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The Search for a Permanent Chancellor Begins By John R. Adkins jradproduction@gmail.com

Illustration by David Thomas/ The Guardsman.

he Association of Governing Boards (AGB), just closed their 10-day window of listening to the community's desires for what they’d like to see in a new City College chancellor. On Sept. 6, the recruitment firm responsible for seeking a new chancellor sent out an email notifying the college of the beginning of their nine-month-long search process that would include “multiple opportunities for participation.” A link to an online survey was provided as well as the notification of eight scheduled “listening sessions,” whereby AGB representatives would listen over Zoom and take notes on what was said about the search process. However, the question remains how many students actually participated or had knowledge of the survey opportunities. “I didn’t know about the survey, I would’ve liked to have known what we can suggest. I actually think there’s room for improvement for students being able to provide feedback to

City College Non-Citizen Students Could Soon Have Voting Rights By Cassandra Young

the administration,” student David Kon said. From Sept. 9-13, a total of eight listening sessions were conducted by AGB search consultants Jeanne Jacobs and Pam Krepchin, who kicked off the sessions with brief introductions before asking a series of questions. The questions posed during the listening sessions were mostly identical to the questions presented in the online survey: “What are 2-3 of the most important talents, skills, and attributes that the successful candidate for the chancellor position should possess?” “What are 2-3 of the most important opportunities that await the new chancellor?” “What are 2-3 challenges that the new chancellor will face in this role?” “What priorities should the new chancellor focus on in the first year?” “What do you value most about City College?” “What does your fantasy campus look like?” “We look to the college to better understand what's important to you, but also learn about the culture at City College. While we have a starting point that shifts a bit and gets informed by the opinions and perspectives

an Francisco’s City College non-citizen students may soon gain the right to vote in campus elections, following a proposal by Trustee Alan Wong. If approved by the Board of Supervisors, the resolution would grant non-citizen students the ability to vote for the College’s Board of Trustees, giving them a voice in decisions that impact their education. Non-citizen student Diana Martin praised the proposal. “This initiative aligns with the progressive values of California and San Francisco,” Martin said. “Our city is home to educational institutions filled with students from around the world, many of whom are non-citizens. Voting gives them a chance to be heard and seen as agents of change.” City College serves a significant non-citizen population, who make up roughly 15% of San Francisco’s population, and supporters of the measure argue that extending voting rights to these students would increase their engagement and sense of belonging in the college community. “The sense of belonging to an institution should not be determined by nationality,” Martin said, adding, “All students should have the right to participate in decisions that affect them.” Wong proposed the measure after the California Court of Appeals voted to uphold Proposition N earlier this year. Proposition N allows non-citizen residents who are parents or guardians of children under 19 and living in the city to vote in board elections. The proposition was threatened after last year’s election when voters recalled school board members Alison Collins, Faauuga Moliga and Gabriella Lopez. The election had the highest participation of non-citizen voters since the program was implemented. The court ruled that Proposition N is permissible under the state’s constitution and City Charter. Wong introduced the non-citizen student resolution at the Board of Trustees meeting on April 25. Trustee Chisti suggested amendments that would expand voting rights to incarcerated individuals and lower the voting age to 16. After discussion, this amendment was dropped and it was suggested that it be brought up as a separate resolution. Another amendment, accepted as a clause to the resolution, requested the Board of Supervisors to financially support the measure if there were cost implications. Marlene Grant, a first-time student from Jamaica, expressed optimism about the impact the new voting program would have on the community. “This is good for people like me,” Grant said with a faint smile. “This will give us a voice. Many of us come here for a better life, and sometimes it’s hard to feel heard. With these changes, I believe more people like me will be able to speak up and find their place here.” The Board of Trustees voted unanimously on April 25 to accept the resolution and submit it to the Board of Supervisors for consideration as an amendment to the city charter.

Chancellor search continued on page 2

Student Enrollment Gets New Plan of Attack By John R. Adkins jradproduction@gmail.com

Cyoun140@mail.ccsf.edu

that we hear from others,” Krepchin explained, adding, “ I think experience in education is very important as a starting point, and understanding community colleges as well is important, because different education institutions operate differently.” AGB made it clear they try not to come into the search with a pre-determined perspective. “It’s very important to us to hear the input from the broader community because you all know what kind of a leader we need more than we do. So it's our role to listen to that, and to distill some themes from that to create the ‘leadership profile.” Krepchin said. It was made clear that the combination of surveys and notes from listening sessions are distilled to create the leadership profile. The leadership profile is then passed on to a screening committee to guide their search. The screening committee is made up of people at City College, so AGB’s role is to help facilitate the process, but the decision is ultimately made by City College and the Board of Trustees. Once the leadership profile is created in

he Chancellor announced his plan to address the issue of student enrollment, a document now known as the “Student Enrollment Management Plan”. The plan is co-led by Vice Chancellor Lisa Cooper Wilkins and Interim Vice Chancellor David Yee, who are expected to have the plan finalized by Oct. 31. An overview of this document’s plan was presented by Yee on Friday, Sept. 13, to the Associated Students Executive Council. Three “key features” of the student enrollment management plan were outlined as follows: The first of which is that the plan builds upon existing documents and the work that has been done by the enrollment management committee in previous years. Examples include the committee’s spreadsheet of ideas on how to grow enrollment, as well as taking into account

things like the City College mission statement and the education master plan. Second is that the plan will be focused on the “student experience.” Finally, it will integrate with the enrollment management committee so it involves the participatory governance process. Additionally, it was stated this document will have two pieces, strategic objectives, and the actual items that come out of it. The strategic objectives are broken down into four areas, all of which are based on the “student experience.” 1. Recruitment of students 2. Retention of students 3. Completion of student degrees 4. Partnerships Ideas that people have in terms of growing enrollment will now be mapped to one of those four focus Student enrollment continued on page 2

Interim Vice Chancellor David Yee addresses a room of students during a meeting in the Student Union building to discuss an enrollment plan on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. Photo by Elias Gutierrez/The Guardsman.

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