Area Report for Board of Trustees

As the quarter draws to a close, I want to highlight some events and items showcasing our outstanding students, staff and faculty. I had the pleasure of attending and participating in our “Highline’s Got Talent” show. I served as one of the judges with other colleagues on campus, and “critiqued” over a dozen acts performed by our students. The event was outstanding, well organized and attended, showing our campus that we have a need for evening programming. Families and community members attended, which provided for a wonderful evening. And I was quite impressed by our talented students – they performed well on Highline’s big stage. Many thanks to the Center for Leadership and Service for concluding International Education Week with this enjoyable event. Regarding vice president searches, our VP of Student Services recruitment ends on Dec. 9 and the committee will be reviewing applications for first-level interviews. Those candidates, who are selected as finalists, will participate in on-campus interviews and forums in mid-January. The hope is to have a candidate selected shortly thereafter.

For our new VP of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, names are being submitted for committee membership, which should be complete within the next two weeks. The position will be posted in January and the campus is excited about this upcoming recruitment and addition to our college community.

In addition, the campus is currently hosting finalists for Dean of College and Career Readiness, a new and exciting position for Highline. Campus interviews will conclude next week. Many thanks to all our students, staff and faculty who are currently on search committees and those who will participate in upcoming committee work next quarter. Your time and commitment to bringing the best educators to the college is most appreciated.

Finally, many thanks to our Interim VP of Academic Affairs Dr. Emily Lardner for serving on a panel for the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR) in New York last month. The conference “Reimagining Developmental Education” and, specifically, Dr. Lardner’s panel, was highlighted in the national publication Inside Higher Education. I encourage everyone to read the article if you have a moment:  Measuring Progress on Developmental Education

This is great work, and asks the simple but challenging question as educators: “How can we do better for our students?” Thank you, Emily, for your participation and perspective. Finally, as 2019 concludes, I want to thank everyone for your dedication, passion and service to the Highline College community. Our institution is fortunate to have the commitment of care from all of you. I wish you all the best as we enter 2020.

Report submitted Dec. 04, 2019, by President John R. Mosby, Ph.D.