Monthly Archives: September 2013

College Wide Forum: Strategic Priorities and Staffing

The Office of the President would like to invite you to a forum on Skyline College’s Strategic Priorities and Staffing Update. Staffing and the impact on the organization’s structure will be discussed. Attendees will be given an opportunity to ask questions and provide any input or feedback desired.

Two sessions have been scheduled to allow everyone a chance to participate:
• Monday, September 23rd at 1:00 – 2:30 pm in room 6-202
• Tuesday, September 24th at 4:00 – 5:30 pm in room 6-202

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Please save the date. We look forward to seeing you there.

Success Summit 2013 at Skyline College

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September 21, 2013
8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Skyline College
Student and Community Center,
Building 6, 2nd Floor

The Success Summit is a one-day forum that will bring together community leaders from all sectors to explore innovative strategies for solving issues that affect San Mateo County businesses and residents. In dynamic breakout sessions, participants will meet face-to-face with key decision makers within the county, including elected officials, business and industry leaders, employers and educators and gain insight on how they can effectively work to shape the future of their community.

Breakout topics include:
• Communication: “Are We Losing Touch?”
• Jobs: “Connecting The Needs”
• Transportation: “The Last Mile”

Keynote Speakers:
Marlena Jackson, Scientist, Genentech, Founder NexgeneGirls
and Angela Batinovich, CEO, SF Bulls Hockey Team

Summit Fee: $150 fee includes breakfast, lunch, materials and three dynamic breakout sessions.

 

Coming Up….

Friday, September 13, 2013

• 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Child Development Center Book Fair, Skyline College Child Development Center

• 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Skyline College Asian Culture Week, Asian Food Festival, Skyline College, Main Quad

• 12:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m., Skyline College Asian Culture Week, Film Festival – The Grand Master, Skyline College, Main Theater

• 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Women’s Soccer, Kentfield

• 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Child Development Center Book Fair, Skyline College Child Development Center

• 4:00 p.m., Men’s Soccer, Kentfield

Saturday, September 14, 2013

• 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Skyline College Asian Culture Week, China Dance School & Theater Performance, Skyline College, Main Theater

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

• 10:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m., Transfer Center – DeVry University Rep Visit, Skyline College, Building 6 – Main Cafeteria

• 12:10 p.m. – 1:40 p.m., Transfer Center – New Student Orientation, Skyline College, Building 6, Room 6203

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

• 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., FREE English Conversation/Pronunciation Workshops, Skyline College, Bldg. 1, Room 1218

• 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m., Art Gallery – Cast & Crew, really big show, Skyline College, Art Gallery

• 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Science Lecture Series – Rebecca Belloso Topic: Effect of Chemical Bisphenol (BPA) on Infant Birth weight, Skyline College, Building 7, Room 7106

Thursday, September 19, 2013

• 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Transfer Center – UC Berkeley Rep Visit, Skyline College, Transfer Center – Building 2, Room 2227

• 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Transfer Center – Transfer Admissions Guarantee (TAG), Skyline College, Building 2, Room 2117A

Friday, September 20, 2013

• 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Art Gallery – Cast & Crew, really big show, Skyline College, Art Gallery

Saturday, September 21, 2013

• 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Success Summit, Skyline College

 

For the latest information on events and activities happening at Skyline College, please view our calendar at the following link:

http://www.skylinecollege.edu/events/index.php

If you would like to include your college event or activity on the calendar, please submit the event, date, time and location to Cherie M. Napier.

 

In Case You Missed It – Dennis Wolbers and Susan Brissenden-Smith Make Skyline Shine!

Each year individuals or groups who help Skyline College to shine in terms of its quality of programs and services and its reputation for quality are recognized.  Awardees are nominated by the college faculty, staff and administrators and recommended for selection by the College Governance Council. Two awards are made annually, one to a member or group of Skyline College employees and one to a member or group from the community.

Dennis WolbersDennis Wolbers

In the Skyline College employee category, this year, we are pleased to honor Professor Dennis Wolbers of the Library. Dennis is intent on helping students achieve their dream.  He enhances the campus climate, academic excellence and open access mission through his leadership in advancing informational literacy. Dennis has been known to take particular care with students facing challenges to help them resolve their challenges.  This is quite demonstrative of Dennis Wolbers’ steadfast “Students First” approach. Dennis has been active in participatory governance, including accreditation and curriculum committee work for many years. His inclusivity and respect for all is evident in every interaction one has with him.  Congratulations to Professor Dennis Wolbers.

Photo of Susan Brissenden Smith, community member accepting the 2013 Skyline Shines Award
Susan Brissenden-Smith, community member accepting the 2013 Skyline Shines Award

In the Community member or group category, it is our pleasure to honor Ms. Susan Brissenden-Smith, a founding member of the Skyline College President’s Council. Susan has demonstrated a long-term commitment to Skyline College through her leadership in the President’s Council and in The Breakfast Committee. She supports the mission, vision and values of the college by being instrumental in raising resources for the President’s Innovation Fund, a fund that supports innovation and ideas and allows faculty and staff to “Dream Out Loud”. Susan is an ambassador for Skyline College to vendors, businesses, community organizations and local leaders. She uses her network and influence to develop donations both financial and in-kind to support Skyline Colleges. She has assisted the president in identifying and expanding community resources to support various programs and services. As a result of Susan’s commitment, Skyline College faculty and staff have been able implement hundreds of innovative ideas, programs and services.  Congratulations to Susan Brissenden-Smith!

Article by Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud, President.

College Budget Committee Update

College Budget Committee held its first meeting for the 2013-2014 academic year on September 12, 2013 co-chaired by Leigh Anne Shaw (President, Academic Senate) and Eloisa Briones (VP Administrative Services). This meeting focused on the general orientation of new members and refresher for returning ones. Leigh Anne reviewed CBC’s charge and membership as well as the Brown Act and this committee’s obligations to it. Eloisa presented each member a Budget Handbook containing relevant budget and planning materials. She highlighted the Budget and Planning Calendar, integrated planning and budget processes, the college decision matrix and the district resource allocation model currently used to distribute the general unrestricted fund to the colleges and district sites. She encouraged CBC to become familiar with the handbook, as well as the Integrated Planning and Participatory Governance Manual (located on the PRIE web site), and to do so well in advance of the Accreditation Site Visit. Eloisa will present the final 2013-2014 Adopted Budget at CBC’s next meeting scheduled on September 26, 2013.

World War II’s Flying Tigers Meet Again

World War II’s Flying Tigers Meet Again

Thanks to his colleagues in the Social Science/Creative Arts Division for covering his classes, History and Geography Professor James I. Wong was able to attend this year’s reunion of the 14th Air Service Group, 987th Signal Operation Company (Special), and related units of the Chinese-American contingent of the famed Flying Tigers from World War II. James was able to continue his research and oral history of these veterans, which included his own late father. Most of these veterans are now octogenarians and nonagenarians. But the oldest veteran attending this year’s reunion was a youthful 101 years old!

The attached photo was taken at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield. James is second from the left kneeling in the front row.

Article and Photo by James I. Wong.

TRiO SSS Students Visit the Museum of Tolerance

TRiO Students

This summer TRiO SSS students and staff had the exciting opportunity to visit the Museum of Tolerance where they learned about all the forms of prejudice, racism and discrimination existing in our world today and to understand the Holocaust in both historical and contemporary contexts. The learning experience began with a visit to “The Point of View Diner” which is a recreation of a 1950’s diner, red booths and all that “serves” a menu of controversial topics on video jukeboxes. It uses the latest cutting edge technology to relay the overall message of personal responsibility. Scenarios focus on bullying, drunk driving and hate speech; this interactive exhibit allows the students and staff to input their opinions on what they have seen and question relevant characters.

The next stop was “The Millennium Machine” that used interactivity to educate students and staff about human rights abuses throughout the world, such as the exploitation of women and children, the threat of terrorism, and the plight of refugees and political prisoners. The Millennium Machine engaged them into finding solutions, showing that while humans have the potential to bring about these problems, they also have the potential to put a stop to them.

GlobalHate.com was the third learning experience, based on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s ongoing research and investigation of hate on the internet. Globalhate.com is equipped with touch screen computer terminals that unmask the dangerous proliferation of hate on the internet and introduce questions for critical thinking in a media saturated society.

The final learning experience was the “The Holocaust Exhibit” which is a dramatic seventy–minute sound-and-light guided presentation that covers the period from the 1920’s to 1945. Students and staff were led back in time to become witnesses to events in Nazi-dominated Europe during World War II. Each individual receives a different photo passport card with the story of a child whose life was changed by the events of the Holocaust. Throughout the tour, the passport is updated and at the end, the ultimate fate of the child is revealed. The most dramatic experience occurred when the students and staff had the opportunity to interact with a Holocaust survivor, who shared her story and answered questions about her experience. From these learning experiences students and staff became more self-aware of the multiple dimensions of your identity such as race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic class, and personal values.

Article submitted by Raymond Jones.

 

Accreditation Update

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As Skyline College worked through the self evaluation process for accreditation, we completed a number of projects and initiatives to make sure that we implemented every standard at the highest level—sustainable continuous quality improvement. These changes yielded many resources that are very helpful as we do our work. Over the next five weeks we will highlight some of them and give you links so you can start using them now. First up is the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (http://skylinecttl.org/).

The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL)! As part of continuous improvement at the college, The CTTL was created as a hub of innovation and professional development where faculty, staff, and administrators can find resources and opportunities that will help them strengthen student learning, engagement, support, and success.

What’s Available at the Center:

• A series of regularly scheduled Workshops on How To’s, Best Practices, Trends in Education, and Professional Development opportunities.

• One-to-One assistance with WebAccess, use of Smart Classrooms, and other instructional software and technologies.

• A Critical Conversations Lounge where faculty can engage in discussions about teaching and learning while enjoying comfortable chairs, calm and beverages.

• A Lending Library containing current literature on teaching and learning.

• An Equipment Loan Program for faculty to try out new technologies and explore instructional utilizations.

• An online Video Library with short how to’s and copies of webinars and presentations affecting education.

• An experimental classroom, The Learning Space, where workshops are hosted and a place where faculty can come and experiment with classroom technology.

Visit the CTTL website at http://skylinecttl.org/ for information.

Skyline Shines!

 

Article by Donna Bestock and Christine Roumbanis.

 

ASTEP Welcomes New Students

ASTEP Welcome Meeting

On August, over 100 students attended the orientation for new ASTEP students. They heard information from counseling, SparkPoint, Trio, BSU and had a chance to meet all ASTEP faculty. Students came away with enthusiasm for this new semester.

Nathan Jones

Dr. John Mosby

ASTEP Team

 Article by Phyllis Taylor. Photos by Raul Guerra