Area Report for Board of Trustees

Welcome to spring quarter. Last quarter came and went so fast, possibly due to the snow and subsequent campus closures. However, there were still many events and happenings on campus during that time. I will share an update on the listening sessions held in February and March. We had four sessions for staff and faculty and close to 400 individuals attended — quite a great turnout. These sessions consisted of a PowerPoint presentation of observations, goals and activities identified for the college as we build on our successes for the future. There were four college goals identified:

• Strengthen a culture of collegewide planning, accountability and evaluation
• Establish a structure for improved communication
• Redefine organizational structure and evaluate outcomes
• Enhance and operationalize opportunities for student success

I encourage you to visit the presidential webpage to see the text of the PowerPoint presentation and review the session feedback summary, comments shared by faculty and staff during the four sessions.

A session for our students will be held in May, beginning our “President’s Hour” — a monthly chat I will hold with our students that will officially begin in fall. Students have provided great feedback to my office these past eight months and I’m pleased to have dedicated scheduled time for student discussion.

Highline continues to sponsor and create excellent events on campus. I will highlight a few. In early March, we had an International Women’s Day Celebration held in Building 8 where our exceptional staff and faculty were recognized for their work and dedication. It was a wonderful celebration. The room was packed with families and friends showing their support; there was even singing from one of our staff. Many thanks to Garvaundo Hamilton, our International Engagement Leadership Advisor, and the Center for Leadership and Service for their leadership and organization in creating a touching and reflective event.

In addition, I attended a JSSOC (Justice Scholars Society of Change) meeting on campus where I heard from staff, students and faculty who are committed to social justice issues and want to make a positive change for our society. Their stories of survival and determination were quite powerful — many individuals are formerly incarcerated or have family who are incarcerated. I look forward to hearing more from JSSOC by attending future meetings and programs. A special thank you to the president of JSSOC, Louis Ihrig, who also is one of our student veterans, for the invitation and his leadership.

I spent a few days in Olympia with other CTC presidents, meeting with our legislators to discuss matters of compensation, capital project funding and guided pathways, to name a few. In addition, a special thank you to Trustee Altmayer for spending the day in Olympia and attending numerous meetings (scheduled and unscheduled) with our state representatives and senators. The day was productive, informative and provided an opportunity to share information with the legislators about the college, such as our student demographics, committed staff and faculty and more.

Also, I co-wrote an opinion piece with the presidents of Green River and Renton Technical colleges, advocating for full funding of community and technical colleges in order to support students. We highlighted a student from each college to drive home our point about the impact our system has on individuals in our communities. You can find a link to it in the news post, “In the News: Teaching, Training Tomorrow’s Leaders, Workers.” A special thank you to Shakira Ericksen, Kari Coglon Cantey and VP Josh Gerstman for their assistance in making this opportunity happen.

Report submitted April 4, 2019, by President John R. Mosby, Ph.D.