From the Office of John Weispfenning, Ph.D. 1370 Adams Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA Phone (714) 438-4888 Vol. 144 No. 134 February 2, 2018 Board In Action CCLC 2018 Annual Legislative Conference The Community College League of California hosted their annual Legislative Conference on January 26 through January 28 in Sacramento, CA. Vice President Lorraine Prinsky and Board Clerk Jim Moreno joined Coast District staff to attend meaningful workshops focused on legislative proposals affecting colleges and student learning. Advocacy strategies were also discussed and Trustees had the opportunity to meet with legislators to present CCCD s legislative priorities and the needs of students in the Coast District. (Pictured left: Trustee Jim Moreno, Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva and Trustee Lorraine Prinsky) Chancellor s Schedule Week of February 5 Monday- Friday In the District Board Meeting Dates February 7, 2018 Board Meeting February 21, 2018 Board Meeting College Highlights To view the Coastline President s Bulletin, please visit the following link: www.coastline.edu/bulletins 1. Pictured Left: Chancellor John Weispfenning, Trustee Lorraine Prinsky, Trustee Jim Moreno 2. Pictured Center: Trustee Lorraine Prinsky, Chancellor John Weispfenning, Trustee Jim Moreno, Assembly Member Kevin McCarty 3. Pictured Right: Trustee Jim Moreno, Senator John Moorlach, Trustee Lorraine Prinsky, Chancellor John Weispfenning) To view the Golden West College News Room, please visit the following link: http://gwcnews.com/ To view Orange Coast College news, please visit the following link: http://www.orangecoastcoll ege.edu/news
Coastline Cyber Defense Team Ranks in Top Ten at Recent Competition On Wednesday, January 31, Coastline hosted their Education Partners Breakfast event at the Newport Beach Campus. High school counselors and community partners came together to explore opportunities for further partnerships with Coastline. Many local high schools were in attendance from Garden Grove Unified, Huntington Beach, and Newport-Mesa Unified School Districts, making the annual Education Partners Breakfast a big success for the College. In turn, the Education Partners received updates and information on the various programs Coastline offers all very beneficial to their students in preparing them for College & Beyond. The morning s activities included presentations on updates, benefits, and key developments of Coastline programs including Coastline Promise, STAR 2.0 Programs, Newport Beach Campus and Disciplines, Intercultural Resource Center (IRC), and Career & Technical Education (CTE). Presenters included Mai Le (Student Success & Support Program Manager), Dr. Dana Emerson (Dean of Instruction/Westminster Campus), Dr. Tom Neal (Dean of Instruction/Newport Beach Campus), Dr. Nancy Jones (Dean of Instruction-CTE/Garden Grove Campus), Rene Gutierrez (Title III/AANAPISI Director), as well as Louise Fonua and Pryscilla Truong (IRC Staff). Coastline President, Dr. Lori Adrian kicked off the day with a welcome and brief address highlighting the importance of making strong connections with the community. Also in attendance were Dr. Kate Mueller, Coastline s new Vice President of Student Services, as well as Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Vince Rodriguez, and Dean of Counseling, Dr. Bruce Keeler. After the presentations, attendees networked with each other and Coastline administrators and staff. To conclude the event, Coastline Student Ambassadors conducted tours of the campus. This event was hosted and organized by the Outreach & Recruitment Team at Coastline: Sara Estrada (Outreach Program Specialist), Anna Diaz Villela (Outreach Assistant), and Nathan Brais (Director of Student Life & Outreach).
Golden West College Named 2018 Best of Huntington Beach By HB Chamber of Commerce Golden West College was honored with the 2018 Best of HB award by the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce. GWC President Wes Bryan thanked the chamber for the honor at its annual Best of HB Awards Dinner January 25 at The Venue by Three Petals in Huntington Beach. James O Callaghan, President and CEO of the HB Chamber, presented the award to Bryan. The Huntington Beach Chamber is delighted to honor Golden West College with this year s Best of HB Award. The College has become an integral part of the planning and development phase for not only our business community but Huntington Beach as a whole. Having a partner such as Golden West ensures we are preparing the workforce of the future to meet the needs of the changing business environment. Joining Wes on stage to receive Golden West s award was David Gatewood, Dean of Economic Workforce Development; Bruce Berman, Director, College Foundation and Community Relations; Greg Peterson, Acting Vice President, Instruction; and Bonnie Castrey, Foundation Board Member.
Orange Coast College Announces Hire of Planetarium Manager as Construction Enters Final Phase As the final form of Orange Coast College's 12,000-square-foot planetarium begins to take shape, the school has announced the hiring of Scott Mitchell as its Planetarium Manager. Mitchell, who started at OCC just after the New Year, comes to Coast from the University of Maine, where he worked at the Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium and Observatory, part of the school's recently constructed Emera Astronomy Center. While there, he worked as both acting director from 2014-2015 while he was an undergraduate student, and as assistant director once a permanent director was hired and while he continued his studies as a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in engineering physics. The Jordan Planetarium underwent a large renovation while Mitchell was there, with the construction of a new digital planetarium completed in 2014. Having had firsthand experience in the construction of a planetarium, Mitchell already has an idea of what he hopes to accomplish at OCC. "The OCC Planetarium will serve three major groups: the first is the K-12 school system, and we're working really hard to integrate our content with the next generation of science standards so that it can fit into schools' curriculum easily," Mitchell says. "There's also the public we're going to host 'public nights' where anyone can purchase a ticket to see a show. And then, of course there's the OCC community." Mitchell has plans to invite instructors at OCC to develop programs that utilize the unique features that the planetarium has to offer, such as an immersion theater and Science on a Sphere National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration globe. "We would like professors to be able to show their students things in the planetarium that they wouldn't be able to see otherwise," he explains. "A lot of people think a planetarium is just a tool for astronomy but it can do so much more than that. It's really a very powerful visualization tool for many subjects, including marine biology, graphic design, chemistry, and theater, just to name a few." OCC's Planetarium scheduled to open in September of this year will serve as a premiere science center in Orange County, offering the community access to state-of-the-art technology that no other local facility has, such as a Foucault pendulum, which demonstrates the rotation of the earth. "There are only so many of these facilities in the world," Mitchell says. Students at OCC also will play a large role in helping to run the Planetarium; Mitchell has plans to hire student workers to give presentations, lead field trips, and more. "Students are going to be the backbone of the planetarium, and I think they'll learn just as much as they teach," he says.
Save the Date - State of the District Address February 27 Save the date for CCCD s annual State of the District. Plan to hear about 2018 projections and outlooks for our district from college presidents, vice chancellors, and Chancellor John Weispfenning. Breakfast refreshments will be served. Doors open at 8 a.m. and the program will begin at 8:30 a.m. Please RSVP to PublicAffairs@cccd.edu. Last week I was in Sacramento with trustees and staff to meet with legislators and the state chancellor s office. Our advocacy included support to sustain the position of the Golden West College Language Arts Complex in the state budget. We also expressed support of a solution to the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), as it relates to the proposed state-wide online community college. I am proud to report that our district is well known and well regarded. The Coast Community College District is understood to be a leader among community colleges and districts in California. I will have more to report concerning the PROPSER Act (Higher Education Act) following my trip to Washington, DC in February. The PROSPER Act is an important bill that sets the framework for the relationship of the federal government to the actions of colleges and universities. Most importantly, it affects financial aid, loan limits, and awards. The last reauthorization of the Higher Education Act occurred in 2008. This is a key piece of legislation and it will be important to monitor its progress and let our elected officials know of our concerns, perspectives, and priorities. Have a great weekend. John Weispfenning, Ph. D. Chancellor