SDCCD : Board Report: June 10, 2021

Press release from San Diego Community College District:

June 11, 2021

Special Report to the Public: 

Trustee Geysil Arroyo welcomed the new student trustees. She said that she attended
the Classified Professionals Award ceremonies at the colleges; saw the unveiling of
the new mural featuring Chancellor Constance M. Carroll at City College; and saw some
of the commencement programs and congratulated those who graduated. Trustee Arroyo
also attended her first in-person event as a Board member for the June 3 grand opening
of the City College Child Development Center, which was the 43rd and last new building
from the Propositions S and N program, and she said it was a pleasure to meet people
in person. She also thanked Chancellor Constance M. Carroll for her service and said
it was a pleasure to work with her, even for a short time.

Trustee Mary Graham said that she watched the virtual National Conference on Race
and Ethnicity (NCORE), May 31 through June 4, and thought of Academic Senate President Manuel
Velez and his message for the inclusion of ethnic study requirements in the college
curriculum. She also welcomed the new student trustees, and said she looks forward
to meeting them in person. Trustee Graham requested a call for advocacy in relation
to SANDAG’s San Diego Forward transportation plan and asked that people express support
to raise the youth-pass age limit from 18- to 24-years of age. Trustee Graham thanked
Chancellor Carroll for her service to the District.

Trustee Craig Milgrim welcomed the new Student Trustees, and said that he has already
worked with Student Trustee Edward Borek and is looking forward to working with others
over the next year. He said that he attended the Classified Professional Awards ceremonies and
commented that his 26 years teaching at Grossmont College were only possible with
the help of classified employees and that he has a great appreciation for their contributions.
Trustee Milgrim, who had the Pride flag displayed as his Zoom background, shared that
it is Pride Month, and he said he is happy that a new Pride flag has been adopted
to include Queer people, people of color, and the trans community. He said that he
echoed comments from Academic Senate President Manuel Velez for the inclusion of an ethnic
studies graduation requirement, and that he hoped those lessons could be infused into
other areas of study, as well. Trustee Milgrim thanked Chancellor Carroll and said
that one of the reasons he decided to run for his position on the Board was because
he wanted an opportunity to work with her, and said that he couldn’t express enough
gratitude for what she’s achieved during her tenure.

Trustee Bernie Rhinerson congratulated and welcomed the new Student Trustees. He said
that he will miss Chancellor Carroll, and said that his eight years on the board have
been some of the best in his life for enriching his understanding of public and higher
education. He said that he looks forward to interacting with Chancellor Carroll in
the future, especially in her work with the California Community College Baccalaureate
Association, but also said he hoped she will enjoy some fun and relaxation, too.

Trustee Maria Nieto Senour requested an informal discussion on when to start having
Board Meetings in person again. Consensus was that the District should plan to make
this transition at the September 9 Board meeting. Trustee Senour pointed out that
all of the Board Members were wearing shirts that depicted the new City College mural
that was unveiled on May 26 and paid tribute to Chancellor Carroll, who served the
district for 28 years, including 11 years as Mesa College President and 17 years as
Chancellor. She said that she respects Chancellor Carroll and will miss her ability
to be calm and measured while dealing with the complexities of the system. TrusteeSenour
and the other Board Members presented Chancellor Carroll with a plaque in honor of
her leadership.

Chancellor Constance Carroll reported that three bills sponsored by the San Diego
Community College District have passed out of the California Assembly and will soon
be heard in the Senate, beginning next week with the Senate Education Committee. The
bills are: AB 927 (Medina) to expand community college baccalaureate programs; AB
421 (Ward) to use the Census Date for certain noncredit courses; and AB 576 (Maienschein)
to allow community colleges to collect apportionment funding for courses taught on
military bases. The District is also closely monitoring the progress of the state
budget negotiations and is continuing to provide advocacy to include funding for full-time
faculty positions and adjunct faculty support, more funding for the base budget, and
other priorities. The Chancellor reported that the College Police Review Task Forcehas
completed its work, with a report and recommendations that will shortly be disseminated
to the entire districtwide community. The Chancellor shared her report with Miramar
College President Wes Lundburg who introduced the college’s new Vice President of
Instruction, Dr. Michael Odu. Dr. Carroll ended her report by noting that this is
her last Board meeting before retirement and that she has greatly enjoyed her work
with the Board of Trustees, the administrators, the faculty and classified professionals,
and the student leaders throughout the District. She said that the District has a
bright future and that she will continue to support the District and Colleges in her
new role as President and CEO of the California Community College Baccalaureate Association.

Student Trustee Natalia Trinh expressed, along with Miramar College Student Trustee Edward
Borek, gratitude for being elected as Associated Student Government President and
Student Trustee at their respective colleges, and both are looking forward to transitioning
back to in-person classes soon. She reported on various student activities districtwide,
including that Miramar College held multiple graduation celebrations, including “carmencement”
graduation ceremonies, virtual commencement, and a lavender graduation for LGBTQ+
students hosted by Club Spectrum. At City College, she reported that the ASG is in
the process of sending out gift cards to students who bought ASG memberships; and
thanked Vice President of Student Services Denise Whisenhunt for her dedication and
support of the ASG. She reported that the San Diego College of Continuing Education
had successful drive-thru and virtual commencement celebrations, and the ASG thanked
President Carlos O. Turner Cortez for his leadership and support of students at the
college ahead of taking on his new role as Chancellor of the District. At Mesa College,
she said while students have faced many challenges this past year, they also have
endured and persevered, which was on display during the college’s June 4 graduation car
parade. She said the Mesa College ASG has a resolution in progress to support Asian
and Pacific Islander Americans (APIA), and has been collaborating with the Mesa 2030
task force to increase more support and have a more environmentally sustainable campus.
The ASG is also working with President Pam Luster on a campus reopening event, and
working with faculty on ways to decrease textbook costs.

At its regular meeting of May 13, 2021, which was conducted in a virtual format, the Board of
Trustees:

- Announced the following actions from Closed Session: unanimously approved the revised
contract for Chancellor-designate Carlos O. Turner Cortez to include a provision providing
for executive coaching during the term of contract; and adopted the 2020-2023 Resource
Allocation Formula Tentative Agreement (RAF) for the AFT Guild College & Continuing
Education Faculty and AFT Guild Classified Units, the AFT Guild Non-Academic Non Classified
Employees Unit, the Police Officers Association, the Management Association Unit,
the Supervisory & Professional Administrators Association, the Association of Confidential
Employees Unit, and the Executive Management Unit.

- Heard public comment from Michael Stewart who expressed concern for the cost of
TV commercials and advertisements promoting the upcoming fundraising gala being held
in honor of Chancellor Carroll in September, and in response Chancellor Carroll assured
the Board that this program was being held at no cost to taxpayers and that all funds raised
will go directly to students in the San Diego Promise Program; and City College student Ruby
Martinez who expressed concern for the SDCCD’s annual police budget and said she believed
there are other ways to protect students, including mental health services, and recommended
the money be reallocated to student scholarships, public transportation vouchers,
and other student support programs. Mesa College Academic Senate (AS) President Manuel
Velez shared that this is his last meeting as AS President and expressed his appreciation
to the Board of Trustees including Trustee Mary Graham, with whom he served on the
Chancellor Search subcommittee, vice chancellors and others at the District. Professor Velez
also urged establishment of an ethnic studies requirement which is gaining momentum
on a statewide basis and also at Mesa College where the AS recently passed a resolution
in support. He said it is also important for the District to provide resources needed
for ethnic studies including the hiring of faculty, who are now in high demand across
the state. Professor Velez ended his report saying he is looking forward to seeing what
the Board and new chancellor will do in the future.

- Administered the Oath of Office to Student Trustees: Natalia Trinh (Mesa College)
and Edward Borek (Miramar College), noting that the City College Student Trustee would
be selected in the fall.

- Adopted resolutions: the first to name the Arts and Humanities Building at San Diego
City College in honor of Constance M. Carroll, Ph.D., at the recommendation of the
Chancellor’s Cabinet, lead by Executive Vice Chancellor Bonnie Dowd and City College
President Ricky Shabazz, and the City College Governance Council; and the second honoring Chancellor
Carroll as the longest-serving Chancellor in the history of the San Diego Community
College District and for her many achievements by conferring her with the title “Chancellor
Emerita.”

- Following remarks by Chancellor Carroll and an in-depth report by Executive Vice
Chancellor Bonnie Dowd, approved the Tentative Budget for 2021-2022.  The total District
Budget of $878,671,851 includes income, appropriations, and expenses for all District
funds. The budget had been reviewed by the Board’s Budget Study and Audit Subcommittee
(Trustees Bernie Rhinerson and Craig Milgrim). 

- Approved the appointment of Dr. Michael Odu as Vice President of Instructional Services
at Miramar College.

- Adopted revisions to Chapter 5 – Student Services Board Policies (first reading),
including edits to BP 3000 Admission of College Students, BP 3102 Student Publications,
BP 3301 Nonresident Tuition, and BP 5035 Withholding of Student Records, following
comments by Vice Chancellor of Educational Services Susan Topham with approval to
proceed to the next step of review and approval.

- Heard a report on the Districtwide Honors Program 2020-2021 with comments by Vice
Chancellor of Educational Services Susan Topham, Dean Shelly Hess, and Miramar College
English Professor Carmen Carrasquillo Jay.

- Authorized an amendment to a Compensation Agreement in accordance with the City
of San Diego’s desire to move forward with the disposition of a Future Development
site property, commonly referred to as Valencia Business Park.

- Approved new or revised courses and programs following comments by Vice Chancellor
of Educational Services Susan Topham.

- Authorized agreements with health care agencies for use of clinical facilities by
students enrolled in District health occupations programs.

- Authorized travel of students from City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges, and the College
of Continuing Education for purposes of intercollegiate team competition, tournaments,
approved out of season competition, student leadership, academic program competition,
and related activities from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022; sabbatical leaves for
the 2021-2022 academic year; and applications for participation in the Reduced Workload/Early
Retirement Program.

- Entered into a subgrant agreement with Growth Sector for STEM Core at Mesa College.

- Entered into a subcontract agreement with San Diego State University, Department
of Education – Office of Postsecondary Education for Developing Effective Bilingual
Educators with Resources (DEBER) project at Mesa College to facilitate teacher education
for bilingual students pursuing an elementary or high school teaching credential.

- Accepted grants from the U.S. Department of Education for the Higher Education Emergency
Relief Fund III (HEERF III) authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021; and
from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office for the State Emergency
Financial Assistance program at City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges, and the College
of Continuing Education.

- Awarded contracts to Clearwing Systems Integration and DCJ Theatrical Lighting Inc.
for the purchase of upgraded theatre lighting and fixtures for the Saville Theatre
at City College; and to Kelly Paper for the purchase of reprographic specialty paper
products Districtwide; and authorized the amendment of existing contract with J.E.
Moore to add sustainability services relating to the Propositions S and N program.

- Approved purchase orders completed during the month of April 2021; and various personnel
actions including the certification of short-term personnel service effective on or
after June 11, 2021.

This press release was produced by San Diego Community College District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.