Sunday, July 28, 2013

My Philosophy and Experiences as a Student Centered Chancellor of SOCCCD


Outlined below is an overview of my philosophy and experiences as a student-centered advocate and Chancellor of the SOCCCD:  

·         I have implemented principles of shared governance/collegial consultation as I routinely made my decisions and recommendations to the Board of Trustees based on genuine collaborative input from faculty, staff and administration since such decisions affect current and future students as well as employees.
·         I place high priority on building mutually trusting and respectful relationships through two-way communications by a variety of means with the internal and external stakeholders about the colleges’ visions, assets, needs and successes.
·         As an Asian American with utmost respect for different viewpoints, I wholeheartedly embrace the agenda of bridge-building, opportunity, equity and celebration of diversity while we educate and prepare our workforce for the competitive global economy.  I advocated for hiring the best candidates for various positions, including men and women of all diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. I promoted internationalization and pluralization of curriculum to enrich the learning experiences of students in our globally competitive environment. 
·         I advised the Board of Trustees on the development of prudent long-term district wide strategic plan and annual goals with action plans in the areas of academic and career technical education; enrollment management; facilities, construction, renovation and maintenance; and investment in technology. Annually I provided the Board with comprehensive reports on progress and accomplishments which were simultaneously shared with faculty, support and management staff, college foundations and members of the community in the spirit of my personal integrity, transparency and accountability.  
·         I led the selection of consultants and the establishment of genuine collaborative process for the development of education and facilities master plans. District wide and college based steering committees ensured the critical involvement of faculty, support and management staff in creating a meaningful master plan. Master plan priorities and delineation of funding sources and timelines were clearly specified for the Board in agenda items related to new educational programs, technology infrastructure needs, and building construction, renovation and maintenance projects. 
·         I spearheaded efforts to wisely leverage local, state and federal funding; public and private partnerships; and other funding sources including grants in support of educational programs and student services at our colleges and continued development of a new campus, the Advanced Technology & Education Park (ATEP) in Tustin. I have extensive experience in utilizing limited resources in a fiscally astute manner and ensuring alignment with the institutional vision, mission and goals.  
·         As college president and chancellor, I managed first-hand the delicate balance of budget realities versus increasing student needs per collegial prioritization process. As a multi-college district chancellor I applied these lessons and set financial principles and parameters for budget allocation by the District Resource Allocation Council (DRAC), a collegial consultation council. I take great pride in the participatory process of responsive and responsible budget development and operation within financial means.  
·         I provided leadership in increasing enrollment demand by promoting a district wide initiative for online education and technology solutions. The result has been that online education now accounts for 20% of Full-Time Equivalent Students (FTES) and plans are being developed to offer certificate and degree programs online. SOCCCD has award winning technology accomplishments that provide quality services to faculty, administration, staff and students.  
·         I have extensive knowledge and experience based on three cycles of successful negotiations of collective bargaining agreements with faculty, staff and police officers unions. As a college president and chancellor I have extensive experience in providing leadership in the conflict resolution of highly complex issues by working with the Board of Trustees as well as faculty, staff and management.  
·         I supported the College Presidents/ATEP Provost in their efforts to strengthen “friends and fundraising” efforts by participating in key meetings with potential donors and introducing business and community leaders for foundation membership. I encouraged administrators and managers to serve as our ambassadors by participation in community organizations which resulted in raising funds for student scholarships, in particular.
·         I consistently supported efforts to promote the history and accomplishments of the diversity of students, faculty and staff. In addition, I encouraged mutually civil and respectful consideration of all diverse viewpoints. 
·         I ensured the allocation of funds, either entirely from the district’s reserves or as a match to leverage state funds, for construction and renovation of numerous buildings, campus infrastructure, scheduled maintenance, technology initiatives and instructional equipment upgrades. I recommended these allocations to the Board of Trustees as part of our prudent planning and expenditures to support faculty and students with classroom as well as online instruction. 
·         I enlisted the support of faculty, support and management staff, particularly the College Presidents and the Academic Senates, in increasing efficiencies in instruction, student services and administrative functions. For example, we placed an increasing number of documents and interactive processes on the district and college websites. All three campuses and district services are actively involved in business continuity, efficiency planning and implementation initiatives. 
·         I worked collaboratively with the colleges in identification, development, implementation and financial support of new academic, career technical education, fine arts and athletics programs. Also, I encouraged the colleges to consider data from Orange County Business Council and Orange County Workforce Investment Board studies of employment and market analysis in our efforts to plan for new educational programs and thus meet students as well as local business/industry needs. 
·         During my first year as chancellor, I initiated the District Leadership Team (DLT) consisting of all administrators and managers throughout the district. We met monthly to keep them informed on major district/college initiatives, policies and processes, and engage in problem solving. I established the Technology and Learning Services Coordinating Council with college representatives in order to promote coordination in the areas of technology, curriculum, instruction, and student services. Also, I established the Chancellor’s Coordinating Council consisting of our colleges as well as local K-12 school districts and university representatives in efforts to strengthen communication, coordination, and alignment with them for the benefit of our students. 
·         On a daily basis, I provided leadership by reminding everyone in our district that we exist, first and foremost, to meet the educational needs of our students. I encouraged faculty to attend workshops on student learning outcomes. I supported reassigned time for faculty so that they can provide leadership and coordination in development of assessment and documentation of student learning outcomes at course, program and degree levels. 
·         Some of my proudest achievements that benefitted students relate to technological advancements and the facilitation of a data based decision making culture. The Student Information System (SIS) project’s final major software rollout occurred this year, on-time and on-budget. Building upon it, our new “Sherpa” project made SIS the first in the nation to provide customized recommendations for each user. Information Technology had begun a “Mobile” initiative in order to make us only the second community college in the country to bring a variety of college and district services content to cell phones. We improved business continuance by testing “Cloud Computing” capabilities that allowed us to shift processing to a remote location in the event of an emergency. In research, we implemented a business intelligence project that “pushed” key performance indicators out to decision-makers, and beginning a project that made data from the new inFORM Data Warehouse available to all intranet users. 
·         I have extensive experience in succession planning for administration, faculty and staff with focus on building competent and high performance teams that work in a mutually trusting, respectful, collegial and high integrity environment. 
·         As an individual, I model and reflect accountability, transparency and visibility in the colleges and the community.