SYNOPSIS:

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

On March 23, 2024, I attended the White House Initiative for Native Americans and Tribal Colleges and Universities sponsored Native American/Indigenous Education Summit at CSU San Bernadino. Attendees were predominately state and federal representatives, tribal leaders, and K-12 community. A central focus of the summit concerned a recent feasibility study on the need to establish an accredited Tribal College/University (TCU) in California. There are currently 35 TC Us in the United States, none in California. A community survey was developed to provide data to identify the needs of Tribal Colleges in California: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7721239/TCU
Faculty Diversity Mentorship Program

Mendocino College NEW Faculty Diversity Mentorship Program (FDMP) is a year-long, paid by stipend, mentorship with currently employed Mendocino College faculty.

The program mission is to meet the needs of our diverse students by attracting, inspiring, and preparing individuals who share the college’s commitment to inclusive, equitable learning as they prepare themselves for a career in community college teaching. The Faculty Diversity Mentorship Program (FDMP) brings faculty mentees from diverse backgrounds into the Mendocino College community for training and hands-on experiences in our classes and programs. Mendocino College faculty mentees gain valuable professional development and career exploration opportunities while the students and institution benefit from increased diversity, expanded faculty hiring pools, and new perspectives.

Ultimately, by attracting, recruiting, and providing advanced training for talented new faculty with diverse backgrounds and ideas, we hope to better serve our students. Specifically, we aim to Promote equitable achievement for students of all gender identities, and cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and Ensure Mendocino College students from underrepresented groups have role models from their gender category, race, ethnic, or cultural background who they can identify with and recognize as examples of high achievement

2024 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) All-California Academic Honor Roll

This year, 122 graduating students will receive this honor. We congratulate the three Mendocino College students selected for this honor. The students are Jamaica Ince-Galloway, Heather Metcalf, and Dylan Vargas. The student advisor is faculty member Jason Edington. PTK recognizes the academic achievement of college students and provides opportunities for its members to grow as scholars and leaders. Established in 1918, PTK has grown to more than 3.5 million members in the United States and worldwide. The full press release can be viewed at https://ccleague.org/about-us/press-releases-statements/2024-phi-theta-kappa-ptk-all- california-academic-honor-roll

K-16 Collaborative

Through partnership with the K-16 collaborative facilitator, Christine Samaniego, Mendocino College is enhancing support of district wide dual enrollment opportunities! Anderson Valley Dual Enrollment Ambassador Tricia Anglian Rubio poses in front of the DE bulletin board wearing a DE graduation stole for earning 12+ units of college credit while in HS. This would not have been possible without the support of AVHS staff including counselor Christopher Howard, pictured below.
Earth Week

Mendocino College's annual Earth Week event will be held April 22nd-April 25th in the Pomo Plaza and next to the Eagles Nest indoors. There will be an EV on display on April 25th from our Automotive Technology Department, along with Earth Friendly Food from our Culinary Arts Department. The annual Student Poster Competition is expanding this year! We're going to add another category, a Student Art Contest for art connected to sustainability and climate change. Art will be displayed in the library.

Financial Aid Update

The state priority deadline for Cal Grant has been extended from April 2, 2024, to May 2, 2024. This extension was codified through the signing of Assembly Bill 1887 by Governor Gavin Newsom on March 25, 2024. This bill takes effect immediately. This extension is in response to the delays and difficulties with the roll-out of the updated 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Many students nationwide are experiencing difficulties submitting their financial aid applications. The financial aid office will continue to hold workshops to assist students in completing their application. The workshops are scheduled throughout April and May to assist families and students completing a financial aid application. Workshop dates and times can be found on the financial aid office website at https://www.mendocino.edu/financial-aid.

EOPS Update

On Friday, May 10th, the EOPS/CARE/NextUp staff will celebrate the academic success of their students with an awards ceremony to be held in the Center for Visual and Performing Arts Center Theatre. This will be a very special evening for EOPS and CARE students who are graduating this May and/or who have maintained at least a 3.00 cumulative grade point average.
North County Center College & Career Day

Our Transfer Counselor and Retention Specialists took part in tabling as well as presenting at the North County Center College & Career Day. Transfer Counselor Mark Osea provided two workshops around the dual enrollment options in the North County and benefits of starting at the Community College. Students who attended came from a wide geographic area including but not limited to Ukiah High School, Willits High School, Willits Charter School, Laytonville, and Boonville High Schools. Students were engaged and appeared to have previous awareness of the opportunities to transfer to a four-year University from Mendocino College. Students learned about the upcoming Latino Retreat and were generally impressed with the wide array of supportive services now being delivered from our Retention specialist team.

Starfish Tool

As we continue our work with the Starfish integration, we anticipate the soft-launch of the software to a small group of students to test-out the capabilities to communicate with these groups and engage with getting feedback to make necessary changes to our plans for the next phase, and larger launch to the greater college community. These small groups who have willingly partnered with us in our next steps include the Women's Basketball Team, Pomo Pathway cohort, and the Disability Resource
Center.
Puente

Puente is rounding up its first year with end-of-the-year celebrations to honor the continued participation in the Puente Program. Rebecca Ortega has been integrated into the program and is supporting the administrative assistant needs. Her diligence and organization have streamlined processes, and we look forward to her support to develop a calendar of programs for the coming years.

Partnering with K-12 Schools

Our Disability Resource Center team provided an information packed tour to our Workability/Transition partners from our local K- 12 schools. Students who are near completing their graduation requirements who have been identified as students with disabilities learned more about the certificate and degree opportunities at Mendocino College. Counseling services were highlighted as well as a campus tour and engaging presentations from our pathways.

First Annual Student Leadership Conference Recap

The Associated Students of Mendocino College hosted its first Student Leadership Conference on Wednesday March 20 to promote student involvement opportunities. It highlighted the three main entry points for students to gain leadership experience: Student Senate, Student Clubs, and Participatory Governance on campus committees. Former Advisor Phil Warf w as honored for 13 years of service to the ASMC.

Hydration Stations

ASMC recently amended a previously approved budget, now totaling $52,000, to update the hydration stations in every building on the Ukiah Campus. The student senate also approved the installation of a second station in the Library. A SMC purchased the previous hydration stations and remains committed to the best possible availability of this basic student need. Facilities will soon assess hydration station needs on satellite campuses.

Dreamer Scholarships

The Dream Center was given a generous donation from Alianza to award scholarships to undocumented students. Our program received (6) applications for the scholarships and we were able to award (2) $250 scholarships!

Queer Prom

Mendocino College is working in partnership with the Arbor Youth Resource Center to host Queer Prom on April 20, 2024 from 4- 10 PM in the Lowery Student Center. This year’s theme is Rocky Horror Picture Show. The event is an inclusive, safe space for LGBTQ+ students, community, and allies to come together share food, participate in talent show, and access community resources.

Professional Development As part of the HSI grant, we held the second of three trainings for student-facing staff. As part of our partnership with the Career Ladders Project, the activities focused on building awareness of critical cultural aspects to active listening. Student services departments as well as Instructional programs such as MESA participated together and learned more about how to respond to student needs. It was an opportunity to reflect on both our individual responses and institutional practices when engaged with supporting students. Particularly, responding to new and returning students needs with empathy and a non-assuming listening skill set. We look forward to the continued opportunities to work together to improve our practices and enhance the community's experiences at Mendocino College.

The newly hired Disability Resource Counselor, Julie Pennington, provided an Inservice to faculty to inform our responses to students who have experienced trauma. The workshop was well attended and was standing room only. Faculty learned about typical signs to be aware of, as well as practical day-to-day ways we can help students to feel safe in our learning environments. Faculty shared experiences with one another and were able to support each other in strategies to implement in the face-to-face as well as within online learning environments.

Upcoming Events

Below is a sample of the event on campus in the upcoming month. Additional details can be views on the Events page, https://www.mendocino.edu/events, or the Athletics page, https://www.mendoeagles.com.

April 12, 2024 9am -1pm: Native American Motivation Day

April 25-26, 2024: Spring Plant Sale

April 26, 2024 8am -2:30 pm: Latino Student Retreat

May 2-5, 2024: Spring Dance Festival

BOARD OF TRUSTEES AGENDA - REGULAR MEETING

Meeting Information

Supporting Documents