Skyline College was honored to host Dr. Cornel West at an exceptional event on the evening of September 11, 2014. Dr. West, a prominent and provocative democratic intellectual, Professor of Philosophy at the Union Theological Seminary and Professor Emeritus at Princeton, is known, in the words of Dr. Stanback Stroud, for his “passion to communicate to a vast variety of publics in order to keep alive the legacy…of telling the truth and bearing witness to love and to justice.” He did just that at Skyline College.

Dr. West’s remarks were broad and emphatic – full of his characteristic enthusiasm and passion that spilled over into the audience and offered up inspiration along with contemplation. Speaking on issues of race and class, he referenced the great sociologist and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, stating that the basic questions Du Bois raised about inequality and race were “not fundamentally ideological, not fundamentally religious, they were about integrity, and honesty, and virtue.”

Dr. West also touched on current events like the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the Trayvon Martin case. He tied both of these incidents in to the broader, ongoing struggle for equality under the law no matter one’s race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

Dr. West ended his remarks by focusing on the road ahead, and the constant vigilance required of all of us to stand up to injustice, confront our fears, and never lose hope. Hope, Dr. West concluded, is “the enactment of integrity, honesty, decency, and virtue individually and collectively, embodied in such a way that it becomes contagious enough to other folk that they want to become a part of it from generation to generation.”

Those in attendance were clearly moved by his speech, and during an engaging question and answer session immediately afterwards, they raised questions about gentrification, self-image, and being a young person in today’s world of commoditization and instantaneous communication. Dr. West’s answers were heartfelt and sincere – providing more food for thought as the evening drew to a close.

The faculty, staff and students of Skyline College are immensely grateful to Dr. West for so generously taking the time to visit the campus and speak with us. The dialogue he sparked, and his challenging words, help to bolster Skyline College’s commitment to academic excellence and will linger in our hearts and minds for years to come.

Please view his full speech HERE.

Article by Connor Fitzpatrick | Photos by Raul Guerra

Our College District is embarking on a strategic planning process this semester that will be concluded in the spring. The initial strategy session will be held at Skyline College on Tuesday, September 30 at 2:00 p.m. This new process provides us with an opportunity to consider environmental trends that affect us; analyze student, demographic and workforce data; consider the changes the Colleges have experienced in recent years; and address the challenges we face ahead. Your involvement is both requested and critical in this strategic planning effort.

Early this semester, the District Strategic Planning Council heard from our planning consultant, Dr. Rick Voorhees, about options and alternatives for strategic planning. The process, endorsed by the Strategic Planning Council, puts the District on a “fast track” and will conclude with a written plan for review by all members of the campus community in late April. The process includes strategy sessions at each College at which the data and information produced as part of this process will be considered. Your participation and input are solicited. You will hear more about this process during the year; listed below is a preliminary calendar for the process:

• Tuesday, September 30 at 2:00 p.m.: Initial Strategy Session at Skyline College to review Planning Assumptions, Environmental Scan and other documents
• October: Environmental Scan, Planning Assumptions and other information reviewed and posted to webpage
• November/ December: Review internal and external data with Strategic Planning Taskforce
• December: Internal and external strategy sessions (external data). Dates and times to be announced.
• Early February: Internal and external strategy sessions. Dates and times to be announced.
• Late March: Internal and external strategy sessions (preliminary goals and strategies). Dates and times to be announced.
• Late April: Draft strategic plan ready for review
• Early May: Feedback finalized. Final plan delivered

You are invited to attend the Initial Strategy Session on Tuesday, September 30, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. in Room 6202-6206 at Skyline College where we will review the strategic planning process, planning assumptions and the draft environmental scan.

Your insights, ideas and vision will help us develop a data-driven strategic plan that will allow the College District and its stakeholders to meet the challenges ahead.

If you have any questions, or would like additional information, please contact Aaron McVean, Dean of Planning, Research and Institutional Effectiveness at office phone (650) 738-4454, mobile phone (530) 318-6117 or email mcveana@smccd.edu.

Last year, the College Governance Council approved the merger of the Institutional Planning Council and the College Budget Committee starting with the 2014-2015 academic year.  The Strategic Planning and Allocation of Resources Committee (SPARC) held its first meeting on September 11, 2014.

This committee will coordinate, integrate and communicate college-wide planning and budgeting, and will make integrated planning and budget recommendations to the College Governance Council.  It will meet on the second and last Thursdays of the month.  The first meeting will focus on planning and will be co-chaired by Aaron McVean (Dean of Planning, Research and Institutional Effectiveness) and Kate Browne (Academic Senate President).  The second meeting will be budget focused and will be co-chaired by Kate Browne and Eloisa Briones (Vice President, Administrative Services).

District Strategic Planning

The District has embarked on a year-long strategic planning process, using the consultant services of the Voorhees Group, headed by Rick Voorhees who worked with Skyline College in 2006 on our strategic plan. A campus forum will be held on Tuesday, September 30 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Now perhaps more than ever, it is important for the strategic priorities of Skyline College to be communicated and reflected in the District Strategic Plan. The eventual plan should reflect the strategic direction of each of the Colleges, and at the same time will be used to provide direction to the Colleges on the strategic priorities of the District with funding aligned to the latter. The revised resource allocation model is being developed with implementation of the District Strategic Plan in mind. Additionally, when the District Strategic Plan is finalized, it will be imperative for Skyline College, and the SPARC, to review its own Strategic Plan with an eye toward any gaps in alignment. That work will be done beginning in Spring 2015 as the District plan begins to materialize.

Accreditation Follow-Up Report

Skyline College was required to submit a Follow Up report based on the Site Visit from last fall, and subsequent Reaffirmation Letter from the ACCJC. One deficiency was noted and has been addressed. The Follow Up Report will be brought to the SPARC at the Sept. 25 meeting.

Resource Allocation Model Update

Over the past year and a half, the District Committee on Budget and Finance did a thorough review and analysis of the new resource allocation model.  Executive Chancellor Kathy Blackwood presented the model to various district and college governance committees to gather feedback with the goal of implementing the new model in FY 2015-2016.  Last year, Kathy came to several CBC meetings to present versions of the model that Kathy changed as she received feedback and suggestions. Kathy will come to SPARC on Oct. 30 to present the most recent version of the model. The goal is to implement the new model in FY 2015-2016, so once approved by the various constituency groups, this will make be presented to the District Participatory Governance Council in late fall.

Next meeting: October 9, 2014 from 2:10 to 4:00 p.m. Room 6-203

Skyline College Dance Festival is coming up soon.

Saturday, September 27, from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Open to all! Community members, students and teachers are welcome.

$25 for three classes, lunch and a live salsa dance party with Orquesta Taino!
Please encourage students to RSVP on the Facebook page, and/or to buy tickets online, so that we can get an accurate estimate for lunches.
http://skylinecollegedance.brownpapertickets.com/

More information is listed on our Facebook Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/711926005542625
Supported with generosity by the Skyline College President’s Innovation Fund
In celebration of Latino Heritage Month

We will offer three class blocks, with at least two style options during each, as well as coffee, pastries and a late lunch. So far, we have Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary, B-Boying, Salsa and social dance classes lined up. We’re in the process of confirming a Tahitian class as well!

After the workshops, each class will demonstrate the choreography that they learned, then we’ll have a salsa dance lesson and a dance party – with a live band – in the early evening, to close out our day.

We are currently expecting students from three high schools, two community colleges, and teachers from SJSU, Skyline College and hopefully Mills College.

I hope to make this an annual activity that assists with recruitment for my school and transfer for my students. What I think will make this most effective is to have my students get a chance to connect with the local dance community.

It would be fabulous if you’d invite your students (we’d give you posters) and come to represent your organization on our campus.

Our Confirmed Master Instructors:

• Joan Walton – Meringue & Cha Cha – CSM and San José State University
• Micaya – Hip Hop – Founder of SF Hip Hop DanceFest
• Gary Ferguson – Tap – Broadway Dancer and Mercy High School Burlingame
• Vera Quijano – Salsa – Cañada College
• Heike Mansel – Salsa-Rueda – Jefferson High School & Mission Fusion
• Jason “Spidey” Ferguson – B-Boying / B-Girling
• Joslynn Mathis Reed – Contemporary Hip Hop Fusion – East Bay Dance
• Amber Steele – Contemporary – Skyline College

Vendor Tables are available for dance supply stores, dance studios, campus groups and others – please contact Amber Steele at steelea@smccd.edu for more information.

Article by Amber Steele

In early August, the Bay Region Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Initiative housed at Skyline College and the Bay Region Small Business Sector joined forces with UC to host a UCCI Institute where teams of high school teachers, faculty, and industry experts developed three UC program-status courses integrating Spanish, world history and math with the content and skills of the Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation and Business and Finance Career Technical Education sectors.

There were 3 teams of passionate, dedicated, and highly experienced teachers who worked together over three days to develop the following integrated courses:

• World History and Hospitality, which explores the impact of historical forces on the global nature of culinary arts, and the role of historical and cultural context in the hospitality field. Students investigate topics such as the rise of labor movements and unionization during industrialization and then use this knowledge to contextualize modern day labor movements and working conditions for culinary workers at home and around the globe.
• Algebra for Entrepreneurs, which allows students to learn Algebra in a nontraditional way, as they apply a variety of Algebra I concepts to the development, operation and growth of a restaurant business.
• Spanish 3 for Hospitality – In this course students develop their skills in writing, reading, listening and speaking in Spanish while exploring the fields of hospitality, tourism and recreation. The course culminates in a project in which students invent their own virtual destination property situated in an existing Spanish speaking country.

The above courses are in the process of being submitted to UC for “a-g” approval in the “e” (Language other than English), “a” (history/social science) and “c” (math) areas.

These innovative courses will provide exciting opportunities for dual and concurrent enrollment high school bridge components for the newly developed Hospitality & Tourism Management Program at Skyline College and clearly displays the Skyline College’s commitment to being a leader in the development of career technical education programs. It also speaks to the priority Skyline College gives to building high quality pathway opportunities for students with cross-discipline credit and transferability built in.

To learn more about this project, please contact Andrea Vizenor, Deputy Sector Navigator of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism.

Article by Elizabeth Tablan

The Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Initiative at Skyline College hosted close to 70 students this summer from the Garden Project for a 2-day Hospitality and Tourism Training Event. This opportunity provided high school students a platform to learn about the many exciting career pathway opportunities available in the Hospitality and Tourism Sector and to hear all the latest details about newly developed Hospitality and Tourism Program now available at Skyline College.

During their visit to Skyline College students were able to identify and practice technical skills necessary to become a banquet server in a major hotel or convention center along with important food safety and preparation skills necessary to work in food service careers. The sessions provided hands-on learning opportunities and an engaging exchange.

The Garden Project, located adjacent to the San Francisco County Jail in our backyard, is committed to empowering at-risk young adults through environmentally based job training and life skills programming, while transforming the urban environment. The program includes a special summer program for at risk San Francisco high school students.

It is the beginning of an exciting partnership that ultimately can increase opportunities and interest in higher education and preparation for exciting careers among at-risk high school students and create new connections to the many high quality programs we offer at Skyline College. To learn more about the event contact Andrea Vizenor, RHT Deputy Sector Navigator via email at vizenora@smccd.edu.

Article by Elizabeth Tablan

On Tuesday, September 9, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges (CCC) approved Kathryn (Kate) Williams Browne of Skyline College as their appointee to the Commission on Teacher Credential. In the 2013 legislative session, the Commission successfully sponsored legislation to allow the CCC to appoint a representative ex-officio member to the Commission. The CCC appointee fills the seat previously held by a representative of the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) which was vacated when CPEC was defunded in the Governor’s 2009 budget.

Ms. Browne is the Program Coordinator of the ECE Department and is a tenured Professor at Skyline College. She has been teaching in the California Community Colleges since 1990, teaching Early Childhood and Child Development courses at Cañada, Foothill and De Anza Colleges. Her educational background includes a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University, an M.A. in Early Childhood Education from University of Michigan, an Elementary Certification from Michigan, a Multiple Subjects Credential from California, and a California Community College Credential. As the Coordinator of the San Mateo Region of the CA ECE Mentor Program, Ms. Browne has expanded the number of mentors five-fold and has worked with centers throughout the region to bring experienced teachers into the Mentor Program. She helps mentors connect with student teachers from Skyline and Cañada Colleges, San Francisco State University, and local ROP/Tech Prep programs. Additionally, Kate is the author (with Ann Gordon) of several early care and education textbooks.

Article by Kate Browne

A cohort of eight faculty members from Language Arts participated in the Fall Institute of the California Acceleration Project (CAP) at CCSF. The 2014-2015 cohort, the largest since Skyline College began to participate in the statewide initiative as well as the largest of the thirty-five participating cohorts from two-year institutions across California, is currently learning best instructional practices for acceleration in English.

Broadly, accelerated learning aims to reduce students’ time in remediation by at least a semester. It aims to do so through the use of high-challenge, high-support pedagogy and an emphasis on curricula that: support students’ affective needs; provide numerous low-stakes, collaborative in-class assignments; and replace front-loading subskills with “just-in-time remediation” (that is, immersing students in challenging texts and teaching foundational skills when they are relevant to the work at hand). According to data CAP has gathered from participating institutions in the last five years, acceleration has resulted in significant completion gains among all students, including: low-income students, ESL students, students who did not graduate from high school, students with low GPAs, and students with disabilities. Accelerated learning is also applicable to STEM disciplines. Currently, CAP offers training to both English and Math faculty.

The cohort is in the early stages of planning how to disseminate information from the Summer and Fall Institutes to faculty in Language Arts and across other divisions. They plan to outline a manual for best instructional practices this fall and aim for its completion in the near future. They will also collaborate with CTTL next spring and host a Brown Bag session for those interested in learning more about acceleration.

You can learn more about the California Acceleration Project here: http://cap.3csn.org/

Article by Andrew Kranzman

Friday, September 19, 2014 – Friday, September 26, 2014

• Double Vision: Photographic Portraits from Cuba & Ghana, Skyline College, Art Gallery, Building 1, Room 121
• 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Skyline College Men’s Soccer v. College of Marin
• 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Skyline College Women’s Soccer @ Las Positas
• 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., Skyline College Women’s Volleyball @ City College of San Francisco

Saturday, September 20, 2014

• 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Skyline Wrestling @ the Sacramento City College Tournament

Tuesday, September, 23, 2014

• 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Skyline College Men’s Soccer v. Merritt College
• 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Skyline College Women’s Soccer @ Chabot College
• 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Food Security: Access to Safe and Affordable Food

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

• 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., Skyline College Women’s Volleyball @ San Jose City College

Thursday, September 25, 2014

• 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., Film Screening:  The Summer of Gods, Question and Answer with Writer-Director Eliciana Nascimento, Skyline College, Building 4, Multi-Cultural Room

Thursday, September 25, 2014 – Friday, September 26, 2014

• Skyline College Men’s Basketball @ Chabot Pre-Season Showcase
• 8:00 a.m. –  12:30 p.m., 2nd Annual Success Summit, Skyline College, Student & Community Center, Building 6
• 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Skyline College Women’s Soccer @ Cabrillo College
• 2:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., Women’s Volleyball v. Skyline Volleyball Tournament

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

If you would like to include your college event or activity on the calendar, please submit the event, date, time and location to Jennifer Owen-Blackmon via email at owenblackmonj@smccd.edu.