SYNOPSIS:

A report from Superintendent/President Karas is presented as information.

This past month has been full of activities and events throughout the district. Thank you to the countless volunteers and departments that supported these events. Some of the events were the Latino Student Retreat, Annual Student Art Show, Spring Dance Festival, Spring Plant Sale, EOPS Celebration, Health & wellness Fair, Mendocino College Jazz band Concert, Lake Center Registration Fiesta, Coast Center Registration Fiesta, Mendocino College Choir Concert, and Graduation & Transfer Fair.

On April 24th I had the opportunity to attend the Mendocino Healthcare Education & Workforce Summit (last year’s summit was in Lake County). Pamela Heston, our director of employer partnerships, was one of the summit organizers. The event was a strong reflection of our community’s commitment to addressing local needs and strengthening our healthcare system. Mendocino College had a strong representation of staff, managers, and faculty (Filemon Lara-Lopez, Molly Thomas, Suzanne Hewitt, Amanda Xu, Julie McGovern, and Euline Olinger).

Congratulations Spring and Summer 2025 Retirees!

After a long and committed career with Mendocino College; these lucky folks are turning the page and starting a new chapter!

Congratulations to our Spring and Summer 2025 Retirees! Reid Edelman, Professor Emeritus – Theatre Arts – 25 years Bart Rawlinson, Professor Emeritus – English – 22 Years Sue Blundell, Professor Emerita – Biology - 37 Years Michelle Snider, Professor Emerita – Math- 15 Years Ginger Myklebust, Professor Emerita – Child Development – 37 Years Karl Byrn, Instructor – History – 10 Years

Nursing Program

Along with community partners, faculty, and staff, I was able to attend the Nursing Program Advisory Committee meeting. Great information was shared about the program. I want to highlight two pieces of information, acknowledgement of our clinical sites and 2024 graduate placements.

Our program could not run without community partners being sites for student clinical rotations in various nursing subject areas, like ER, Pediatrics, OB. Our program depends on clinical partners in three counties (Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma) to ensure all types of clinical rotations are available to students. Below is a list of our clinical site partners. Adventist Health Howard Memorial Hospital Mendocino Community Health Clinic

Adventist Health Mendocino Coast Hospital Mendocino College Child Development Center

Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Hospital Northbrook Convalescent Hospital Cloverdale Healthcare Center Redwood Cove Healthcare

Dialysis Center, Inc. Santa Rosa Behavioral Health Hospital

Hospice Services Lake County Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital

Lake County Jail Sutter Lakeside Hospital

Our program successfully provides nurses to our local hospital and health providers. 100% of the RN Class of 2024 passed the NCLEX (RN licensing) exam on the first attempt. Below is the employment location for the Class of 2024

Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Hospital- 11 Adventist Health Howard Memorial Hospital- 1 Sutter Lakeside Hospital- 4 Petaluma Valley Hospital- 1 Hospice Services of Lake County- 1 Cloverdale Healthcare Center -2 LifeWest Critical Care Transport- 1 St. Alphonsus (Boise, Idaho)- 1

New Kiwi Abor

Our Landscape Construction class is hard at work building a brand-new kiwi arbor in the Mendocino College gardens, designed by a student, and built entirely by students.

This rebuild replaces an ageing structure that has stood for years, and it's just one example of what hands-on education looks like in action.

Mendocino College Earns Blue Zones Project Worksite Approval Mendocino College is proud to announce that it has officially been recognized as a Blue Zones Project Approved Worksite. This significant achievement marks a major step forward in our mission to support the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. It underscores our proactive approach to fostering a culture of health, longevity, and connection throughout our campus community. To celebrate this milestone, Mendocino College hosted an official Blue Zones Project Ribbon Cutting Ceremony during our Health and Wellness Fair on May 7th.

The Blue Zones Project - Mendocino County is a community-led wellness initiative inspired by global regions where people live the longest, healthiest lives. The project collaborates with organizations and cities to reshape environments, policies, and social networks, making healthy choices easier and more accessible to everyone.

Mendocino College Agricultural Students Ecological Restoration Living Lab

Mendocino College Agricultural students have been gaining hands-on ecological restoration skills at the College's new emergency access road in Ukiah. The mile-long access road, completed last year in collaboration with Granite Construction and the Mendocino College Foundation, was a resiliency project to provide secondary egress in and out of campus in case of emergency. As a condition of federal and state construction permits, the College is required to plant and maintain over 30,000 native grasses, shrubs and trees. These plantings will help both re-establish and increase wetland areas and habitat that were disturbed by construction activities.

Mendocino College Agricultural Studies professor Kurt Voight and Director of Facilities Planning, Operations & Sustainability, MacAdam Lojowsky, saw an opportunity for collaboration. "I saw 30,000 plants that needed to get irrigated and put in the ground before April and knew we needed help," said Lojowsky. "I asked Kurt if he thought his students would be interested in being a part of it. His immediate answer was 'absolutely!'"

With the remediation consulting by Ukiah-based North Coast Regional Management, Mendocino College maintenance and grounds staff laid thousands of feet of irrigation to ensure that these plants establish and survive. Ag students had the opportunity to learn about large-scale irrigation design and different strategies to water this vast number of plants. In addition to specific planting specifications, many of the shrubs and trees also need protective cages to assist in their establishment. All of these aspects were incorporated in this living lab lesson. Working under the directives of actual permits provides students with valuable lessons, explains Professor Voight, “It's great real-world experience on a professional jobsite to be able to work with other students on a common goal. And, it's doing something good for the school. It's hard work- being out there, digging holes, but the students had a lot of fun, I had a lot of fun today."

Once all 31,905 grasses, shrubs and trees are in the ground, Mendocino College will need to prepare and submit annual reports each year for the next five years with an identified survival threshold of 80% of the plants. Both Voight and Lojowsky see opportunities for future collaboration on this project.

52nd Commencement Ceremony

Preparations are underway for the 52nd commencement ceremony, scheduled for Friday, May 23rd at 6pm on the Stadium Field, Ukiah Campus. In advance of the ceremony and in support of students through the transition, the first of four scheduled Graduation & Transfer Fair dates were a success! The Transfer Center was filled with students throughout the event and were able to receive guidance with their transfer, confirm their graduation status, borrow caps and gowns for the graduation ceremony, have professional photos taken, and pick up graduate packets from their programs.

Professional Development

Admissions & Records Technicians, Beronica Leon and Sheryl Miralles, attended the California Association of Community College Registrars and Admissions Officers (CACCRAO) conference before spring break. This conference allows staff to meet with peers from colleges throughout the system and receive vital information regarding legislative changes and collaborate with peers on best practices.

UUSD at Mendo

On May 2nd, 60 seniors from UHS and South Valley visited campus and enjoyed a CTE presentation by Molly Thomas, campus tours, and attended either a financial aid or counseling presentation. The day was capped off by lunch in Pomo Plaza and time for students to meet with various Student Services departments to ask questions or work through processes. This was a collaborative event supported by the Student Services Team.

EOPS, CARE, NextUp Celebration

On Tuesday, May 6th, EOPS/CARE/NextUp celebrated their graduating students with a dinner event. The evening was filled with joy and camaraderie as students, staff, and faculty came together to honor the achievements of the graduates. This year, 107 EOPS/CARE/NextUp students are graduating with their certificates or degrees.
Students received their Graduation Packets, which included a cap, gown, 2025 tassel, Honors Cord (for those graduating with honors), PTK Stole (for Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society members), a frame for their degree or certificate, and an EOPS medal to wear over their gown. The event marked an important milestone in the students' academic journeys.

Counseling Update

The Eagle Connect software is wrapping up its first year of accepting early alert flags, referrals, and sending kudos to students. We are improving the practices across the college and integrating them into new department workflows to help support student success. The next big project is to transition our counseling appointments to using the Eagle Connect (online) scheduling system in a scaffolded approach. Our Disability Resource Services and Veteran’s Counselors will use it this June, EOPS/CARE/NextUp and CalWOR Ks will begin in the Fall, and all other departments will use it in the following Spring 2026. This approach will help us to fine tune it as we roll out the features.

Pride Program

On April 15 – 16, 2025 the Pride Program hosted the CCC’s 7th Annual LGBTQ+ Virtual Summit. The summit offered the opportunity for students, faculty, classified professionals and administrators to come together, learn, and share innovative ideas and develop strategies to improve campus programs and student support services. Collectively, Mendocino College had over 60+ attendees. Through dynamic trainings, inspiring speakers and student testimonials, we explored how to transform our institutions and make lasting structural changes to better serve LGBTQ+ students across CCC campuses.

Health and Wellness Fair

Over 35 organizations came to the Ukiah Campus to provide health and wellness information to our students on May 7th. We were well fed by Savings Bank who sponsored the lunch. We also accomplished a ribbon cutting celebrating the new status for Mendocino College as a Blue Zones Approved Worksite, a silent auction for the Native American Scholarship Fund, and information sharing about MMIP and regalia.

Health and Wellness Support

Between March 25 and April 24, 2025, Health & Wellness Services supported 26 students across 44 appointments and participated in several outreach events reaching over 130 college students and 40 high school students. While some events, such as the Circle of Support and an Active Minds meeting, had no attendance, engagement was seen through the Denim Day event where Health & Wellness and Project Sanctuary provided an expressive art activity focusing on bringing awareness to types of violence. Lisa was appointed to the Mendocino College Facilities and Safety Committee and continues her work with statewide committees focused on mental health qualifications and counseling services. Planning is underway for the May 7 Health & Wellness Fair and Blue Zones ribbon cutting.

Latino Student Retreat On Friday, April 25th, Mendocino College hosted the 37th Annual Latino Student Retreat. The event was a big success. Hundreds of high school students from our service area attended a day filled with excellent information about their future education. They keynote speaker for the event was Dayci Carrillo Lopez, an author who shared her experience as a immigrant rights advocate.

Native American Student Success & Support Program (NASSSP) Update- Prepared by: Brian Williams, NASSSP Program
Manager

Overview: The Native American Student Success & Support Program (NASSSP) funds were received in Fall 2023. This program is intended to strengthen pathways to and through the College for Native American students, ensure their educational success, develop leaders, and increase the number of NA mentors. By the end of that semester we hired a Student Retention Specialist and a Program Manager.

Student-based Goals: a). Increase our student transfer rate to CSU or UC systems; b). Generate higher persistence rates; c). Develop pathways toward leadership roles; d). Create student mentorship roles; e). Maintain connection and outreach with K-12 students; and, d). Create a cohort approach and foster a sense of belonging.

Data Collection: Improved the way Native American student data is gathered/reviewed. This has improved student in- reach opportunities. Community Connection: Engaged with tribal communities for programs and activities to build a sense of belonging at an earlier age for students. Student Leaders: The NASSSP Center has hired student mentors in alignment with intent to increase leadership opportunities. The center has supported the student club’s advocacy efforts on campus, helping them navigate the college’s processes. Current Student Body President and Student Trustee are Native American. Pomo Pathway: Maintained support for the Pomo Pathway cohort to encourage success in the first year of college, which include the creation of study groups.
K-12 Student Support: Staff have led the Native American Student Enrichment Program, which introduces Native American students from 5th-12th grade to the college campus and courses. Also, the team have joined outreach efforts. Utilization of Eagle Connect: Embraced the use of this tool to better connect with students.

Challenges: The amount of resources it takes to deliver the quality and wraparound services from the local communities can be a challenge. Also, the team have been asked to create or maintain events or strategies which are impractical.

Highlights: The most recent number of Native American students enrolled actively at Mendocino college is 411 students, higher than our most recently reported number of 379 (2023/2024). Native American students experienced an 11% increase in retention from Fall 2023 to Spring 2024, compared to the previous year. Also, out of 240 continuing Native American students, 119 of them had an education plan. The 50% rate is higher than that of our general student population.

Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Grant Update- Prepared by: Roberto Renteria, HSI Grant Manager

Overview: During Fall 2023, Mendocino College received an HSI grant. The grant funds were used to hire four staff members (a coordinator and three Student Retention Specialists) dedicated to supporting student retention efforts, specifically Latinx students.

Student-based Goals: a). To increase the retention/persistence rate of second-year students; b). To increase the number of students completing transfer courses; c). increasing the award/degree/transfer completion rate of students; and, d). To decrease the number of degree/transfer units completed by students. These were some of the activities:

Education Plans: During the Spring 2024 semester, the Retention team reached 168 first-time students without education plans and provided follow-up support. Undeclared Student Contact: During the Fall 2024 semester, a list of undeclared students was identified for follow-up. After reaching out via email, text, and phone, 79 students officially declared a major/area of study. Math & English Completion: HSI Retention team reached out to students who had previously failed (less than a C passing grade) their math or English course. Students received “to-do” item and follow-up support through Eagle Connect. Re-enrollment Efforts: A list of unregistered students from Fall 2023 to Spring 2024 was identified. 161 of the 268 students on the list enrolled for the Spring 2024 term and 90 in the Fall 2024 term, supporting retention/persistence efforts.

Professional Development Goals: a). Implement equity-based practices; b). Student-facing staff participating in equity-based training facilitated by Career Ladders Project.

The Career Ladders Project has facilitated training two times per semester for staff.

Challenges: Thus far the biggest challenge has been related to the staffing of the HSI Retention Team. Since receiving the funds, we have hired and lost three Retention Specialists. Two to personal reasons and one for a management position at the College.

Highlights: We have seen an improvement in graduation rates for students. For 22/23, the 100% time to graduation rate was at 7%, meanwhile, the 23/24 rate increased to 15%. There was also a similar increase when comparing the 150% time to graduation rate for the two years: for 22/23, this rate was 24%, while the 23/24 rate increased to 31%.

Also, the implementation of Eagle Connect, a data management, communication, and referral system has allowed for more collaboration between departments.

Federal Government Updates

I am writing to provide important updates on several topics that have been raised recently, including federal government changes. My goal is to keep you informed, mitigate any anxiety, and ensure transparency.

MLCCD programs and practices comply with federal laws, California codes and regulations, and the Constitutions of the United States and California. We will continue to uphold our Mission, Vision, and Values.

President Trump signed an Executive Order targeting federally recognized institutional accreditors. ACCJC, our regional accrediting agency, plays a vital role in channeling Pell Grants, student loans, and research funding to eligible institutions. ACCJC accreditation ensures institutions meet rigorous academic standards and protects students and taxpayers from fraud and low- quality education.

I want to make you aware of a recent federal court ruling that has immediate implications for the Department of Education’s recent actions related to DEI. A federal judge in Maryland paused enforcement of the Department’s February “Dear Colleague” letter, which warned that federal funding could be withheld from schools found to be engaged in discriminatory practices under Title VI. In the injunction, the judge noted the lack of formal process behind the letter’s release and warned that it could have a chilling effect on free and open discourse within schools.
On April 25, the Associated Press reported the federal government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students after many filed court challenges around the U.S., a government lawyer said. The lawyer read a statement in federal court in Oakland that said ICE was manually restoring the student status for people whose records were terminated in recent weeks. A similar statement was read by a government attorney in a separate case in Washington on Friday. The lawyer said it would apply to all students in the same situation, not just those who had filed lawsuits.

Upcoming Events

Details can be viewed on the Events page, https://www.mendocino.edu/events, or the Athletics page, https://www.mendoeagles.com. The monthly student newsletter https://www.mendocino.edu/newsletters, The Eagle, provides a listing of upcoming events and campus news too.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AGENDA - REGULAR MEETING

Meeting Information

Supporting Documents