Campus Updates 11/17/22

EVENTS AND NEWS  

I hope your week is going well. It’s been a busy one over here as I imagine it has been for you as well.  We had friends visiting from San Diego last weekend and used it as an excuse to do some touristy stuff which was great.  The Emerald City is well worth spending time in! 

You should see an announcement this week for the VP of DEI and some background on our new Shoreline team member!  I can’t wait.  To help prepare for her arrival, the Executive Team will be undergoing a series of DEI training courses as individuals and as a team to ensure we are working more effectively and supportively with our new team member.  Because this role is new to the college, we want to be sure we are doing all we can to aid in her success. 

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Ana Mari Cuace, the President of the University of Washington.  It was a meet-and-greet meeting for me as a new president in the region and very gracious of her to slot me in (I thought my calendar was busy!).  We spoke about how well our transfer students are prepared for the University, changes since the pandemic, and several other topics.  I bonded with her a bit in that we both are psychologists and have some faculty background teaching courses in similar areas.  Her expertise though is ethnic studies (mine was more in gender & women’s studies), and we did spend a lot of our discussion emphasizing the importance of that area and work being done in the region to re-vision that for the community colleges.  I am in full support of that vision so it was great to hear- in fact, UW is now considering increasing its diversity requirement for graduates which may create some cool opportunities for our system.   

I also attended two great events on campus.  The Public Safety Job Fair had so many incredible job opportunities for our students.  It was great to see the dedicated people from all over (including fire, police, the marines, etc.).  I also attended the International Education Week Coffee and Tea tasting event featuring delicious tastings from around the world and even from around the corner with representatives from Black Coffee Northwest.  What fun!  Speaking of coffee, the shared governance group met for the first time to start planning for a Request for Proposal for companies to bid on coming to our campus.  We will keep you posted on progress! 

And finally- I wanted to just thank one of our colleagues.  Gavin Smith.  Gavin stepped in to be the Director of TSS during a very tumultuous time at the college and really helped us get to where we are now.  Gavin is staying with the college but in a different role. Quotes from his colleagues include: 

  • “Gavin is secretly a Jedi Grand Master and trained Yoda.”  
  • “Gavin’s leadership was essential to moving ctcLink from a project to a reality.” 
  • “Gavin has always been the rational calm team member, when needed the most. He never missed an opportunity to take a pause and bring the room back together. We are so thankful for his thoughtfulness and compassion.” 
  • “The insight and creativity he brought to programming, were also evident in his acting director role.” 
  • “Gavin has the ability to navigate quickly and turn course as needed. He was adaptable, encouraging, and humble in the acting leadership role.” 
  • “Gavin has been both a friend and leader, a mentor and director, and funny and appropriately engaging.” 
  • “I am encouraged by the work that Gavin has taken on in an honest and forthright manner. He was a great person work partner in general and within the executive team.” 
  • “Gavin faced challenging often daunting tasks with a positive attitude and provided practical- implementable solutions that took into account how each person involved would be affected.” 
  • “During the ctcLink conversion, Gavin was never ruffled or impatient. He provided the steady leadership and support Shoreline needed to execute a monumental transition in how the college does business and serves students.” 

Read all of the quotes about Gavin here. 

Have a great week all, 

Jack 

JACK KAHN | PRESIDENT Virtual Office Hours 
Open Office Hours Zoom Link – Meeting ID: 843 6934 7745 – Dial In: (253) 215-8782 

Fall Quarter Updates 

ctcLink Updates: 

Foundation Events: 

Student volunteers work at sporting events in the region and donate what they would be paid to Athletics scholarships. This fall student volunteers have raised $13,898! 

Human Resources 

Know someone who wants to join our teams? Visit: Job Opportunities at Shoreline Community College 

Events and Updates 

Follow Shoreline Community College on social media! 

RETURN TO CAMPUS/COVID-19  

Cases   

  • For this week’s update: The College saw 5 positive cases of COVID-19 reported between November 9 and November 15. 

Questions?      

Shoreline Community College MISSION – Our Purpose 

We serve the educational, workforce, and cultural needs of our diverse students and communities. 

Shoreline Community College Presents….

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is A musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel SHEINKIN Sheinkin conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss.

Purchase tickets HERE!

Show dates and times listed on a graphic to promote the event with additional details.

Shoreline Community College fills diversity administrator position

Melanie Dixon

Shoreline, Wash., November 17, 2022) – Shoreline Community College (Shoreline) is pleased to announce they have appointed Melanie Dixon, president of American River College (ARC) in Sacramento, Calif., as Vice President (VP) of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Dixon has served as the eighth president of ARC since January 1, 2021. She brings extensive experience in higher education and DEI throughout her professional career. Before her presidency, she served as the Associate Vice Chancellor of Educational Services and Student Success in the Los Rios Community College District (LRCCD).

“My mission is to put the community back in the community college system to address educational equity, poverty, and gainful employment in the regions I serve,” said Dixon. “The emphasis should be on relationships and co-creation, and I believe professional development is the mechanism for systemic change and dismantling systems of oppression.”

Shoreline President Dr. Jack Kahn expressed his excitement to have Dixon join Shoreline. “Melanie brings an incredible track record of action-oriented social justice work where she collaborates and brings people together to make institutional change,” said Dr. Kahn. “It will be a pleasure for me to work with her on the executive team and to learn from her as we go about our campus endeavors together.”

Dixon previously served as Interim Vice President of Student Services at Sacramento CityCollege (SCC), Interim Vice President of Innovation and Success at LRCCD, and Vice President of Student Services at Folsom Lake College (FLC). Previously, she served as Director of Retention Programs and Assistant Director of Diversity and Multicultural Student Services at Portland State University (PSU). She anchors her work in social justice and educational equity.

Dixon has a proven track record of community service involvement, including a role with the Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce, which sets policy and provides advocacy to address students’ basic needs (i.e., food and housing insecurity, etc.). She also served as the Co-Chair of the 1300 campaign, an educational segment collaborative to address gaps in access for men of color. In addition, Dixon was an Equity Avenger, a collective of college leaders committed to closing educational gaps for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities. Finally, she served on the board of the Black United Fund of Oregon, the Foster Youth Education Fund, Resettlement Agencies Quarterly and the Sacramento County Food Bank and Family Services.

Dixon’s education includes an Associate of Social Science degree from Portland Community College. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Policy Emphasis in Teaching Adult Learners, both from Portland State University. She has continued her education through participation in various organizations to maintain awareness about DEI and anti-racism work and issues. Through her teaching, lived personal and professional experiences, she understands the importance of inclusivity and approaches her work from this perspective.

Notice of Board of Trustees Participation in Nov 17-18, 2022 Washington State Association of College Trustees (ACT) 2022 Fall Conference

Notice of Board of Trustees Participation in Nov 17-18, 2022 Washington State Association of College Trustees (ACT) 2022 Fall Conference

A quorum of the Shoreline Community College Board of Trustees will participate in the Washington State Association of College Trustees (ACT) 2022 Fall Conference* on 2022 November 17 (Thursday) and November 18 (Friday) at the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center (Seattle, WA).

*The 2022 Fall Conference is for training purposes.

*No official action will be taken by the Shoreline Community College Board of Trustees.

ctcLink Survey Results Summary 

The purpose of the ctcLink survey is to understand user needs and identify opportunities for improvement.  In July 2022, 146 responded: 41% classified staff, 26% Exempt staff, and 25% faculty, 5% hourly.

Respondents were actual users of ctcLink (52% reported using ctcLink multiple times a day; 77% reported several times per week or more). 

Results show that individuals are adapting to ctcLink, but they perceive that other areas are not. Users look to local colleagues for support more than other resources. Some users articulate concern about support and want clear, relevant, and timely responses.  

All results can be found here. Please click to begin a download of a read-only excel file.

President Kahn and ET are working together to prioritize and implement the Strategies for Success. President Kahn will speak to these strategies and updates in weekly all-staff emails and video updates, as they progress.

survey results infographic