President’s Message I believe that it is time that we have a college-wide dialog on student retention and student success. Last spring, California Community Colleges received quite a bit of press as a result of a report titled “Rules of the Game.”  This study was conducted by Institute for Higher Education at CSU Sacramento. The conclusion of the report was that while community colleges do an outstanding job in providing access to higher education, we have significant work to do with regard to student success.   I will be the first to admit that I am not an expert on student retention and success.  I do not have the answers nor do I even know the right questions to ask. What I do know is this:  for every 100 first-time students enrolled this semester, only 60 will be with us a year from now.  While we are at the statewide average with respect to fall-to-fall persistence, I would argue that this “average” is unacceptable.  Furthermore, I do not think that CSM should settle on being average for this, or any other measure. Student retention and success are complex subjects. There are disagreements as to what constitutes “success” and there are many factors that influence retention that are beyond our control. Furthermore, improving student retention and success will require resources.  However, I do not believe that resources alone will solve the problem.  In fact, our retention and persistence rates are no different than other colleges with robust, traditional support systems. Thus, we will need to take a leadership position on this issue and become innovators at improving retention and success.  I am heartened to see the large number of faculty and staff who are engaged in developing innovative pedagogies and services to our students.  In addition, we have experimented with models that involve classroom-level collaboration between instruction and student services and the results have been dramatic.  In order to make progress as an institution, we will need to be thoughtful and deliberate in the framing of our research questions and we will need to develop a comprehensive plan as a result of that research.  One of the recommendations from our accreditation self-study is to develop an educational master plan.  I believe that this plan will provide the means by which we can move forward on retention and success. I propose that we start with something simple.  I firmly believe that a little bit of encouragement can go a long way with our students.  We are putting the finishing touches on our “Students’ Speak FocusGroup Report.“  What is clear from this work is that students who feel that we are genuinely interested in their success are, in fact, successful.  I recognize that this is an over-simplified approach, but in my own experience as a student and as a teacher I know that this approach works.  As registration for the spring 2008 semester draws near, we will be making a concerted effort to encourage our students to continue their education.  I hope that you will join us in this important work. Accreditation Team Visits October 22-25 College staff is putting the final details in place in anticipation of the accreditation site visit that will take place on October 22-25. The self-study report has been distributed and can be reviewed at many locations around campus, including: division offices, library, associated students office and Academic Senate office.  Additionally, the self-study is available online and can be accessed from the college Web site: http://www.smccd.net/accounts/csmaccredit/ The 10-member visiting team will be chaired by Dr. Marie Smith, former vice chancellor of instruction and technology with the Los Rios Community College District. The team's primary responsibility is to certify that the college is meeting the standards for accreditation. Using the self-study as a guide, the team will talk with faculty, classified staff, students, administrators and trustees; review an immense amount of supporting documentation; visit classrooms; hold open forums for input; and attend college meetings that are held during the visit. On the final day, Thursday, October 25, the team will hold an exit conference to present a summary of its preliminary findings. The campus community is invited to attend the Open Forums on October 23 and 24 and the exit conference on October 25. An accreditation brochure, which will include more detailed information about the visit, the open meetings as well as photos of the team members will be distributed to all faculty, staff and administrators in email format approximately two weeks prior to the visit and will also appear on the accreditation Web site. Hard copies will be available in division offices. If you have any questions regarding the accreditation visit, contact: Patricia Griffin griffinp@smccd.edu 6486 Sandra Comerford comerford@smccd.edu 6350 Valerie Anderson anderson@smccd.edu 6105

On Tuesday, October 30, at 11:10 am, the President’s Lecture Series: Diverse Voices in Writing will present author Caille Millner. Milner, who was first published at age 16, is the author of a memoir, the Golden Road: Notes on My Gentrification and coauthor of The Promise: How One Woman Made Good on Her Extraordinary Pact to Send a Classroom of First Graders to College. She was named one of Columbia Journalism Review’s Ten Young Writers on the Rise and she was the recipient of the Rona Jaffe Fiction Award and has earned additional honors from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, the National Press Club, the Scripps-Howard Foundation and the Society for Professional Journalism. She is currently on the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle; she has also written for Newsweek, Essence and The Washington Post. The lecture takes place in the CSM Theatre with a reception and book signing following the lecture in 1-115.

“Shooter on Campus” Presentation

Thanks to the work of Chief of Security John Wells and Dean of Administrative Services Virgil Stanford, the college will offer a “Shooter on Campus” presentation conducted by the San Mateo Police Department for all interested faculty, staff and administrators.  In order to accommodate as many people as possible, the presentation will be offered on two separate dates: Monday, September 17 and Tuesday, September 25, beginning at 2:15pm in the CSM Theatre.  For those of you who are unable to attend this important presentation, arrangements will be made to post the presentation online.

College Hosts Statewide Basic Skills Initiative Workshop

On September 28, from 9am-3pm, CSM will host the statewide Academic Senate’s regional training workshop to assist California Community College in implementing the Basic Skills Initiative. Nine colleges in our neighboring area have been invited and each college will bring up to 15 representatives, including English, ESL, math and counseling faculty as well as chief student services and isnstructional officers. During the day, participants will review documents on effective basic skills practices and a self-assessment tool for colleges to use to evaluate the current status of their efforts to address the needs of basic skills students. CSM will follow-up by establishing a Basic Skills Task Force to develop a program plan which will be submitted to the state Chancellor’s Office next spring.

Spirit of CSM Award Announced

This fall, the college will launch the Spirit of CSM, an award that recognizes individuals or groups that are outstanding in exemplifying the values of CSM. Two awards will be given annually, one to a CSM employee or group and one to a member of the community. The idea of this award was brought to College Council by former President Shirley Kelly; council embraced its concept and established a committee of faculty, staff, administrators and students to develop the guidelines.  A call for nominations will be underway in the coming weeks. Recipients will be selected by President Mike Claire, in consultation with members of College Council. The first awards will be presented at the college’s Opening Day meeting in 2008. Contributions in each recipient’s name will be made to the SMCCC Foundation to support CSM students. Guidelines and nomination forms are available by going to http://collegeofsanmateo.edu/webpages/notes.asp?NotesID=129.

Kudos

• CSM nursing student Rocio Montesinos is the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from the Coca-Cola Two Year Colleges Scholarship Program. Rocio is one of 400 recipients nationwide to be honored by the foundation. The scholarship is awarded to students who have demonstrated a commitment to their academics and to their community. Rocio is a volunteer at Samaritan House Clinic, a health facility that provides medical services to low income families and individuals, where she serves as a doctor’s assistant and an interpreter for doctors and patients. Her career goal is to become a pediatric nurse.
  
  
• Bulldog Football Coach Larry Owens began his 18th season at the college by earning his 100th victory. The milestone came in a 34-14 Bulldog victory over American River College. Congratulations Coach Owens! In other football-related news, Bulldog quarterback David Singleton threw a CSM record six touchdowns against Chabot College for a 49-20 victory on Sept. 8. CSM Bulldogs were ranked 10th in the state, going into the season, by the California Community College Football Coaches Association, have moved up to number four in the updated rankings.
  
  
• Congratulations to Darryl Stanford, professor of astronomy and physics, and Mohsen Janatpour, professor of astronomy, mathematics and physics, for their enthusiastic participation in Project Star Gaze, the program that brings elementary school students and teachers to CSM for planetarium shows. The project has become so popular among the schools that every Friday of the year is booked with field trips. In addition, the astronomy program will be hosting Fall Astronomy Day on Saturday, September 29.

Faculty Services Awards Announced

Fourteen faculty members and one administrator will be honored on October 2 at CSM’s annual Ice Cream Social/Faculty Service Awards Ceremony. The event takes place from 12:30-2pm in the Staff Dining Room; the awards ceremony begins at 1:15pm. This year’s honorees are:

Introducing CSM’s New Fulltime Faculty

Maribeck (Becky) Boosalis-Oler is a cosmetology instructor for incoming freshmen. She teaches the basic fundamentals of hair design, hair color, and facials with the theory of anatomy and the skin. Becky worked at CSM as an instructional aid since 2002 before joining the college’s faculty this year. Before that she was employed at a hair salon in San Mateo for about 10 years. A state-licensed cosmetologist and instructor, Becky possesses a cosmetology certificate from CSM and is currently working on an A.A. degree. In her rare spare time, she teaches Argentine tango and salsa dance (she has a teaching certificate for dance from the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters) enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren, reads and exercises.

Frederick Gaines is an ethnic studies instructor who teaches African-American Cinema and History of Asians and African-Americans in California, among other courses. Prior to joining CSM as a full-time faculty member this fall, he taught at CSM, several other community colleges and San Francisco State University over a ten-year period. Frederick’s other career experience includes serving as a counselor, administrator and principal at Walden Academy, a psychiatric group home for adolescents, during an 11-year span. His academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wichita State University, which he attended on an athletic/football scholarship and a master’s degree in ethnic studies from SF State; he is currently working on a doctorate in educational leadership with an emphasis on community college education. Frederick enjoys spending time with his wife, Jamie, and their three children: Chrissa, 14, Frederick, 10, and Tiger, 5. Frederick is also an actor, having performed in a variety of productions over the last 15 years.

Timothy Maxwell is an English instructor, teaching Introduction to Composition and Reading this fall. He has taught at CSM, several local community colleges, Stanford University and University of San Francisco.  Timothy also taught English in Tokyo and was a K-12 substitute teacher. He possesses a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English from UC Berkeley, along with a master’s of fine arts in creative writing from the University of Oregon. Timothy learned French, Spanish and stonemasonry as well. A traveler who “camped with Tibetan nomads” and “saw the aftermath of the Romanian revolution,” he has written an extensive amount of poetry. Currently, he lives with his son, Isham, and their dog, Mars Rover, in San Francisco.

Makiko Ueda is a psychologist/counselor in Psychological Services. As a part of the Psychological Services team, she serves CSM by providing consultation to staff and faculty; handling crisis and disruptive behavior on campus; and coordinating the internship training program and providing clinical supervision for interns. Makiko worked at a community mental health agency called RAMS in San Francisco as a clinical supervisor/mental health clinician and as a school counselor at the Chinese American International School for nine years. Makiko holds a master's degree in counseling psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies and has been a licensed marriage/family therapist since 1999. She enjoys singing in choir groups and is a mother of two children, ages 6 and 4 years old.

Shana Young is an assistant professor, teaching a number of adapted physical education (APE) classes, concentrating on back care, general conditioning and weights. In the spring 2008 semester, she’ll teach a new class called “Adapted Sports.” Before joining CSM’s faculty, Shana was an APE instructional aide at the college. A graduate of CSM with degrees in liberal studies and life sciences, Shana earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with an emphasis in physiology from UC Davis. She then went on to graduate from San Jose State University with a master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in adapted physical activities. Shana enjoys spending time with her husband, Neil, and their puppy, George, trying new restaurants and traveling.

Alyssa Wong is a mathematics instructor who is teaching elementary algebra and first-semester  calculus this semester, along with other courses. Before joining CSM this fall as a full-time faculty member, she taught at Laney College in Oakland and City College of San Francisco. Alyssa possesses bachelor’s degrees in sociology and mathematics from UC Santa Barbara. She also obtained a master’s degree in mathematics from San Francisco State University. In her spare time, Alyssa travels, dances, cooks and bakes. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching movies and attending plays and musicals.