Dear SDCCE Community,

Our college proudly recognizes March as Women’s History Month. Throughout the month, SDCCE will pay tribute to women who are trailblazers in their own right. Women represent 64% of San Diego College of Continuing Education’s student body and 70% represent our employees. I encourage you to reflect on the women who have come before us and who have paved the way for our freedoms; from Civil Rights Activist Dolores Huerta, former First Ladies, Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama, to the youngest Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. In 1920, the 19th Amendment was passed, women were guaranteed the right to vote. In 2016, the Department of Defense opened all military occupations and positions to women. In 2017, the Women’s March was the largest protest in American history. As educators and leaders, let us continue to be on the frontlines of equality, and let us continue to inspire our students to become women entrepreneurs, activists, auto technicians, welders, chefs, healthcare professionals and everything in between.

Please join me to celebrate Women's History Month with SDCCE events:

Friday, March 8th at 10:30 a.m. Women’s History Month with CE-Mesa ASB Learn about Women's History Month with the CE-Mesa Associated Student Body (ASB), enjoy light refreshments and opportunity drawings.
Location: CE-Mesa Room 118, 7350 Armstrong Pl., 92111

Thursday, March 21st at 12:00 p.m. San Diego Women Who Make a Difference in the Community Panel Watch the premiere performance of Yolanda Franklin’s Play, “To Stand as One Black Woman” and enjoy a panel discussion with Joann Fields, founder of the API Initiative; Yolanda Marie Franklin, director of Common Ground Theater; Sheryl Mallory Johnson, founder of the 1619 National Celebration of Black Women Inc., Annie Rios, founder/executive director of Uprise Theatre; and Dr. Sue Gonda, feminist activist through the San Diego’s Women’s Museum of California.
Location: Join on Zoom, Meeting ID: 839 4309 2506 & Passcode: 237034

All are welcome to attend district wide Women's History Month events, view SDCCD calendar here.

Additionally, an important reminder, SDCCE will have our WASC Accreditation visit next week from March 11th through March 13th. For more information, visit our accreditation web page.

Enrollment Updates

SDCCE’s overall enrollment for spring stands at 27,360 (9% greater than this time last year, and a 3% increase from last week). SDCCE’s overall headcount is currently 14,909, an increase of 8% compared to this time last spring (13,798) and a 2% increase compared to the previous week (14,573). FTEF scheduled for the spring semester is 3% higher than last spring (189.85 to 184.37).

Durbin always had a flair for fashion. The first-generation American loved dressing up in her mom’s clothes as a child and her passion led her to the retail industry, where she thrived working with Buffalo Exchange for more than seven years, including a year as a store manager in San Francisco. Now, thanks to the San Diego College of Continuing Education, Durbin is well into fulfilling a dream of designing her own clothing line and growing her own clothing business. Read more of Alexis' story in SDCCE's News Room.

Please join me for a great cause! March is also National Brain Injury Awareness month. On Saturday, March 23rd, students and faculty from San Diego College of Continuing Education's Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Programs are walking together to raise funds and awareness for San Diego Brain Injury Foundation’s (SDBIF’s) 17th annual surviveHEADSTRONG Walk for Recovery. The event will take place from 8:00am to 1:00pm at De Anza Cove in North Mission Bay. Our college's team fundraiser is led by Heike Kessler-Heiberg, former SDCCE ABI Professor: Donate Here | Register to Walk. More info to come!

Join me for the Careers in Public Service Conference on March 6th! The San Diego County Office of Education and its partners will host a day of in-person student activities featuring the many rewarding careers in public service. This conference is for San Diego County students and educators in grades 11 and 12 and in community college. There is no cost to attend.
Date: Wednesday, March 6; 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Educational Cultural Complex

Visit the professional development web page for more details.

The District Office Professional Development Department is pleased to present the following webinar: “Understand and Embrace Diversity”
College Flex Credit #21483| CE Flex Credit #31456
Delivery Time: 1-hour with Q&A

We are inviting the public to learn more about earning a High School Diploma or High School Equivalency (GED or HiSet). SDCCE teams will be onsite to help prospective students apply and enroll for Spring 2024. Please share with your community:

March 13, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Cesar E. Chavez Campus
1901 Main Street.
San Diego, CA 92113
619.388.1910
SDCECesarChavez@sdccd.edu

March 20, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Mid-City Campus
3792 Fairmount Ave.
San Diego, CA 92105
619.388.1910
SDCEMidCity@sdccd.edu

Whether it’s helping Navy SEALs with tactical training, supporting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with bomb-dog instruction, or assisting local firefighters with scenario-based exercises, the USS Midway Museum has long provided the ship as an unparalleled platform to help military units and first responders develop critical real-world skills.

The ship’s education department has advanced Midway to the next level as an important community asset by partnering with the San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE) on a pilot program to help welding students. Read more in the USS Midway Currents publication.

Emeritus will be hosting two musical events this March and April:

New City Sinfonia presents Music for a New Year
Saturday, March 23 at 7:30pm
All Souls' Episcopal Church
1475 Catalina Blvd., San Diego, CA 92107

Emeritus 4th Annual Benefit Concert
Saturday, April 27th at 3 p.m.
Canyon Crest Academy
5951 Village Center Loop Rd. San Diego, CA 92130

Five SDCCE ESL faculty members were selected for the SDCCD Faculty Leadership Development Academy including Andrea Sperling, Diana Vera-Alba, Ildifonso Carrillo, Isabel Cortes, and Leah Haeber. Congratulations!

In case you missed it, SDCCE CalWORKs counselor Jessica Walton is making an impact on our community at large as a lululemon Run Ambassador and as a host for the Black Girls Run charter in San Diego.

The San Diego Promise Scholarship is now open for SDCCE students. Please encourage your students to take advantage of our comprehensive virtual information sessions! Students must submit their applications by May 17, 2024. Selected students will receive notifications by May 27, 2024.

The landing page for information regarding the Joint Commencement for the San Diego College of Continuing Education and the San Diego Unified School District Adult High School Diploma Program is now available – bookmark https://sdcce.edu/commencement-2024 for future announcements on the 2024 Commencement Exercises, to be held Tuesday, June 11 at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.

Eight new automated external defibrillator (AED) machines were acquired and updated at all 7 SDCCE campuses with current supplies.

A reminder that all requests of the Communications Department must be approved by a dean or vice president and requires submission of a request form. You can find the Project Request Form link on the Faculty and Staff Resources Page of our website. Please allow ten working days for a request to be completed. If a request needs immediate attention, please complete the form and contact the Public Information Officer.

President's Updates

To kick-off Women's History Month, I had the honor of dining at Addison, with San Diego College of Continuing Education’s own, Chef Sarah Ramos! Addison is the only three Michelin star restaurant in Southern California and the only restaurant in America to achieve its third Michelin star since 2019. Sarah achieved her culinary arts certificate in 2020, after working more than a decade in HR, and worked her way up as Lead Pastry for Addison. Read more of Sarah's Story here featured in the SDCCD News Center.

The Research Corner

This week we invite you to check the California Community Colleges Curriculum Inventory (COCI). This databases shows all the programs offered in all the colleges in California. It can be broken down by College, Goal, TOP Code, CIP Code, Status, Award and Sub Award. Take a minute to review this resource and email jsalcedo001@sdccd.edu if you have any questions.

President's Office Hours

President's Office Hours are back! Individual zoom meetings will be 20 minutes and are available on a first come first serve basis. If you would like to schedule a virtual appointment with me, please email sdccepresident@sdccd.edu for detailed information.

Best,