Governing Board Address 8/23/22

Good evening President Sullivan, Governing Board members, Chancellor Gonzales, CEC members, Colleagues, and Guests.

A specific warm welcome from the Faculty to our new Presidents–Dr. Tammy Robinson from Mesa and Dr. Tiffany Hunter from Paradise Valley–and also to our “kinda new” presidents, Dr. Kimberly Britt from Phoenix  and Dr. Eric Leshinskie from Scottsdale.  We look forward to working with all of you!

I want to provide just a few brief updates about faculty work since June:

• First, this summer was BUSY, and that’s good news: 
  • Faculty leadership is grateful for a hectic summer that was due in no small part to flourishing shared governance.  We appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with our colleagues at the colleges and District, from serving on hiring committees and implementation task forces to leading and supporting the work on Strategic Planning, Bachelor’s Degrees, and the 4DX Initiative.   It is an exciting time to be a partner in MCCCD.
  • Residential Faculty were also busy this summer teaching, providing library and counseling services, and working on curriculum to support students. For example, Business faculty in Maricopa worked with the Arizona Department of Real Estate to secure approval of the courses in the new Commercial Real Estate CCL as Continuing Education Credits.  This allows realtors in our communities to turn to Maricopa for some of the 24 CEU credits required each year to maintain their credentials. Counseling Faculty expeditiously worked to ensure an efficient and inclusive rollout of FYE courses to begin this semester.  We are all grateful for their continued work to support students and the faculty teaching the courses.
• Now that summer has ended (despite what the weather suggests), Residential faculty are back in full force for Fall 2022.  There is nothing quite like the promise, energy, and excitement that a new academic year brings, and we can feel that on every campus this week as faculty meet students where they are: 
  • Faculty are teaching classes in all modalities: online, hybrid, and in person. Faculty have been flexible in order to meet enrollment demands, adjusting courses and schedules to meet student preferences.
  • Faculty are offering classes in weekend, 6 week, 8 week, 10 week, 14 week and 16 week formats, ensuring we serve students who benefit from both traditional and accelerated learning formats and opportunities.
  • Finally, faculty are teaching the new First Year Experience courses and participating in Fields of Interest and Guided Pathways activities, supporting students as they explore career options, determine their goals, and pursue the pathways that prepare them for their desired transfer program or employment.

It feels good to be back on our campuses again serving our students and communities, and it feels good to be back in person for Governing Board meetings. May we all have a wonderful and productive academic year. 

Thank you and good evening!

Camille