Good afternoon folks, 

First my apologies for the time it has taken to get this trust memo out. With so many things happening (and several institutional messages coming to campus), I wanted to try and get this to you when things were a bit quieter. 

First an update on Trust items from the last memo. 

1.    We had a successful open event where we invited three different colleges to discuss their participatory governance process. The College Council will have voted this week on a process to determine a participatory governance process for SCC. 

2.    The DEI strategic plan process is well on its way! 

3.    Pro-D update: I will provide in my weekly email! 

4.    We did one training with administrators and classified staff supervisors on best-practices in “including staff and faculty in planning.” This is an item I need to pay more attention to and likely develop a more structured/intensive training for all of us. 

5.     The remote work policy process was discussed in Executive Team (ET) this week and next steps will be shared within the month. We are getting there! 

6.    The coffee RFP has been released to the community! 

7.    My revised outcomes (with your recommendations) have been approved by the board of trustees. 

And finally, the last item from the last memo: 

*More items will be added to the Trust work for the next 6 months* 

The one I want to discuss this month has to do with the structure of Student Learning, Equity, and Success (SLES). In the very first Trust activity, a few people remarked that having one VP over Instruction and Student Services (SLES) had downsides for the College. The reasons given were varied, but it has been something I have been thinking about since I came to Shoreline. 

Originally, I really loved the idea of one VP. When I was a VP of Instruction, it was challenging at times to get “both sides” working together, even though I worked with wonderful colleagues along the way. I was looking forward to seeing this unification “in-action.” 

Having been here now eight months and having learned of the significant areas of improvement needed across the College (including accreditation, lowered enrollments, and various specific operational challenges in Students, Equity, and Success), I believe we need to go back to the model you all had previously which is to have a VP on the Instruction side as well as a VP on the Student Services side. Both areas have significant items needing to be prioritized, addressed, and improved and I think one ET leader is insufficient given the current state of the College.  

We also need to focus on collaborative revisioning in both areas. Instruction needs to align their practices with the president’s goals (and eventually new strategic plan) so that they are proactively reaching out to multiple underserved communities and creating many new structured instructional pipelines for these groups to benefit from all we have to offer. On the Student Services side, we need to develop and implement a DEIA- based retention plan that identifies students’ long-term needs and acts on those needs week-by-week in a planful and structured fashion.  Due to lower enrollments from COVID-19 and a historic trend of decreasing enrollments, this is a primary need at the College and it is URGENT that we amplify practices immediately. 

Given the strong background Dr. Phillip King brings to Student Services and the great work he and his team have done thus far in developing “just-in-time” interventions for students, and a terrific DRAFT retention plan, I have asked Dr. King to serve as VP – Student Services once a new VP-Instruction has been recruited and hired. I have been working with Dr. King on this transition and will of course continue to do so. 

I will be working with the campus community ASAP to recruit a DEIA-centered and participatory governance-focused Vice President – Instruction who can work with us to focus on these needed changes. Ideally, the need for this position should come out of the campus-wide Area Review planning process, but at times the urgency of a decision requires the President to make a decision in the absence of College structure. I cannot wait until the planning process is complete this academic year because I deem the changes needed to be urgent for the health of the College. In terms of funding this additional VP position, I will work with ET and the Budget Office to ensure this is a budget-neutral decision. I have taken one step to that end by putting one admin position recruitment on pause.  

This month, I will look at the original trust memo and add additional items to work on for next month’s memo.  

Have a great rest of your week. 

Cheers,

Jack

Jack S. Kahn Ph.D.

President

He/Him/His

Shoreline Community College

16101 Greenwood Avenue North

Shoreline, Washington 98133

(206) 546-4552

jkahn@shoreline.edu