The Seattle Central Griot - May 15, 2020
A message from the President
This week we held our first ever virtual staff development day. While the setup wasn’t what we are used to, it worked – we managed to bring together faculty, staff, and a few students in community. It felt supportive, folks were polite and inquisitive, and everyone learned something about themselves and their colleagues.
For me, it was one more reason to feel gratitude for being part of the great community of Seattle Central College. In spite of the chaos around us, of the heaviness of the daily news, of the uncertainty about our health and our future, we always pull together in support.
I’m grateful for the strength of our students, who already faced staggering obstacles in their pursuit of a better life even before there was any hint of a new virus in their horizon.
I’m grateful for the generosity and adaptability of our faculty. They managed to switch directions and learn a whole new way of teaching in just a few weeks, while being patient and supportive of their students.
I’m grateful for the quiet determination and hard work of our staff, especially those who maintain, protect, and oversee our buildings and facilities, who put themselves at risk every day to come to work and ensure our physical campus functions.
I am grateful for the student services team, especially their empathy and understanding. They have put in many hours and incredible creativity to find new ways to help students seeking advising, tutoring, financial aid and counseling.
I’m grateful to live and work in a city and state where people value science and facts, and who make decisions with the future in mind.
As you negotiate the maze of new challenges of your daily lives, I encourage you to give thanks to your friends, your colleagues, your students. Make and nurture those connections, and build on that community of hope. Because, as cliché as it has become to say lately, we are all in this together.
News
Seattle Central College receives Campus Compact Award
On Monday, Seattle Central College was honored with the inaugural Eduardo J. Padrón Award for Institutional Transformation from Campus Compact, at a virtual awards ceremony.
The award recognizes community colleges that have undertaken comprehensive, planned efforts to advance a commitment to prepare students for lives of engaged citizenship, embrace place-based responsibilities to contribute to the health and strength of our communities, use the full capacity of the institution to challenge social and economic inequalities that threaten our democratic future, and undertake this work through mutually respectful partnerships.
President Sheila Edwards Lange named CEO of the Year
Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange, president of Seattle Central College, has been recognized as the 2020 Chief Executive Officer of the Year by the Washington State Association of College Trustees (ACT) for her transformational leadership, commitment to equity, and development of partnerships that bridge the opportunity gap for all students.
“She is innovative, collaborative, and a true change-maker within Seattle Central College and our entire community,” said Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, in a letter of support for the award. “The Seattle Colleges are fortunate to have a visionary leader who leads with diversity.”
The ACT Chief Executive Officer Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in furthering the mission of community and technical colleges.
For more information, read the longer story in Newscenter https://newscenter.seattlecentral.edu/2020/05/13/seattle-central-college-president-wins-ceo-year-award
Protocols for the May 18 limited opening
Seattle Central College remains closed to the public, but on May 18 we have been permitted to allow a limited number of students, faculty and staff will need to come to our campus for instruction and services. In order to ensure your safety and reduce the risk of spreading the novel coronal virus, we have instituted these procedures:
- Everyone who needs to be in the Broadway campus must check in at the 1701 Broadway entrance (by the Buzz Café). This is also the only allowed exit out of the building – do not leave by any other door. (If you work at the Health Education Center or the Seattle Maritime Academy, check with your supervisor for details)
- Everyone entering and leaving our building must check in and check out by completing a form (Students | Employees) to attest that you do not have symptoms for COVID-19. You must also take your temperature at home before coming to campus. If your temperature is 100.4F or more, do not come to campus
- You will need to show your picture ID to enter
- All employees and students will need to complete a training safety course on COVID-19 ahead of coming to campus. Employees can register to take the training online or view a pre-recorded video on Canvas
- Everyone in our buildings must wear a cloth mask or covering, and maintain at least 6 feet of distance from other people
We encourage everyone to continue working from home. If you need access to your office for materials or information, you must request an appointment before coming to campus.If you need equipment to perform your duties, email NEED@seattlecolleges.edu or fill out the online Equipment Request Form.
Believe 2.0 happening on June 6
We had hoped to gather in person for our Believe gala in early June, but the corona virus had other plans… So now we have adapted our celebration to a virtual format we are calling Believe 2.0.
What is Believe 2.0? We're going to rally our community during a week-long campaign that will culminate in a virtual version of our annual Believe Gala.
The new event will take place on June 6, starting at 5:30. We will offer some of the presentations and events you have come to love, and we’ll work on creating virtual chatrooms so that you can still mingle with guests.
To register, visit https://sccd.ejoinme.org/Believe2020
Promise students are coming this fall
Seattle Central College is getting the bulk of the new class of Promise scholars this fall.
Of the 1,763 students who applied for the Seattle Promise scholarship, 1,083 also applied for admission at Seattle Central. Of that pool, we have at least 432 who have confirmed Central as their intended college.
And the Promise scholars who are already here are doing very well, with a fall to winter retention rate of 80 percent.
Congratulations to our scholars and to the Promise program support team!
PA upgrade is complete
Our facilities staff and emergency notification contractors have finished the long-awaited upgrade of our public address emergency system.
The upgrade has connected all of our Broadway campus buildings (Broadway Edison, Science and Math, Mitchell Activities Center, and the Broadway Performance Hall), so that we can send announcements to all of them. Previously, only the BE building had a voice system, and because of the way the campus developed, some areas of the building did not have loud enough speakers to be effective.
The upgrade included the replacement of more than 150 panels.
KUDOS
Keith Brodland is a student at Central pursuing the network design and administration BAS degree. When the COVID-19 crisis hit Washington state, Keith was in the middle of an internship, and he was unable to earn the hours needed to complete it. Karen Kato, manager of cooperative education, reached out to Kevin Bowersox-Johnson, director of distance learning, to ask if he had any ideas for IT-related training that Keith could do in lieu of the hours he was missing. Kevin did even better, looking for a hands-on project that matched Keith’s skillset.
Keith received the tools and training to create a student tutorial video. He put in 14 hours of work and produced this Zoom tutorial , earning the time to complete his internship requirement, and helping Seattle Central College to meet the challenge of switching courses to online instruction.