CAMPUS NEWS

Timeline Established in Presidential Search

The 13-member Presidential Search Committee has established a timeline for the process that is expected to have a new president on campus by late spring or summer.

The committee recently approved a position announcement that was posted on various Websites. Candidates must complete their application packets and submit them to the District by Monday, Jan. 2. The Office of Human Resources will screen applications and determine which applicants meet the minimum qualifications. Qualified applicants will then be forwarded to the Presidential Search Committee for review.

Interviews are scheduled for the week of Feb. 20. Finalists for the position will participate in college forums with faculty, students and staff during the week of March 6.

Finalist interviews with the Board of Trustees and Chancellor/Superintendent are scheduled for the week of March 13. It is anticipated that a contract offer will be made by the week of March 20.

There was consideration for having a new president hired in January but because there were delays in appointing the committee, the process had a later start date than originally anticipated.

The proposed timeline established by the committee is believed to be very reasonable given the constraints of the Holiday schedule and the desire of the committee to carefully work through the process to recruit the best candidates.

The committee includes Martin Partlan, Faculty in the Science Division; Paul Roscelli, Faculty in the Business & Workforce Division; Lezlee Ware, Faculty in the Humanities Division; Karen Olesen, Counselor; Patty Dilko, Academic Senate President; Gail Whitaker, Community Representative from San Francisco State University; Veronica Espinoza, ASCC Student Body President; Maggie Souza, Administrative Assistant, President's Office; Margie Carrington, Director of Financial Aid; Maria Lara, Admissions & Records Assistant; Robert Hood, Director of Communications; Marilyn McBride, Vice President of Instruction; and Jeanne Gross, Interim Dean of the University Center and Learning Center.

President Mohr Announces Innovation Fund

Interim President Tom Mohr announced the college will use $15,000 from the SMCCCD Foundation to develop a President's Innovation Fund that will provide seed money to fund faculty and staff ideas related to new programs reflecting business and industry needs, revitalization of current programs, and the creation of programs that support innovative pedagogies and learning styles.

Mohr said the President's Innovation Fund is modeled after the successful program of the same name at Skyline College .

"Skyline has been doing it and doing it well," Mohr told the College Council in November. "Our staff and faculty have creative ideas that can work if we provide funding. This will help fund some of those ideas."

Mohr said priority will be given to ideas that create new programs reflecting the needs of business and industry; revitalize current programs; and develop programs that support student success and retention, introduce new teaching methods and create distance learning options.

Mohr said he will develop a process, including an application form and time frame, to review proposals. Members of the Cabinet and President's Council will help identify proposals for funding.

Additional information, including a one-page summary, is available by contacting Mohr.

Budget and Planning Committee Grows Into New Role

With encouragement from Interim President Tom Mohr and leadership from across campus, the Budget and Planning Committee - long an ad-hoc advisory committee to the president - is beginning to take a more proactive role in developing future plans for the college.

The committee is made up of the President (ex officio), Vice Presidents, College Council Chair and Vice Chair, Academic Senate President and a second faculty member appointed by the Senate President, Classified Senate President, College Budget Officer (ex officio), CSEA representative, and ASCC student representative.

In the past, the committee was called together only sporadically when the president wanted the committee to consider an issue. That meant meeting once or twice a semester. Mohr has encouraged the committee to meet regularly and to become a leader in developing future plans for the college.

"It's important that this committee develop a firm role and purpose," Mohr told the College Council last month. "This college needs to constantly be planning for the future and this committee can certainly lead that effort and advise the College Council and President."

Faculty Senate President Patty Dilko said the committee is formalizing its new role and will soon come to the College Council with a set of recommendations designed to institutionalize this plan.

"We started by looking at the strategic plan but its clear there's no where to go with that plan until a planning cycle is developed," Dilko said. "We need to create a planning cycle that takes into account the annual budget and long-range strategic planning."

Mohr said the work being done by the committee is critical.

"The budget process needs to be understood by the entire college community and people need to know how expenditures relate to future goals of the college" Mohr said. "It's important that this is transparent and inclusive. I anticipate that this committee will develop guidelines to steer not only the annual budget process but also connect that to the mission and goals of the college."

Since arriving at Cañada in July, Mohr has actively engaged the campus community in the shared governance process. He is working with students, staff, and faculty to institutionalize the shared governance process by strengthening committees and clarifying roles and reporting procedures.

All-College Meeting on Accreditation Set for Dec. 2

Mark your calendars for Friday, Dec. 2. Deborah Blue from the Accrediting Commission will give a presentation on the accrediting process, the value to the college of the process, and the college's previous recommendations.

Blue's discussion will be held at 12:30 p.m. in Building 3, Room 142.

Dec. 9 Open House Set for College Vista

College Vista, the innovative residential development for staff and faculty of the San Mateo County Community College District, will open on Dec. 9. A ribbon cutting and tours will begin at 9:30 a.m. The development is located behind the District Office, 3403 CSM Drive in San Mateo.

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FACES OF CAÑADA

Karen Olesen Works to Eliminate AIDS One Person at a Time

Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day and Cañada College Counselor Karen Olesen is working to make sure the pandemic remains in the consciousness of the campus community.

"There are so many ways to fight this pandemic," said Olesen. "One person can make a difference."

In 1997 Olesen enlisted Barbara McCarthy, a professor in physical education, to participate in the California AIDS bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It required seven months of training but Olesen said the event provided her with an incredible sense of accomplishment and more important the opportunity to raise over $3,000 for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. McCarthy and Olesen were initially inspired by retired Physical Education Professor, Angela Festa. He rode his second AIDS Ride, celebrating his 60 th birthday in 1997.

"The community that is formed as riders make their way from San Francisco to Los Angeles and by the 100's of volunteers that support the riders, is a unique and at the same time very moving experience," she said. "The training and riding is not easy, but it is well worth it."

So much so that Olesen participated in the 1999 Heartland AIDS Ride from the Twin Cities in Minnesota to Chicago. This year, she again participated in the AIDS Lifecycle Ride, riding from San Francisco to Los Angeles this past June. The ride covers 585 miles in seven days. Olesen has volunteered to be part of the support crew for the 2006 ride.

During this year's ride, Olesen wore 25 red ribbons on the back of her camel pack (see photo at right). Olesen said that some of the donors who sponsored her ride asked if she would wear the ribbons in memory of loved ones who had lost their battle with the disease. Cañada student Josefina Napoles, wrote the names of the 24 men and one woman on each of the red ribbons and then sewed them on to the pack.

Olesen said attitudes about AIDS on campus have changed dramatically since she was hired in 1986. At that time several Cañada College faculty members were fighting HIV/AIDS and later died of AIDS in the late 1980s. She said it was uplifting to attend the Nov. 2 lecture "Global AIDS: An Epidemic That Won't Go Away," sponsored by the Health Center and find faculty, staff and students interested in learning more about this pandemic.

"The campus has come a long way and it really mirrors how society has come around," she said. "Young people in their mid-20s have grown up with AIDS their entire life."

Olesen said she hopes World AIDS Day will motivate people to help fight the disease. To learn more about participating in the California AIDS LifeCycle Ride go to www.aidslifecycle.org. For general information about World AIDS Day and efforts to fight the disease, go to www.worldaidsday.org.

Olesen also has a variety of Web links for educational resources about the AIDS pandemic. To learn more, contact her at olesen@smccd.net.

Sammut to Lead Student Support Services Grant

Kathy Sammut has been named project director/academic coordinator for the Student Support Services grant. The five-year federal grant will serve first-generation, low-income students and students with disabilities, with the key objective of preparing 165 students to graduate and/or transfer within three years.

Sammut has worked as Title V HSI faculty coordinator, instructor in the First Year Experience Program, co-coordinator of the Peer Mediation Program, counselor, career services coordinator, student activities coordinator and recruiter/community liaison instructor for the Stepping Stones Program.

"Kathy is passionate about students, research and teaching," said Interim President Tom Mohr.

Sammut is a Cañada College graduate and has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in counseling psychology from Notre Dame de Namur.

Huey Joins Cañada as Director of Psychological Services

Linda Huey, a licensed psychotherapist with private practices in San Francisco and Hayward , has joined Cañada as director of psychological services. The San Leandro resident will provide mental health services to the campus community on a part-time basis.

"It's been a professional goal to integrate psychology and education into a career," said Huey, who served as an intern 13 years ago at the College of San Mateo . "I love the educational environment. It instills growth."

Huey grew up in San Diego but moved to the Bay Area to attend U.C.-Berkeley where she earned a bachelor's degree in economics. She earned her master's degree in counseling from San Francisco State University .

While she's only been on campus since Nov. 9, Huey said students are finding their way to her office. "I would say the issues they have dealt with are related to coming of age and all the human condition issues that come with that integration," she said. "They are trying to figure out who they are. You must know where you have been, to know where you are, to figure out where you are going. This is a universal and cross-cultural issue for people from all backgrounds."

Cañada's large number of first-generation, low-income students presents some challenges said Huey. "Access to mental health resources can be difficult for people living on lower incomes," she said. "There is also the issue of stereotypes. For some communities, it's not okay to receive psychological counseling. I have to convince them that healthy people work out their problems."

Huey said she is developing drop-in time for faculty to discuss "red-flag" issues they might see in the classroom. "The faculty will be my eyes and ears," she said. "Eventually I would like to develop a workshop for faculty."

Huey's office is located in the DSPS Office and she can be reached by phone at Ext. 3152.

Editor's Note: If you have ideas for the Faces of Cañada section of the online newsletter, please contact Robert Hood at ext. 3340 or by e-mail at hoodr@smccd.edu.

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SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS

Lizbeth Mendoza: From CBET to Straight A's in Engineering

There are some on campus who believe students in the Community-Based English Tutoring Program take a few classes to learn English but don''t pursue their education after they improve their job prospects.

Don't tell that to Lizbeth Mendoza.

Mendoza, who moved to California from Mexico four years ago, started learning English in the CBET Program at John Gill School in Redwood City. But when she had command of the language, she didn't stop learning. Instead, she transferred to Cañada where she is studying electrical engineering and planning to eventually transfer to U.C.-Berkeley.

But if you think the 24-year-old Mendoza is content earning straight A's in engineering you're wrong.

She joined Phi Theta Kappa, the school's honor society, where she is vice president of hospitality. She is also tutoring English and math in the Learning Center. And, did we mention, she has found time to play volleyball for the Colts?

All of this while working part-time as the volleyball coach at McKinley Institute and taking care of her four-year-old son, Jose.

"I like to stay busy," Mendoza said with a smile.

Linda Haley, CBET instructor/coordinator, points to Mendoza when describing the type of student the CBET Program is trying to recruit. The CBET Program is an off-campus English as a Second Language (ESL) program that provides free beginning level ESL courses to parents and community members who pledge to tutor a child once their English is proficient. This program is a collaboration between the college, local school districts, Nuestra Casa/One, EPA, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mid-Peninsula. It is funded through Proposition 227.

Mike Walsh, an instructional aid in the Learning Center, calls Mendoza a positive force in the Learning Center.

"She stays very busy tutoring students in ESL and math," he said. "As well as being a very competent tutor who is knowledgeable, patient and supportive, she is very friendly and cheerful. Her attitude really helps our students and has a positive effect on everyone at the Learning Center. Like so many of our students, she manages to balance family, work and school without complaining."

Mendoza was asked to join the Cañada College volleyball team after Jose Peña spotted her in the advanced volleyball class he was teaching. Mendoza said she's been playing volleyball since she was eight. She started late this year but hopes to play for the team the entire season next year.

"She is truly an inspiration and a great role model to others," Peña said.

While Mendoza acknowledges the tendency by some students in the CBET program to not pursue their education after they learn English, she said it was clear to her that she needed to learn more than English to succeed.

"I wanted to learn English but simply learning the language only allows me to work in an entry-level position," she said. "I want something more than a basic job. I'm thinking about earning a master's degree and becoming a high school or college teacher. I would like to teach advanced math."

Few on campus who know Mendoza doubt she'll succeed.

Multimedia Students Win Art of the Comet Contest

Multimedia students Jim Laws and Marla Lehr won prizes in the Ohlone College Art of the Comet contest. The art contest was held in conjunction with the Ohlone College NASA Science Night. Laws and Lehr were chosen from more than 80 entries in the art contest.

Jazz Dance Class Presents "Winter Jam"

The Cañada College Jazz Dance Class will present Winter Jam 2005 at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 1-2 in the Main Theater. The annual performance is directed by Linda Breen. It is free and open to the public but donations are gladly accepted.

Young Latino Leaders Host Posada

The Young Latino Leaders is sponsoring the annual holiday Posada from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 1. The event features music and free food. It will be held in the cafeteria.

Editor's Note: If you have an idea for a student feature, contact Robert Hood at ext. 3340.

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Please see the EVENTS CALENDAR on inside Cañada for the latest event listings.

Editor's Note: If you would like to submit an event to the Cañada Calendar of Events please contact Debbie Joy at ext. 3318, or use the link at the bottom of the Calendar.

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