To keep up the good practice of providing hands-on experience while we are staring at screens in Zoom meetings and Canvas all day, the STEM division has distributed lab kits again for several Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Engineering courses. The students and faculty alike benefit from this practice and try to keep the instructions as close to face-to-face learning as possible.

Over that last week the STEM lab coordinators Gary Cheang, Mousa Ghanma, and Marco Wehrfritz were able to distribute almost 600 lab kits in three days for a total of 11 different classes.

This time we were able to smooth the process and implemented the lessons learned from the past. The bookstore team, especially Kevin Chak, were a big help again in this endeavor. They were able to give us access to their scheduling system, which allowed the students to set up appointments to pick up their lab kits very easily. The pick-up happened on a drive through base but this time at building 7, which was logistically a huge improvement. The run was occasionally so big, that there was some congestion, but eventually everyone got served and was able to leave with their precious equipment.

A large part of the lab kits was thoroughly assembled at Skyline College. Most of the Physics kits were retrieved from the Fall semester and over the winter break checked for missing or broken parts, restocked and repacked to be handed out again in Spring. The Biology 215 and 230 kits were also made in-house and thoroughly assembled over several weeks to be ready for Spring. Some vital parts were indeed vital, like water plants, which could only be put in right before distribution to keep them alive. To handle this situation, a thorough time management strategy was set up by Lab Coordinator Gary Cheang.

On a side note: the bookstore was shipping more than 100 lab kits for Physics 210 and 106 for us! A big thank you for that!

And a special thanks for helping us out goes to Nadia Tariq and our two student assistants Sabrina Locsin and Kyar Loo and of course our Dean Carla Grandy, who managed again to make the funds for all this available.

Article by Marco Wehrfritz
Photo by  Gary Cheang

The Academic Senate met on January 21 and February 4, 2021. The following items were discussed:

Elections: President Shaw will resign her position as Academic Senate president at the end of Spring 2021 (sabbatical) in the middle of a 2-year term. The election for Fall 2021 positions will take place in April. Candidates interested in running are invited to contact members of the senate executive team for questions. The following positions are open:

• President (1 year to complete the 2^nd year of Pres. Shaw’s term)
• Vice President (2 year term)
• Secretary (2 year term)
• Adjunct senators – 3  (1 year terms)

The Academic Senate will be reviewing and revising its bylaws to improve the process of elections of senators in divisions as well as to reflect adjustments to committee assignment and structure.

Institutional Effectiveness Committee: The Institutional Effectiveness Committee (IEC) is progressing with the creation of its new charge to enable its oversight of Comprehensive Program Review (CPR).  The senate appointed Vincent Chandler to serve as tri-co-chair of the IEC through Spring of 2022. The senate is discussing how to ensure infrastructural senate connection to IEC via this tri-co-chair position.

Guided Pathways and Comprehensive Redesign: Director Ernesto Hernandez and President Leigh Anne Shaw seek greater faculty engagement in Guided Pathways and Comprehensive Redesign. Faculty partners are sought to complete the program mapping and to ensure robust rollout and support of the Student Success Teams for each MetaMajor. Please contact Ernesto Hernandez or Leigh Anne Shaw to share your interest in this work. The Scale of Adoption Assessment (SOAA), a requirement for participation in Guided Pathways, was approved by the senate on February 4.

Division Meeting Study Session: On Friday, January 29, a study session was held to discuss division meetings in the aim of making them more accessible, inclusive, and meaningful. Practices that came out of this session include: ensuring adequate time to discuss and act on issues of participatory governance; taking minutes and making them widely available to the division; discussing means for getting items onto a division meeting agenda, and inviting part time faculty to participate and benefit from information shared.

Plans for Fall 2021 – Spring 2022: Dr. Aaron McVean joined the Academic Senate discussion of tentative plans for returning to face-to-face instruction. Summer 2021 will remain in the same predominantly online format that we are in now. Fall 2021 may see some return to face-to-face for hard-to-convert courses, that definition possibly being augmented due to issues encountered in this last year of remote instruction. The hope is to continue to gradually return to face-to-face instruction in Spring 2022. All plans are wholly contingent upon factors beyond our control such as vaccine rollout and distribution, county and state mandates and guidelines, and physical capacity for maintaining protocols. Faculty are encouraged to complete the survey sent by District Academic Senate Jeramy Wallace on February 1, 2021.

Article by Leigh Anne Shaw

The Skyline College Strategic Planning and Allocation of Resources Committee (SPARC) met on Thursday, January 28, 2021.

Judy Hutchinson provided the committee with an update on the District Committee on Budget and Finance (DCBF) meeting held on January 19, 2021.  Topics of discussion covered included the 2020-21 CCSF-320 Full Time Equivalent Student (FTES) report for period P1, the Governor’s FY2021-22 State Budget Proposal, and an Economic Update from economist Mark Schniepp. The CCSF-320 report reflects the projected annual FTES for the District of 14,673.88 and for Skyline College of 6,108.41. More details on these topics can be found here.

Two guest speakers from the District, Peter Fitsimmons and Bernata Slater attended the meeting. District Budget Officer Fitzsimmons shared the economic forecast by School Services of California.  Bernata Slater, Chief Financial Officer, presented the SMCCCD 2021-22 Preliminary Budget.  Both the State and the District budget revenues are projected to be higher than what were forecasted previously. Presentation materials can be found here.

Tri-chair Eloisa Briones, Vice President of Administrative Services, presented an update on the College Fund 1 budget.  Given the updated forecast, there may be funds available for the committee to recommend allocations. VP Briones will bring scenarios for the Committee to review at the next meeting.

Due to time constraints, the Committee will review SPARC structure and role of SPARC at a future meeting.  Tri-chair Ingrid Vargas, Dean of Planning, Research, Innovation and Effectiveness, led the discussion on the Spring calendar topics for SPARC.

Vote to recommend to CGC that the recommendations of the CPR Redesign Task Force be accepted and implemented.

SPARC meets on the second and the last Thursday of the month from 2:10 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for February 11, 2021.  For additional information, please see https://skylinecollege.edu/sparc/.

Article by Judy Hutchinson

Skyline College Library is excited to announce our new digital magazine service Flipster, available for free to all members of our Skyline College community. To begin reading, simply log in as you would to your email or Canvas account.

Flipster is an easy-to-use digital magazine platform sporting academic, popular and news magazines like Essence, Hot Rod, National Geographic, Education Week, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Allure, Earth Island Journal, Poetry, Wired and YC (Young Children) and much more.

Faculty can share Flipster directly with students within Canvas or their syllabus by clicking on the share icon here and pasting the link. Or use this link to a one-minute video for how to use Flipster on a smartphone. After installing the phone app, select “Skyline Community College” and log in as you would to Canvas or campus email. Then, download the most recent issue of your favorite magazine.

Those of us parenting from home will also find Flipster useful for helping tweens and teens find recent, high quality sources for their schoolwork.

In the Fall, library staff collaborated to select magazine titles across disciplines that we felt best reflected the diversity and interests of our students, staff and faculty.

Do you have questions about Flipster or need a hand with access? Please contact a librarian using our Ask a Librarian chat service. We’re “open” 65 hours/week including Saturdays.

Article by Jessica Silver-Sharp

The SMCCCD Study Abroad office is happy to announce that the application for Summer 2021 Global Virtual Team Internships is now open! The priority application closes Friday, February 19th. Students may learn more and apply online here.

To learn more about Global Virtual Team Internships, please join our upcoming info session:

Monday February 8, 2021 at 12pm.

Register at bit.ly/global_virtual_SMCCCD 

Internships will be remote placements with companies based in Australia, Canada, England, India, Japan, South Africa, or the U.S. (New York or the San Francisco Bay Area).

The Global Virtual Internship Team Projects is a great way for students to work with a team of three to five students to deliver a consulting project to a global employer. Students will gain knowledge of their industry of interest as well as build on their teamwork, applied research and data synthesis skills. The Global Virtual Internship Team Projects will allow for students to build relationships through various professional events and cultural activities such as career learning and professional connections, cooking lessons, city and country special events like front row seats to sports events. Past internship opportunities have included marketing and PR firms, human rights and environmental NGOs, start-up companies and more. To learn more about the Global Virtual Internship Team Projects, visit the webpage Summer 2021 Team Projects.

Scholarships are available!

Join us for a Gilman International Scholarship Information Session on Wednesday February 10, 2021 at 5pm. Register at bit.ly/Gilman_SMCCCD.

Questions? Call (650) 738-7098, email studyabroad@smccd.edu, or schedule a one-on-one advising session with the SMCCCD Study Abroad office at www.smccd.edu/goabroad.

SMCCCD Study Abroad is the district-wide study abroad program housed in the Global Learning Programs and Services Division at Skyline College. For more information about studying or interning abroad, faculty teach abroad opportunities, community travel for lifelong learners, visiting international faculty presenters and student scholarship opportunities, please contact Zaid Ghori at ghoriz@smccd.edu or (650) 738-7088 or Stephanie Wells at wellss@smccd.edu. You can also learn more by visiting the SMCCD Study Abroad Facebook page or Instagram page @smcccd_study_abroad.

Article by Kimiko Petsche

This past week marked the 21^st Skyline College Free Drive-Thru Community Market! At this most recent weekly grocery distribution event we had 30 volunteers and served 850 families! We also hosted a small media event with several news outlets on hand to capture a financial donation from the Barry Bonds Family Foundation to Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley. You can see the distribution in action, as well as an interview with Barry Bonds in the video here.

Every week each household or family receives almost 40 lbs of groceries, including milk, eggs, pasta, rice, fresh produce, canned goods and dry goods, as well as a protein item (ham, chicken, turkey, etc.).  Second Harvest Food Bank calculates that over 559,518 pounds of groceries have been distributed since our program started in September 2020 and that we have offset over $1,001,536 in grocery costs for the most at risk members of our local community! A special thanks goes to SMCCCD employees from SparkPoint, public safety, and facilities, as well as the wonderful volunteers who make this event possible every week.

This event is held at Skyline College every Wednesday, 11:00am-1:00pm and has been extended through May 2021. All staff, volunteers and participants adhere to all COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols at all times.

• Only drive-thru pickups will be served
• All participants must remain in their cars at all times and wear a mask
• Open to students and the community
• No I.D required to pick up food
• Please call 650-738-7970 for weather and air quality closure updates
• Please use Skyline Blvd entrance

If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up through the Second Harvest Food Bank website.  If you have any questions please email us at skylinesparkpoint@smccd.edu.

Article by Chad Thompson

Make plans to join the SMCCCD Alumni Book Club on Feb. 24. We’re kicking things off by reading “Three Hours in Paris,” the NY Times best-seller written by Cara Black, an alumna of Cañada College.

The SMCCCD Alumni Association, campus bookstores, and college libraries invite all interested readers to join us for a fun conversation. The Alumni Book Club is free and open to SMCCCD faculty and staff, but you must RSVP to receive the zoom link: https://foundation.smccd.edu/alumni/bookclub.php .

Be sure to order your copy of the book, “Three Hours in Paris,” through the Skyline College bookstore , to receive a special gift with purchase.

 

Article by Melissa Rohlfs