commitment to excellence year after year, and for our students who continue to excel.
Our Theater Department presented a production of All Together Now directed by vocal arts instructor Bradley Hampton on November 12-14. This musical revue was being performed at theaters nationwide as a celebration of the return of live performance, and Cypress took part. Thank you Jim Hormel, Jenny McMillen-Brick, Donny Jackson, and Bradley Hampton for supporting this project. Welcome back to live theater!
Our Dance Department presented their fall dance concert on November 19-20 at 7 p.m. and November 21 at 4 p.m., directed by instructor Maha Afra. The evening of dance was guest-choreographed by our Dance Department colleagues and student choreographers. Tickets can be purchased at the Theater and Dance Department box office which opens one hour prior to show time.
Cypress College participated in an Accreditation training on Friday, November 15. ACCJC presented a workshop on the new requirements for our upcoming Institution Self Evaluation Report (ISER) which will be presented in 2024. Over 50 attendees came to be part of this important process.
Americana 2022 is about to begin, starting with the Honoree Luncheon on Thursday, November 18. The 2022 honorees are: Chief Brian Fennessey (Man of the Year); Stephen Sain (Anaheim); Alice Burnett (Buena Park); Laurie Erpelding (Cypress); Virginia Moore (Garden Grove); Mic and Dee Vicenti (La Palma); Troy Edgar (Los Alamitos); Deb Machen (Seal Beach); and Tom Carpenter (Stanton). The Americana Kick Off event will be on December 16 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Americana 2022 will be held on March 26 at the Disneyland Hotel. Please save the date(s)!
As announced at the last board meeting, the week of November 8-12 was Veteran’s Appreciation Week. We were proud to host multiple events including two days of Green Zone Training on November 8-9. This training is designed to provide students, staff, faculty, and administrators with the opportunity to learn more about the challenges servicemembers encounter when they return home after their military service. Over 25 attendees learned about the military culture, war trauma, MST, and how that impacts Cypress College veterans.
On November 10, Cypress College was excited to win the annual Fullerton VRC vs. Cypress VRC Softball Game for the second year in a row. Cypress College won 13-11 in a close match and is proudly displaying the winning cup in our new VRC, where we unveiled it at our Foundation fundraiser on November 10. Congratulations to Juan Garcia and the VRC Team! Go Chargers!
Also, on November 10, over 50 people were in attendance for the Veterans fundraiser, including Trustees Blount and Dunsheath; City Council members Jon Peat, Paolo Morales, and Anne Hertz; Cypress Schools Board President, Bonnie Peat; Forest Lawn CEO, Darin Drabing; General Peter Gravitt; Lt. Colonel Tom Lasser; and Veterans Student Services Specialist, Christy Montenegro, who sang a beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner – it was a wonderful evening to support our veterans. Our Media Arts and Design students, led by Professor Kati Angelov, put on a light show of patriotic images projected across our pond onto the SEM Building. Thank you to Howard Kummerman and Rachel Ghatikar for this excellent event to raise funds to support our students.
Warmth Drive: Cypress College veterans are collecting socks and blankets to benefit veterans across the community from November 3–24. So far, our campus community has generously supported this great initiative. If you wish to donate, please let Dr. Schilling, Dr. De Dios, or Dr. Garcia know of your interest.
The Cypress EOPS & CARE Program established the Adopt-A-Family program in 2016 to assist our single-parent CARE families during the holiday season. Last year our Charger family adopted over 35 families and generously provided gifts for the holidays!
The Guardian Scholars Program will also continue their third year of the Adopt-An-Angel Program to assist our current and former foster youth. We thank you for your generosity to our students during the holiday season!
Buen Cypress! We Take This Journey Together!