5 Things to Know Weekly Update
Dear Colleagues,
July already – and a little less than two months until Fall 2024 begins. The VPs and I have a list of “must get dones” before fall, and I’m betting many of you do as well. I know that the Financial Aid team is working hard on getting financial aid packaged for students after a disastrous federal rollout – many thanks to Adrienne, Andrea and the Financial Aid team Berlin, Erica, Jodi, Victoria, Tina, Thanh, Calvin, Mark, Neer, Lani and Nga. In the meantime, summer is going well and this week slows down for the July 4th holiday on Thursday. If you are in HB, you are welcome to walk in the parade with us – just contact Andrea Rangno for details! Make sure to have some fun this week with friends and family wherever you are.
Meridith
Both Kay Nguyen and Martie Ramm Engle return to their previous roles this month, as Dean of Arts and Letters and Theater faculty respectively. I could not be more grateful to them for stepping up to help the College in its transition, and they both did excellent work. Thank you both so much! Danny Johnson will remain as Acting Dean of Math and Science until August with Tim Bremen as Acting Athletic Director – I will provide more information about these positions as it becomes available.
We continue to hire for the next couple of months: a Facilities Coordinator, Evening and Weekend Supervisor for Public Safety, Temporary FT faculty in Automotive and Cosmetology to name a few. We are getting close to closing the books on 23-24, and if it’s looking good, we still have some new classified positions that were ranked last spring and that I would like to fill if possible (one or two). Once again, stay tuned.
In the California legislature, a bill is moving forward that would (finally) allow community colleges in the state to offer nursing bachelor’s degrees. This has been a fight for almost 20 years and would be monumental if it passes. Because we have a superior ADN program, we would like to be chosen as one of the first, with the assumption that the state will provide additional resources. To that end, Board President Dr. Prinsky and Dr. Martanegara recently published an Op Ed in the LA Times – you can read it HERE. Crossing our fingers.
In our continuing effort to be more of a presence in the community, we have some billboards going up this summer and will be sponsoring a concert in Seal Beach on July 31and the Taste of Huntington Beach on August 25. Our promotions team – Kristin, Greg, Ben, Reid, Dave and Danielle, led by Andrea Rangno – has been very active to make sure that we reach our enrollment goals next year. So far, fall is looking fairly strong, and we will know more in a few weeks.
As I mentioned before, I am off to Utah, Iowa and North Carolina at the end of this week (the typical vacation choices 😊), returning to campus on July 17. I will be checking email obsessively, as usual, so don’t hesitate to contact me. In the meantime, VPs Lee and Hicks will have everything under control.