5 Things to Know Weekly Update
Dear Colleagues:
I’ve been thinking a lot about Zack Hope and his passing last week, both remembering him and considering how to move forward as a college. I know that many of you have been grieving in your own ways. Some of us have met his parents and niece, and rest assured that we will distribute information about any family memorial service and also plan one of our own. I have never been at a college where a current employee passed away on campus, and it seems only right to have a remembrance here. While we prepare that, please take a moment to check in on our colleagues most directly involved – including Business Office folks, Public Safety and VP Hicks. EAP will return to campus for individuals or groups who would like to meet with them – we will send information soon – and EAP can be contacted by anyone at any time. Remember to take care of yourselves and each other, and be well.
Meridith
As it happens, VP Hicks and I had met earlier last week to discuss the upcoming academic year and the schedule of safety trainings (Shake Out, fire drills, CPR, etc.). We are welcoming our Weekend and Evening Operations Manager, Vincent Hernandez, next week, and he will be the point person for continuing safety training with Uyen Tran and Erin Craig.
In the meantime, it would be helpful for all of us to ensure that we have the Public Safety number programmed on our phones (it’s already on the office phones) and to locate the AED in your building -- taking five minutes this week to find the one nearest you would be time well spent.
Having said that, I have to commend VP Hicks for the speed at which he retrieved the AED last week – no more than 60 seconds. The goal in each building should be a minute or two. And Business Office folks also acted as quickly as possible to call 911.
On a happier note, plans are progressing very well for Kickoff Day on August 20, thanks to frontman Ben Olague and his committee. This year will focus on introducing students to campus resources and faculty, and many faculty have already indicated that they will participate – the more, the merrier! And parents are specifically invited this year, too.
We had the new group of Early College Academy students, our project with Los Amigos High School, on campus last Friday – 70 bright-eyed entering 9th graders who look to be about 10 years old, but that’s just my perspective. They were introduced to the College and encouraged to make use of the many resources, and also received IDs. Thanks to Harry, Teresa, Lauren and everyone who helped out.
Last Monday, VP Hicks and I attended the grand opening of Coastline’s Competency-Based Education (CBE), which I would describe as “Calbright but actually effective”. They will be working out the details for a while and our faculty can take a look and see if we would like to eventually have our own program.
CBE can be an excellent way for working adults to leverage their current work skills to move more quickly toward a degree at their own pace. You can learn more about Coastline's CBE program, called Pace+, on their website.
This week, the Executive Team will have its annual retreat on Wednesday at OCC to plan and find ways to improve how we work together. Other than that, I’ll be on campus throughout the week, primarily getting in the way of Jen KG, Lauren and Greg Parks cleaning up the ISER for final submission to ACCJC.
Our Autism program was recently recognized by UCLA's Tarjan Center in their Access Newsletter. The feature highlighted GWC's autism support program, CAP, which has grown from a small student meeting in 2014 into a thriving, student-informed community serving 180 students through weekly gatherings and peer-led support.
Congrats to the entire DSPS team for their hard work supporting our students with special needs.
