We made it to @SWC Commencement week.
This is Classified School Employees Week. Please take a few minutes, stop, and say thank you to our classified professionals for their continued service and support for students and our community. If you want to have a really bad day think about a day without @SWC Classified Employees. Thank you to all our Classified Employees.
We had our fire wake-up call Saturday morning with the Gate Fire, east of Chula Vista. At about 11:45 a.m. my husband came in the house and noted the smoke rising east of Lower Otay Lake. This is a good reminder to think about evacuation plans, supplies, and planning for the unexpected. The tragedy at the Manchester concert in England is a heartbreaker because so many young people were killed and injured. These are unfortunate reminders that our lives can change in a matter of seconds.
Tonight, we have a Governing Board Workshop with three items on the agenda:
- Southwestern College Police Advisory Board (Murillo/Nighswonger) – Acting Chief Nighswonger is recommending a College Police Advisory Board to help create a better relationship our SWC Police Department.
- Supplemental Report to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges – Second Reading (Murillo/Gilstrap) – We just keep working on accreditation to ensure our reaffirmation. Read about SWC’s continued efforts to ensure accreditation affirmation.
- Tentative Budget Fiscal Year 2017-2018 (Flood) – Thank you to everyone who worked on the budget. Most departments on campus took between a 10 and 30% cut in budgets to help us achieve our budget goals.
Link to Governing Board Workshop
I hope you had a great weekend, as the weather was wonderful and conducive to having an open house at the Aquatic Center. What a fun event… Link to Twitter – SWC News
Our faculty, counselors, and staff have created a very thoughtful group of learning communities that provide our most underserved students the support to achieve. Did you know we had so many learning communities? We have many year-end celebrations happening to celebrate our student’s achievement. Please take a few minutes to understand our learning communities and special programs…inspiring…
What is a Learning Community?
Learning Communities are linked classes taught by trained faculty members who combine the content of the linked courses so that learning becomes easier and more relevant for the student. Teams of students share the same classes, and, with the support of their instructors and counselor, work together toward meeting the goal of educational success. Learning Communities may offer special workshops, field trips, and/or activities which make the classes more enjoyable, productive, and social.
An area we are going to be exploring this summer is a revival of a @SWC Leadership development program. Leaders reside in many areas of our college and community. One of my favorite leadership authors Warren Bennis co-wrote an article with Robert J. Thompson on the Crucibles of Leadership. The article is worth a read, and the construct of “Adaptive capacity” is a critical skill to surviving in our ever-changing landscape. There are many leadership theories and skills. Here are four:
So, what allowed these people to not only cope with these difficult situations but also learn from them? We believe that great leaders possess four essential skills, and, we were surprised to learn, these happen to be the same skills that allow a person to find meaning in what could be a debilitating experience. First is the ability to engage others in shared meaning.
Second is a distinctive and compelling voice. Third is a sense of integrity (including a strong set of values).
But by far the most critical skill of the four is what we call “adaptive capacity.” This is, in essence, applied creativity—an almost magical ability to transcend adversity, with all its attendant stresses, and to emerge stronger than before. It’s composed of two primary qualities: the ability to grasp context, and hardiness.
Link to Harvard Business Review Article on Leadership
Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.
Sheryl Sandberg, COO Facebook
