Area Report for Board of Trustees
Winter Quarter 2026 was busy and productive for Academic Affairs. A highlight of the quarter was the Tenure Celebration held on March 4, 2026, recognizing the dedication and accomplishments of faculty who completed the tenure process. The tenure process reflects years of commitment to teaching excellence, centering our students, providing service to the college, and ongoing professional development growth. Our faculty colleagues demonstrated perseverance, reflection, and deep engagement with teaching and learning.
I extend my warmest congratulations to Prairie Brown, Kelly Converse, Ahmed Fahad, Lauren Hatch, Audra Lord, Aaron Ottinger, Jennifer Ritchey, Galia Sion, Laura Sposato, Kara Stuart, and Mary Weir. Thank you to the community of family, friends, faculty, staff and administrators who were instrumental in supporting our colleagues throughout this process.
Core Theme 2: STUDENT LEARNING, Increase educational success, collaborate to improve
- Geology Club has been making grain size charts to assist students taking geology classes to better describe sediments.
- The Science and Success Club, founded by Zaki Karimi (Afghan immigrant Running Start students), and advised by Razmehr Fardad (Math faculty), continues to create meaningful opportunities for STEM students to grow professionally.
- Eric Baer (Geology) and others published “Geoscience Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale (GeoMSES) for Majors-Level Undergraduates: Psychometric Data” in Educational Sciences (Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(2), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16020288 ).
- MB Barboza (Geology) presented a YouTube video for PBS Eons titled “How Brawn Led to Brains”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbG8-ejz-WE
Core Theme 3: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, Create a more inclusive working environment and a more valued , visible relationship with communities we serve
- On Feb 3, 2026 100 students from the Federal Way Kinders to College Program had a fantastic time doing science experiments at Highline College.
Division Honors and Achievements
- Dr. Eric Baer (geology) is running a workshop series helping new NSF-funded Community College STEM Awardees
- Dr. Helen Burn (Math) has been elected as the Chair of the Mathematical Association of America’s Special Interest Group on Statistics and Data Science Education for the 2026-27 academic year.
- Dr. Helen Burn (Math) has published a new article in the Association for Women in Mathematics Newsletter, titled “It’s cool to learn new things: Updating your skill set for data science. Burn, H. (2026, January-February). It’s cool to learn new things: Updating your skill set for data science. Association for Women in Mathematics Newsletter, 56(1), 12-13.
Report submitted by Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Rolita Ezeonu