Area Report for Board of Trustees
Happy February among the snow-covered streets, cities, colleges and schools. I want to take a moment and give thanks to our facilities, grounds and maintenance crews for clearing the roads, walkways and parking lots on campus. Our staff members arrive on campus quite early in the morning and have worked nonstop (yet again) for the college. I want to recognize Vice President Michael Pham and Public Safety for carefully looking at the ever-changing daily forecasts while providing information and ultimately a recommendation to my office for postponement of classes or campus closure. Many thanks to the communications staff under Vice President Josh Gerstman for updating our website information and social media, supplementing the HC Alerts messages from Public Safety. And finally, a special note of appreciation for Sue Paulson in Human Resources for processing payroll and not missing a beat during this time.
As you know, I’m from California and when I took the position, people did say, “Hey, you will probably have to call a snow day at some point.” Honestly, I laughed since I had never lived in a place with snow. But I was welcomed to much snow and over the past few weeks, many superintendents and fellow presidents have had to make the call and close campus. Please know these decisions are never easy, but the safety of our entire community will always remain the top priority throughout the decision-making process. I want to thank the entire college for your understanding, adherence to road warnings and patience over the past few weeks. I will say that although the snow has made transportation challenging and classes and services have been limited, this California native has appreciated the absolute beauty of the snow (at times) and truly enjoyed our winter wonderland. I do hope the worst of our weather is behind us and Highline College can resume normal activity.
During this time, I had the opportunity to attend the Community College National Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C., with Trustee Dan Altmayer, Vice President Gerstman and Shakira Ericksen.
While there, I attended a number of congressional meetings to discuss such priorities as strengthening Pell Grants, supporting education and workforce development through additional investments, reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, and supporting Dreamers. I want to personally recognize the following offices and programs for taking the time to hear from Highline College:
- Higher Education Programs, Office of Postsecondary Education
- AANAPISI / Title III Program Office
- Senate HELP Committee (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions), of which Senator Patty Murray is the ranking Democratic member
- Congressman Adam Smith
- Senator Maria Cantwell
- Fulbright Exchange Program, East Asia and Pacific
- TRiO Upward Bound Program
- GEAR UP program
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Lastly, I want to remind you of our campus listening sessions that begin Wednesday, February 20. We have a number of sessions throughout February and March for our staff and faculty. There will also be a student-focused listening session in March. I look forward to discussing our priorities and future vision for the college. If you have any questions about the sessions, contact Danielle Slota, special assistant to the president, at dslota@highline.edu or (206) 592-3600.
Have a great rest of the month, be safe, and thank you for the great work in spite of our weather challenges.
Report submitted Feb. 13, 2019, by President John R. Mosby, Ph.D.