TO: Members of the Board of Trustees Dr. Debra L. Fitzsimons, Interim Chancellor

FROM: Dr. Tod A. Burnett, President

SUBJECT: Report for March 27, 2017 Board of Trustees Meeting

Accreditation Visit The Association of Community Colleges and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) visiting team completed their on-campus review of and district and they gave Saddleback very high marks. In fact, Saddleback achieved the most successful accreditation results for the South Orange County Community College District in over 20 years. There has never been a prouder moment for us than when we were at the visiting team’s Exit Session where Dr. Cynthia Azari, Visiting Team Chair and President of , stated to a packed room of over 150 students, faculty, staff, management, and trustees: “I want to thank everyone for your warmth, hospitality, and willingness to provide additional information even though you prepared an incredible Institutional Self-Evaluation Report. You also provided detailed evidence and were very responsive.” She further stated: “The team evaluates and looks at the college as a whole and attended conservatively 170 meetings, met with over 350 people, and held two open sessions. The team had a wonderful visit!”

Dr. Azari also stated that the team had nine commendations for the college and district. While each of the commendations is impressive, we should be truly humbled by one of their commendations that said:

“The team commends the college for its student centered approach to learning and student services. There is an enthusiastic collegial spirit and a commitment to student success exhibited by faculty, staff, and management throughout the college. The college has demonstrated that it has a student centric culture that is integrated within each and every area of the college. Faculty, staff, management, and program areas work in concert to provide students with a consistent structure of support, recognition, and inclusion.”

This commendation says it all about Saddleback, and perfectly describes our incredible students, faculty, staff, management, and community. For eight years our college has worked collaboratively and tirelessly to shed the problems of the past, and create a new culture where students come first and together we strive for excellence in all that we do. This single commendation confirmed this fact, and we owe our success to every one of our students, faculty, staff, and management.

As you know, our college began preparing for the accreditation self-evaluation in spring 2015, and throughout the entire process we have taken measures to ensure that the voices of all constituent groups were heard and the college community focused on accreditation. While hundreds of faculty, staff, management, students, and community members contributed to our self-evaluation report, a few dozen people worked tirelessly over the past two years. Our college community greatly appreciates the tremendous contributions and sacrifices made by these individuals who helped ensure a successful accreditation effort. The following students, faculty, staff, and management nobly served on our Accreditation Steering Committee and four Accreditation Standard Committees:

Accreditation Steering Committee: Juan Avalos (Tri-Chair and Accreditation Liaison Officer), Bob Cosgrove (Tri-Chair), Craig Connor (Tri-Chair), Marina Aminy, Ken Brady, Tod Burnett, Claire Cesareo, Kim d’Arcy, Scott Ferguson-Greene, Suki Fisher, Debra Fitzsimons, Tere Fluegeman, Pedram Heidarpour, Carol Hilton, Denice Inciong, Ashley Kinder, Jennifer Klein, Jenny Langrell, Roxanne Metz, Donnie Mineo, Brett Myhren, Diane Pestolesi, Amanda Ruud, Anthony Teng, and Kathy Werle.

Standard I: Diane Pestolesi (Co-Chair), Ken Brady (Co-Chair), April Boyd, Estella Castillo- Garrison, Bruce Gilman, Georgina Guy, Christina Hinkle, Paula Jacobs, Jennifer Klein, Heidi Ochoa, Patricia McGinley, Kim Stankovich, Kendralyn Webber, and Cadence Wynter.

Standard II: Suki Fisher (Co-Chair), Jenny Langrell (Co-Chair), Khaver Akhter, Chris Alvarado, Marina Aminy, Kim Branch-Stewart, Ann Marie Breslin, Hollis Casey, Rick Chan, Brian Denney, Bruce Gilman, Jennifer Hedgecock, Christina Hinkle, Leslie Humphrey-Quirk, John Jaramillo, Rei Kamio, Ardith Lynch, Maria Mayenzet, Janet Miller, Vivian Nguyen, Heidi Ochoa, Kevin O’Connor, Donna Rane-Szostak, Parya Sadeghifard, Carolyn Seaman, Valerie Senior, Penny Skaff, and Cora Swanson.

Standard III: Roxanne Metz (Chair), Catherine Arreguin, Robert Bramucci, David Bugay, Eugene Evancoe, Denice Inciong, Michael James, Ashley Kinder, Anthony Maciel, Jennie McCue, Bart McHenry, Vincent Pollizzi, Deborah Snyder, and Shouka Torabi.

Standard IV: Tony Teng (Co-Chair), Ken Brady (Co-Chair), Erlynne Ballo, Claire Cesareo, Kim D'Arcy, Tere Fluegeman, Lucy Hendrix, Denice Inciong, Jan Mastrangelo, Sophie Miller-Gilliland, John Ozurovich, Mike Sauter, Blake Stephens, and Dan Walsh.

There were dozens of additional people who supported our accreditation process and committees and we thank them all, but there were a few staff who made significant contributions including Ryan Brook, Donna Pribyl, Rob Hartman, and Leanne Bean. Finally, a special thanks to Sophie Miller-Gilliland who spent weeks working with the visiting team, college, and district services to facilitate a successful accreditation visit.

Lastly, we thank our peers on the ACCJC visiting team who helped our college and district improve with their conscientious, professional, and productive insights: Dr. Cynthia Azari (President, Oxnard College), Karla Banks (Executive Assistant to the President, Oxnard College), Dr. Albert Alt (Vice President of College Administrative Services, Modesto Junior College),

Elizabeth Kronbeck (Professor of History/Ethnic Studies, Glendale Community College), Marlena Montague (Assistant Director for Assessment, Institutional Effectiveness and Research, Guam Community College), Daniel Pittaway (Instructor/Student Success Coordinator, Coastline Community College), Nick Real (Instructional Dean - Technology Division, ), Rojelio Vasquez (Interim Vice President of Student Services, ), Dr. Daniel Walden (Vice President of Academic Affairs, ), and Dr. Melinda Womack (Professor of Communication, ). We sincerely enjoyed getting to know each of the team members and Saddleback will forever be grateful to them.

Saddleback College Foundation to Host Gala, Announces Alumna of the Year The Saddleback College Foundation Gala will be held on Saturday, April 1st, at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. The gala will feature a silent auction, gourmet dinner, and music by the Saddleback College Jazz Ensemble.

The event will honor Dr. Burnett upon his retirement from Saddleback College. Also being recognized is the 2017 Saddleback College Alumna of the Year, Dr. Heather C. Allen, professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry and in the department of pathology at The Ohio State University.

Top Gala Sponsors included: Valedictorian: Saddleback College Emeritus Institute; Scholar – Neudesic, LLC; Alumni – Tod A. Burnett, Ed. D.; Cardinal and Gold – Angels for the Arts. Capata & Co. – CPAS, Anthony and Carie Ferry, Janet and Michael Hamilton, and the Irvine Valley College Foundation and John Williams; Academic – Cox Communications, HUB International – Jeffrey Terry – Dr. Donald and Sandra Rickner and Schools First Credit Union.

#UseYourVoice: Understanding the First Amendment in the 21st Century The #UseYourVoice series presented by the Saddleback College Associated Student Government, the Pre-Law Society, Academic Senate, Classified Senate, and Dr. Burnett have received a good turnout at the three events held so far. Topics covered included First Amendment in the Digital Age, Videotaping and the ‘Gotcha’, and Protected Speech: What Does and Doesn’t Violate our Campus Policies. The final event, Free Speech vs. Academic Freedom, will be held on Tuesday, March 28 with featured speaker Erwin Chemerinsky, UCI Law School founding dean.

South Orange County Economic Report Luncheon The third annual Economic Report luncheon hosted by Saddleback College and the South Orange County Economic Coalition was held on Friday, March 10 at Saddleback College. More than 250 guests were on hand to learn about the region’s economic indicators, education, wages, housing, and more all outlined in a report created by Tony Teng, Dean of Advanced Technology and Applied Science. The OC Register was on hand to report on the annual event: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/report-746269-county-population.html

Saddleback College Athletics Announces Honor Roll The Saddleback College athletic department was pleased to announce that 165 of the college’s 356 student-athletes were named to the Athletic Honor Roll after grades were posted for the

Fall 2016 semester, including 25 student-athletes with a perfect 4.00 grade point average. Former Saddleback College soccer play Danielle Scelsi was also announced as the Community College Athletic Association’s top female scholar-athlete for the 2015-16 academic year. She was selected as the top female scholar-athlete out of nearly 26,000 student-athletes participating throughout the CCCAA. Former basketball player Luke Jarvis was also picked by the CCCAA to be one of nine scholar-athletes on the CCCAA State Honor Roll.

The 165 student-athletes on the honor roll this past fall represent over 46 percent of the student-athletes at Saddleback College this year. This is a four percent increase over the Fall 2015 term and the 165 student-athletes is the largest number to ever be included on the Athletic Honor Roll. In order to make the honor roll, student-athletes must have passed at least 12 units during the Fall 2016 semester with a 3.00 GPA or higher.

In addition to the honor roll list, seven of the college’s 10 fall semester athletic teams posted an overall team grade point average of 3.0 or higher and will be nominated for Orange Empire Conference and California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) scholar-team awards.

The men’s basketball team posted its highest team GPA ever, leading all fall semester teams with a 3.37 GPA. Women’s cross country (3.36) and men’s cross country (3.21) each eclipsed the 3.0 mark for the third consecutive year. The women’s volleyball team (3.17) surpassed the 3.0 mark for the first time in seven years. Women’s soccer (3.14) has reached the target in three of the past four years while women’s golf (3.13) surpassed the mark for the fourth straight year. Women’s water polo (3.01) achieved scholar-team status for the sixth time in seven years.

Senior Day Hundreds of high school seniors attended Senior Day at Saddleback College on Thursday, March 16h. Campus tours, workshops on transfer opportunities and financial aid, and information on the college’s academic and student support programs was provided at the festive event.

Office of Instruction Fine Arts and Media Technology March was another busy month for performances in the Division of Fine Arts & Media Technology. On Thursday, March 2nd, the Music Department hosted its 4th annual vocal competition, Saddleback Star, where 12 contestants performed and the audience voted the winner. Saddleback student Emma Chassey received the $500 prize. New this year was a Food and Drink Festival and pre-show entertainment with food and beverages from local restaurants preceding the vocal competition at 6:00 p.m. Proceeds went toward student scholarships. On Friday, March 3rd, speech students entertained an attentive audience of mostly students in the McKinney Theatre with their annual Speech and Debate Showcase where they performed reader’s theatre and speeches. The Department of Theatre Arts’ production of The Ash Girl was held in the intimate Studio Theatre on March 3rd through the 12th to sold-out audiences. On Sunday, March 5th a recital was presented by touring trumpet virtuoso Louis Menchaca with piano accompaniment by Scott Farthing and piano selections performed by Kirill Gliadkovsky.

On Monday, March 6th in the McKinney Theatre, the Jazz Lab featured a world premiere composition by guitar student Rymmy Andre along with the vocal talents of Brooke Dickson. On Friday, March 10th, the Wind Ensemble, conducted by Yorgos Kouritas, performed some of the most popular pieces written for Wind Ensemble. On Saturday, March 11th, the Saddleback College Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Yorgos Kouritas, presented Concerto Gala – Catch a Rising Star featuring the winners of the Music Teachers Association of Concerto Competition. The Saddleback College Art Gallery continued its faculty exhibition through March 16th with a Saturday showing on March 11th. On Monday, March 13th Jazz Studies presented New York jazz quartet Endangered Blood to an enthusiastic jazz audience. On Thursday, March 16th, Theatre Arts presented a stage reading of the world premiere of Tumbledown by Poet/Playwright Red Shuttleworth. The Angels hosted a reception to meet the playwright and English writing students competed in a poetry contest judged by Shuttleworth. A poetry reading took place along with a book signing of Shuttleworth’s award-winning poetry book, Woe to the Land Shadowing. On Friday, March 17th, the Saddleback Big Band brought back their Big Band Swing Thing to the McKinney Theatre. And rounding out the busy month of events, on Sunday, March 19th in the McKinney Theatre, A Choral Romp through the Renaissance and Right Now was presented by the Saddleback College Community Chorale and Chamber Singers. A world premiere choral composition of Ave Maria by Norman Weston was well received.