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Weekly News Brief | September 2, 2022
From the Office of Chancellor Whitney Yamamura, Ed.D.
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To begin, my sincerest appreciation to the Board of Trustees and members of the search committee for entrusting me to serve as chancellor of the Coast Community College District. Thank you as well to Dr. Weispfenning for his warm welcome to the district. I wish him the best in his retirement.
I took on this role knowing that the Coast District is in a sound position with an excellent reputation on all fronts. Coastline College, Golden West College, and Orange Coast College are exemplars of equitable access to quality higher education. My intention is to help faculty, staff, and managers build from this powerful base as we create a bright future for our students.
Listening with the intention to understand will be my default mode. From my early days as a faculty member in economics, I have held a strong belief in John Stuart Mill's marketplace of ideas. This does not mean that the loudest voice is right. Rather, we should allow many voices to be freely heard in our participatory governance processes. If we are transparent in our reasoning, and open to doing things better, then we will make good choices.
As I have been warmly welcomed to the Coast District, so too have you provided a warm welcome to our students. It is exciting to see a large number of students on campus for the first time since 2020. Every academic year brings a wealth of new beginnings. I am glad to be sharing this new beginning with you.
With gratitude,
Whitney
Whitney Yamamura, Ed.D.
Chancellor
Please note that Monday, September 5, the District Office and Colleges are closed
in recognition of Labor Day. Thank you to everyone who works on behalf of Coast District students and our communities.
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Meet Our New Chancellor
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Dr. Whitney Yamamura began as the third president of Folsom Lake College in July of 2017. In that role, he has been instrumental in championing the Rancho Cordova Promise, launching new career education programs, partnering with Intel in creating an Artificial Intelligence program, and expanding the incarcerated student programs at Folsom and Mule Creek prisons. He was named Folsom Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year in 2020 and was co-recipient of the (national) Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE) Annual Award in 2018. Yamamura also serves as the vice president of the California Community College Asian American Pacific Islander Trustees and Administrators Caucus.
Yamamura has worked in the Los Rios Community College District since 1989. He has served at all four colleges within the district. Prior to the presidency at Folsom Lake, he served as interim president at Sacramento City College and Cosumnes River College. He served as Vice President of Instruction and Accreditation Liaison Officer at Cosumnes River for an earlier 8 years. Yamamura was the founding dean at American River College's Natomas Center. He previously served as Dean of Behavioral & Social Sciences at American River for six years and was the first dean to serve as a full member on the management collective bargaining team with the faculty union. His tenured faculty experience comes from eight years as a Professor of Economics at American River.
Yamamura is a fourth-generation Japanese American and Californian. He is the grandson and great-grandson of farmers and farmworkers. His father's family was interned at Tule Lake and his mother's family was interned in Arkansas during WWII. Yamamura has deep roots in education, his father Sam taught in K-12 for over 30 years and has a library in the Elk Grove Unified School District named in his honor. Whitney Yamamura is the second Japanese American (and Asian or Pacific Islander) to serve as president in the history of all four colleges in Los Rios, going back to 1916.
Yamamura earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, finance concentration, and a Master of Arts in Economics both from CSU Sacramento and earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership from UC Davis. He completed the Harvard Seminar for Presidential Leadership at Harvard's Graduate School of Education and UC Davis' Wheelhouse Institute on Leadership for California community college chief executive officers.
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College News
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COASTLINE COLLEGE |
Coastline College President Vincent Rodriguez is now a member of the Nominating Committee for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) for the 2022-23 school year. The state prepares a slate of new candidates each year that best reflects the criteria stated in the ACCJC Bylaws. The Nominating Committee's decision criteria includes ensuring a range of competencies, representation of institutional types and geographical locations, compliance with federal requirements, membership diversity, and broad experience within the region. The Nominating Committee is also responsible for appointing the appeals hearing panel pool as described in the Policy on Institutional Appeals. | 
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ORANGE COAST COLLEGE |
Orange Coast College will host its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Academy Orientation on Friday, September 9. The OCC STEM Academy serves as an academic support program that connects STEM-declared and/or STEM-interested students to the resources and tools they need to succeed in STEM courses. Building skills to become a successful STEM student, access to simple scheduling and consistent support from STEM Counselors, opportunities to participate in research with a professor, opportunities to connect with Peer Mentors, group tutoring, information about how to pursue a teaching career in STEM, and creating a support network that can guide students though their journey at OCC are some of the benefits of being part of the OCC STEM Academy. For questions email stemacademy@occ.cccd.edu. |
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Schedule, Week of September 5
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Board of Trustees
The next regular meeting will be held Wednesday, September 7, with closed session beginning at 4:00 p.m. and open session at 5:00 p.m.
Chancellor
Dr. Yamamura is in the District, Tuesday through Friday
Monday, September 5, the District Office and Colleges are closed
in recognition of Labor Day
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publicaffairs@cccd.edu
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