Area Report for Board of Trustees

As we enter September and the start of Fall Quarter fast approaching, we also take this opportunity to reflect on two months of activity at Highline College and the IA Division.  IA staff attended, assisted or provided leadership for 7 large community activities, worked with colleagues in Student Services and EDT to submit 3 significant grants, engaged with current and future students through Social Media, and continued work on new top level site.

Please mark your calendars for Ribbon Cutting of College Way on Wednesday, September 18 2:30 pm. Ceremony will be held on the new roundabout by the HC sign in collaboration with the City of Des Moines and Sound Transit.

Core Theme 1: ACCESS, Reduce Barriers and close equity gaps to access for all community members

• $183,500 in Foundation Scholarships awarded to 75 students for 2024-2025.
• $117,256 Awarded in Emergency Tuition funding to 32 students for Summer Quarter.
• Dave O’Keeffe, Grants Manager, worked with colleagues from Student Services and Equity, Diversity and Transformation to submit 3 grants to Dept of ED for TRiO, Dept of Ed for Basic Needs (collaborative grant with GRC and RTC), and to KCRHA for funding from HUD to address housing insecurity.

Core Theme 3: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, Create a more inclusive working environment and a more valued, visible relationship with communities we serve

•  IA members helped organize and host the Seattle Southside Chamber Leadership Conference on 7/19, attended by more than 150 community members, many visiting Highline for the first time.
• Foundation team facilitated Workforce Discovery Lab visit on 8/5, and Skyler Fulton, business faculty and Dr. Stepanie Puchalski, Instructional Tech led participants in two very interactive sessions with 30 high school students on financial management and 3D printing
• Tanisha Williams helped organize statewide college foundation (WAFL) meeting 8/7-8/9 at Big Bend CC, also attended by Sharon Vail and Josh Gerstman
• Rich Shockley, Dave O’Keeffe, Shakira Ericksen and Josh Gerstman attended legislative roundtable with Congressman Adam Smith on 8/14
• Shakira Ericksen helped organize a Government Jobs Fair on 8/17 with Adam Smith’s Office, which included two highline info tables and more than 300 community members attended
• Foundation sponsored return to school backpack give-away at ILC on 8/17
• VP Gerstman promoted the college at Rotary Blues and Brewsfest on 8/24

Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY: Promote a campus culture which fosters equity and inclusivity supporting employee growth and development, and institutional capacity for transformation

• IA Division members are currently completing annual performance evaluations (PDPs), department institutional effectiveness (IE) plans, and contributing to new IA Division plan.

Division Honors and Achievements

• We wish safe travels to the 2024 Short Term Study Abroad Trip to Vietnam, which now includes students from 5 colleges. Sam Kaplan and Kaitlyn Bermingham, Center of Excellence for Global Trade and Supply Chain Management have been working hard in preparing for the trip and have exceeded their fundraising goals of raising $20,000 to help keep the cost per student to a reasonable $600. (VP-IA notes that the VP of Admin Services also dedicates much time and energy to this trip and the VP of SS will be part of the faculty and staff contingent for this fall trip). Board of Trustees are invited to a reception on Thursday, October 10th from 3-5pm to recognize sponsors and supporters of the Short Term Study Abroad and share highlights from past few trips.

Report submitted by Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Joshua Gerstman