COMMENTS FROM JOE D. MAY

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1 TO: FROM: DCCCD BOARD MEMBERS JOE D. MAY DATE: SEPTEMBER 25, 2015 RE: WEEKEND MEMO #73 COMMENTS FROM JOE D. MAY Good afternoon! As the fall semester moves forward, we have been busy hosting community college colleagues for the annual national COMBASE Conference in Dallas, discussing the tuition-free community college proposal with officials in Washington, and preparing to extend our 50th anniversary celebration to the State Fair of Texas parade today in downtown Dallas. I hope you enjoyed the parade and cheered on our students, employees, and mascots who marched with our official cars. We appreciated your support as we passed El Centro College, where we saw DCCCD signs and many smiling faces. I hope you had a chance to view the Foundation s video this week, I give because In the coming weeks, we will continue to talk about the 2015 DCCCD Employee Giving Campaign, which continues through October 30. In the meantime, have a great weekend! Joe May (Note: For the best viewing experience, please use the latest version of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, or Apple Safari.) North Lake College Our Students The North Lake College Student Life Center held its Welcome Back Celebration on September 16. Since Constitution Day was September 17, the Celebration included a number of events related to the U.S. Constitution and American history, including voter registration assistance. Other activities included a Constitution Day Game Show hosted by Veterans Affairs Coordinator Skip Ragler; a one-minute student speech contest, What America Means to Me ; and free food and entertainment for the entire North Lake College community.

2 Our Community North Lake College North Campus hosted its first Career Expo on September 17. Participating organizations included Fastenal, FedEx SmartPost, Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, Irving Police Department, Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament, Protech Security & Automation, Six Flags Over Texas, State Farm Insurance, Sun Holdings Inc., Texas Campaign for the Environment, and the U. S. Coast Guard. In addition to finding great local job opportunities, attendees had the opportunity to win a part of more than $400 worth of educational vouchers good for credit or noncredit courses at North Lake College. The Career Services staff, who coordinated the event, provides free career planning and job search services to current North Lake College students, students in the process of enrolling, alumni, and community members. September 10 was World Suicide Prevention Day and the North Lake College Counseling Center sponsored Project Semicolon to mark the day. The Project was started as a way to open a dialogue about mental health with the goal of restoring hope and confidence for those struggling with depression, anxiety, and suicide. The symbolism of the semicolon is explained on the Project Semicolon website: A semicolon is used when an author could ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life. Participants were provided the opportunity to draw a semicolon on their wrist or hand using non-permanent tattoo markers. Information on the warning signs of suicide and how to help someone in need was available. The event was hosted by Dalia Blell, North Lake College Counseling Services. Our Employees On September 17, North Lake College held a kickoff event for its Employee Giving Campaign a rally for both students and staff. The theme of the college s Campaign is Giving has sweet rewards ; the fundraising effort runs through October 30. Participants joined in a variety of activities, including karaoke, line dancing, and games of all sorts. Mountain View College Sustainability Success The Mountain View College Center for a Sustainable Future will showcase a globetrotting docu-series about the human impacts of climate change on September 28, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. in Room W183 of the West Campus Building. In the documentary, Harrison Ford travels to Indonesia to investigate how the world s appetite for palm oil has inadvertently created one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Back in the U.S., Don Cheadle meets a climate scientist and Evangelical Christian with a very different explanation for the Texas drought. And, Pulitzer Prize-winner Thomas L. Friedman travels to Syria examining how climate change can be a stress point in a volatile political situation. Student Success A Mountain View College student athlete has been recognized by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Congratulations to Juan Martinez on being selected the Division III - Metro Athletic Conference Men s Soccer Player of the Week for Region V! He scored a hat trick three goals against Southwestern Adventist University on September 16. A photograph of Martinez can be viewed on the NJCAA Region V website, Academic Success On September 17, the Office of Student Life kicked off the Mountain View College Student Leadership Institute with nationally acclaimed speaker Carlos Ojeda Jr.! Ojeda has been called one of the most dynamic speakers under 40 in America today. As a community advocate, he has worked extensively with high school- and college-aged youth, spreading his message of education, leadership, community activism, and entrepreneurship. As founder, president, and chief executive officer of CoolSpeak: The Youth Engagement Company (coolspeak.net), he and his group have spoken to hundreds of thousands of students across 43 states, teaching them that their voice is their power and inspiring them to be heard. 2

3 Brookhaven College Institutional Effectiveness Brookhaven College has been notified of having been selected to receive a Title V grant under the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program of the U.S. Department of Education. The grant will total $525,000 for the first budget period, with an anticipated total of $2.625 million over five years. The funding will support activities to reduce Hispanic student time to completion, improve distance learning pedagogy, strengthen Hispanic student support services, and enhance collegewide access to student information through an initiative called Project RISE. The grant proposal, submitted just months ago, took the collective insight, ideas, and intellect of dozens of team members throughout Brookhaven College. Student Success T-STEM Challenge Scholarships reduced the educational debt of 19 Brookhaven College students this fall. The Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (T-STEM) Challenge Scholarship Program, funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, allows community colleges to provide merit-based scholarships to qualifying, high-achieving, full-time students pursuing careers in STEM and related fields. The Development and Financial Aid offices at Brookhaven College collaborated to identify and award scholarships of up to $1,250 each to biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geology, physics, mathematics, and radiologic sciences students. If these students continue to meet the scholarship criteria, they can receive funds for up to two years. During the Scholarship Program s initial two years, 32 of 33 completers who received funds transferred to universities to continue their academic endeavors, or graduated and are gainfully employed. Community Engagement Brookhaven College was represented at the 2015 Dallas Green Fest, which was held at the Dallas Farmers Market on September 19. Green Team Coalition members distributed information about academic programs and sustainability activities, and reached out to youngsters by offering temporary tattoos of frogs, bugs, and butterflies. Members of the Brookhaven College Green Team Coalition include Carrie Schweitzer, director of sustainability; Lois Wagenseil, reference librarian; Suzette Constantine, outreach coordinator; and Tanya Thomas, student. On September 11, the Office of Service Learning and Civic Engagement at Brookhaven College hosted its annual 9/11: A Day to Remember event. The event is held to acknowledge the more than 3,000 individuals who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks in 2001 and to show appreciation of first responders for their willingness to rush into danger to help others. Clips from the film, In Memoriam - New York City, 9/11/01, were shown, and a banner was displayed that asked people to respond to the question, Why do we need to remember 9/11/01? There was also a display of 400 flags, which represented the number of first responders who fell on that day 14 years ago. In addition, a blood drive was held where 51 people lined up to do their part to help those in need; a total of 34 units of blood was donated. Photographs from the event can be viewed at Eastfield College Advance Student Success Eastfield College freshman outside hitter, Karina Lay, was chosen as the Metro Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for September Lay averaged 3.13 kills and 8.13 digs per set while also converting 30.8 percent of her digs into kills as the Eastfield College Harvesters defeated Southwestern Christian College 3-1 on September 16; they also defeated the Dallas Christian College team 3-1 on September 19. Foster Employee Success Eastfield College accounting faculty Regina Brown has been selected as the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) Outstanding Accounting Educator for The award will be presented at the TSCPA Accounting Education Conference on October 30 in Austin. Brown was nominated for the award by Eastfield College English faculty Larissa Pierce. 3

4 Employees at Eastfield College contributed $4, to the Employee Development Fund (EDF) during the academic year. The funds were raised through parking space auctions, a raffle, and book sales. In addition to monetary donations, employees contributed books, DVDs, and other materials for the book sales. Eastfield College employees may apply for an EDF grant of up to $500 every two years for the funding of educational and professional development activities. Funds may be used to offset the cost of college tuition, textbooks, workshops, seminars, conferences, and other activities. Meet Community Educational Needs Four student leaders and one faculty member represented Eastfield College at the 25th Annual Freedom Fund Brunch hosted by the Garland Unit of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on September 19. Attending the event, which was held at the Hyatt Place Garland, were Dillan Johnson (social responsibility chair) and Telvin Coumpy (peer mentoring chair) of the Eastfield College Men s Empowerment Coalition, and, from the Eastfield College Student Government Association, Aaron Sustaita (secretary) and Rameez Sohail (Texas Junior College Student Government Association president). Courtney Brazile, Eastfield College speech faculty and Men s Empowerment Coalition advisor, escorted the students. Cedar Valley College Our College On September 22, Cedar Valley College hosted Leadership and Relationship Day for all faculty and staff members in the college Performance Hall. The theme of the event was Branding the Cedar Valley College Way: One Team. One Goal. Activities included a social relationship pre-mixer meet and greet for new faculty and staff; an opening introduction and discussion of the event purpose by Cedar Valley College President Dr. Jennifer Wimbish; and breakout sessions for planning and discussion on the Cedar Valley College values as they relate to the branding of the college as a best place to work. This includes building stronger student, faculty, and staff relationships essential to reaching the institution s goal; living true to Cedar Valley College values by providing a strong sense of foundation for work responsibilities; and examining how employees live out their daily values of integrity, teamwork, civility, accountability, communication, joy, trust, and excellence at Cedar Valley College. Our Community Outreach The Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers College and Recruitment Fair was hosted by Cedar Valley College on September 24 in the M Building. Invited to the annual event were junior and senior high school students, and their parents, from Lancaster, Dallas, and DeSoto ISDs and several area charter/private schools. More than 50 local and regional college and university recruitment representatives participated, sharing valuable admissions, financial aid, and college degree plan information to more than 600 student attendees. Our Workforce Commitment On September 29, the Cedar Valley College Center at Cedar Hill will be open to the public for a free Business and Technology event. From 1 to 3 p.m., workshops will be conducted on the latest technologies: Microsoft Surface Pros, Periscope, Skype, virtual reality, 3D printing, interactive boards, apps, and more. From 4:00 to 6:30 p.m., there will be an Open House for members of the community to experience new technology and learn how the Cedar Valley College Center will help local businesses, workers, job seekers, and community members. During the workshops and the Open House, a Career Fair will be held for those seeking employment opportunities; representatives from the following employers will be on site: FedEx, KLLM Transport Services, SolarCity, and LEGENDS hiring agency. Cedar Valley College Human Resources staff will be on hand for those interested in adjunct positions at the college. The Cedar Valley College Center at Cedar Hill is located at 207 N. Cannady Drive. Richland College Employee Success Richland College was recently rated 10th in the Rate My Professor Top Lists for Junior and Community Colleges across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. The online rating system 4

5 allows students to rate colleges on the quality of their professors, reputation, location, career opportunities, library, campus grounds, common areas, Internet speed on campus, food service, clubs, events, social activities, and whether or not students are pleased with their decision to attend the college. By equally weighing professor ratings and campus ratings, the overall rating acknowledges that Richland College scores high in both academics and campus life. Student Success The Richland College chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) inducted 191 new members on September 16. All of these students have completed at least 12 collegelevel credit hours and have at least a 3.4 college-level grade point average. The NSCS is dedicated to excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service at both two- and four-year institutions. The new members will automatically become members of the NSCS chapters at the four-year universities to which they transfer. In service-related activities, Richland College s NSCS chapter is currently designing a program to welcome and assist any refugee student who would like to attend Richland College. The Richland College Office of Student life hosted a Constitution Day contest on September 17. This game show-style event challenged audience members with questions about their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. Pocket-size Constitutions, important constitutional facts, and contest prizes were made available to participants during the interactive contest. Sustainable Community Building Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, the Richland College Office of Student Life hosted two performances of Latinos Shaping the Nation, a play that addresses social justice issues historically shaped by Hispanics that still form a challenge. The issues students face today include injustices in the justice system; same-sex marriage; gender equality; immigration; reproductive rights; and social justice for Latinas. A discussion session followed the performances to provide students an opportunity to address these challenges and discuss potential solutions. LeCroy Center Institutional Effectiveness The LeCroy Center is hosting a Compression Planning Institute, September 25-27, for DCCCD staff and colleagues in the higher education community. Sixteen district employees are attending the Institute. Compression Planning is a group process to make meetings more effective and to produce measurable outcomes. The District is using this process with the DCCCD Board of Trustees for strategic planning, developing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs and proposals, working with local hospitals on nursing initiatives, convening local chambers of commerce, and many other projects that need focus, input from key stakeholders, and a plan of action to move forward. To date, approximately 80 DCCCD employees been trained in the Compression Planning process. El Centro College On September 15, the El Centro College STEM Student Success Center was recognized in the national Bright Spots in Hispanic Education online catalog by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. This initiative recognizes programs that invest in key education priorities for Hispanics and help to close the achievement gap. As a selected Bright Spot, the STEM Center will receive recognition throughout the Initiative s Anniversary Year of Action outreach and communications. El Centro College administrators, Deva Arumugam and Dr. Teresa Isbell, attended and presented at the North Texas Community College Consortium (NTCCC) Fall Leadership Conference, which was hosted by Grayson College on September 18. The title of their presentation was Leading in the Middle: Challenges of Outcomes Assessment. Isbell also attended the NTCCC Research and Institutional 5

6 Effectiveness Committee meeting where she was voted chair for She is serving as chair-elect/ secretary for the Committee for Achieving the Dream, Inc. and OneMain Financial awarded scholarships to four El Centro College students who are near completion of their associate degrees. El Centro is one of five community colleges in the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network. The recipients are Nangoyi Zulu, Carlos Roca, Heaven Abraha, and DeMarcus Craddock. An Achieving the Dream Scholarship in the amount of $3,000 was awarded to each student. El Centro College President Dr. Jose Adames recognized all four Scholarship winners in September. District Office The recipients of both the Muse and LeCroy scholarships, awarded by the DCCCD Foundation, recently gathered for their respective orientations to connect with each other and preview their activities for the academic year. On September 17, the Muse Scholars met at the home of donors John and Lyn Muse in Dallas for orientation and a dinner, while the LeCroy Scholars had the opportunity to engage in discussions with Mike Myers and Dr. Nancy LeCroy for their orientation on September 23 at a local restaurant. Both Lyn Muse and Mike Myers serve on the DCCCD Foundation Board. The LeCroy Scholarship, which Myers established in honor of his late friend, former DCCCD chancellor R. Jan LeCroy, marks its 25th year supporting DCCCD students. The Muse Scholarship, established by the Muse family, is in its sixth year. The LeCroy Scholars for this year (listed with their colleges) include Andrea Carrizales and Myka Morehead - Eastfield; Cesar Castellanos, Cristal Herrera, Praveen Ramarao, and Caleb Thibodeaux - North Lake; Sofia Correa - El Centro; and Carolina Wilkins - Brookhaven. Three DCCCD students are returning LeCroy Scholars: Michael Heggie and Rachel Quiroga Hugo - Eastfield, and Brian Weidinger - Richland. This year s Muse Scholars are Kelsey Booker and Ezra Calado - Richland; Andres Lesmes - Mountain View; Lina Patel - North Lake; and Ania Villegas - Eastfield. Returning Muse Scholars include Jessica Gallardo - Brookhaven; William Kaseu - El Centro; and Katia Marroquin - North Lake. 6