5 Things to Know Weekly Update
Dear Colleagues,
First, an apology for missing the Classified Breakfast this morning – we had a Chancellor’s Cabinet meeting with some important agenda items. However, I was happy to be there for the Classified Dinner for the swing shift/night crew, at which Stephanie Martinez beat us all in ‘80s trivia (with help from Chris Geddes). We are counting down the days until August 26 and it’s bound to be very busy, so take a breath, take a walk and take time to thank your colleagues for their help as we get ready for students.
Meridith
Last Friday, we had a fantastic professional development day with Dr. Gina Garcia, all about better serving our Hispanic students (now 34% of our enrollment). She was so good that I’ve asked her to come back when faculty are on contract to speak to them as well – stay tuned. Thank you to VP Lee, Student Services and the SOMOS team, who made the venue and day very special. You can view photos of the event here.
Since we are almost into fall semester (which always seems to end about 2 weeks after it starts), some reminders of big projects that involve us all:
- First, our next Accreditation self-study will be drafted this fall and vetted through committees and the campus generally.
- Second, we will prepare our next Strategic Plan to start in 2025-26 and evaluate progress on our current one.
- Third, we need to revise our 2030 Facilities Plan, which was created pre-pandemic and needs to be rethought prior to any possible bond measure.
Is that enough? 😊 And of course, we are all busy with our regular jobs, too, so please contribute your efforts to these as you can.
Finally, a reminder of a HUGE effort that goes on every summer and connects us with the community (I might get as many questions in public about the swim program as I do about the rest of the college!). Danny Johnson provided this summary and photo: Golden West College wrapped up their second season back offering swim lessons to the community after a 3-year shut down due to COVID. This year Golden West Swim Lessons had over 2,600 swim lesson registrations in their 6-weeks of operation. A huge shout out to Kim Blair and the athletic staff for putting on such an amazing program for the community. Golden West has been providing swim instruction for residents of Orange County since 1983. Since that time, Golden West has become the premier spot in Orange County to receive quality swim instruction. All instructors have received extensive water instruction and are American Red Cross certified in Lifeguarding, First Aid and CPR. Classes are offered for all ages (infant – adult), see you on the pool deck next summer!
