5 Things to Know Weekly Update
Dear Colleagues,
This week brings some post-election questions and possible anxiety from students, although we will not know the answers to important issues like the future of the Department of Education for a while (this affects us through financial aid and accreditation). While I have concerns, I am moving forward as-is until we are certain of any changes, and being especially mindful if students need referral to counselors and/or mental health services. We are working on getting some information for our undocumented students and the District may be offering a session – I’ll pass along the details when they are settled. In the meantime, as always, take care of yourselves and if you are available at 11 a.m. today, please come to the Quad for a ceremony honoring our student-veterans and their service to this country and its freedoms.
Meridith
Last week I attended my first Colegas conference, which is a group dedicated to supporting and advancing Hispanic/Latinx students and employees. There were about 10 of us from GWC and the conference was more special being able to interact with colleagues. I attended sessions on becoming a stronger Hispanic-Serving Institution and supporting male scholars of color, among other topics. One of my (many) goals as President of our excellent College is to become a better ally and keep the needs of our diverse students at the top of my mind – and conferences like Colegas are helping with that.
Several of us also attended a regional Orange County meeting called by the state Chancellor to align our goals with the state’s Vision 2030 – which is focused on equitable outcomes in completion, transfer, and other measures. There were about 12 of us talking about initiatives like expanding dual enrollment and ZTC – in fact, the state Chancellor Sonya Christian was so impressed by our math department’s ZTC efforts that she gave them a special mention in her personal blog this week! In addition, I was able to report out to the group about “Golden Best College” – so feel free to call us “Golden Best” as much as you want. 😊
The ASGWC and IPD selected many faculty for Excellence Awards this month – they are Michelle Sambrano, Jimmy Nguyen and Denise Bon from Counseling; Amy Jennings, Jeanette Adame, Kyle Smith, Laura Duvall, Noah Levin, Herman Singh, Sunshine McClain and Mark Combs from the Social Science Division; Lindsay Lewis, Maryam Khakbazan, Gary Kirby, Edward Kang, Bill Nguyen, Travis Vail, Annamaria Crescimanno, Stephanie Tanio, MaryLynne LaMantia, Nam Vu, Nikki Plaster, Shatarupa Ray, Victor Kowalaski, Bud Benneman, James Almy, Kate Green, Mathew Shimazu and Matt Carlson from Math and Science; AJ Edmonds and Aleksandra Uchlik from Business and Career; Derrick Watkins and Mike McCarthy from CJ; Amy Rangel, Barbara Miyadi, Natalie Dalton, Phuong Nguyen, Berlynn Ching and Derrick Hernandez from Nursing; and Dawn Brooks, Heather Kelley, Keisha Cosand, Rachel Wegter, Paul Tayyar, Tammie Tran, Tiffany Ruggiero-Dilello; Carrie Ohm, Mike Tsai, Renee Scheys, Michelle Luster, and Tony Nguyen from Arts and Letters.
ALL of these faculty are very deserving and their students had wonderful things to say about them…..and the faculty NOT on this list are also doing great things in the classroom, but may not have had students who had the time to nominate them. Congratulations to all, and as Kate Green noted, “It is faculty like you who make GWC a better place.”
Some fun activities this week: Tom Amen’s latest play is underway, Inspecting Carol, and will continue through this weekend – I hear that Tim Mueller’s sets are impressive, as usual.
We also have Psych Day on Nov. 14, which will include a resource fair, therapy dogs and a keynote talk by Dr. Nancy Segal from Cal State Fullerton. Please encourage students to attend if you can.
Congratulations to our student-athletes are finishing their seasons with a conference title for men’s water polo; women’s water polo participating in the SoCal championships; and a try for the state championship for football, starting with a game against #1 Mt. SAC on Saturday. We also have the Patrons’ Movie Night on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. to raise funds for scholarships – hope to see some of you there.
Finally, as we continue our efforts to increase enrollment and reach potential students, the marketing and promotions department – Andrea, Kristen, Greg, Reid, Dave and Danielle – have been instrumental in providing professional and informational marketing materials – and they received four gold, one silver and two bronze awards for their efforts at the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations regional conference last week. You can read more about the recognition at the GWC Newsroom.
