Week of March 3, 2025

Good afternoon, all.

I understand that the Dear Colleague letter sent to some institutions on February 14 by the Acting Assistant Secretary to the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights continues to cause a concern for some. Please be assured that our institution is in compliance with all pertinent laws. We remain steadfast in our commitment to serving all our students in a safe and supportive environment, and all programs and services currently remain unaffected.

Please note the following two pieces of communication sent out in February by our institution:

  • Attached email from SCCCD Chancellor, Dr. Goldsmith.
  • My weekly communication to the college available here: Feb 18.

For more on the topic, please see: Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Anti-DEI Executive Orders in Sweeping Decision.

SharePoint

As a reminder, we have compiled various documents housed in this SharePoint for your reference: CCC Vulnerable Students. Feel free to share appropriate materials with students as needed. Please send any materials you would like to have added to this SharePoint to Bonnie.

Ramadan

As Dr. Ortez already pointed out, our practicing Muslim students will be fasting (no food or water) from sundown on February 28 through sundown on March 29 in honor of Ramadan. You may notice tired, hungry, and/or dehydrated students in your classes or at your meetings or appointments during this time. Thank you for your support to our Muslim students during this time of fasting, prayer, and reflection.

Strategic Plan

The work continues at College Council and will be shared out by the end of the month/early April for vetting by constituency groups. In the meantime, please join us at an upcoming meeting to hear how the work is progressing (1st and 3rd Thursdays, 2:30-4:30 in AC3-256).

Interim IT Director

Teng Her is out on leave until mid-May. While he is out, Andrew Ho is serving as the Interim IT Director. Please reach out to Andrew for any inquiries you normally would send to Teng.

Accreditation

Thank you to Dr. Ortez, Jaclyn Rowley, and Leslie King for all their work in assuring a successful visit! And congratulations to all of you for all of your work in helping us attain the successful outcome!

Sincerely,

Monica Chahal, Ed.D. (she/her)