Having trouble reading this email? View it on your browser. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe Instantly.

Academic Senate Newsletter
 

Tuesday August 18, 2015

President's Update - August

Inline Image

Hello senate presidents and other interested readers,

Summer is winding down, and the students will be heading back to most of our colleges in the next few weeks. As our colleges and local senates prepare for the fall term to begin, we offer the following updates to keep you informed regarding state-level developments.

back to top Back to top

Task Force on Workforce, Job Creation, and a Strong Economy

Inline Image

The Task Force on Workforce, Job Creation, and a Strong Economy held its final meeting on July 29 and has prepared draft recommendations that will be sent to the Board of Governors in September. The draft report can be downloaded here.

The draft report will be presented at town hall meetings in Los Angeles on August 25 and in San Francisco on August 27. More information on these events can be found here.

In addition, the ASCCC’s CTE Leadership Committee will be holding regional meetings at which the draft report will be discussed. These meetings are currently scheduled for Oct 9 (Sacramento), 10 (South), 16 (Bay), and 17 (Central). Locations are still to be determined. We will provide more information as it becomes available. If you are willing to host one of these events at your college, please contact Edie@asccc.org.

The ASCCC encourages all faculty, including CTE, academic senate leaders, or others, to read the draft recommendations and attend the regional and town hall meetings. These recommendations may have significant impacts regarding not only CTE but all of our instructional programs. Faculty may wish to develop resolutions on these recommendations that will be voted on at the November Fall Plenary Session, so we strongly suggest that senate leaders attend with CTE faculty to be informed. In order to properly represent the faculty voice in the discussions of the recommendations, we need to hear from you, so please come and share your thoughts with us.

back to top Back to top

Legislation

Inline Image

No significant new developments have occurred regarding legislation of concern to the Academic Senate in the past month. The legislature will be returning to conclude its session in the coming weeks, and we will keep you informed of any important news as it occurs.

All ASCCC letters of support or opposition for legislation, as well as the most recent legislative report, can be found here.

back to top Back to top

Accreditation Task Force

Inline Image

The Consultation Council Task Force on Accreditation has completed its report and will submit it to the Board of Governors in September. The task force included representatives from faculty, administration, trustees, and the Chancellor’s Office.  The ASCCC will announce the release of the report as soon as it is available to share.

back to top Back to top

More Changes to the ASCCC Executive Committee

Inline Image

Last month the ASCCC announced that Area A Representative James Todd had stepped down from his position on the ASCCC Executive Committee to take a position as interim vice-president of student services at Modesto Junior College. Since that time two more members of the Executive Committee have accepted dean positions, former South Representative Michelle Grimes-Hillman at Long Beach City College and former North Representative Kale Braden at American River College.

Like James, Michelle and Kale were major contributors to the Executive Committee last year, and the ASCCC will miss their presence, their knowledge, and their efforts. However, we know that they will make excellent deans, and we wish them the very best as they move into the administrative ranks.

In order to bring the Executive Committee back to its full membership, the ASCCC leadership has appointed three interim replacements to fill the vacant positions. Grant Goold of American River College will serve as Area A Representative, Adrienne Foster of West Los Angeles as South Representative, and Cleavon Smith of Berkeley City College as North Representative. Grant, Adrienne, and Cleavon are all experienced local senate leaders who have made significant contributions to ASCCC committees in the past. Their appointments help to expand the presence of CTE and student services on the Executive Committee. We thank them for agreeing to serve and look forward to working with them.

All three interim appointments are effective immediately and will last until the Fall Plenary Session in November, at which time we will hold special elections to fill the positions for the remainder of their terms.

back to top Back to top

A Farwell to an Ally and Colleague

Inline Image

Earlier this month, Dean Cris McCullough retired from her service at the Chancellor’s Office. Cris was working in the Academic Affairs Division at the time of her retirement and had previously worked in Economic and Workforce Development. She has been a frequent attendee at Academic Senate events for the past few years, always willing to share her expertise and knowledge to help inform faculty around the state. She has also worked closely with ASCCC leadership on numerous system-level projects. The Academic Senate will miss her contributions as a colleague and as a friend, and we wish her the very best in her retirement.

back to top Back to top

August Executive Committee Meeting

Inline Image

As we did last year, the ASCCC Executive Committee will hold its monthly meetings this year at colleges around the state in order to enable local senate leaders to observe and participate in our discussions and bring their concerns directly to us. The first meeting of the 2015-16 year will be held on August 21-22 in Los Angeles, with the meeting on the August 21 held at Los Angeles City College. We encourage all senate presidents and other faculty in the area to join us, to hear our discussions, and to interact with us on the many issues we will be addressing. The Executive Committee meeting schedule for the 2015-16 year can be found here. We hope that if we are in your area, you will join us for lunch and the meeting to learn about how the Executive Committee operates.

back to top Back to top

A New ASCCC Institute

Inline Image

The ASCCC Executive Committee has approved a new event for this year, the Instructional Design and Innovation Institute. This event will focus on instructional innovation from a variety of perspectives and in several areas, including online education, alternative basic skills, noncredit, contextualization of basic skills and other concepts in CTE, and others. The institute is scheduled for January 21-23. More information will be provided in the coming months and is available on our website here.

The Executive Committee looks forward to hearing from you regarding your successes, your concerns, and your thoughts on state level issues. Whenever we can be of any assistance to you or to your senate, please do not hesitate to contact us. We hope all of you have a great month as your students and faculty return to your campuses and as we all prepare for another year of working collegially to represent faculty on your campuses and throughout the state.

David Morse,
President

Facebook Like Button

back to top Back to top

Footer