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Weekly News Brief | November 20, 2023
From the Office of Chancellor Whitney Yamamura, Ed.D.
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I'm writing today, following the Coast District delegation's return from the Community College League of California's Annual Summit. For me, this is an opportunity to connect with good friends and colleagues who I have worked alongside over the decades. It is also an important chance to develop statewide goals, objectives, and strategies. Each District is unique, yet there is much we can teach each other. We gained greatly from the involvement of Trustees Parker and Moreno, Presidents Randall, Rodriquez, and Suarez, Vice Chancellors Drinkwine and Serban, and colleagues C.J. Bishop, Shelly Blair, Stephanie Feger, Erik Frost Hollins, Amy Lee, Jerry Marchbank, Madjid Niroumand, Laurie Runk, Rupa Saran, and Erin Thomas. Showing our edge in innovation, the Coast District delegation presented sessions on competency-based education, geospatial tools, international enrollment, and resilience in recovery all with a DEIAA lens. Others in the delegation served in various leadership or support capacities for equity-minded affinity and advocacy groups. All of us had a chance to learn from the experiences of other colleges and districts. As this is my last note before Thanksgiving, I also want to give a huge thank you to everyone: students, faculty, staff, managers, the executive team, and Board of Trustees. Heading into my holiday, I'm celebrating the work done on DEIAA plans at all three Colleges, the beginning of implementation at the Colleges and District Office, and new leadership in place to ensure those efforts continue. I celebrate the growing engagement of affinity groups both at the college and districtwide. I also note the many, many events that have returned in-person to serve our students and the communities. We all have so enjoyed the many new faces and voices in the District Office for the Mendez, et. al. v. Westminster, et. al. exhibit. Please take the time to enjoy your traditions with friends and loved ones. A little rest and recovery are critical as we refocus for the work ahead.
With gratitude,
Whitney
Whitney Yamamura, Ed.D.
Chancellor
Postscript
The News Brief is on hiatus next week, with the holiday closure next Thursday and Friday. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Report from the Board of Trustees
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Despite a So Cal Edison power outage that disabled all electronics in the board room, the trustees "powered" through and conducted the business of the district. With the lights from cell phones and flashlights, the Board was presented a wide range of informative and clarifying reports. District Chief of Police, Jim Rudy, presented the district crime statistics through the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Will Kane, a representative from Total Compensations Systems presented on the districts current benefit structure and the future expectations. Jeff Jensen, from Crowe LLP, an independent auditing firm, offered their audit results which affirmed Coast District's financial statements as fairly presented and without any audit finding or adjustments and Acting Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, Ryan Cox, gave details surrounding the district's efforts of promoting an environment of Equity and Inclusion through hiring. The board also unanimously approved their goals for the next two academic years. The 6 goals prioritize student success, fiscal stability, a strong infrastructure, and a healthy and stable workforce. The goals the trustees established for themselves are a direct reflection of those set by the colleges through their planning processes, as well as the directives given to the Chancellor by the trustees earlier in the year. To start the meeting off, and luckily before the power went out, the college highlight this month came from Orange Coast College. Juan Gutierrez, Director of Public Relations and Marketing at OCC and his ringer, retired VPI and alumnus, Kevin Ballinger, reviewed all the campus events and media that celebrated their 75th anniversary – complete with outtakes from their "Talk Like a Pirate" competition.
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Westminster School District Tours
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The Westminter School District brought two groups of students to tour the exhibition currently being hosted at the District office, A Class Action: The Grassroots Struggle for School Desegregation in California. The students, 4th and 5th graders, came from Sequoia Academy, Meairs, and Fryberger elementary schools on November 13 and 17. A sincere "Thank you!" to the Westminster School District for bringing their students to learn more about this important case.
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Be on the Lookout for Password Change Request!
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The emails sent from IT Security asking you to change your network password are legitimate emails from District Information Technology Services.
You will continue receiving email reminders in the coming weeks to change your passwords as you did this week. The emails contain helpful information, linked instructions, and passphrase examples that will help you better secure our environment from cyber security threats.
It's easy! It only takes a short moment to change your password.
District Information Technology Services greatly appreciates all your efforts keep our district protected.
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College News
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COASTLINE COLLEGE |
Please join Chancellor Yamamura at Coastline College on Monday, November 20 for his final Coffee Break of the fall term. The Coffee Break will be held at the Newport Beach Campus (Room 320) from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Come have a casual conversation with Dr. Yamamura, as he wants to hear from you!
Coastline College is on a mission to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) that truly serves its Latinx students and community. To achieve this goal, the college invited Dr. Gina Ann Garcia, a renowned HSI scholar and professor at UC Berkeley, to share her expertise and guidance on November 14, 2023.
Dr. Garcia is the author of Transforming Hispanic Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice and the founder of the Cal HSI Center. She also hosts the podcast ¿Que pasa, HSIs?
Dr. Garcia gave a presentation at Flex Day and led individual sessions with Coastline's Management, Classified Professionals, and Faculty. She introduced the concept of servingness, which is a way to measure how well HSIs provide equitable and culturally responsive education for Latinx and other minoritized students. She also discussed the challenges and opportunities that HSIs face in various aspects of their operations and outcomes.
Coastline College is excited to move forward with this work and implement the suggestions and ideas that were shared at the meetings. The college will continue to collaborate with Dr. Garcia and other HSI experts and stakeholders to transform its organizational culture and identity as an HSI.
For more information about Coastline College and its HSI initiatives, please visit www.coastline.edu or contact President, Dr. Vince Rodriguez at vrodriguez@coastline.edu. For more information about Dr. Gina Ann Garcia and her HSI research and resources, please visit www.ginaanngarcia.com or follow her on Twitter @GinaAnnGarcia.
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GOLDEN WEST COLLEGE |
For the first time, Golden West College will participate in Giving Tuesday on November 28. The GWC Foundation has secured $25,000 in matching funds - that means for every dollar donated, the GWC Foundation and an anonymous donor have stepped up to give $1 in matching funds (up to a $1,000 donation). This is a great chance to not only support the programs and scholarships that are near and dear to your heart, but also to have your contributions go twice as far!
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| ORANGE COAST COLLEGE |
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Orange Coast College's marketing and public relations department won 13 Medallion Awards at the National Council of Marketing and Public Relations District 6 annual conference and awards ceremony on Nov. 8 in Palm Springs. Coast was recognized with three gold, eight silver, and two bronze awards for creative work produced during the 2022-2023 academic year.
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Schedule
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Chancellor, Week of November 20
Dr. Yamamura is in the District, Monday through Wednesday.
The Thanksgiving holiday will be observed on Thursday and Friday.
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publicaffairs@cccd.edu
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