The President’s Council convened last week to celebrate the goals accomplished in the last year and commit to new bold goals for the year ahead. The Council welcomed four new members – Karen Ervin of Genentech, Michelle Jester of the SF Chronicle, Juslyn Manalo, the Vice Mayor of Daly City and Charles Schuler of SFO.
Chaired by retired banker, Ron Derenzi, the Council got right to work setting new goals for raising funds to support the Promise Scholars Program and the President’s Innovation Fund. This year, the Council is committed to raising at least $150,000.
Interim Director of the San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation, Tykia Warden, was there to ensure the foundation is poised to support the Council’s development goals. According to Ms. Warden, “The foundation is committed to successful fundraising that supports the priorities of the colleges in serving students.”
The Council received a list of all President Innovation Fund projects approved for 2017-2018 and noted that more than 50% of the great ideas seeded this year have been institutionalized. This means faculty and staff were able to “dream out loud” and make some very important programs and services available to students in an ongoing way. The projects funded this year stand to continue to support our culture of innovation while putting students first.
The Council received an update on the Skyline College Promise Scholars Program including information about the impact the Skyline College Promise has had on student success. At 86.3%, the persistence rate for Promise Scholars is 24% higher than that of the general college comparison group.
The Council then focused on preparing for the 6th Success Summit taking place Friday, September 22 from 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at Skyline College. The Success Summit was an idea that came out of the President’s Council to highlight North San Mateo County issues and explore solutions. The outcome of the first Success Summit was the creation of the shuttle that provides free shuttle service to and from Skyline College to the Daly City BART station. The Skyline College Express has an average monthly ridership of over 6,000 with more than 64% of the riders using the shuttle four or more days per week.
The goal is to have 100% of all council members’ participation or support for the Success Summit. This year the Success Summit will have two sessions so all attendees can attend both.
The 2018 President’s Breakfast will be held Thursday, March 22, 2018. In addition, there will be a thank you/appreciation reception held either the end of January or February.
The Council participated in a group activity that asked each to name three words that define Skyline College for them and to introduce themselves and tell why they support the Breakfast. The members exchanged the information in a “speed dating” format and much discussion and laughter ensued. The Council then adjourned for the group photo. Overall, they are off to a great start.
Article by Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud
