Area Report for Board of Trustees

Fall quarter is well underway and IA has been deeply involved in the events and activities that have both welcomed students back to campus and continued to engage our surrounding community to raise awareness of Highline’s impact across the region, highlighted by Opening Week and the College Way Ribbon Cutting, welcoming students and getting them engaged on social media, supporting our local elected officials and celebrating faculty Teaching and Learning Enhancement grants.

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

• Communications and Marketing produced and premiered this amazing student profile on Sergio Acuna. In addition to telling Sergio’s story, the video also showcases the Entry Advising Center and gives prospective students a great introduction to Highline College.
• Web Team has initiated student feedback sessions to get input on the new top-level pages of the website, on track to launch by Nov. 1, 2024. Information about the website was also shared during the opening week college wide strategic planning session.

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

• IA organized the Ribbon Cutting for College Way on September 18. Great thanks for HC Facilities and Public Safety for their entire body of work that lead to this roadway being constructed and for their specific work to prepare the area and keep everyone safe during the ceremony. Special thanks to Viktor Orabey for setting up the outdoor sound system and the Facilities Custodial and Grounds Crew for making the area beautiful. The ceremony included officials from City of Des Moines, Sound Transit and Kiewit Construction who joined the college community in celebrating this milestone.
• IA, along with reps from Academic Affairs and SBDC, attended the Seattle Southside Mayors Reception on 9/24 in SeaTac. VP Gerstman gave a sponsor presentation about the College and was able to introduce two of the mayors speaking that evening.
• Thunderbirds Soaring through the Decades is coming quickly. Tickets, table sales and sponsorships still available.

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

• Design and Production Team (Graphics and Printshop) produced the 1,600 discs used during Opening Week Strategic Planning. The four strategic goals of the college were printed on the discs so that every employee collected a set of four discs with the four goals. In addition to the discs, new posters were created that have the full text of the strategic goals. These materials were created in partnership with the IE Committee and helped put the strategic goals in everyone’s hands and in key locations across campus.

Division Honors and Achievements

• Congratulations to Ashley Kerr on surpassing 10 years at Highline College.
• IA wants to recognize Rich Shockley and the SBDC/StartZone team for an excellent presentation at the September Board meeting and their greater body of work.
• IA wants to recognize Sam Kaplan, Kaitlyn Bermingham and Michael Pham for organizing and leading an amazing Short-Term Study Abroad Trip to Vietnam.

Report submitted by Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Joshua Gerstman