• On June 1, an act of vandalism targeted our cherished exhibit at the Educational Cultural Complex, “The San Diego Experience of the Civil Rights Movement.” All of the 15 large panels celebrating historic leaders in our community and highlighting the role our college played in the Civil Rights movement were vandalized; some were ripped. I am extremely disheartened and disappointed. Make no mistake: this is not something we take lightly. A police report has been filed and we are working closely with law enforcement to find those responsible and discover what led to this unspeakable action. I encourage anyone who may have information regarding any such acts to report what they know to SDCCD police. Additionally, we will be working with the District to install cameras at our ECC campus in the foyer and our open walk way areas, internally and externally. While this is a tragedy, we had been planning on removing the panels in preparation for the upcoming theatre renovation. We remain committed to preserving the history of our campus, and that history will be highlighted as part of the renovation.
• On June 15, SDCCE will be raising the Juneteenth flag for the remainder of the month. Less than a week later, SDCCE will host a June 20 Juneteenth celebration at the ECC featuring music, storytelling, songs of freedom, and more. The program is made possible by a grant from the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
• SDCCE celebrated its first-ever Arbor Day tree planting celebration at the Educational Cultural Complex on May 31 with SDGE executives and students in the Utility Line Clearance Arborist Training program. You can view Arbor Day photos here.
• Here's an item from SDCCE Counselor Sany Ramirez that will brighten your day: I witnessed and celebrated a fantastic High School Equivalent Student who, after nine years studying at the Educational Cultural Complex, has passed her last HiSET exam. What the High School Equivalency Certificate Program does for SDCCE students is transformative and extraordinary. Marisol Sosa has been a student at the ECC since 2014, and her dedication and commitment are exemplary. After utilizing our Testing Center at the ECC, she rushed to my office to share the great news that she had finally passed her Math HiSET exam. Ms. Sosa has plans to participate in next year's commencement. She will continue taking classes with SDCCE and plans to apply to City College. Congratulations Ms. Sosa, we are proud of you!
• English as a Second Language faculty and students share their experience at SDCCE. Watch new ESL video here.
• Free shuttle rides are provided to and from the Educational Cultural Complex for the monthly Community Health & Resource Fair, which will take place on June 7 at the Jackie Robinson YMCA.
• The remodel of the staff lounge at the Educational Cultural Complex began last week and is expected to take approximately six weeks to complete.
• A reminder that all requests of the Public Information Office must be approved by a Dean or Vice President and require submission of a Project Request Form. You can find a link to the Project Request Form on the Faculty and Staff Resources Page of our website. Please allow five working days for a request to be completed. If a request needs immediate attention, please complete the form and contact the Public Information Office.
• The SDCCD launched a new Service Desk portal June 5 to assist employees and students. The enhanced Service Desk will allow users to submit requests for email access, password resets, software installation, voicemail setup, and more. Learn more about the new service desk portal here.

President's Updates

• SDCCE hosted the college's first Annual Budget and Enrollment Management Symposium. We are focusing on our budget and enrollment targets to support our adult learners. Thank you to Executive President’s Cabinet and our Executive Vice Chancellor, Dr. Hall, for participating in our first annual symposium. A recording is available.
• The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office is providing a two-year, $300,000 Culturally Responsive Pedagogy & Practices (CRPP) Innovative Best Practices grant to the SDCCE to conduct an Equity-Focused Data and Pedagogy Project. The grant comes to SDCCE as a collaboration between the Office of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness and the Office of Instruction. The institution is focused on creating an equity-centered environment where all students can thrive, and a critical component of this work is identifying and eliminating equity gaps. This requires a combination of data infrastructure development and training that encourages deep, data-based conversations about the classroom environment, combined with exploring equity-minded practices in pedagogy and strategy building. This work will begin this coming year with the development of a pilot Faculty Equity Institute, and continue in 2024/25 with a second faculty Equity Institute and embedding of faculty data mentors into instructional program meetings to advance equity-driven data analysis and strategy building as key components of program review and strategic planning. SDCCE is committed to embedding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-racism, and Accessibility (DEIAA) into all its operations, which aligns with the Institutional Strategic Plan.
• SDCCE was recently selected by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to participate in the 2023-24 Strategic Enrollment Management Program: Supporting the Student Journey. As part of this work, a cross-functional team that included members of the Office of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness (PRIE) attended the first of three in-person gatherings where there was an opportunity to examine data to inform strategies and learn about promising practices from more than 20 other colleges in California.
• I am pleased to announce that Jesus Rivas has accepted the position of Associate Dean of Research, Planning, and Innovation in the Office of Planning, Research and Institutional Effectiveness. Jesus began his new role June 1. This is the first of its kind position at our campus. This position will continue to support us with enrollment management and research on our #AdultLearners.
• The SDCCE Foundation and SDGE hosted a ceremony for 20 Utility Line Clearance Arborist Training graduates and a career fair on June 2 at the Educational Cultural Complex. I had the honor of celebrating these graduates as they go on to protect us from California wildfires. Thank you, Caron Lieber for all of her beautiful work on our SDCCE, Employment Training Institute (ETi) Program!

The Research Corner

This week, we invite you to check out not one but all of the many research reports PRIE has to offer you on its microsite. Go to PRIE’s “Reports and Presentations” site to find student and employee survey reports, enrollment management updates, student profiles, and more. Take a minute to review these resources and email jrivas@sdccd.edu if you have any questions.

For the second year, we are launching the SDCCE Administrative Unit Feedback Survey. The Program Review Committee is sponsoring this employee survey to collect information regarding department awareness, interactions, and satisfaction. Please complete this survey to inform administrative units’ program review, strategic planning, and future departmental improvements. This survey is anonymous and applicable to all SDCCE employees (NANCE, Classified, Supervisory, Faculty, and Administrators).

Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TT9KD8P

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.

All my Best,