Mid-Semester Professional Day Focuses on Educational Master Plan

On October 19, 2022, College of Alameda held a well-attended mid-semester Professional Day, with over 80 students, faculty, classified professionals, and administrators attending in person and 78 online. The College had a robust agenda filled with workshops and trainings for faculty and classified professionals.

 The morning session began with a welcome from the college leadership, Dr. Diana Bajrami, Acting CoA President; Dr. Matthew Goldstein, CoA Academic Senate President; Mr. Louie Martirez y Macfarland, Classified Senate President; Professor Andrew Park, Peralta Federation of Teachers (PFT) Co-Rep; and Professor Richard Kaeser, PFT Co-Rep. Acting President Bajrami shared with the college community current enrollment successes and introduced new members to the CoA family, and Dr. Goldstein informed the college community of state-wide Academic Senate events. The remainder of the morning session was dedicated to a college-wide discussion on the CoA Educational Master Plan (EMP). The discussion was divided into four different breakout groups, with each group focusing on different strands of the EMP:

• Group 1: Mission, Vision, and Goals
• Group 2: Strategic Themes: Enrollment, Retention,
• Group 3: Student Equity
• Group 4: Campus Climate

Faculty, Classified Professionals, and Administrators discussed these strands, reflecting on and providing thoughtful responses to the following questions that will focus the EMP:

• Who are the students we serve now and who will be our future students?
• What are the needs of our current students and what will students’ needs be in the future?
• How can we best serve the educational needs of the population in our service area?
• What technologies, facilities, and practices will best ensure equitable outcomes for our students?

After the morning session and lunch, faculty participated in professional development activities designed to enhance awareness of Student Accessibility Services (SAS), best practices in distance education, and equity in the classroom. In addition, the Classified Senate offered a focus group activity tailored for classified professionals titled Mentorship and Job Shadowing for Upward Mobility Within PCCD.

CoA Awarded Certified Peer Online Course Review Campus Status

College of Alameda (CoA) has been awarded status as a Certified Peer Online Course Review (POCR) Campus by the California Virtual Campus (CVC). This honor is the result of extensive training and hard work by CoA’s POCR team. Faculty POCR team members who worked to secure certification were: Communications Professor Brielle Erike, Department Co-Chair of English, Communication, Humanities, and Philosophy Jennifer Fowler, and Distance Education Coordinator Rich and Mathematics Professor Rich Kaeser.

As a Certified POCR Campus, trained faculty mentors at College of Alameda can review and align courses to the CVC Online Course Design Rubric and then fast-track these courses through the CVC review process. Once alignment is verified, courses receive a “Quality Reviewed” badge and rise to the top of the search results on the CVC Exchange where students can search for online courses across the entire California Community College system.

Serving as the College’s Peer Online Course Review Coordinator, Fowler expressed enthusiasm about College of Alameda’s continued advances in distance education.

“This certification represents yet another step forward in College of Alameda’s commitment to quality online course design and student success,” said Fowler.

Kaeser pointed out how aligning his MATH 13 Introductory Statistics course to the rubric benefits faculty and students. “Going through POCR was a great experience. I now feel confident that my students feel welcome in my online courses, and can easily navigate through the material,” said Kaeser.

Now that certification has been secured, the College will provide more opportunities for faculty to learn about and participate in online course design.

ADAM Program Students Featured in 2022 Designer Showcase

CoA ADAM Program students were featured in the 2022 Designer Showcase at Fibershed’s Rooted in Simplicity event, on September 17, 2022, at the Fibershed Learning Center in Point Reyes, California. ADAM students Chi Do and Lina Egutkina participated in an innovative workshop that focused on making indigo dye vats at the Fibershed Learning Center in June 2022. They used the skills that they learned at the workshop to produce the original designs that were featured in the Designer Showcase. They worked with Climate Beneficial fabrics such as Sally Fox’s French terry with color-grown organic cotton, ribbed knit with California-grown cotton, and a beautiful twill fabric that was woven using undyed, California Rambouillet wool.

Fibershed is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop regional fiber systems that build ecosystem and community health. Fibershed is collaborating with design schools in Northern California, like CoA’s Apparel Design and Merchandising (ADAM) Program, to help influence the future of fashion in a more sustainable direction. An article about the collaboration was published on Fibershed’s website, featuring an in-depth interview with CoA’s ADAM Department Chair Derek Piazza (click here to access the full article).

When asked how the collaboration is helping ADAM students, Piazza responded that “collaborations with Fibershed are invaluable to our students. For ADAM Industry Talks, Rebecca Burgess speaks to our fashion students about the impact of the fashion industry on the earth .... current changes that continue to be made with local farmers, weavers, and dyers, and how those changes are positively influencing the fashion industry.” He added: “Our previous collaborations have included Fibershed workshops on natural dyeing and mending clothing, which allowed students to take those learned skills and incorporate them into their collections.”

According to Fibershed’s philosophy and mission, in order to realize a more sustainable fashion future, tomorrow’s fashion designers must understand how the whole life cycles of the apparel they create impact people and the environment. For more information about Fibershed and to read the article click here.

DiversAbility Event Explores Inclusion for People with Disabilities

On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the CoA College to Career (C2C) Program hosted a college-wide DiversAbility Event, which was sponsored by Student Life and Activities and Student Equity and Achievement funds. Under the leadership of C2C Coordinator/Counselor Jennifer Sanoh, DiversAbility promoted an atmosphere where individuals could feel comfortable discussing and exploring questions about accessibility, equality, and inclusion for people with disabilities. The event was open to CoA faculty, staff and students. Musical entertainment was provided and catered breakfast, as well as lunch options, were served.

Throughout the day, DiversAbility participants attended sessions related to disability, accessibility, and inclusivity. Topics included: Inclusive Disability Employment; Promoting Self-Advocacy for College Students with Disabilities; Introduction to American Sign Language (ASL) Basics; and Informational Sessions for Prospective College to Career (C2C) Applicants. Following a structured process of brainstorming and information exchange, participants discussed related barriers and suggested a range of solutions. On a lighter note, students also enjoyed free hands-on activities, including tie-dying tee shirts and tote bags.

The term “DiversAbility” embraces the uniqueness and potential in every human being. DiversAbilities refer to physical, cognitive, developmental, learning, and/or neurological differences, or diversity, in ability levels. People experiencing medical conditions, genetic anomalies, physical and emotional trauma, social and emotional challenges, as well as differences in brain biology comprise the largest population of marginalized people in our world.

CoA Career and Employment Center Staff Invited to Participate in County Panel Discussion Focusing on Hiring Homeless

On Wednesday, October 19, 2022, Director of Workforce Systems Stefanie Bradshaw served as a panelist for the Alameda County Workforce Development Board’s “Expand Your Talent Pool- Job Seekers Experiencing Homelessness” panel discussion. The event was designed to help employers better understand tax benefits and credits that come with hiring the unhoused population. The panel was comprised of local employment service providers, including the CoA Career and Employment Center, local non-profits, and members of the community who have experienced homelessness.

College of Alameda was the only community college invited by Alameda County to participate in the county-wide panel and discuss its best practices for supporting homeless community members. Bradshaw also invited a former client, Eugene Rosebud, to serve on the panel. Rosebud spoke about his unique experience with homelessness, which included finding himself homeless upon re-entering society after serving 20 years in jail. Bradshaw first met Eugene in 2020 when she ramped up efforts to serve vulnerable members of our community. During the pandemic, she partnered with local non-profits that serve the re-entry/formerly incarcerated population. The CoA Career Center connected provided services for Rosebud, including job placement and using CARES Act funding to help secure his first apartment in 20 years.

Guatemalan Artisan Maricela Aguilar Provides Free Weaving Workshop for CoA Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month

Celebrations in honor of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month continued at College of Alameda (CoA) with a Guatemalan textile weaving workshop on Tuesday, September 27. CoA's Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month planning committee invited Guatemalan artisan, Maricela Aguilar, who demonstrated how traditional Guatemalan textiles are hand-woven. As part of the College’s new Tasty Tuesdays, participants also enjoyed free Tacos Sinaloa. This popular cultural event was filled with learning, joy, and appreciation for our Guatemalan-American community.

Dance Professor Danny Nguyen and Students Perform at the 56th Raising of the United Nations Flag at Jack London Square

Award-winning Dance Professor Danny Nguyen and his students were invited to perform at the 56th Raising of the United Nations Flag and Parade of 193 Member State Flags, held on October 8, 2022, at Jack London Square (JLS), in Oakland. Chair of the United Nations (UN) Flag Raising at JLS Dr. Veronica Ufoegbune expressed her appreciation in a letter and invited the group to perform again next year. “Please know that we at the UN Flag Raising Annual Ceremony deeply appreciate you and the College of Alameda for your commitment to the Unity of the people of the world...You and your class are indeed Honorary UN Flag Raising Ambassadors!”, wrote Ufoegbune. “I hope that you accept our invitation to present in October 2023!” Professor Nguyen and the students also received a Certificate of Acknowledgement designating them as honorary ambassadors. Nguyen’s talents are well-known around the greater Bay Area. He is the recipient of many awards, including the City of San Francisco Distinguished Artist Award (2014), Asian Week Foundation Award (2012), Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay (2007), City of Alameda Shining Stars Award (2006), and over a dozen others.

This article is an excerpt from the President’s Report, written by Dr. Diana Bajrami, College of Alameda Acting President, that was presented to the PCCD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. To view it as a PDF, click here.