President Schilling’s Board Report for March 22, 2022
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 March 22, 2022
Save the Date! After two years of remote commencement ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cypress College is planning an in-person, on-campus celebration for this year’s 55th Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 20, from 4–8 p.m. Graduates from the classes of 2020 and 2021 will also be welcome to join the ceremony which has resulted in moving the start time to 4 p.m. in order to accommodate a larger-than-usual graduating class. The President’s pre-commencement reception will be held at 2:30 p.m. that day. More details on participation and RSVP will be available in the coming weeks.
The 2022 Foundation Scholarship application is now available online for all students. The Foundation administers scholarships of varying criteria, but students need only fill out a single application to be considered for all of them! The Foundation is to be commended for their equity approach to scholarships which has resulted in doubling our applications the past few years, especially increasing accessibility to more students of color who had not been equitably represented in years past. Applications are due Monday, March 28 and this year’s scholarship awards ceremony will be held in person on Friday, May 13 at 3:30 p.m. We hope you will join us!
Cypress College’s NASA on Campus program has launched! This new program, provided through our partnership as one of only eleven community colleges nationally to be named as a NASA minority-serving college, provides students an opportunity to learn about NASA research and missions in a five-week online learning experience that will help them explore and build careers in STEM through NASA activities and opportunities. Students who successfully complete the online course are invited to a four-day, on-campus engineering design and robotics competition offering a hands-on, collaborative engineering experience.
As of February 15, military veterans can begin to expeditiously gain credit for courses they took in the service at 52 community colleges in California thanks to the Military Articulation Program (MAP). Cypress College recently created new articulations as part of the 2022 cohort of colleges. This articulation goes beyond the typical general education credits that veterans historically have received. MAP aims to save military students an average of one year of study and more than $25,000 in tuition and other expenses, increase completion rates by at least 17%, decrease time to completion and debt accumulation, and decrease or close equity gaps in access and completion. The 2022 Cohort is in the News: See the recent AACC article on the California MAP initiative.
When COVID-19 forced human interaction online in March 2020, savvy culture-producers jumped into live-streaming platform Twitch. A popular pre-pandemic home for video-gamers and the people who like to watch them play, Twitch became a pandemic go-to for artists and others to meet their audiences in real time. More than a neutral venue though, Twitch and its chat streams quickly became a dynamic component of the works presented. The Cypress College Art Gallery (CPAG) is offering a new show curated by artist Michael Hanson. Pandemic Twitch: Programming, Performing, Participating, and Pirate TV presents projects that have bubbled on Twitch ever since the first lockdown. With the need for social interaction as their pressure cooker context, the “live” communal experiences reinvent appointment T.V. as participatory art; collage the outrageously mundane into dazzling, fragmented futures; and offer a lockdown lifesaver of roiling, rollicking fun. The show runs from March 15 – May 10 and can be viewed here.
For the last year and a half, Cypress College has been working to develop a DEIA Framework and on February 25, the DEIA Framework workgroup conducted a retreat to finalize the first draft. The Framework is based on our five Cypress College core values of Excellence, Integrity, Collegiality, Inclusiveness, and Equity. This document will now be shared and modified to the needs of our campus. Next steps will include 1) Share it this semester with Professional Development committee, SEA, DEI, PAC, management, Division Meetings, Academic Senate, Associated Students; 2) Share it with our campus community during a campus forum (date to be determined); 3) Workshops on how to apply the framework; 4) Create a form to collect feedback as we share it in meetings and across campus. The eight-member workgroup, led by Gisela Verduzco and Alison Robertson, has worked diligently to narrow down and develop the questions for each core value. We look forward to campus feedback and the many discussions about how to implement this framework on our campus.
On March 8 our Caring Campus group distributed over 250 gift bags of goodies including candies, chocolates, a How May I Help You? badge, and Cypress College mask, to every classified professional at Cypress College. Thank you to Christy Montenegro, Summer Justice, and Ayman Gadwalla for putting all these bags together on behalf of our classified staff.
Our military affiliated student body has planned another great opportunity to help our local veterans. This semester the Cypress College Veterans Organization would like to ask staff, faculty, administrators, and students to donate hygiene items. All items, including bath towels, baby wipes, body wash and soap, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and brushes can be dropped off at the VRC. Donations to purchase items are also being accepted. The collection of items will begin March 8 and will end on April 7. All donations will be taken to the U.S. Vets Cabrillo Housing. If you have any questions, please contact the VCR at (714) 484-7150.
On March 14, our Charger Experience held a Promise Scholar event to honor continuing students who have earned a 3.0 GPA or higher during the last three terms. There were 75 students who earned a 3.0 GPA or higher this year, and 133 who earned 3.75 and higher GPA, earning them Presidential Scholar distinction. It was a wonderful opportunity to applaud and celebrate our students’ success. Thank you to our student services team led by Dr. Paul de Dios and Gisela Verduzco.
Congratulations to Political Science professor, Gloria Badal, who was named as the Cypress College OC Teacher of the Year by our Associated Students. AS President Sydney Pike and Student Trustee Meena Pandian surprised Professor Badal with her award presentation at a Social Science Division meeting on March 3. Professor Badal will be honored in October with the other 2022 honorees at the Disneyland Hotel.
Faculty member Stephanie Rosati shared that the Cypress College Culinary Program was asked to participate with a Master Chef Competition for 5th and 6th graders at Maple Elementary in Fullerton. Thank you to the following students who are serving as mentors this semester: Katrena Heraldez, Dan Kim, John Thornburg-Garcia, Alyssa Quedit, Jana Villanueva, Elizabeth Sanchez.
The Cypress Bistro reopened on March 3 after being shuttered for the last four semesters. Please join us every Thursday at noon for global cuisine which is chosen, created, and served by students. Reservations are required by contacting Tracy Heine at theine@cypresscollege.edu.
Buen Cypress! We Take This Journey Together!