President's Updates

May 20, 2005

Executive Report to the Board of Trustees:  here is the link to my latest report to the Board of Trustees:  http://www.smccd.net/accounts/skynotes/boardrpt/index.html      

Please vote Monday or Tuesday on the proposed inspirational quotation for new Student Center:  As you know, our new Student Center, which is under construction at the entrance to the college, will have an inspiring quotation embedded in the wall.  All students, college employees and community members are encouraged to participate in the selection of the inscription.  We invited proposals for the inscription and received nearly 90 of them.  The College Council, which includes students, faculty, staff and administrators, identified a short list of the most suitable quotes, which are listed below.  On Monday, May 23, and Tuesday, May 24, there will be an opportunity for web-based voting for all students, faculty, staff and interested community members.  There will be a link on the front page of our website at www.skylinecollege.edu.  Votes will be tallied Wednesday morning.  We are interested in your opinion about which quotation would be the most inspiring for future Skyline students.  The online ballot will ask you to rank the following five quotations from #1 (the one you think would be least suitable) to #5 (the one you think would be best).

  1. Education is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.  John Dewey     

  2. The well-educated alone are free.  Epictetus

  3. You must be the change you wish to see in the world.  Mahatma Gandhi

  4. The highest result of education is tolerance.  Helen Keller

  5. Study as if you were to live forever.  Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Saint Isidore of Seville

New full-time faculty for Skyline:  Wednesday night the Board of Trustees approved the hiring of the following new members of the full-time faculty at Skyline:

Please join me in welcoming them to their new roles!  The selection processes for our other full-time vacancies are under way.  Thanks to the many people who are participating in the screening processes.  This is very important work on behalf of our students.

President’s Innovation Fund projects for 2005-06:  We received 18 terrific proposals for a total of $88,549 and we were able to fund $47,575.  Some of those which were not funded will be routed to other appropriate funding sources.  The projects selected for funding through the President’s Innovation Fund for 2005-06 are these: 

Improving Access to Skyline College for ESL Students
In response to the goals for the Skyline College Equity Plan, the project will conduct a study to measure accessibility, retention and success of the ESL population and identify barriers facing this student population.  Strategies will be developed to increase ESL student enrollment.  An interdisciplinary discussion on how to begin moving towards a Hispanic Serving Institution may occur if large numbers of Spanish-speaking students are identified as having issues of accessibility, retention and success.

Disability Awareness Month Celebration:  October 2005
Skyline College DSP&S and the Museum of Tolerance (MOT) Alumni Group will co-sponsor bringing a well-known Bay Area leader (to be announced upon confirmation) to Skyline College to address their personal experiences with learning disabilities and their path to success.  The project goals are:

To foster appreciation and respect for those who learn differently among the greater college community
To promote the concept that persons who learn differently are intelligent and capable
To model the role of an effective self-advocate that students with learning “disabilities”/differences can respect and follow.

Presentation of “Kick” a one-person play from the
National Coalition Center for Justice:  October 2005

The Skyline College MOT Alumni Group continues to create a climate where tolerance and diversity topics are examined and discussed.  “Kick” is the story of one high school student’s decision to confront the issue of stereotyping. The two-day event features facilitated discussions both prior to and at the conclusion of the performance.  Four performances are planned, with one offered to high school students.

WOW! Speaker Series:  October 6, 13, 10, 27, 2005
Three respected local authors will read and speak about their writing in conjunction with the Lit 166 Women on Writing course (.5 units CR/NC) scheduled for four Thursday evenings in October.  The guest faculty will be two Bay Area authors who were featured at the past WOW! Conferences and one author who will present her work for the first time at WOW! 2006.  The speaker series is open to the public with a modest registration fee of $15 per evening or $45 for the series.

Film Festival presented by the Museum of Tolerance (MOT) Alumni Group:  February 2006  
The film festival will present two films, Talking Roots and Mixed Feelings, on Feb 6 and 9, 2006 and feature the filmmakers who will be on hand to provide insight and a personal perspective about their films.  This film festival focuses on issues of bi-cultural awareness, identity, and coming to terms with one’s heritage through a journey of self-discovery.

The selected films reflect the mission of the MOT:

Individually, MOT Alumni at Skyline College aim to foster tolerance by demonstrating model qualities, celebrating diversity, and speaking out when hearing or seeing examples of intolerance.

Collectively, MOT Alumni aim to foster tolerance by endorsing activities that celebrate diversity, and by cultivating other related educational endeavors.

“Access to Higher Education Forum: Making the Connection”, February 2006
The Minority Student Alliance, a new coalition of student organizations including the Pre-Med Club, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the Latino America Student Organization, the Filipino Student Union, and the Black Student Union, will present a one-day conference for high-school students and their parents who are from communities that have been historically underrepresented in higher education.  The sessions will be designed to educate, inform, and motivate potential Skyline students to enroll in college.  In many instances, language is a barrier for parents therefore simultaneous bi-lingual sessions will be held.

National Library Week Celebration:  April 2-8, 2006
The Skyline College Library will invite a prominent Bay Area writer (TBD) to speak during the observance of National Library Week to celebrate the magic of reading and the significance of free access to knowledge.

1906 Centennial Project:  April 18, 2006
Involve Skyline College in an extensive regional commemoration of the great earthquake on the nearby San Andreas Fault and related fires in San Francisco with the development and installation of a permanent informational plaque for the campus.  A guest speaker will provide a special presentation for the 1906 Earthquake Centennial Commemoration.

Adewole Project
Adewole means “The crown (head) is welcome into the house” in the Yoruba culture of West Africa.  The Adewole Project will sponsor a series of for-credit lecture/media presentations featuring independent filmmakers, directors and authors who are connected to communities of color and offer perspectives on the impact of oppression and the resilient spirit that continues to overcome.

College Readership
USA Today will be provided to Skyline students Monday through Friday during the Fall 2005 semester.  Each week, an online quiz on the past week’s news will be provided and prizes awarded for the highest score.  The quizzes will be developed by Skyline’s Phi Theta Kappans for their fellow students and offered via the internet at skylinecollege.edu.

Kababayan Program – Mentorship and Community Support 
Kababayan is a new transfer and support program with the goal of increasing proficiency in English skills in college, work and life.  Kababayan focuses on the Filipino/Filipino-American student experience.  This is the third and final year of funding from the President’s Innovation Fund.  Program goals are:

Establish a mentoring component linked to English classes
Establish community support for the program.
Link mentoring and community support to the instructional components
Explore the feasibility of adding classes to the program.
Enable program participants to travel to neighboring colleges.

2005 Skyline Blood Drive:  This was our 27th annual Blood Drive at Skyline College.  This year students, staff and faculty donated 68 units of blood.  Another 47 people were deferred, to be called later by the Blood Bank.  Over the 27 years Skyline has contributed a grand total of 2,242 units of blood.  Skyline College was presented an Outstanding Achievement Award for 2004 by the Blood Centers of the Pacific for "Special Recognition".  Skyline College has been one of the top suppliers of blood to the Peninsula.  In 2004, the Health Center worked with Guillermo Ortiz' Marketing class for the fourth consecutive year.  Professor Ortiz assigned the Blood Drive as a marketing project for the class.  The students secured sponsors, helped with advertising on and off campus, and created such enthusiasm that we had a record number of people signed up to donate blood.  The 2004 Blood Drive was a success because of the joint efforts of the Health Center and the Marketing Class.  The plaque will be on display in the Health Center, room 2209.


Victoria P. Morrow, Ph.D.
President, Skyline College
650-738-4111
morrowv@smccd.net
3300 College Drive
San Bruno, CA 94066