Special Report To The Public:
Geysil Arroyo
Trustee Geysil Arroyo emphasized the need to vote in the November 5 election.
Mary Graham
Trustee Mary Graham thanked City College and all public speakers during the campus presentation. She also commended Student Trustee Dalia Ramirez for her words.
Craig Milgrim
Trustee Craig Milgrim recognized that, along with Latino/a/e Heritage Month, October is also LGBTQIA+ History Month and Filipino Heritage Month, and specifically, October 8 was International Lesbian Day and October 11 is Coming Out Day. He said he was glad to see a designated Classified Senate representative for the first time during the public comment.
Bernie Rhinerson
Trustee Bernie Rhinerson said that he attended his first Mesa College football game. He reported that he attended a City College student government meeting to speak about Measure HH; while there, he learned about the push to get students out to vote, and thanked Student Trustee Ramirez for the invitation. He said the campaign website for Measure HH, the District’s facilities bond on the local ballot, is sdforcommunitycolleges.org and in the coming weeks a marketing push will include mailers, commercials, and text messages to voters. Additionally, he thanked City College Dean of Nursing Dee Armstrong, students, City College Professor David Kennemer who signed the ballot argument, the college and District foundations, partners in labor, various companies around San Diego who stepped up to support the campaign, and his Board colleagues who have attended various meetings and spoke on behalf of the initiative.
Dr. Maria Nieto Senour
Trustee Maria Nieto Senour encouraged all to vote in November, calling this election the most consequential of her lifetime.
Gregory Smith
Chancellor Gregory Smith reported that Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1348 to allow for a Black Student Serving Institution designation, a threshold which City College meets, but due to language the bill puts into question the designation for Mesa College or College of Continuing Education (SDCCE). He said, disappointingly, the governor vetoed SB 895 for nursing baccalaureate programs in California Community Colleges. Advocacy efforts now shift toward budget including funding for those unfunded FTES in dual enrollment programs across the state, and towards Proposition 2 for a statewide school facilities bond, which is in additional to Measure HH. He advocated for everyone to register to vote ahead of the October 21 deadline and vote on or before November 5.
Chancellor Smith thanked the City College students, faculty, class professionals, administrators that came to talk to the board, and noted there were several routine consent calendar items that are not presented during the meeting, but are representative of a lot of really important work that goes on in the District. He recognized an item on the agenda that highlighted several events around Veterans Day in November, which he thanked the colleges for organizing. He recognized Miramar College President Wes Lundburg, who, along with Jerry Buckley at Reedley College, is working to establish an Aviation Alliance for all of California Community Colleges; as part of this process Miramar College recently hosted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to talk about funding opportunities and how to meet occupational needs across the state. Chancellor Smith thanked all of the colleges for hosting the Chancellor’s Fall Forums, which had a theme of “Imagine” and invited people to get into conversations without constraint. He said he visited the Undocumented Students Center at City College, where he was inspired to think about what more he could be doing, and at Mesa College he visited the Child Development Center and heard from faculty their vision of that space, and he attended the Dr. Barbara Blackmun fundraising event to celebrate the college’s World Arts Collection. He said at Miramar College he got to see its Automotive program and learned that District Architect Lance Lareau’s father was the architect of Child Development Center there, which if Measure HH funds will be included in the much-needed updates. He reported that at SDCCE he visited the EV program where he noticed the average age of enrolled students was over 40 years old, and he heard from several who were previously in the hospitality industry but came to learn a new skill that was more recession-proof. Chancellor Smith shared the District is fully covering the cost of all medical insurance plans without employee share of cost. Finally, he reported the Police Advisory Committee met but no action was taken due to absence of many members.
Dalia Ramirez
Student Trustee Dalia Ramirez said Latino/a/e Heritage Month is not just a celebration, but the identity of she and her family, as well. She said that as a first generation student, upward mobility is important to her, and she found a welcoming home at City College, thanked the Board, Chancellor Smith, and President Shabazz for their support. She also reported that City College has been hosting a series of Latinx Heritage Month activities for students, faculty, staff, and administration, and that all are encouraged to attend to celebrate and honor the community. She said on September 25, the Mesa College Associated Students collaborated with the Mental Health Services and Athletics department to hold a Pep Rally to celebrate student-athletes; Miramar College hosted a Club Rush and will have a community Latinx Heritage Month celebration that will include Mariachi; and that SDCCE hosted a panel called Empowered Voices comprised of Latinx leaders within the California Community Colleges system.
BOARD ACTIONS
At its regular meeting of October 10, 2024, which was conducted in-person, with online participation available, the Board of Trustees.
- Announced the following actions from Closed Session: approved the termination of the employment of a classified employee at San Diego Community College District, as required under Section 88013(b) of the California Education Code. The Board also voted in open session to implement the termination of the employment of a classified employee at College of Continuing Education, as required under Section 88013(b) of the California Education Code.
- Conducted a campus meeting in a hybrid format with San Diego City College that included a land acknowledgement by John Bathke, welcome remarks from President Ricky Shabazz, Vice President of Instruction Tille Chavez, Vice President of Administrative Services John Parker, Vice President of Student Services Marciano Perez, Academic Senate President Mona Alsoraimi, Classified Senate President Sean Ryan, Supervisory and Professional Administrators Association Site Director Daniel Gonzalez, and Associated Students Government President Dalia Ramirez. Presentations included a video on “What is Your Why?"; an update on the STEM Pathways Program by Heather McGray and students Sabrina Guarin and Jose Segura; Yo Soy STEM Summer Bridge program by Claudia Diaz-Carrasco and student Karin Angel; HACU Spain by Ismael Carrillo and students Santiago Martinez Duarte, Filsian Jama, and Rosa Zamora; a video and comments about the recent trip to Ghana featuring professor Darius Spearman, Facilities employee Jackie Bonner, and student Na'Dia Raines; Fresh Cutz Barbershop by Michael Brown, Barber Larry Jackson, and Student Melvin Emery III; a video about the Professional Learning Center with comments by Marco Anzures and Elva Salinas; Cyber Security, “Hacked” by David Kennemer and students Alex Lopez and Jayden Jean; and closing remarks by President Shabazz.
- Heard public comment from Javier Flores and Andrea Vasquez who advocated for funding for the City College Sustainable Urban Agriculture program, including the campus SEEDs @ City farm and orchard; Purita Javier and Cesar Javier who addressed the Board on concerns about ceramics emissions; Alison Mona, Terri Jackson, and Dena Prater who advocated for the 32-hour workweek; and Daniel Villegas who advocated for the support of and access to music programs. City College Academic Senate (AS) President Mona Alsoraimi reported that the AS would like to forge better relationships with the SDCCD Police and is currently focused on the proposed deployment of tasers. She continued that the AS is exploring AI and the opportunity to look at its prompts and decolonize our classroom. The AS is also working on reshaping its parliamentary procedures including creating its own procedures. Mesa College AS President Andrew Hoffman reported that October 10 was Transfer Day with over 40 universities on campus. Latino/a/e Heritage Month concludes with a poetry reading and workshop on October 16. The college recently hosted Chancellor Smith as well as Vice Chancellors Dan Troy and Jared Burns at the Chancellor’s Forum. He shared that AB 1705 continues to be an area of concern, especially how it is being implemented. Miramar College AS President Pablo Martin shared that Miramar AS has expressed unanimous support on adding a Puente program to the college. He said the college has an active adjunct – or contingent faculty – community, a term they prefer, and that the curriculum report is now closer to the front of AS meetings, ensuring that more information is shared. He reported that the college’s Equity Summit was last Friday and was excellent. He concluded by thanking Chancellor Smith for his eye-opening presentation on workforce diversity. College of Continuing Education AS President Richard Weinroth said that some of the reasons SDCCE partners with City College are because of the strong baccalaureate program and programs that are attractive to its students. He reported the college participated in the Noncredit Summit in Anaheim October 3-4. In addition, Latino/a/e Heritage Month events are being held. City College Classified Senate President Sean Ryan, representing all four colleges who each expressed thanks for the opportunity to be included, reported that work at College of Continuing Education is being done for onboarding activities and increasing student scholarship opportunities. He said that at Miramar College, priorities lay in engagement and participation, cross constituency collaboration, professional development, and advocating for classified professionals, including the creation of a task force to identify barriers to employee work. He said a budget processing workgroup with AS President Martin was created to learn more about the process and to identify room for improvement, and to define professional development and advocate for more funds in support of activities.
- Conducted the first reading of a Chapter 3 – General Institution Board Policy with approval to proceed with the next steps of review.
- Appointed Trustees Bernie Rhinerson and Geysil Arroyo as the Board’s voting delegates and Trustee Maria Nieto Senour as alternate to the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Leadership Congress on October 23-26, 2024, and nominated members for election to the ACCT Board of Directors, including Richard Fukutaki, Bellevue College, WA, for Regional Director; Carol Del Carlo, Nevada System of Higher Education, NV; Tim Hardy, Louisiana Community & Technical College System, LA; and Vivian Malauulu, Long Beach City College, CA for Director-At-Large; and Sharmila Swenson, Highline College, WA for Pacific Region Diversity Committee.
- Approved new or revised courses and programs following comments by Vice Chancellor Susan Topham.
- Authorized an agreement with healthcare agencies for use of clinical facilities by students enrolled in District health occupation programs; and accepted the 2023-24 Program Self-Evaluation (PSE) for the Child Development Centers at City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges.
- Heard a report from Chancellor Smith on districtwide 2024 Veterans Day activities.
- Authorized student travel for a Mesa College student the Strengthening Student Success Conference in Garden Grove California from October 8-11, 2024.
- Accepted grants from the US Department of Education for Upward Bound and Title III Hispanic-Serving Institution Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at City College; and from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) for the for the Middle College High School program partnership with East Village Middle College High School (EVMCHS) and City College; for the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Student Achievement Program (AANHPI SAP) as City College; and for the African American Male Education Network Development (A2MEND) and UMOJA at Mesa College.
- Authorized agreements with the Foundation for Grossmont-Cuyamaca Colleges for the Regional Strong Workforce Program (SWP) For the Career Navigation project at City College and the Credit for Prior Learning project at Mesa College.
- Accepted grants from the California Youth Leadership Corps for the Community Learning Partnership at City College; Chico State Enterprises for the Basic Needs Center CalFresh Outreach at City College; Santa Clarita Community College District for Innovation and Effectiveness at College of Continuing Education; and the California Department of Rehabilitation for the districtwide Cooperative WorkAbility III program.
- Adopted a resolution to increase an established change fund from $500 to $10,000 for the Centre City Co-Curricular Revolving Cash Fund.
- Approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the San Diego College of Continuing Education Foundation (SDCCEF) In relation to the 2023 community project funding/congressionally directed spending grant.
- Authorized agreements with the California Department of Social Services and the California Department of Education for Child Development programs at City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges.
- Awarded contracts to Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP for bond counsel services; to Jones Hall for disclosure counsel services; to KNN Public Finance, LLC, for municipal advisor services; and to CCS Fundraising Inc. for fundraising campaigns consulting services.
- Authorized the use of Vi at La Jolla Village as an off-campus facility by College of Continuing Education.
- Approved purchase orders and contracts completed during September 2024; and various personnel actions including the certification of short-term personnel service effective on or after October 11, 2024.