CityCollege:SF

Board of Governors meet at City College

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:21:00 +0000

I had a chance today to welcome the Board of Governors for the California Community College System to City College. The Board is holding meetings at the College as part of its effort to travel to different community colleges around the state rather than meeting only in San Francisco. It's good exposure for the System and also for City College.

During my remarks at the luncheon, I told the Board members that they honored City College by choosing to hold meetings in San Francisco. I expressed my hope that they would have productive sessions.

Since I had the microphone (and no one was going to take it away from me!), I took the opportunity to let the members of the Board of Governors -- as well as Chancellor Jack Scott and members of his staff -- know about our recent garage sale. I said that there were three purposes to the garage sale: to raise funds to replace classes, to bring the community together in support of City College, and to make a point about chronic underfunding of public education in California. We achieved all three goals.

I also wanted to make certain that everyone in the room understood that, without full-funding for public education, we are going to continue to lag behind other states in academic achievement. While some members of the Board of Governors may feel that they are not "advocates" in the way that some of us want them to be, I felt I had to make a strong argument for the revision of Proposition 13. Eliminating the commercial property component of Prop 13 would provide a significant boost in public funds, much of which should go to public education.

Chancellor Jack Scott presented Governor Schwarzenneger with the first "Community Colleges Governor" award at the recent Association of Community College Trustees Annual Leadership Congress in San Francisco. Let's use the close relationship between Chancellor Scott and the Governor to advocate for proper funding for public education. The Governor continues to talk about his experience at Santa Monica City College as the reason for his success. It's time for the Governor to "give back" to the community colleges. City College should take a lead in showing him the best way to do that.

City College Garage Sale - October 24th

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:20:00 +0000

I will have more to post soon; however, I did want to make certain that I provided some background to this event and a link to the website where you can get more information about how you can participate as a vendor, donor, or volunteer.

http://www.ccsf.edu/News/Citywide_Garage_Sale/

Why are we having the "Save CCSF Classes Garage Sale and Flea Market"?

From the website:

"As the budget crisis continues in the State and, by extension, at City College of San Francisco, we would like to invite you to help restore classes and increase counseling hours by supporting the first Citywide Save CCSF Classes Garage Sale and Market. Some 800 classes are being cut during Academic Year 2009/10. Thousands of City College students are being affected by these cuts. Your participation in this community event will enable the College to restore classes and increase counseling hours during the Spring 2010 term. The goals of this event are both to raise funds for the College and to educate the public about the shortage of funding for education in California.

If additional information is requested, please contact the Marketing and Public Information Office at (415) 239-3680.

We look forward to your valuable participation in this community event to Save City College Classes for Spring Semester 2010!"

City College: A central address for good health in San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:05:00 +0000

My wife is a psychologist who used to work in School-based Health Center (SBHC) working with teens. I learned a great deal from her about the importance of good health -- including mental health -- for student success. I also appreciated how valuable it is for students to have access to health care services at school.

Even before she started that job, I had expressed my interest in examining ways in which City College could play an even more significant role in the delivery of health care and health care education in San Francisco. I met with Mayor Newsom to encourage him to work with the College as part of the City's health care campaign, and I spoke with Mitch Katz, the Director of the Department of Public Health, and with Jean Fraser, then the Chief Executive Officer of San Francisco Health Plan. While all of them agreed that City College had some role to play, their focus was on instituting the Health Plan and extending health coverage to uninsured San Franciscans.

Later, I arranged a meeting between then City College Chancellor Phil Day and our current Chancellor Don Griffin (a licensed psychologist) and Belinda Lyons, Executive Director the Mental Health Association of San Francisco. While Belinda suggested that City College could help to break down cultural barriers to seeking mental health services, we did not continue to explore a partnership.

Finally, I met with members of the staff of the Student Health Center at City College. I learned about the tremendous work that the Health Center does across a range of health issues. At the time -- this was before the new Health Center opened -- they had about 10,000 visits each year from the students. While that is great, the College has an enrollment of over 100,000 people each year.

Here is my idea in brief: City College should be at the center of health care delivery and health care education in San Francisco. The Student Health Center already exists; however, only credit students can access it. There is so much more that can be done to test students for hypertension, diabetes, Hepatitis B, and other chronic conditions. The students in health-related programs can assist with the testing as part of their training. Helping people understand their health issues is an important first step in treatment.

With such a sizable and diverse student population, an educational mission, and a commitment to student success, City College could mobilize resources within health programs, graphic arts, student organizations, and related fields to educate students about good health, to encourage them to get tested, to help them understand the importance of prevention efforts, and to either deliver services directly or through expanded partnerships with government and nonprofits.

My goals are to elevate good health to a central issue at City College, to offer real-life, practical opportunities to enhance educational programs, and to support the College's focus on student success. I welcome partners in this effort, and hope to report again soon on my progress.

Creating a culture of civic engagement and nonprofit careers

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:29:00 +0000

Here's a statement that students and career counselors at City College should keep in mind:

"The bottom line is this: nonprofits deserve recognition as a major source of employment in this country."

That quote comes from "Nonprofits are small business employers too" that you can find on the blog of Commongood Careers at
http://www.cgcareers.org/blog/comments/nonprofits_are_small_business_employers_too/
Commongood Careers is a Boston-based, for-profit search firm that helps non-profits attract and retain employees.

While there are programs in service learning and mentorship at City College, plus a new civic engagement center sponsored by the Vice Chancellor of Student Development, Mark Robinson, these programs are not able to involve more than a very small percentage of students at City College. Without greater financial resources -- and an institutional recognition of and commitment to civic engagement -- City College students most likely will not become engaged in their community or seek out careers with nonprofits. What can we do to overcome these lost opportunities?

First, we should confer with other educational institutions about how their programs for civic engagement and nonprofit work experience are handled: what resources are devoted to these programs, how many students are served, do the nonprofits in the community feel a connection to the community college, are new ways to take on issues and problems in social service delivery being developed by community college programs?

In the Bay Area, De Anza College has an Institute of Community and Civic Engagement (see http://www.deanza.edu/communityengagement/). San Francisco State University's Urban Institute, while no longer operating as a research center on civic issues, could provide some important feedback on what works and what does not in an educational setting.

We should also seek out assistance from the Community College National Center for Community Engagement at Arizona's Mesa Community College (see http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/other/engagement/)

With 9,000 nonprofits in the Bay Area that could benefit from involvement of the 250,000 community college students in our region and that could offer employment to many of these students, City College should embrace civic engagement as a core institutional value.

College Board committee meetings September 10th

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:58:00 +0000

I am so pleased that the committee structure I proposed earlier this year -- and formally adopted by the College Board last month -- is working. While we still have some things to work out, we now have a College Board that has increased its commitment to considering important matters in public meetings with more deliberation in the past.

Tomorrow night, two committees will meet.

With its meeting starting at 6 pm at 33 Gough Street, the Facilities, Infrastructure, and Technology Committee (chaired by John Rizzo) has on its agenda:

Update on the Chinatown North Beach Campus Construction Project, schedule and costs
Update on John Adams Campus and Joint Use Facilities Construction Projects
Report on status of hiring Local Hiring Monitors for Chinatown and Joint Use projects
Discussion and possible recommendation to Board of adding a Chief Technology Officer position to the staff (committee may chose to vote and forward results to full Board of Trustees)
Discussion and possible recommendation to Board of maximizing parking revenues while minimizing student costs, and the possible use of a parking consultant (committee may chose to vote and forward results to full Board of Trustees)
Update on soccer field construction project

At 7:30 also at 33 Gough Street, the Community Relations Committee (chaired by Chris Jackson) has a full agenda, too:

Discussion and possible recommendation to Board of the Greater Access and Opportunity in City College’s Nursing Program resolution (committee may chose to vote and forward results to full Board of Trustees).
Discussion of and possible future action for a CCSF Student Ombudsman position.
Discussion and possible recommendation to Board of the Authorization to Propose amendments to Agreement for Exchange of Real Property (Balboa Reservoir) with the District Developing a Plaza at Ocean and Phelan and enforcing Good Faith Efforts in Local Hiring by construction contractors retained to develop the plaza and construction of the reservoir resolution (committee may chose to vote and forward results to full Board of Trustees).
Discussion and possible recommendation to Board of Expanding Contracts to Local Businesses resolution (committee may chose to vote and forward results to full Board of Trustees).

College Board improvements

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:33:00 +0000

Since my last post in May, the College Board has made progress in addressing some of the concerns about how we conduct business and the tension that the Board was causing through some of our actions.

Finally, after many months of discussion through Board meetings and committee meetings, we have a new policy governing our meetings. Among the important changes are:

The President of the Board of Trustees now authorizes the distribution of the agenda for Board meetings, and committee chairs have this authorization for their committee meetings. While agenda preparation will continue to be done collaboratively with the Chancellor, the Board now has final say.
There is now a formally adopted process for introduction of resolutions, for referral to committees, and for consideration of items by committee before they must be returned to the full Board for action. The goal is to enable Shared Governance and other interests to comment on proposed action by the Board in a timely manner (by the second Board meeting after referral to a committee or 45 days, whichever is longer).
Resolutions by Board members must be submitted to the Chancellor no later than 21 days before their consideration, and draft agendas will be ready for review by the Board President no later than 14 days before the meeting and by the committee chair no later than 7 days before the meeting. Again, this is intended to establish a process that feels less rushed and more deliberate than we have had to date.

We will have more, important changes following our meeting on September 24th where, I hope, our Sunshine Policy will be adopted by the Board. I will report on those changes in another post.

Unnecessary tension on the College Board?

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:56:00 +0000

When we finished our monthly Board meeting last night, I realized something about the way we function that contributes to an atmosphere of contention and stress on the part of the Board and the College or members of the public. Unlike other governmental bodies like the School Board or the Board of Supervisors, the College Board has traditionally operated without active committees. Yes, we have had committees with chairs and members for the entire time that I have served on the College Board; however, until this year when I instituted new committees and called for these committees to meet as committees (rather than as the full Board) and to make recommendations to the Board for action.

I am pleased that the new committees and committee structure have been embraced by the entire Board, and that some of the committees have been particularly committed to their heightened role.

But, not every resolution is referred to a committee, and some of the resolutions proposed by the District -- as opposed to those proposed by Trustees -- are seen for the first time by the Board just a few days before our meeting. Often, we are asked to make a decision without delay, and that has caused problems when some of us feel that we have not been given enough information on which to base a rational decision.

Similarly, resolutions proposed by Board members (noticeably increased in number and in content since the Board added two new members in January), have not until this year gone to committee. In fact, few of the Board sponsored resolutions (other than Policy changes that require two readings) are referred to committee and most of the Board is unaware of the existence of the resolutions until the Board packet arrives the Friday night before the meeting the next Thursday.

With both the District and Board sponsored resolutions, there can be significant pressure to adopt them at the upcoming meeting. The stress and contention I spoke of at the beginning of this post result from: 1) the legal requirement that less than a majority of Board members can discuss a resolution prior the meeting in keeping with the requirements of the Brown Act, 2) the "political" strategy that a sponsor of a resolution may be employing in timing the introduction of a particular resolution, 3) the concern/fear that members of the College community or of the general public may have about the consequences of a resolution that became known to them with such a short time before a vote will be taken, and 4) the history of non-functioning committees, few policies guiding the introduction of Board sponsored resolutions, and strategic introduction of resolutions to score political points or to use the pressure of a deadline to force a decision.

I joined with my colleagues, John Rizzo and Steve Ngo, in drafting some Policy changes to bring order to the College Board and to reduce the stress that too often taints our meetings. More on those proposed changes in another post.

New term on the College Board

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:40:00 +0000

In the spirit of the day, and having just heard our new President's Inaugural Address, I wanted to share some of my words after being sworn in for my third term on the College Board on January 5th:

"It is an unsettling time. Things could improve or get much, much worse. In the face of this uncertainty, it is our obligation to secure the future for those who depend on us. Community colleges serve the most vulnerable people in our society whether they are starting their higher education, about to enter the workforce, or who are returning for a career change. They are banking on the future…a future where there will be a job for them. They are hoping that, in their future, there will be a world that will accept them for who they are and for what they offer and a world where they will want to be.

As we find ourselves facing profound events, whether related to the state of the economy or war, it is easy to get dispirited or despondent. My goal is to not allow that to happen to me, and my invitation to you is to join me in always believing that what we do at City College is equally profound and life altering. The big difference is that City College is about positive change and life affirming actions.

We are being tested by all that we are facing. We have to have the courage to face these challenges and to secure the future for those we serve and those we represent. I am confident that our new Chancellor and our new Board will do this.

We each have personal goals and agendas for our work at City College. Mine continue to be centered on sustainability, open governance, health care and health education, community service, and collaboration. My hope is that the Board of Trustees can come together in unity – not shying away from heated debate, however – to foster a collegial spirit that can shape all that goes on at City College. The future depends on us. We depend on each other."

Social Equity and Social Justice

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:44:00 +0000

The Board of Trustees is conducting interviews this week for the three finalists for Chancellor of City College. Selecting the Chancellor is one of the most important roles for the Board; creating a climate for strong and positive interaction between the Chancellor and the Board is critical to an effective Board that helps City College meet its mission.

One of the candidates talked about social equity and social justice in a way that I found compelling. I want to share this person's comments:

"Social equity is that everyone has opportunity. Social justice is that there is equity in outcomes."

These comments are important to keep in mind as we design programs to better ensure equitable outcomes. It is not enough to provide "opportunity" if the outcomes differ between groups. With all of the talk about the "achievement gap" in San Francisco, we need to embrace social justice as a primary goal for City College. I will be advocating for that as a Board priority.

Policy changes at City College

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:21:00 +0000

The Board of Trustees of any community college district uses its policy decisions to direct the administration to act. At both the August and September 2008 meetings of the College Board, my colleagues approved (at the required second reading) policies that I authored.

The one that we passed just tonight goes a long way to correcting a long-standing problem in how the College Board operates. For years now, it has bothered me that we have no minutes of our Closed Sessions. Instead, our General Counsel makes notes for what he reads out at the Open Session about any actions taken in Closed Session. The Board never reviews these notes for accuracy or completeness. Unlike our Open Sessions, our Closed Sessions are not audio- or video-recorded. The arguments have been that recording will either dampen candor or it can be used to reveal legal strategies to an opposing side.

Unfortunately, there have been too many instances either where we can cannot agree on what we decided in Closed Session, or where the College Administration may interpret "the will of the Board" on a variety of subjects. Until tonight, we did not require any documentation. That is now changed.

Here is the text of the amendment to Policy Manual Section 1.05 – Meetings (thanks to Trustees Anita Grier and John Rizzo for co-sponsoring):

"To ensure an accurate record of the Board of Trustees’ decisions and the direction it gives to the Administration and to avoid future confusion and uncertainty, every “action” (see following definition) by the Board of Trustees must be by a documented vote on a written resolution or other document.

The meetings for which this applies include, but are not limited to: worksessions or committee meetings, open session, closed sessions, special meetings, and retreats.

“Actions” include, but are not limited to: written resolutions, direction given on labor negotiations, legal actions, real estate matters, and personnel issues as well as on programs, projects, and plans that are presented for Board review, comment, and feedback.

At its subsequent worksession, committee meeting, open or closed session, the Board of Trustees will approve the accuracy of the written record of the immediate past meeting of a similar nature (i.e. open session and next open session, closed session and next closed session). Following a special meeting or retreat, the Board of Trustees will approve the written record at its next open or closed session as appropriate."

I am very pleased by the passage of this resolution.

At our August 2008 meeting, the College Board passed another policy change to Policy Manual Section 7.26 7.27 – Commitment to the District’s Small Business Enterprise and Small Local Business Enterprise Programs. Prior to the passage of this policy change, City College did not use past performance on agreed to small business participation in the recommendation of awarding new contracts. Whenever we approve a contract for some construction project, there usually is a 15-35% small or small local business participation goal. Unfortunately, there seems to be limited oversight of these promises made by contractors to, at least, try to include local businesses. I am standing strongly behind the principle that the San Francisco Community College District should do whatever it can to keep local dollars within our community.

Thanks to Trustees Anita Grier and Julio Ramos for co-sponsoring this policy change:

"The Board of Trustees directs the District, when evaluating firms seeking contracts with the District, to include in its consideration, to the extent permitted by law, of past performance towards Small Business Enterprise and Small Local Business Enterprise goals in previous contracts with the District in recommending future contracts to the Board of Trustees, and The Board of Trustees requires that, in any resolution where the recommended contractor has had prior contracts that included Small Business Enterprise and/or Small Local Business

Enterprise goals, resolutions for future contracts list all past Small Business Enterprise and/or Small Local Business Enterprise contractual goals and performance towards those goals so that the Board of Trustees can consider, to the extent permitted by law, the past performance(s) in awarding a new contract."

Another successful meeting!

Keeping my word

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:45:00 +0000

During all San Francisco elections, candidates seeking organizational endorsements are required to fill out (sometimes lengthy) questionnaires prior to being interviewed. One of these I completed recently was from the San Francisco Women's Political Committee. I am pleased to have received the SFWPC Endorsements Committee's recommendation (thanks to them for their continuing confidence in me), and look forward to being endorsed by the full membership.

I wanted to share some of the SFWPC's questions as well as my answers. You will note that I pledged to ask the Chancellor for information on a number of these, and plan to make these requests both in writing and at our College Board meeting on August 28th.

****************

1. Do you support raising wages so that all San Francisco workers can meet their family’s basic needs with one full-time job? If you support this concept, what will you do to advance sustainable wages for all workers?

No one should have to work more than one full-time job to support a family’s basic needs. I cannot say for certain if there are any employees at City College who have to work more than one job; however, I will ask the Chancellor to report to the Board on this to see if we need to adopt a policy directing the District to raise all employees to the level where their City College job is sufficient to support a family.

2. According to current federal comparative statistics, females make $0.85 to the dollar for a man in a comparable position. Do you support the concept of pay equity in the workplace for comparable work? If you support this concept, what will you do to advance pay equity in the workplace?

I can think of no justification for not having comparable pay for everyone. It is amazing to me that women still make less than men; the only thing less acceptable than that fact is the realization that we allow this disparity to continue to exist. We have the power to change this!

As a Trustee at City College, I will ask for an analysis of pay at the College to see if this disparity exists there. Once we have this information, I will then be able to act to establish policies to make any corrections that we need. Hopefully, the situation at City College will be better than in society at large.

3. What should the role of the government be in expanding quality, accessible childcare, early education and elder care resources?

Given the evidence of the importance of pre-school, the demand for childcare, and the growing need for elder care as the population ages, the role of government should be to guarantee all of these things at a reasonable rate and in an accessible way. City College has an excellent reputation for child development programs, though I am not certain how much wait there is for spots to open. I will find out how the College manages demand for child development programs for its students as well as for people who work at the College, and I will propose a Board policy requiring the District to provide child development services for anyone at the College who desires it.

4. What will you do to help eliminate sexual harassment and sexual discrimination in the workplace and society in general?

I will seek the support of my colleagues on the College Board in requiring an annual report on sexual harassment and sexual discrimination complaints to make certain that laws and policies against both of these are being handled properly. That includes requiring that the offices charged with investigating complaints and recommending action against anyone found guilty of breaking the law or violating District policies is seen as properly trained to handle these complaints and competent in carrying out its duties. If people feel that their complaints will not be handled properly, they will refrain from filing them. The Board need to send a strong signal that it will not stand for inappropriate actions and that it will demand that the College take action to punish those who violate standards.

City College program for homeless and at-risk students

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:52:00 +0000

Recently, I introduced Dariush Kahyan, the Mayor's Homeless Policy Director, to the HARTS Program at City College (Homeless/At-Risk Transitional Students). I was surprised to find that there had been no formal connection between Project Homeless Connect, the nonprofit where Dariush used to work, and HARTS.

In fact, when I looked tonight the orientation flyer for volunteers that is posted on the SFConnect website, there still is no mention about an educational program that could greatly benefit San Francisco's homeless population as well as those at-risk of becoming homeless or returning to homelessness:

Project Homeless Connect – Orientation

"Because each client is unique and the combination of services that they need is different, their individual needs will dictate exactly how they move through the Service Stations.

The list of services provided is growing and includes the following and more:

Medical Care, Dental, HIV and TB Testing, Needle Exchange
Benefits (CAAP, GA, SSI, Food Stamps)
Behavioral Health (Mental Health & Substance Abuse Counseling and Treatment, methadone)
Housing Information and Shelter Reservation –7 day stay
Veterans Assistance
Family Services and Senior Services
DMV Ids
Free phone calls and voice mail
Employment Services
Free vision care and eyeglasses
Domestic Violence Counseling
Legal Assistance
Discharge Planning
Lunch, Activities & Giveaways
Flu Shots and Hair cuts"

I understand that there have been some preliminary conversations between the City and City College. I am going to continue to push for the type of collaboration that would enable HARTS to serve a broader range of students than they can now with their limited resources.

For further information about HARTS, please go to:

http://www.ccsf.edu/Resources/Harts/index.htm

ESL students at City College

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:58:00 +0000

Yesterday, I met with two English as a Second Language students who came to the United States from China six months ago. Both Ada and Hannah, their American names that they used with me, come from Guandong.

While we needed a great deal of help to have our conversation -- fortunately their ESL teacher was there, too -- it is clear that both of them are eager to learn English. We went through some of the exercises they did in class: their names, addresses, and the date. I was taught to say the date in Mandarin.

ESL is an enormously important part of what City College does. It represents the entry point into American society for many people coming to San Francisco. Command of English, even in a city like San Francisco with large communities of foreign-born and foreign-language proficient people, is essential for getting good jobs and integrating into our city. Ada and Hannah are determined to learn English, and are grateful that City College offers so many ESL classes.

At a recent Board meeting where we approved the final design for the Chinatown/North Beach Campus, one person spoke to us about the importance of ESL. He said that ESL is the best anti-poverty program. I hadn't made that connection before, but I see the wisdom in that.

While we often say that City College is a great place to study, we may not remember that many students at City College first need to learn English before they can take other vocational or academic classes that can lead to a productive career. Without the vibrant ESL program, approximately 40% of the classes offered by City College, large numbers of students will not be able to access the quality education that City College offers.

Marryin' folk!

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:19:00 +0000

I had the honor yesterday of officiating at three wedding ceremonies in City Hall. The three couples -- Rebecca and Beth, Kate and Kory, and Erika and Linda -- were very different from each other (at least from what what I could tell in the time we spent together!). Yet, they all were clearly in love and devoted to each other (and, in Kate and Kory's case, to their two, young children). It was an amazing way to spend an afternoon, made even more special for me as it was my seventh wedding anniversary.

There's not much more that needs to be said; it was one of those "Wow!" experiences.

Community college training for solar panel installation

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:51:00 +0000

Today's SFGate has an article on how Bay Area community colleges are meeting the demand for training workers in solar panel installation.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/10/BUGD10JVGP.DTL

While one of the researchers who presented the report on training workers to meet the demand for solar panels is at City College, the article does not mention how much training is happening at City College. I will get this information for a future post.

This is further confirmation of the importance of vocational training for green jobs for City College.

Can Green Jobs Save the Middle Class?

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:43:00 +0000

I just found this article, though it was posted originally last November. It makes a lot of sense, though, as you'll see, not everyone agrees that green jobs will provide the answers that many of us think they will.

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/67138/

City College is in the middle of the drafting of a Sustainability Plan. Part 1 for Construction, Retrofitting, and Operations has been reviewed through the Shared Governance system, starting with the Sustainability Subcommittee of the Facilities Review Committee. Part 2 for Professional Development, Educational Programs, Student Services, and Community Partnerships continues to be developed by the Sustainability Subcommittee, and should be completed later this year.

At the request of the Board President, I am leading an ad hoc group of Trustees including John Rizzo and Rodel Rodis to review Part 1, and to report back to the full Board on our recommendations for moving this part through our approval process. I hope we will be bringing to the Board soon.

At this particularly difficult economic time with so many cuts proposed to fall disproportionately on community colleges and the students we serve, it is essential that the Board of Trustees recognize the opportunity that green jobs have for San Franciscans. As more and more of the world embraces "green" for its environmental, social, AND economic benefits, San Francisco should take a leadership role in fostering the green economy and in providing the training needed to help our students succeed.

I will be pushing this agenda, and hope others will join with me. If you agree that this is a vital role for City College, please get in touch with me.

Transfer opportunities beyond UC and CSU

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:57:00 +0000

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle this past Monday on how difficult it is to be a low-income student at Stanford, revived a question that I have had since I joined this Board of Trustees: Why does City College talk almost exclusively about SF State and UC Berkeley for transfer? While those institutions are quite good and make sense for many San Franciscans, they are not the only option. In fact, they may not be the best option for everyone who wants to transfer from City College.

Experiencing life in another part of the country, finding a college that focuses on undergraduate education, and realizing the possibilities that a small college can provide are only some of the reasons why City College students should examine all of the opportunities available.

The article from the Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/31/BAIMVHBG9.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea) is particularly relevant for many students at City College. Being able to afford an expensive institution like Stanford is beyond the means of a large segment of the population.

The good news from Stanford and Harvard (http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1042997120071210?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews) is that both institutions have recognized that they are limiting the pool of applicants to only those who can afford the high fees that they charge. What's heartening about the news from both colleges is that they now recognize that they need to put the resources of their enormous endowments to good use in lowering or eliminating fees for deserving students. Hopefully, this will attract more City College students to consider transferring to one of these colleges.

As the article points out, however, living expenses are another cost that many students cannot afford. Wouldn't it be great if we could find a way to raise funds to help City College students who transfer to meet the costs they incur after transferring? Seems like something we should pursue with the College's Foundation.

The launch of CityCollege:SF

noreply@blogger.com (Milton Marks) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:17:00 +0000

This is the first posting for CityCollege:SF. My goals in launching this site are: first, to encourage everyone interested in community colleges the opportunity to understand and comment on important issues facing City College of San Francisco. Second, I want to better connect the College's Board of Trustees with the students, faculty, staff, and administrators.

I invite you to check this site frequently. My hope is that I will launch a new topic weekly, and welcome broad discussion on these issues. Most often, I will also post a news article or some other document to help frame the online conversation we will have.

If you have ideas for future topics, please email me at mmarks@ccsf.edu.

The first article I want to share with you is from Inside Higher Ed. It addresses the issue of remedial education, focusing on the programs supported by the Hewlett Foundation. City College is one of Hewlett's grantees.

Please take a look at "Rethinking Remedial Education" by clinking on the following link, and post a comment, question, or reply to get our conversation going.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/01/29/california

Thanks.

Milton Marks