President Schilling’s Board Report for April 11, 2023
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 11, 2023
As we enter the celebratory portion of this academic year, Cypress has found important ways to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of our students. Our #CYProud series of student profiles has been an important means of celebrating students who epitomize the Cypress College core values, elevating the storytelling of the college’s commitment to journey together with each and every one of our students. Faculty and staff were able to nominate deserving students through April 3 for this important recognition, and we will soon be announcing our 2023 #CYProud participants, along with the nine 2023 Presidential Scholars of Distinction who will lead their respective pathways at commencement. We are thrilled to acknowledge the accomplishments of our amazing students.
During the week of April 10-14, please stop by the Cypress College Art Gallery to see our Artist-in-Residence, the Phantom Street Artist, as they work on an installation that features 18th century casta paintings and disrupts their scientific racism with images of contemporary Latinx and LGBTQ+ family, love, and activism. A reception will be held on Thursday, April 13 from 6-8 p.m. when the completed work will be unveiled. Please join us!
On March 27, our Business Club featured a special employer session featuring recruiters from Marcum LLP – one of the top 15 Accounting Firms in California. The event featured Joanne Quach, recruiter for Marcum LLP, and Daniella Martinez, a student intern for Marcum LLP, led with a discussion about careers in accounting at their four offices in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, San Francisco, and San Jose. Thank you to faculty member, Anne Sheridan-Solis, who organized this event for students to learn about the opportunities for internships with this company.
On April 5, the college sponsored a Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Gateway Plaza. Featured were over 40 employers across disciplines, an opportunity to visit our new Career Closet, resume building workshops, professional photos for uploading on social media and on job search engines, and the chance to network with future employers. Workshops on April 3-4 were also available to help prepare students for navigating the career fair and how to network. Thank you to our Career Center staff, led by Angela Sardan, and to CTE Career Coach Melissa Carpenter for organizing this important event.
Our Associated Students hosted our first Faculty vs. Student Softball Game on April 3 from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. at the Cypress College softball field. Sixteen faculty and over twenty students participated in a tightly contested game. The faculty led throughout the game until the final inning, when our students pulled ahead to win 13-12. Thank you to everyone who participated. Go Chargers!
Our 8th annual Yom HaShoah will be held on April 26 at 7 p.m. in our Campus Theater. You don’t want to miss this moving evening. Tickets are selling fast; we encourage you to register now if you plan on attending. This year’s featured speaker will be Joe Alexander, a 100-year-old survivor of 12 concentration camps. Although general admission tickets are free, special VIP tickets are available with a donation to our Holocaust Education Fund, which is raising funds to begin docent-led tours of the Ursula Lowenbach Foster Memorial Portraiture Gallery. For more details or to register, please visit our Yom HaShoah webpage.
On April 7, Cypress College held our spring Leadership Team meeting with over 80 participants attending, including department coordinators, affinity group leaders, managers and the Executive Team. Topics included Chat GPT (with an interesting presentation by Amir Dabirian, Vice President of Technology at CSUF), data on transfer and completion, and Guided Pathways. Thank you to our attendees and to Bryan Ventura, Eileen Haddad, Liana Koeppel, and Brady Miller-Wakeham for presenting.
Also on April 7, Dr. Schilling presented at the Rio Hondo Leadership Academy on the importance of implementing DEIA work on our campuses. Dr. Schilling focused on the work we have been doing at NOCCCD and Cypress College and why this work must go beyond the performative to real action and implementation. Dr. Schilling and Foundation Executive Director Howard Kummerman served on the steering committee of this leadership academy in 2010, and she was honored to be asked back to speak.
Cypress College will be hosting the annual Live Your Dream Awards presentation for the Soroptimist Club of Cypress on April 27. This annual scholarship awards presentation features annual awards of over $5000 given by our local club to deserving students. We are grateful for the generosity of our local Soroptimists who give each year to our EOPS students to ensure better futures and transfer opportunities for women.
We are proud to announce that student Alexandra Rojas has been accepted for an internship in Governor Newsom’s office this spring and summer. Alexandra, who was also our featured speaker at Americana this year, will begin her work in mid-April through July. Student trustee Kisha Mehta was accepted for this prestigious internship last fall. We are thrilled to be asked to participate again and hope this will continue to be a regular placement for our deserving students to learn about government and how state politics work. We are proud of Alexandra!
Please join us for our Earth Week activities the week of April 17-22. Sponsored by the Sustainability Committee and the Wellness Collaborative, the week’s activities will feature a panel discussion on Wednesday, April 19 at 2 p.m., followed by a screening of The Seeds of Vandana Shiva on Thursday, April 20 at 5:30 p.m., and a Beach Cleanup at Bolsa Chica State Beach on Friday, April 21.
Please Save the Date for our upcoming Hall of Fame celebration, where twelve new inductees will be admitted into our Charger Hall of Fame. This event will be held on May 11 at 5 p.m. in our campus gym. For more information, please see below for the Class of 2023!
Buen Cypress! We Take This Journey Together!