Area Report for Board of Trustees
Since starting on Monday, March 3, I’ve had the privilege of meeting with deans, division chairs, and many faculty and staff across campus—whether in Building 9, faculty spaces or on campus. While there is much to catch up on since I left in July 2018, one thing is evident for me— the resilience, tenacity, and steadfast commitment to our students and community —even through the many changes, including this most recent transition in the VPAA role. Academic Affairs continues to show up for one another and our students. I want to again extend my heartfelt appreciation to Liz Word for stepping into the Acting VPAA role during this transition. Her leadership and support have been invaluable!
I want to reiterate that Highline College holds a special place in my heart. My 25 years in South King County have been rooted in a deep commitment to the students and communities we serve. Returning to Highline in this leadership role is both meaningful and personal. The opportunity to lead as the Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs is one that I embrace wholeheartedly because I believe in the transformative power of education. My leadership is guided by love, deep respect, and a genuine appreciation for the voices of our faculty, staff, and students—rooted in the spirit of aloha.
Core Theme 1: ACCESS, Reduce Barriers and close equity gaps to access for all community members
- The first Achieve student was invited to join a Highline sports team (softball) as a roster player.
- 53 Students enrolled in Achieve for 24-25 year. 19% identified their ethnicity as Hispanic. 55% identified their race as non-white.
Core Theme 2: STUDENT LEARNING, Increase educational success, collaborate to improve
- As part of the Foundry10 grant, four Achieve students have begun paid internships and seven more are in the planning process for Spring quarter.
Core Theme 3: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: Create a more inclusive working environment and a more valued, visible relationship with communities we serve
- Achieve partnered with 11 school districts and one local tribe for the 24-25 school year, including two new school district partnerships.
- The first meeting of the Achieve Advisory Board was held on February 24th with invitations having been sent out to 17 community stakeholders, including representation from OSPI, PSESD, Seattle Public Schools, Open Doors for Multicultural families, students and alumni.
- Since 2014, Community & Employment Services (CES) has been and continues to be sought out and contracted by the Microsoft Corporation’s Global Workplace Services to develop training curriculum and lead live in person/virtual training on Best Practices in Supported Employment for Microsoft’s corporate leadership and direct line managers plus their vendor partner corporations locally, nationally, and globally. In 2025, the training focus will be locally, nationally, and for the countries in the AMEA and LatAm region.
Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY: Promote a campus culture which fosters equity and inclusivity supporting employee growth and development, and institutional capacity for transformation.
- Aleya Dhanji (Physics) presented her research at the 6th Annual Northwest Regional Equity Conference (NWREC) along with Co-author Matt Graham (University of Oregon). Her presentation was entitled “Inclusive Teams in the STEM Classroom: What Teaching Practices Lead to More Engaging and Effective Group Work for Underserved Students?”
Report submitted by Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Rolita Ezeonu