Reports to the Board of Trustees
Each month, President Torres gives a report on college activities, honors and achievements during the regular meeting of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees.
For previous reports, please see the board reports archive.
Board Meeting of Feb 3, 2025
Reaffirmation of Accreditation
De Anza College received formal notification in January of reaffirmation of accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). This included a commendation recognizing the college's exemplary performance in using disaggregated data to guide planning and programs supporting historically underserved student populations.
Accreditation is for the full seven-year cycle, through 2031, following review of the college’s Institutional Self-Evaluation Report, the Update on Core Inquiries and the report by an external peer review team that visited the campus in October 2024. The report recommends that the college continue its efforts on regular and substantive interaction (RSI) training for online teaching, which is well underway thanks to the Academic Senate, Faculty Association, our Online Education team, the Office of Professional Development, and the Office of Instruction.
I appreciate the work of Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) and Director of Research, Dr. Mallory Newell, former Presidents Dr. Lloyd Holmes and Christina Espinosa-Pieb, writer/editor Brandon Bailey, members of the college community that participated in this work including contributions from our Academic Senate, Classified Senate, administrators and DASG, and to Chancellor Lee Lambert, Central Services and the Board of Trustees for their continued support of the work at De Anza College.
Professional Conferences
Community College League of California
I was pleased to attend the Community College League of California’s annual Legislative Conference from Jan. 26-27 with Student Trustee Iris Li, Trustee Laura Casas, Chancellor Lee Lambert, Foothill College President Kristina Whalen and other leaders from the district. I always find this event engaging and informative, from the keynote to the sessions to the budget presentations, as well as visits to our state legislators. We met with Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens (District 26) and Assemblymember Mark Berman (District 26), as well as staff for state Sen. Dave Cortese (District 15).
(Pictured from left: Chris Dela Rosa, vice chancellor, Business Services; Trustee Laura Casas; Anu Khanna, interim vice chancellor, Organizational Effectiveness and Engagement; Omar Torres, president, De Anza College; Zara Ainge, student trustee, Foothill College; Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens; Iris Li, student trustee, De Anza College; Chancellor Lee Lambert; Kristina Whalen, president, Foothill College)
National Workforce Development Conference
Members of our CTE Division have just returned from the national Workforce Development Initiative conference in San Diego. This is an important opportunity to share best practices and learn about the latest trends and opportunities in career training – including noncredit courses, microcredentialing and artificial intelligence.
Among the conference speakers was our own district Chancellor Lee Lambert, who joined a panel discussion about maintaining workforce continuity during leadership
transitions. De Anza was represented by Randy Bryant, our dean of CTE and Workforce Development, and Vins Chacko, our CTE grants administrator. They were joined by their Foothill colleagues: Teresa Ong, associate vice president for workforce development, and Chris Allen, dean of apprenticeship programs.
(Pictured from left: Chris Allen and Teresa Ong, Foothill College; Anthony Cordova, California Community Colleges Vice Chancellor for Workforce and Economic Development; Randy Bryant and Vins Chacko, De Anza College.)
Mapping Articulated Pathways
A group from De Anza College traveled to San Diego last Friday, Jan. 31, for a workshop to explore the California Community College Mapping Articulated Pathways (MAP) system, with particular focus on credit for prior learning (CPL). The MAP system can open avenues to articulating industry certificates, work experience, and vocational and military training, and can direct students to prior learning assessment programs. For this one-day session, the group tested using Automotive Technology and Computer Science and Information Systems courses, experimenting with how to articulate skills, experiences and credentials into MAP. Follow-up discussions will be held in the college Curriculum Committee.
(Pictured from left: Christa Steiner, articulation officer; Ashley Egbert, academic services technician for curriculum and Career Technical Education (CTE); Erik Woodbury, president, Academic Senate; Bob Singh, faculty co-chair, Curriculum Committee; Mary Pape, chair, Computer Science and Information Systems; Dave Capitolo, chair, Automotive Technology; Sam Bliss, associate vice president, Instruction; Randy Bryant, dean, Career Technical Education and Workforce Development; Nazy Galoyan, dean, Enrollment Services.)
Innovation Center: Small Business Workshops
The De Anza Innovation Center is hosting several workshops this month for students who are interested in running or owning a startup or small business.
The Innovation Center is an initiative of our Business, Computer Science and Applied Technologies Division. Last fall, the center organized a startup boot camp and business idea pitch competition for our students. For the workshops this month, the center is hosting a series of guest speakers on topics such as business formation, online marketing, contracts and negotiation, and accounting essentials for small businesses.
Foundation Partner Helps Feed Hungry Students
The Foothill-De Anza Foundation has partnered with Sattvic Meals Foundation to help feed De Anza students who are dealing with food insecurity. Sattvic delivered 110 free, hot vegetarian meals to our campus in their first week, and they are continuing to provide meals every Wednesday through the rest of the quarter. These meals are shared with eligible students screened by our Food Pantry.
Free Narcan and Fentanyl Test Strips
Our Student Health Services office now has free Narcan kits and fentanyl test strips available for students and employees.
- The Narcan kits can help save lives by counteracting opiod drug overdoses.
- The fentanyl test strips can help prevent overdoses by detecting the presence of fentanyl in different kinds of drugs.
De Anza is distributing these items as required under a state law known as Assembly Bill 1524. The Narcan kits are provided by the state Department of Health Services Naloxone Distribution Project.
Two Alumi Named James Beard Semifinalists
We’re proud that two of our alumni are semifinalists for a James Beard Award in the category of "Outstanding Restaurateur." Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski are the owners of several restaurants in San Francisco, including the Anchovy Bar, State Bird Provisions and The Progress.
As we have noted before, two of their restaurants – State Bird Provisions and The Progress – each have a Michelin star. Stuart and Nicole are a husband-and-wife team who grew up in Cupertino and Los Gatos. They met 30 years ago when they were both art students at De Anza.
New Career Training Video: Auto Tech
Our Office of Communications has released a new installment in its video series on Career Training programs at De Anza. The latest video highlights the innovative programs and hands-on training offered by our Automotive Technology Department, through interviews with students and instructors.
These videos are being shared on social media and other platforms. More videos are planned. You can find all the videos in this series, to date, on our college YouTube channel and on the Career Training website.
Student-Athlete Advisory Council
Our Athletics Department hosted its annual retreat and orientation for the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) members on Jan. 24 in the Campus Center's Fireside Room. The agenda included leadership presentations from the council’s executive officers and commissioners, with 29 student-athlete team representatives attending.
During the conference, P.E./Athletics Dean Eric Mendoza and the two council advisers – Louise Ortiz, Athletics counselor, and Bailey Weiss, Athletics adviser – assisted in reviewing the council’s mission to serve as a voice for all student-athletes. This was the first on-campus retreat for the council, as the previous retreats have been held on Zoom, since the group began meeting in 2020. Among those attending were our De Anza student trustee, Iris Li, who is an SAAC commissioner and member of the womens's soccer team.
Silicon Valley Reads Kickoff
Finally, I hope some of you had a chance to attend or watch the livestream for the 2025 Silicon Valley Reads kickoff event last Thursday. De Anza was proud to host this annual event, which drew a full house to the VPAC auditorium.
Mercury News columnist Sal Pizarro moderated a panel of authors whose books focus on artificial intelligence and new ways that technology is changing our world.
Even if you missed the kickoff event, you can still view the companion exhibition in the Euphrat Museum of Art. The exhibit, which runs through March 20, features artwork that explores advancing technology and the human touch, in keeping with the exhibition title: “Encoding Empathy.”
(Image credit: David Biedrzyscki, "ARTificial Intelligence")