March 13, 2024
Dear SRJC Community,

I am pleased to share with you the District updates that were provided to the Board of Trustees at the March meeting last night.

 

As a reminder, you will receive these updates from me following the monthly Board of Trustees meeting to celebrate the accomplishments and successes of our colleagues across the District for the previous month. These updates are a chance for you to learn more about the excellent programs, services, initiatives, events, and work we undertake in support of our students. You will find all District Monthly Updates on our News site at https://news.santarosa.edu/.

 

Office of the President 

• Attended various District events such as Dystopian Hamster Wheel A Critical Look at Black History in the United States Exhibit at the SRJC Multicultural Museum and athletic events: Men’s and Women’s basketball, softball, baseball, swim meets
• Attended the Swearing in Ceremony for Senator Mike McGuire as the 49th President Pro Tempore of the California State Senate 
• Spoke at the Petaluma Women’s Club  
• Attended Los Cien Farmworker Spotlight event 
• Visited the Children’s Center Classroom and read and danced with the children 
• Attended the Chicana Latina Foundation Awards Dinner where three SRJC students were honored 
• Presented to at the Asilomar Women’s Leadership Symposium 
• Led a PDA session SRJC Voices: Respecting our Past, Grounding our Present, and Realizing our Future 
• Led the Cafecito with the College Session 
• Attended the Reach for Your Dreams Conference at Sonoma State University 
• Led an Accreditation Site visit to San Diego Mesa College  

 

Academic Affairs 

• The Welding Technologies Program attended a “Women in Manufacturing Skilled Trades” Symposium at Ohlone College on February 23rd to inform our efforts to recruit more women and other underrepresented populations into the trades.  
• The Industrial and Trades Technology Department met with Petaluma High School on Friday, February 9th, to advance collaborations around articulation and dual enrollment. 
• MESA has hosted multiple student-centered and supportive events in February. On February 8th in collaboration with the Financial Aid Office, a workshop was held to help students with the ins and outs of the process, including information on the new FAFSA. A Scholarship workshop was held on the Feb 13th in collaboration with HOPE and Avanzando programs. And lastly, MESA hosted its annual honors recognition ceremony event on Feb 22nd. 

 

Student Services 

• SRJC’s Hire Up grant - Santa Rosa Junior College is one of 10 community colleges selected by the Chancellor’s Office to participate in the Hire UP program. The intent of this pilot program is to provide stipends to formerly incarcerated students, former foster youth, and CalWORKs recipients to help them meet the true cost of college attendance, gain clear access to credential programs and workforce support needed to enter, participate, and succeed in California’s economy. SRJC’s program and student recipients were recently highlighted in CalMatters and the Press Democrat. 
• Plover Hall Open House and Financial Aid Fair - Student Financial Services and neighboring departments in Plover Hall hosted the second annual Plover Hall Open House and Financial Aid Fair on February 14. There were more than 200 student participants engaged in applying for financial aid with Cash4College and Scholarship support, resource tabling, free lunch, service puppies in training, ping pong, photo booth, and more. This was a great opportunity for students to connect with the services in Plover Hall and get information on a wide variety of resources. 
• The annual Reach for Your Dreams Conference was held on Friday, February 23rd at Sonoma State University. This collaborative effort between SRJC Undocu·Immigrant·Dream Center and SSU’s Dream Center aimed to provide undocumented high school and college students with the tools and knowledge to achieve their educational and career goals.  Over 170 students and staff were present at this event.  In addition to information provided to students, separate workshops were held for teachers and counselors by the UndocuScholars LLC.  
• MEChA Youth Conference: More than 500 high school students from across Sonoma County came to SRJC Santa Rosa for the annual MEChA Youth Conference. The event featured various workshops centering around academic and cultural matters, with the goal of equipping students with valuable information that will support their future academic and personal success. In addition to workshops, students were connected with local organizations and institutions with a resource fair in the Emeritus Quad. The event also featured a keynote from Aarón Solorio, a 2018 graduate of SRJC and 2021 graduate of UC Berkeley, who spoke about his academic and professional journey that led him to his current role as an academic advisor for the California Promise Program and Male Success Initiative Program at Sonoma State University.  
• Club Day: Despite an atmospheric river sweeping across the county, more than 25 SRJC Clubs filled the Bertolini Quad and Dining Commons with Student Life for their Valentines Day Club Day! Club leaders braved the rain and the cold to sign up new club members, showcase their club activities, and to fundraise for their club accounts. The students in the Business & Economics Club were particularly creative with their fundraising, which included letting students pie their Club President in the face for a small donation! SRJC eSports brought an entire video game system, complete with a TV and extra controllers, and managed to host a Super Smash Bros tournament in the middle of the quad. We look forward to hosting the next Club Day on March 13th! 

 

Finance & Administrative Services  

• Data Governance - the conversion of our student information system to Banner highlighted a need for a discussion around data governance in the district. Data governance includes setting internal standards for data that apply to how data is gathered, stored, processed, and disposed of and is critical to ensure our data is secure, accurate, available, and usable. It includes the actions we must take, the processes we follow, and the technology that supports the data throughout the life cycle. A group of 15 from many areas of the college including student services, academic affairs, human resources, and finance and administrative services, attended a two day training at the end of January and have met for many hours since to define the various data points and identify the systems of records and those responsible for the data points.  
• Space Allocation Request Process - The newly created District Facilities Advisory Committee (DFAC) had its first committee meeting in February. This new committee was the result of a consolidation of multiple committees to streamline processes and workload. On the inaugural agenda was the review of a new space allocation process that creates a process for requesting new spaces within the district. Additional information can be found on the Finance and Administrative Services website and watch for more information to be released shortly. 
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Human Resources 

• SRJC’s Courageous Leaders Academy is being recognized at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) this May! Several SRJC representatives will be attending the conference and members of the Courageous Leaders Academy Steering Committee will participate in the poster presentation to share the work that we have done with the Academy.  
•  Human Resources staff members have worked with District representatives on hiring and onboarding over 31 individuals in February.  
•  Spring 2024 Professional Development Activities day was on Thursday, February 15, 2024 and approximately 500 members of the college community participated both in-person and via zoom. 40+ workshops were offered by the and the highlight of the morning plenary presentation was the Brook Tauzer Lecture offered by Dr. Araceli Osorio. Lecture title was ‘The Transformation of the Spanish Language – A Virtual Trip around the World’.   

 

Foundation 

• The Annual David and Dede Del Monte Lecture will take place on May 9th from 3:30-4:30pm in the Frank Chong Studio Theatre. We have booked Dr. Terry Scott, Director of the Institute for Common Power, and former African American History Professor at Hood College in Baltimore. Dr. Scott will talk about the continued movement for voting rights in America, and efforts to strengthen our democracy through community, education and investment in next-generation leadership. 
• The Foundation is partnering with the Bear Cub Athletic Association to host the next golf tournament fundraiser on May 13th at the Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club. This year’s event will conclude with a Hall of Fame Dinner where a new class of former SRJC Athletes will be indicted into the Athletics Hall of Fame. We are grateful to Exchange Bank who will be our presenting sponsor for the combined events. 
• As of December 31, the Foundation has secured $4.4 million for scholarships and programs, which is on a par with last year at the same time. We have raised $14.7 million toward our $15 million funding priorities campaign. The Investment Committee met on February 1, and the Foundation investment portfolio has experienced a 4.41% return in the current fiscal year, and a 13.17% return for the year.      

 

 

In community,

Dr. Angélica Garcia, Ed.D.
Superintendent/President
707-527-4431, angelicagarcia@santarosa.edu