President Schilling’s Board Report for May 10, 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 May 10, 2022
We are busy getting ready for all the End-of-Year Celebrations which are detailed for you at the end of this report. Many of the students completing or transferring this year have only known Cypress College during the pandemic, so it is a pleasure to celebrate in person and honor their resiliency and success. Thank you to our faculty and staff who have so many wonderful events planned! If you wish for more details and plan to attend any of these events, please let us know.
Congratulations to all of our 2022 Cypress College faculty members receiving tenured status this year. These outstanding faculty have already made significant contributions to our college and we are grateful to honor them at this board meeting. They are: Lori Collins, Mortuary Science; Christin Hoang, Nursing; Beena Eapen, Nursing; and Donny Jackson, Theater Arts. We are grateful they serve the students of Cypress College.
May is Foster Youth Awareness Month. Did you know that only 3% of foster youth graduate college with a degree or certificate? We, as a caring campus, are working to increase those odds. The Cypress College Guardian Scholars will be hosting three events. On May 9, we will have lawn signs posted outside the Gateway Plaza with the voices of Cypress College foster youth as they document their time in the foster system. On May 10, Dr. Sharrica Miller will speak about her personal journey growing up in the foster system and eventually getting her Ph.D. at UCLA. And on May 11, the campus community will be bringing blue items for use in foster youth awareness pins and will write encouraging words to our foster youth in attendance who will be distributing the pins. Thank you to Ashley Berry and our Guardian Scholars staff for hosting these events.
Cypress College hosted our fifth annual Commit2Cypress event on May 5. This event celebrates all the local high school students who are committing to their college education at Cypress College and will be the first in three years to be hosted in person. Over 700 students attended in our Campus Theater on Thursday evening to hear a Welcome to Cypress presentation featuring Drs. Schilling and De Dios, AUHSD dignitaries, Director of Student Equity and Success, Gisela Verduzco, and our Charger Experience staff. Thank you to all who attended this great event!
Our Professional Development staff, led by PD coordinators Michael Brydges and Ruth Gutierrez, hosted our End-of-the-Year Luncheon on May 4. The luncheon gave us an opportunity to celebrate our employees for completing a successful academic year and honored all our retirees as well as employees reaching service years from 5 to 40. Each area office donated an opportunity basket, which employees vied for through a raffle. It was a great time together and we are grateful for the energy boost to help us complete the semester on a positive note. May the Fourth Be with You!
Reyna Grande, author of our 2021 book club selection, The Distance Between Us, discussed her new novel, A Ballad of Love and Glory, with LA Times writer, Jean Guerrero, at the Cypress Public Library on May 3 at 5:30 p.m. This artist talk was part of the Orange County Public Libraries Book Talk events.
Cypress College is again taking the lead in the number of STEM students admitted to the NASA ON CAMPUS program. All 53 students who applied received their admissions emails this week, which is almost double any of the other 11 nationally recognized NASA minority-serving community colleges. Kudos to all our students and to Yanet Padilla and our STEM(2) staff for the ways they empower and support our students to excel.
The Cypress College Photography Department and the Edouard de Merlier Photography Gallery hosted the closing reception for the five student photo exhibits on display in the department. Also, on display was our Cypress College Art Gallery (CCAG) and our Student Art Show; both shows highlighted the talent of our student artists and we hope you can stop by to see the work before the semester ends. The show runs through May 12.
Chargers Athletics Update: We are happy to announce that Charger Baseball, Softball, Men’s Golf, and Beach Volleyball will be competing in the regional playoffs this year. Our journey to a state championship began on Tuesday, May 3 as Beach Volleyball hosted El Camino and San Diego Mesa in a round one playoff matchup. Baseball and Softball begin each of their opening round best-of three playoff series on Friday, May 6 with Baseball traveling to Mt. SAC and Softball set to host Imperial Valley College. Men’s Golf will tee-off at Olivas Links Golf Club in the 36-hole regional tournament on Monday, May 9. Officially, 13 of 14 Charger athletic programs have made playoff appearances in the 2021-22 season. Go Chargers!
Dr. Breland will be hosting Coffee with the Chancellor at Cypress College. Dr. Breland will be meeting with college employees on May 12 from 10 to 11 a.m. in CCCPLX-414. Thank you to our Chancellor for providing this opportunity for our employees to get to know him better and hear his vision for our District.
Our Transfer Center will be hosting its 16th annual Transfer Celebration on Wednesday, May 11 from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. This event honors all Cypress College students who will be transferring fall 2022. Please join us as we celebrate our outstanding students!
The Cypress College Dance Department will be presenting its end-of-the-year production, People In Motion. This year, in addition to our fabulous student performers, we have two staff members participating – Lesley Anne Loon from our Foundation and Steven Auger from DSS. Performance dates are: May 13 and 14 @ 7 p.m. and May 15 @ 4 p.m. in the Cypress College Campus Theater.
Please join us as we award nearly $400,000 in scholarships at the Cypress College Foundation Scholarships Awards Ceremony on May 13 at 3:30 p.m. This event, which honors the amazing accomplishments of our students, will be held on campus by the pond; we hope you will have the opportunity to join us! Thank you to all our donors for their generosity and support of our students. Register for the Scholarship Awards Ceremony.
Don’t forget to join us as we celebrate our 2022, 2021, and 2020 graduating scholars at our 55th annual Commencement on May 20 at 4 p.m. Please also join us for our President’s Pre-Commencement Reception at 2:30 p.m. in the new Student Life and Leadership Building, next to our Veterans Resource Center. Hope to see you there!
If you plan to attend any event, please let us know so we can provide details. It is a pleasure to celebrate our student accomplishments! Please join us!
Buen Cypress! We Take This Journey Together!