February 27, 2023

Attendance

Minutes

I. Call to Order and Report Outs

Welcome

The meeting was delayed by 15 minutes due to a problem with the computer’s speaker in MLC255.   

Cheryl Jaeger Balm reminded representatives to update their report out.

Approval of Agenda and Minutes from Feb 13, 2023

Rana Marinas moved, Ravjeet Singh secondeded, to approve both minutes and agenda. No objection.  Agenda and minutes approved by unanimous consent.

Public Comment 

Ravjeet Singh said there was a district wide notification regarding an incident on campus last Thursday morning, 2/23. What actions are campus security and administration taking to address the situation?  Thomas Ray responded that there was an assault on a student in the Stelling Garage. The suspect was not caught. The police are still investigating.  There were concerns for the student and campus safety. This happened in an open area in broad daylight. Suggestions for increased patrols as well as messages to students regarding safety precautions and available help like police escorts.

Report outs

See the linked PDF above.  Cheryl Jaeger Balm reminded senators to review and communicate information from the report out to their constituents.

II. Needs and Confirmations and III. Continuing Business

Erik Woodbury motioned to change the order of the agenda to discuss Measure G and Creative Arts out of respect for President Holmes's time since we were behind schedule. Glynn Wallis seconded. No objections.

Measure G and Creative Arts

President Lloyd Holmes gave an overview of the slides he shared with the Creative Arts Division on Feb 3, 2023. The Academic Senate had the slides to view before the meeting to allow more time for questions and feedback. The presentation has been shared with DASG. He will be sharing it with the Program Allocation Committee and the Facilities Committee to gather feedback for the Board.  Creative Arts has submitted their feedback.

The powerpoint included plans and estimated cost of construction for the new Services for Students Building and numerous options, A-J, for the relocation of the Creative Arts programs. The slides included proposed implementation of the most viable option, Option J.  During the renovation and construction period, Creative Arts will move into swing spaces in the L-Quad, the ATC, and the VPAC. 

President Holmes emphasized that nothing has been decided. He asked everyone to look at all the options and give him feedback. 

Felisa Vilaubi asked if there was an option to not build an event center.  President Holmes responded that, according to the Board, nothing is written in stone. He will need to take that feedback back to the Board. He was not in favor of a building that sits vacant Mondays through Fridays. He does not want a building for events without instruction in mind. 

Vernon Gallegos asked if all the arts, like theater, have been considered.  President Holmes responded that all the arts are being considered. He and the administration are strong supporters of the arts.

Ravjeet Singh asked about departments and divisions that are being displaced in the L-Quad.  President Holmes replied that there is a Space Utilization Report being worked on that is looking at how the rooms were used pre and post-pandemic. All the information will be shared. There will be conversations regarding how these classes will be taught.

Kristin Skager, Interim Dean of Language Arts, said they are happy to share space with Creative Arts as well as the Villages. She raised concerns over L-4, the current space for Journalism as well as Communications Studies.  President Holmes responded that was one of the main questions in the survey. Journalism students have expressed concern over this space that was created especially for them. He and his planning team are trying to deal with this domino effect.

There is a Market Analysis being done in conjunction with the Feb 23 Event Center Forums that will provide more information about the needs for an event center. For example, if there is a need for a 500 seat space, perhaps the option is to renovate VPAC for such purposes.  The Market Analysis will be ready in mid March. He will share and post the information. His aim is to be transparent.

Shagun Kaur also raised concerns over the L4 space that is being considered as a swing space for Creative Arts. That will greatly impact Communications Studies. That space has been designed and set up for their programs.  President Holmes said there will be a lot of conversations with a lot of people. He realizes that Journalism will also be impacted. They will continue to look for spaces that will house the arts. 

There was a question regarding the bookstore moving into the Baldwin Winery.  The bookstore has a lot of space that is underutilized. The plan is to move financial aid and health services into the current bookstore space to join counseling and psychological services in the same location with registration.

People were glad to learn that the event center is not a done deal and that instructional needs are the primary concern for any decision.

Send feedback to Cheryl Jaeger Balm or directly to Pam Grey.

Vice President of Instruction Hiring Committee 

This committee will be continuing work in to the Spring quarter.  Tim Shively is serving as one of the faculty representatives on this committee, but he will be going on PDL (Professional Development Leave) in the Spring.  Erik Woodbury proposed that we replace Tim on this hiring committee with Sal Breiter, who was the next runner up when we did the rank choice voting for this committee.

Shagun Kaur moved to approve Sal Breiter, Ravjeet Singh seconded.

Yes: 18 on zoom, 3 in person. Unanimous approval.

Academic Senate scholarship

A subcommittee has been meeting and collaborating on resuming the De Anza Academic Senate scholarships.They incorporated into the description and guideline some of the points raised in previous meeting about making applications easier and more available. The proposed scholarship awards are 2 at $1,000 and 3 at $500.

Cheryl Jaeger Balm also met with Lisa Mandy, Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, and Robin Latta, Assistant Director of the Foothill - De Anza Foundation. They suggested two ongoing scholarships and grants that align well with the intent expressed in the Academic Senate scholarship draft for the Academic Senate to consider funding this year. The turnaround time for approving, posting, and granting the Academic Senate scholarship for 2022-2023 is very tight. This idea will allow time for the subcommittee to continue working on the Academic Senate scholarships for next year while still using funds to support students this academic year.

Other existing student resources:

• Strength Thru Adversity Scholarship: This is a part of the De Anza Retention Program to support De Anza students on academic probation with a GPA under 2.0.  It provides them with a second chance, and recognizes their academic and personal efforts. It awards five $275 grants each quarter. The Foundation works with Sushini Chand and Patricia Del Rio to administer and grant these funds.
• Emergency Grants: There are several emergency funds. The Covid-19 related funding from the federal government will be ending soon. The financial emergency requests are very straightforward to address urgent needs. There is a financial aid contingency fund also used for emergency funds. 

Felisa Vilaubi proposed doing both, funding those grants and the Academic Senate scholarship. 

Most De Anza scholarship applications closed in Feb; the above two are continuous and ongoing. There are a lot of needs. The Foundation continues to raise funds to support students. 

Ravjeet Singh asked about restriction/limitation for these grants and scholarships. The subcommittee worked really hard to make the scholarship accessible.

Students would need to fill out the district general financial aid application, that includes some of the same questions, to apply for the Academic Senate scholarship if we offer it, as well as a My Story essay. Once a student fills out the general application, it is in the system and could be reused for other scholarship applications. Some students have revised their My Story for other purposes, like personal statements for college transfers.

Lisa Castro asked if any proposed questions would have to be removed from the Academic Senate scholarship draft. Yes, we cannot ask the two questions, "Are you or have you been involved in the criminal justice system?" and "Are you or your parents undocumented?"

Lisa Mandy wished more people could read the student stories of their struggles and needs. They need to get the word out to get more applicants and more readers.

How much money does the Academic Senate have to give away?  Historically, the Senate has granted two $1000 scholarships. The Academic Senate currently has an $80,000 endowment with the Foundation in addition to our own bank account.  That endowment should generate an annual $3,000-$3,500 payout that can be put toward scholarships without decreasing our principle. Currently, there is a $5,000 payout in the account that could be used.  We can also supplement the endowment funds with our Academic Senate funds.

Funding existing scholarhips and/or grants will be a good short term option that will give the Academic Senate more time to work out the equity and access questions under discussion in their own scholarship. It will allow the subcommittee to continue their work to have the scholarship ready for Fall 2023.

Shagun Kaur motioned that the Academic Senate give whatever dollar amount possible to existing scholarships to help students in this academic year while the scholarship committee continues its work. Ravjeet Singh seconded. No objections. Motion approved.

Cheryl Jaeger Balm will follow up with Lisa Mandy and Robin Latta to work out the details. She will follow up with the subcommittee as well.

Brown Act changes in effect next meeting

Starting next Monday, our meetings must have over 50% of voting members meeting from within district boundaries.  Voting members should submit a remote attendance form by this Thursday if they will not be attending the meeting in person for any of the three remaining meetings this quarter.

IV. New Business

Employee appreciations for divisions (1st read)

Request for funds to continueAcademic Senate appreciation for employees. Last quarter, the officers greeted people with coffee, donuts, and cookies in front of the administration building. For the rest of this school year, Erik Woodbury and So Kam Lee would like to take the show on the road, visiting divisions with treats from the Academic Senate.  This will be back for approval next week.

IV. Other Items

Good of the Order

• Mark Landefeld, De Anza Academic Senate representative on the District's Affordable Housing Task Force: The task force is slowly getting recommendations. The discussion on the Arts Relocation raised concerns regarding the use of campus spaces. He pointed out that 20% of Measure G was allocated for employee and student housing. As a District project, it has not been addressed as they consider other issues. 
• Shagun Kaur: Guided Pathways is looking for, ZCT (zero cost textbook) Faculty Coordinator and ZCT Faculty Trainer.

Adjournment

Shagun Kaur motioned, Erik Woodbury seconded, to adjourn, no objection.