Over 100 Participants Attend CoA’s First In-Person Flex Day Since 2020

Over 100 College faculty, staff, and administrators attended CoA’s Fall Flex Day on August 19, 2022. This was the first in-person Flex Day event since January 2020 and the first to be held in HyFlex (Hybrid- Flexible) format. While many individuals chose to attend in person at the new Liberal Arts Building H, some attended by Zoom. Presentations were organized by the CoA Professional Development Committee and the Office of Instruction.

Fall 2022 Flex Day began at 8 a.m. with welcome remarks by members of College leadership, including College President Dr. Nathaniel Jones III, Academic Senate President Dr. Matthew Goldstein,· Classified Senate President Mr. Louie Martirez y McFarland, and Peralta Federation of Teachers representatives Professor Andrew Park and Professor Richard Kaeser.

The highlight of the day was engagement with the important work of the College’s Guided Pathways initiative. CoA’s Guided Pathways framework offers a structured approach to student success that provides students with a set of clear course-taking patterns. Fall Flex Day workshops helped expand the scope of the Guided Pathways framework to include faculty engagement in advancing guided pathways equity and diversity.

Additional Fall Flex Day workshops continued through the afternoon providing further faculty training in distance education, assessment of student learning outcomes, and the innovative inclusion of tutors and peer mentors in the classroom.

College of Alameda Career Center Hosts September Safari Job Fair

The College of Alameda Career and Employment Center hosted the September Safari Job Fair event on September 7, 2022. The on-campus, open to the public, job fair took place in the spacious lobby of the College’s new Liberal Arts building (Building H). CoA hosted 26 employers including: Alameda County Human Resource Services, Alameda Unified School District, BART, Caltrans, EBMUD, Peralta Community College District Human Resources, and Waste Management among others. Participants enjoyed free coffee and pastries donated by Peets' Coffee & Tea and Semifreddis (both employers also tabled for the event). The two-hour job fair provided 140 job seekers with access to recruiters and hiring managers. Career and Employment Center staff members also promoted enrollment in fall semester classes and College’s Fall 500 on Us campaign.

CoA AMT Volunteers at Reid- Hillview Airport Aviation Career Exploration

College of Alameda Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT) Supervisor Esther Cheng and six students volunteered to table at the Reid-Hillview Airport Aviation Career Exploration event on Saturday, September 3, 2022. The Aviation Career Exploration event was a wonderful opportunity to showcase CoA's AMT Program to the general public. Students had the opportunity to share their AMT experience and excitement about their futures in aviation.

Over 400 people visited the AMT table and over 1300 people attended the event. Visitors were impressed by the AMT program, as well as the career opportunities in the field of aviation maintenance technology. AMT student volunteers included: Douglas Goodwin, Pablo Padilla, Palden Jamyang, Vincent Zhen, Alvin Peng, and Zorenn Arbas.

Active Shooter Training Held at CoA

In collaboration with PCCD Director of Public Safety Timothy Thomas, CoA Vice President of Business and Administrative Services Augustine Gill organized a college-wide Active Shooter Training on Wednesday, August 31, 2022. The training was held HyFlex format including both online and in-person participants. The presentation provided insights on how to effectively respond to an active shooter incident, engage with law enforcement, and assist our students in maximizing their safety. Next steps include creating a Campus Security Team to assist the administration and the District Security Office in managing different security threats on campus. This new security team will be trained in First Aid/CPR and other trainings and will be assigned roles as part of a Response Team.

ACCESO Program Holds Its First In-person Student Orientation

College of Alameda's ACCESO Program held its first in-person student orientation on Wednesday, August 17, 3-4pm. A total of 42 students attended the orientation. Students learned about the many benefits of joining ACCESO, like receiving a book voucher, counseling services, mentoring, and faculty and staff support. Additionally, students participated in icebreaker activities and won prizes.

This article is an excerpt from the President’s Report, written by Dr. Diana Bajrami, Acting COA President, that was presented to the PCCD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Tuesday, September 27, 2022. To view it as a pdf, click here.