San Diego Community College District

Special Report to the Public:

Geysil Arroyo

Trustee Geysil Arroyo reported that she was able to enjoy some vacation since the last meeting and is ready to go for the new academic year.

Mary Graham

Trustee Mary Graham welcomed everyone to the fall semester and said she is happy to have students back. She reported that she presented on tutoring during the July Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Curriculum Institute in Pasadena.

Craig Milgrim

Trustee Craig Milgrim reported that the work done to bring college into the name of San Diego College of Continuing Education and the addition of a student trustee there helped earn the college a place with the Student Senate of the California Community Colleges, making the college the 117th member.

Dr. Maria Nieto Senour

Trustee Maria Nieto Senour reported that she attended a Workforce Diversity Data presentation by Chancellor Gregory Smith on August 21, and she encouraged others to attend the presentations at the individual colleges.

Gregory Smith

Chancellor Gregory Smith reported that Trustee Bernie Rhinerson was absent to attend the Democratic National Convention, where outside the event he was approached by former Mesa College Student Trustee Roberto Rosas who filled him in on life since leaving the SDCCD, including attending SDSU and earning a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge in England before taking a job in Washington, D.C., as the director of Global Advocacy at the Institute of Internal Auditors. Chancellor Smith commented that the start of the year is the best, seeing thousands of students step foot on campuses across the District and the energy at the August 15 credit college Convocations. He shared his report with Mesa College President Ashanti T. Hands who recognized the coaching staff and players of the State Championship winning Women’s Volleyball team. Chancellor Smith reported that the City College Arts – Humanities – Business – Technology (AHBT) Quad, designed by RNT Architects, was recognized with a 2024 American Institute of Architects (AIA) San Diego Design Award, and congratulated District Architect Lance Lareau, Vice Chancellor Joel Peterson, and everyone involved in the design. He also recognized the efforts of SDCCD Police Officers who have helped individuals experiencing mental health issues with appropriate health agencies, and who ensure safety across all campuses. He noted the College Police Advisory Committee will meet in September.

Chancellor Smith reported that Senate Bill 895 (Roth), which would establish a pilot program for community colleges to offer a baccalaureate in nursing, was amended by the Senate Appropriations Committee to reduce the pilot from 15 districts to 10, and added it continues to be a high priority of advocacy for the District. He said AB 2093 (Santiago) was passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, to expand the California College Promise Grant to include baccalaureate degree programs and provide tuition waivers to qualifying students. He thanked City College President Ricky Shabazz for his op-ed in The San Diego Union-Tribune on August 21 to advocate for the importance of SB 1348 (Bradford) to establish Black-Serving Institution designation for colleges with at least 10% of students, or 1,500 total, identifying as Black. Chancellor Smith said the credit colleges have increased dual enrollment FTES by over 40% since the start of the pandemic, and he reported that there are ongoing issues with implementation of the revised FAFSA, which has resulted in a 16% decrease in completed applications across California leading the District to begin evaluating potential financial impact on total revenue due to possible decreased funding.

Hailey Hua

Student Trustee Hailey Hua reported that the credit colleges held fall Convocations on August 15, during which at City College the Golden Apple Awards were added and voted on by students to recognize the efforts of select professionals on campus, and at Mesa College the theme Ignite Your Light! helped celebrate 60 years of excellence. She said Miramar College also hosted Jets Jump Start to bring new and incoming students resources and a chance to learn more about the majors offered at the college. Student Trustee Hua reported College of Continuing Education held several Enroll Fest activities to bring campus resources and community partners together to support enrollment for students and their families.

BOARD ACTIONS

At its regular meeting of August 22, 2024, which was conducted in-person, with online participation available, the Board of Trustees:

Reported from Closed Session that the Board has completed its formal evaluation of the chancellor.

- Heard public comment from Ron Zieber, Erica Zhang, Zoe Adler, and Mary I. Toste who addressed the board in support of a 32-hour workweek; and Chris Chandler who provided a brief description of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges. City College Academic Senate (AS) President Mona Alsoraimi reported two inaugural events will be held by the Academic Senate including a luncheon and training to discuss such topics as artificial intelligence and dual enrollment, and a Senate Leadership Panel on September 9; she said she expects a busy and productive year ahead. Mesa College AS President Andrew Hoffman said the start of the fall semester is just as much smile season as the end of spring and noted the high energy on campus with students being back in classrooms; and he is looking forward to the coming year. He said Mesa College hosted a Welcome Week with a variety of resources available to students. Over the summer Mesa College AS donated $1,500 to the Joyce Hamilton Memorial Scholarship for Student Parents and received a letter of acknowledgement from Director, Development and Entrepreneurship Krista Stellmacher. He reported that last week there was an AS retreat where AI, assessment and outcomes, and campus safety were discussed. Miramar College AS President Pablo Martin shared that it is nice to be back as AS president and agreed it feels like smile season with the electric energy on campus. He said Miramar College hosted a two-day Welcome Back Resource Fair during the first week of the semester, and a Jets Jump Start orientation the week prior. He said the AS and greater campus community will continue moving forward with work related to the theme of Creating a Community of Care and Making the Invisible Visible. After several presentations, the AS is ready to put together a budget and resource allocation workgroup across constituencies. He reported that, with the support of Acting Vice Chancellor Aimee Gallagher and Vice Chancellor Susan Topham, he is looking forward to the college being able to pay students for the work that they do serving on campus committees. He said it is important to prioritize and center students in all work, and he commented that challenges with a new single sign-on system plagued students at the start of the semester, which pulled focus away from that goal. He reported exciting things to come at Miramar College including a bachelor’s degree program in public safety management launching in fall 2025 and, along with new sports programs this semester, the addition of men’s soccer in the fall 2025.

- Conducted the first reading of Board Policy: BP 1200 District Mission, and a Chapter 6 – Business and Financial Services Board Policy with approval to proceed with the next steps of review.

- Reviewed the results the Board of Trustees’ self-evaluation for 2023-24 and set goals for 2024-25. The Board members thanked all who participated in providing feedback regarding the Board’s performance and accomplishments as they continue to evaluate their accomplishments of the last year.

- Authorized an agreement with healthcare agencies for use of clinical facilities by students enrolled in District health occupation programs.

- Following a public hearing, adopted the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) Dual Enrollment Partnership Agreements with the San Diego Unified School District.

- Authorized the designation of September 17, 2024, as Constitution Day at City, Mesa, Miramar, and Continuing Education colleges.

- Adopted the 2023-2024 memorandum of understanding with Altus Affiliated Schools (The Charter School of San Diego) to continue the dual enrollment agreement with Miramar College.

- Authorized agreements with the Foundation for Grossmont-Cuyamaca Colleges for the Regional Strong Workforce Program (SWP) City College, Mesa College, and the District Office; with Navy Command for vocational training conducted by the San Diego College of Continuing Education Foundation’s Employee Training Institute; and with Rady's Children's Hospital to provide funding for testing fees and expenses for high school students in College Of Continuing Education Healthcare Career Programs.

- Accepted grants from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) for additional African American Male Education Network Development (A2MEND) funding City College and College of Continuing Education and for the Puente Campus Programs at City College; the National Science Foundation for Miramar College to develop a zero-emission vehicle initiative; the NASA Minority University Research and Education Programs for Miramar College to fund a series of events aimed at increasing and encouraging minority and disproportionately impacted student groups to engage in STEM; and the California Department of Social Services for the operation of Child Development Centers at City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges.

- Authorized the transfer of funds between San Diego Adult Education Regional Consortium member agency College of Continuing Education to San Diego Unified School District for the California Adult Education Program (CAEP).

- Awarded contracts to KWALL LLC for the redesign of College of Continuing Education's website; to Kelly Spicers Stores for Reprographic and Specialty Paper.

- Received a quarterly report of the budgeted expenses to actuals.

- Approved the removal of Rebekah Hook-Held and Dean Aragoza from the Trustee Advisory Council (TAC) with appreciation for their advice and support.

- Heard a final update on the emergency action taken on the Miramar College transformer.

- Approved purchase orders and contracts completed during July 2024; the District’s Report of Participation in the San Diego County Investment Pool; ratification of reformatted salary schedules for calendar year 2024; and various personnel actions including the certification of short-term personnel service effective on or after August 23, 2024.