Welcome to Fall 2019 at Columbia College. It is good to see the activities picking up on campus after the quiet days of Summer. Hope you had a restful Summer with your friends and family and been able to rejuvenate yourself. This semester, we are looking at an action packed, fast-track array of activities that will improve our abilities to serve our students.
This year, we will have the Generation Z coming to us - this is a generation that was born between 1995 and 2012. This is a generation that have not experienced a world without the Internet, Smartphones and social media! They prefer text to talk and rather than watching TV, they stream programs. In their short life, they have seen a great recession and its impact on their families. They grew up post 9/11, where safety has always been a great concern. They make up 74 million Americans, or 24% of our population. Do they learn the same way the previous generations did? Their online habits are different as are their social interaction strategies. Is that a good thing?
While the jury is out on many of emerging behaviors, one thing is clear - Educational Needs of future are going to be different. When we embark on our planning processes this year, we will be cognizant of the futuristic needs. The needs will include infrastructure and facilities and better computing abilities. Although it is difficult to guess what the future is going to look like, we need to put our heads together to figure it out. So, planning for educational and facilities need is going to be our priority.
Next comes the issue of getting the resources to develop the infrastructure. As you are aware, many of our buildings are aging. We need to improve them to bring them up to speed. It will be my endeavor to reach out to the community and engage them in a process of helping the College improve its infrastructure. I need the support of all of you in this area.
While we plan for our future needs, we need to preserve what we have. As we get into the fire season, we constantly think about the need to create a defensible space for our campus in case of a fire. We had some drone photographs that clearly demonstrate that instead of the recommended 100 feet, we often have less than 10 feet of defensible space. I understand it is a touchy area to talk about removing potential fuel that may include established trees. We will talk about it in the days to come and find a balance between being environmentally conscious and being fire-safe.
Final agenda on planning is safety and security. Recent mass shootings, and the one very close to us, at the Garlic Festival at Gilroy shows that no space is fully safe! While the presence of armed security does not eliminate the risk of violence, it can mitigate the potential damage. Moreover, all of our neighboring campuses have the presence of armed security on campus. We will engage the campus community and bring in local law-enforcement to develop an action plan that will make our campus safer.
Moving on from planning, what are some of our Major Tasks this year?
Focus on completion for our students. That means added focus on guided pathways, articulations with four-year schools, and potentially developing a four-year pathway for common majors. We have been talking about an annual calendar of classes - it is time we bring that to fruition. Exploring open educational resources to reduce textbook costs and expanding reach are other tasks on our plate.
Strengthening our apprenticeship program and helping students find jobs is another area we would like to concentrate on. I am eagerly awaiting the Regional Economic Summit to see what the Governor’s plans are for regional economic development. I am also working with Sierra Business Council to identify areas of economic development for our communities.
We have been fiscally responsible and will continue to work on improving our efficiencies. We will look at our operation closely and identify areas where we have the opportunity to tighten our belts. If the economy takes a downturn, we need to be prepared to handle it.
Safety drill on October 8 - please mark your calendar. In order to develop a culture of safety, we have planned this drill and will continue along this path.
Educational and facilities master plan is a big task for us in the coming semester. While we explore the potential of a bond measure, we will have our EMP and FMP ready to identify the needs of the future.
Engaging our community and civic partners is my goal. We started with hosting the meeting of Tuolumne County Business Council meeting. We will have many more partnerships to promote the College in the community. I need all of your support to achieve this.
Finally, I would urge all of you to get engaged and build a strong campus community. We have a wonderful and open culture at Columbia. Let us build on that culture. This is OUR campus - to take the ownership of the campus is our job. Together, we can make it happen.
Go Jumpers!
