July 17, 2024

Dear SRJC Community,

Welcome to the first District Monthly Update of our new 2024 -2025 academic and fiscal year. This year, you’ll see a new addition to the District Monthly Update, which is a message from me on important initiatives and issues facing SRJC. 

The updates will also continue to celebrate the accomplishments and successes of our colleagues across the District so you can learn more about the excellent programs, services, events, and work we undertake to support our students.  

As part of my commitment to transparency and clear communication which I shared about a few weeks ago, I am providing an update on two initiatives – Fostering Open Dialogue & Community Engagement and Operational Assessments & Changes.   
 

1. Fostering Open Dialogue & Community Engagement
   
   In July, each faculty and classified employee of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department and Shone Farm were invited to sign up for an individual conversation with myself, Vice President of Academic Affairs Robert Holcomb, and Interim Vice President of Human Resources Theresa Richmond in one space.  We are offering sessions this July for those faculty, classified employees, and STNCs working this summer or who wish to participate now. We recognize that some of our colleagues, especially faculty, are on summer break and unavailable, so we will be offering additional sessions in early September for those who do not sign up for a July session.
   
   Additionally, all students enrolled in an SRJC Agriculture or Natural Resources class in Spring 2024 or Summer 2024 were invited to attend a facilitated discussion in July to share their experiences. 
   
   I am working with Rooted in Love, Vice President of Human Resources Theresa Richmond and other senior leadership, to identify the dates for facilitated discussions for employees and students at all our sites, as well as Zoom. These are intended to be part of our intentional and ongoing commitment to create shared understandings, collegial respect, actionable outcomes, and department and organizational transformation. While these sessions will not make right what has been wrong for a long time, we must engage in a real dialogue with respect and honesty to take actionable steps forward. You will see those invitations in mid-August.
    
2. Operational Assessments & Changes
   
   I want to thank our constituent groups leaders from our Senates and unions who joined me for a discussion recently about the shared responsibility we have towards intentionally shifting the culture and norms of our workplace. We discussed actionable steps the District is taking, many of which will require collaboration with the Senates and unions. We are planning a second meeting in early August to continue to learn more about the efforts the Senates and unions may be considering and ways the District can support those efforts. We continue to move forward with the important work identified in June and a few updates include:

• Board Policy and Administrative Procedure Review and Revisions – The President’s Cabinet has identified and prioritized board policies and administrative procedures to begin immediate review and discuss in the fall through the appropriate participatory governance process within College Council.  
   
• Training Programs – We are creating new tools to help our community understand the difference between Title V, Title VII, and Title IX, and streamlining the process for reporting. 

This is by no means a comprehensive list of the work the District is undertaking, but rather specific outcomes from my original message.  I will continue to provide updates on this work throughout the year and encourage you to engage with your constituent leaders on any of these areas.

In community,
Dr. Garcia

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• Welcome Day, Santa Rosa, Thursday, August 15
• PDA Day, Friday, August 16
• Welcome Day, Petaluma, Saturday, August 17
• First Day of Fall Semester, Monday, August 19

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• Held finalist interviews for several full-time faculty positions 
• Participated in Sonoma County Pride Parade
• Provided keynote for Roseland University Prep graduation
• Held a President’s Circle Luncheon with support of the SRJC Foundation
• Held a President’s Cabinet retreat, Management Team retreat and a Board of Trustees Retreat
• Participated in a roundtable discussion with LGBTQ+ Leaders in the North Bay organized by Congressman Huffman  
• Attended the following events:
  • A brunch with Senator Bill Dodd
  • Pepperwood Sunset Celebration 
  • Juneteenth Celebrations as a member of PCAH
  • SRJC Foundation Installation Dinner

 

• The HSI STEM Avanzando Initiative again welcomed another annual cohort of high school students to their Summer Workforce Academy Preparation (SWAP) Program.  Over 50 local high school students, over a week, were engaged in faculty-led workshops and panels covering multiple areas in STEM and the Health Sciences. Workshops included hands-on experiments, experiences, and former SRJC students.  Additionally, the Summer Health Careers Institute relaunched supporting high school students interested in health care careers.   Together, over a hundred students from the local community came to campus in June to learn about new career pathways and resources available at SRJC to support their journey in the future.
• The Chancellor’s office has officially approved the SRJC AS degrees for the Virtual Production model curriculum. These degrees are possible through a collaboration with Berkeley City College, Diablo Valley College, Laney College, Mission College and Ohlone College. Virtual Production is a catch-all phrase for all film production with a virtual or CGI-based element. VP is a cinematographic technique that seamlessly combines physical and virtual elements using a suite of software tools. Studios can film on a stage and view virtual graphics together in real-time. Changing locations is as simple as swapping out a background. Examples of productions using this technology include The Mandalorian and other Star Wars films and television productions. We are excited to offer training for jobs in this field.

 

• SRJC is proud to host its annual Adelante summer program, which takes place from June 12th to July 23rd. On campus, these students can be seen wearing their bright turquoise Adelante t-shirts. This summer we have 108 students who are taking a combined 12 courses (English, ELD, Algebra, Geometry, physical science, Biology, Yearbook, world history and US History.)  Adelante is a program aimed at credit recovery and college readiness for migrant high school students, drawing participants from over 10 school districts in Sonoma County. The mission of Adelante is to furnish opportunities for migrant high school students to progress in their academic coursework in both Spanish and English. This year marks the 45th summer of Adelante, with one of its founding instructors, Maestro Roberto Ramirez, continuing to teach Mathematics annually. 
• Staff and faculty at Roseland were successfully relocated to onsite portables in preparation for construction of the new Roseland building. The demolition of the old gym, faculty and administration offices, and room 12 started on June 17, and the buildings were demolished the last week of June. The debris from the foundations will be removed next. Pending DSA approval, the renovation and modernization of Heritage Hall and the construction of the Welcome Center will begin later this summer.
• The Counseling department is piloting offering educational planning workshops (EPW) over the summer to prepare incoming students for registration and their first day of courses. In June, the first two EPW were held with counselors partnering with student ambassadors from the Welcome and Connect Center. As a result, of these initial sessions, 20 students were enrolled in 128 units. We have 6 more sessions and expect these to help increase enrollment. 
• VIDAS provides on campus legal advocacy support for our undocu students, and on June 22nd they received the Los Cien 2024 Organization Award at the 4th annual Puente y Ganas awards dinner.  VIDAS provides comprehensive legal services for immigrants at minimal or no cost, and their efforts have secured legal status or prevented deportation for many SRJC undoc students.  Their commitment to justice and equity continues to greatly impact SRJC and Sonoma County.

 

• Projects Update for June – We gave an update on the Capital and Facilities Projects to the Board of Trustees.
• Banner Student Information System Implementation– The Banner Project Management team had a two-day intensive realignment meeting with Ellucian to map the timeline of the remainder of the implementation project. There is a lot of exciting work happening within the project as we get ready to go live for Summer 2025, we will send a full update in the Fall semester.
• 2024/25 Tentative Budget – We did a presentation to the Board of Trustees for the 2024/25 Tentative Budget, including a fiscal update. Additionally, the California State budget for 2024/25 was released, below are the details.
• 1.07% COLA for Student-Centered Funding Formula and select categorical programs (Adult Ed, EOPS, DSPS, Apprenticeship, CalWORKs, mandated costs)
• 0.50% growth funds
• $1.93M ongoing for Student Financial Aid Administration
• $12M (one time) to expand the eTranscript California across all districts
• $20M (one time) for financial aid assistance to support workload and other needs due to FAFSA delays
• Continued $10M for the second year of the LGBTQ+ Pilot Program
• $6M (one time) for the Mapping Articulated Pathways for Credit for Prior Learning Demonstration project
• Reallocates $65M (one time for five years) of Strong Workforce (SWP) general allocations to: 
  • $60M to SWP for Nursing expansion, this will be through a competitive grant process
  • $5M to SWP Pathways for Learners of Low Income Demonstration project
• Pulls back $18.8M in 2020 SWP funds and $21.3M in Student Success Completion Grants funds that are unspent at the District level 
• Funds our State Student Housing Funds ($15M) from redirected annual rent subsidy funds
• Increases the reimbursement for Part-Time Faculty Office Hours from 50% to 90%, however, provides no additional funds
• Reverts $485M in Learning Aligned Employment Program funds.

 

• Human Resources staff members have worked with District representatives on hiring and onboarding 44 new hires in June. 
• Developed Hiring Process Maps for Manager training in July/August.  

 

• The Foundation hosted a Board Installation Dinner at Bacchus Landing in Healdsburg on June 26. The dinner welcomed three new Board members (Ozzy Jimenez, Francisco Lopez, and Brian Reeves) and recognized the contributions of three out-going Directors (Kerry Rego, Bill Traverso, and Steve Page). We also recognized Teresa Norton for her two years of service as Board Chair. Suzy Marzalek will assume the role of Chair on July 1, 2024. Troy Sanderson will be our new Vice-Chair of the Board.
• Through the end of May, the Foundation has secured $9.4 million in donations to support scholarships and programs. This is $400,000 better than last year at this same time. We have raised $2.5 million for programs compared to $1.5 last year. We have raised $1.8 million for student success, which includes scholarships.
• Recent major gifts have included $25,000 for the Construction Training Center, $100,000 for the HOPE Program, and $150,000 for Shone Farm.