President Schilling’s Board Report for April 12, 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 April 12, 2022

Almost 100 department chairs, managers, academic senators, members of the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC), Planning and Budget Council (PBC), and other campus leaders came together for the spring Leadership Team convening, which focused on Guided Pathways, enrollment loss, reengagement strategies, and discussions about how we can better serve our students. Thank you to all our participants who joined us and to our presenters, Bryan Ventura, Eileen Haddad, Kathleen Reiland, Gisela Verduzco, Jacky Rangel, Marc Posner, Lisa Gaetje, Ruth Gutierrez, and Steven Estrada for leading us in a dynamic morning of engaging conversations.

Chargers Athletics Update: Cypress Baseball (15-13, 7-5 OEC) has won both conference series to position themselves in a tie for first with Saddleback and Fullerton. Most recently, the Chargers took two of three games from the Golden West Rustlers. Cypress softball (23-7, 12-2 OEC) currently sits in second place behind Santa Ana after winning four in a row including a recent win over Santa Ana. Cypress Chargers men’s golf continues their winning ways and is now in 2nd place in the Orange Empire Conference. Beach Volleyball earned their second sweep of the season on Friday and their first in conference play. The Chargers are led by Jordon Wilson and Tainea Allen and are 6-3 overall this season. Cypress Women’s Tennis (6-9, 2-6 OEC) has lost three in a row since their last win against the Fullerton Hornets in their second matchup of the season. The Chargers were still able to take care of the Hornets on their home court, 8-1. Go Chargers!

The Cypress College Career Planning Center hosted “More Than A Pathway, Connecting Careers to Social Justice Series and Career Fair” on April 4-6. This is the launch of our ongoing careers and social justice sessions that will occur throughout each semester. This semester, two of the events will be on campus, including keynote speaker, Martin Leyva, Project Manager of Project Rebound at Cal State San Marcos. Also held on campus was the Career Fair which allowed students to meet with counselors about preparing their resumes, discussing career options, and meeting employers. Students also had the opportunity to win bookstore vouchers — generously donated by Follet Inc. — gift certificates donated by Dr. Schilling, and the grand prize of an Apple I-Watch provided by our Cypress College Foundation. All other sessions will be offered virtually.

Drs. Schilling and Reiland had the honor of attending the annual Orange County Business Council (OCBC) dinner with our District colleagues on Thursday, April 7. The dinner also included recognition of retiring President Lucy Dunn, thanking her for her amazing service to our business community for the last decade. Happy Retirement, Lucy!

The Cypress College Theater Department presented The Lady of 21st Street last weekend. In this dark comedy, a group of former students reunite in their Harlem neighborhood to pay tribute to their former teacher. If you missed it last weekend, there is still time to see it next week. Performance dates are: April 8, 9, 22, and 23 @ 7 p.m.; April 10 and 24 @ 4 p.m. in the Cypress College Studio Theater.

Our most recent Student Services Spotlight highlighted Juliana Zaragoza, a Financial Aid Technician, who has been with NOCCCD for 5 years. Throughout college, Juliana worked as a student employee in the Financial Aid Department at Fullerton College and Cal State Fullerton. Currently, she oversees the state categorical funding programs at Cypress College’s Financial Aid office, which includes Cal Grant and Student Success Grant. Thank you to Juliana and our entire Financial Aid Department, led by Director Gabriela de la Cruz, for all you do to enhance the student experience at Cypress College.

On April 6-7, the Southwestern and North African (SWANA) Faculty and Staff Association hosted a two-day event celebrating the history, heritage, and cultural contributions of our SWANA community. On April 6, faculty and staff provided music, food, and community expression outside the college Art Gallery. On April 7, Pitzer professor Daniel Segal spoke on “Lessons from Palestine for a Social Justice Future.” Thank you to Maha Afra, our music and art faculty, and the planning committee who organized these important campus events.

Dr. Schilling will have the honor of presenting to the Los Alamitos Military Officers Association of America at their April 28 Chapter meeting. She will be speaking about our new Veterans Resource Center, our commitment to supporting our veterans at Cypress and in our community, and sharing more about our paver campaign honoring our military-affiliated families.

Please join us for our upcoming Earth Week celebrations the week of April 18-21, hosted by the Cypress College Sustainability Committee. On April 18, we will host a virtual panel discussion, Ecology, the Microbiome, and Mental Health from 5–6:15 p.m. On Tuesday, April 19, there will be a student panel hosted by the Integrative Wellness Club titled Summer Harvest Workshop from 12-1 p.m. On Thursday evening, April 21, there will be an outdoor screening of The Biggest Little Farm beginning at 5:30 p.m. The first 100 attendees will receive a Cypress College picnic blanket and our Associated Students will be grilling plant burgers. Fermentation Farm will be providing drinks to all in attendance. Please join us for a great evening!

Jenelle Herman, Cypress College’s dynamic LGBTQIA+ coordinator, helped the campus celebrate Trans Visibility Day by hosting a Dialogue with Sydney Mae Diaz, actor (Genera+ion, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and musician (Anxioushum), who shared his reflections on being publicly visible due to the nature of his work, but also the important small-scale steps it took to get comfortable within his trans identity. Diaz was joined in conversation by Fullerton College’s LGBTQIA2S+ Professional Expert, Ariel Gentalen, before an open Q+A session. Thank you to Jenelle, Ariel, and our faculty and staff allies for their work providing a welcoming space for our vulnerable LGBTQIA+ students. March 31 was International Transgender Day of Visibility. Read about the history of this day.

Buen Cypress! We Take This Journey Together!

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