Visit
The ACCJC appointed visiting accreditation team will be on CSM's campus from September 30, 2019 through October 3, 2019.About the Accreditation Visit
The Visiting Team
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Dr. Pamela Luster (Team Chair) is the President of San Diego Mesa College for the past 8 years. Previously, Pamela served as the Vice President of Student Services, Interim Vice President of Instruction and Dean of Academic Services at Las Positas College. At West Valley College, she held the position of Dean of Career Education and Workforce Development. Pamela began her career as a faculty member in the Disabled Students program. Pamela’s service includes membership on several local, state and national boards: San Diego Youth Services (SDYS), San Diego Mesa College Foundation, California Community College Athletics Association, and on the American Association of Community Colleges Commission for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She also currently serves on the CEOCCC Board representing Region XI, and is co-chairing the CEOCCC Task Force on Affordability, Food and Housing. This year, she is the Chair of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community College Association. She is also an adjunct faculty member at San Diego State University, Doctoral Program in Community College Leadership. Pamela’s scholarly and professional pursuits are focused on student equity, diversity and inclusion and building campus and community coalitions towards cultural proficiency and humility. She is committed to finding permanent solutions to address the basic needs of community college students. |
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Richard Winn, Ed.D., (ACCJC President) was appointed as President in July 2017. Richard joined the commission staff in June 2016 as Vice President of Operations and then was appointed to serve as Interim President in December of that year. He worked with the WASC Senior Colleges and University Commission for 12 years, retiring in 2015 as Senior Vice President. Richard is also a public member of the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation and served for three years on the Board of Examiners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He supports the Commission’s Executive and Eligibility Review Committees and oversees annual conference planning. |
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Raj Bajaj is Dean of Educational Services, Riverside Community College District. At RCCD, Raj participates in enrollment management challenges, which include facilitating meetings among administrators and faculty on the exigencies of schedule development and state reporting. He served as chair of a middle management operational team made up of Academic Affairs and Student Services personnel to ensure that core institutional processes across and within units are aligned for consistent reporting and data integrity. Raj is also responsible for IPEDS, FTES, MIS and FON reporting to the state. Raj earned a Blue Ribbon Award from the RCCD Department of Administration and Finance for improving reporting processes, a Research and Planning Service Award from the RCCD Office of Planning and Development, and a SHINE Award from the California Datatel/Ellucian user group for which he served as a Board member for two years. Raj is an active member of an advisory group to Datatel/Ellucian on issues that impact State reporting. Raj holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master of Science from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. |
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Giovanni Garcia joined San Diego Mesa College in January 2018 as an Administrative Technician in the President’s Office. Before coming to Mesa College, he worked at the District Office for the San Diego Community College District for over 10 years, where he provided administrative support in the Public Information and Government Relations office, Facilities Management, and most recently in the Office of the Chancellor and Board of Trustees.
Giovanni currently works with shared governance groups across campus to help keep their committee websites up-to-date, and is also a member of the college’s Master Planning Task Force. |
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Yvonne Grigg is a Professor of English and the Faculty Accreditation Coordinator at Los Angeles Pierce College (LAPC). Yvonne has spent the last year coordinating, writing, and editing LAPC’s Midterm Report. She is a member of the LAPC’s Academic Senate, Educational Planning, College Planning, Accreditation Steering, Distance Education, and Outcomes Committees. Yvonne helped to create and review the outcomes for Administrative Services as well as Student Services as part of an Outcomes Task Force. She is also a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Accreditation Committee.
Yvonne’s visit to the College of San Mateo will be her first experience serving on an ACCJC evaluation team, and she is looking forward to the experience. |
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Dr. Ashanti Hands serves as Vice President for Student Services at San Diego Mesa College where she is responsible for over 20 student services departments and functions, including Student Affairs, Student Development and Student Success & Equity. Prior to her work at San Diego Mesa College, Dr. Hands served as Dean of Student Affairs, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Coordinator of Student Activities at the University of California, San Diego, and as an Adjunct Counselor for Extended Opportunities Programs and Services at Grossmont College. Dr. Hands has served in higher education for over 25 years.
Her accreditation experience includes service as a Quad Chair and/or lead writer for Accreditation Standards II.C Student Support Services and V.B Leadership and Governance. Dr. Hands earned her Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego and both her Master's in Education with an emphasis in multi-cultural counseling and Doctorate in Educational Leadership from San Diego State University. |
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Lorenze Legaspi serves as the Vice President of Administrative Services for San Diego Mesa College. He is responsible for college operations including Accounting, Business Office Support (Human Resources), Student Accounting, College Technology Services, Print and Mail functions, Events and Operations, Stockroom, Safety, as well as the college liaison for Facilities, Bookstore, and Food Service Operations. Mr. Legaspi came to Mesa College in June, 2018 from his position as Vice President, Administrative Services at Grossmont College. Prior to that, Legaspi worked as manager of Administrative Services at the School of Continuing Education (now known as North Orange Continuing Education) for North Orange County Community College District (NOCCCD). He was promoted from Accounting Specialist at NOCCD. He brings a wealth of knowledge in the areas of budget, facilities, construction, processes, business communications, while ensuring equity and the student experience are the focus of all college decisions within Administrative Services. This will be his first time serving on a peer review team. However, Lorenze has led the college effort and been responsible for the content of ACCJC Standard III: Resources as well as the lead for Criterion 8: Resource Management for a non-credit institution accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges. He has also served on accreditation steering committees at his previous institutions. |
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Dr. Brad Millar is a professor of Communication for the State Center Community College District at the Madera Community College Center, in Madera, CA., and the Oakhurst Community College Center in Oakhurst, California, where his main responsibility is to provide instruction for students in Communication courses and to support the college by serving on various committees at the Madera Center. Brad has been a member of the Academic Senate, College Council, SCCCD Strategic Planning Alliance, Student Disciplinary Committee, Sabbatical Leave Committee, Educational Master Plan Ad Hoc Committee, Program Review, Equivalency Committee, Mini-Grants Committee, Staff Development Committee, and many hiring committees, among others. He is also creating and teaching courses at the Oakhurst Center and assisting in its growth and development as it prepares for relocation to a permanent campus site. In 2017, Brad was a member of the Modesto Junior College evaluation team, his first and only experience to date. His focus was on Standard I. A., and he found it to be an informative, useful, and inspirational process since he was able to learn from the knowledge, expertise, and commitment of his fellow team members. From 2011 to 2015, he participated in workshops and activities designed to assist in the progression of the Clovis Community College Center’s to full-college status, which occurred in 2015. Included in this was contributions to research, data collection, and development of written documentation to be included in the ISER. Currently, his home campus of the Madera Community College Center is in the accreditation process in order to graduate to full-college status, and he has been involved in the development of the Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and Program Review for the Communication Department. |
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Dr. Madjid Niroumand serves as the Vice President of Student Services for Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. He has more than 20 years of experience in higher education within the California Community College system. In his current role, Madjid is primarily responsible for the overall leadership, planning, budget, Program Review, and compliance for Student Services Programs including: Enrollment Services (A&R, Graduation, Veterans Services, Evaluation, Outreach, Assessment), Financial Aid, Global Education, Student Equity and Achievement Program, EOPS, CARE, CalWORKS, DSPS, Counseling and Transfer Center, Health Services, Bookstore, Children Center, Dean of Students Office, College Life, Outreach, Title IX, and Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT). Madjid has served in various roles at the College including Dean of Enrollment Services, Associate Dean of Student Services, Director of International Studies, Part-time Faculty, and a Classified professional. He has previously served on an ACCJC Evaluation Team and has been responsible for the oversight of compliance to ACCJC accreditation standard for Student Services at his college as well as contribution to the ISER. Madjid holds his doctoral and Master’s degrees in Business Administration and received his Bachelor’s degree in Management and Operations. He is a proud graduate of a community college. |
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Mary-Catherine Oxford is the current Director of Learning Resources at College of the Sequoias where she oversees library services for three campus locations and leads the distance education program. She has held this position for six years. Starting her professional career in public libraries, Mary-Catherine transitioned to the California Community College System to help navigate change in community college libraries. In addition to leading library services, Mary-Catherine has served on numerous campus committees, oversaw tutorial services, and taught library courses. She served on the 2016 Ventura Community College visiting team and lead the writing of her own institution’s standard II.B. |
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Debra Polak is Vice President of Academic Affairs at Mendocino College, a single-college, small rural district. Where she serves as both the ALO and CIO. Debra oversees many parts of the program review process, is responsible for the Education Master Plan, and works with faculty as the Vice Chair of the Curriculum Committee. She is in charge of schedule and catalog production. The Instructional Deans report to Debra, including the Dean of Centers. Through the deans, she oversees all instructional faculty, the library, learning center, and MESA. She is co-chair of the Guided Pathways Leadership Team and am the administrator in charge of that program. Debra also provides oversight for our adult ed consortium. Before becoming VPAA, Debra was English faculty and Dean of Instruction at Mendocino College. She is part of the leadership team of the RP Group’s Leading from the Middle program. She has also taught in the School of Education for Dominican University. This is Debra’s first experience serving on a peer review team. As the current ALO, she’s been preparing her college for their February 2020 visit. She was involved as a standard chair in producing the college’s 2014 ISER and became ALO as the midterm report became due. |
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Suzanne Wakim is the Distance Education Coordinator, Open Educational Resources Coordinator, Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator, and Instructor of Biology and Honors at Butte Community College. Her OER roles include Regional Lead for the ASCCC OER Initiative and Executive Council Member for the Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER). Her DE roles include @ONE Course Facilitator and Online Course Reviewer. Her SLO roles include membership on the Professional Development Committee for the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE) and the CVC-OEI CCMS Outcomes Workgroup. She has presented at nationwide conferences on topics such as Universal Design for Learning; Equity-Minded Course Development; and Open Teaching Practices. |
