海角社区

March, 25, 2026

(1) Kudos to Those Participating in the ACCJC Follow-Up Visit

Monday鈥檚 ACCJC peer review visit centered on Foothill鈥檚 newly designed and deeply integrated Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) process, and our college shone brightly. The review team conveyed deep reverence for the level of engagement, sense of ownership, and genuine appreciation for professional growth and learning they heard throughout their conversations with faculty and deans.

Thank you to everyone who contributed time (during finals week!), insight, and enthusiasm to this important dialogue. You expertly represented Foothill through honest, reflective dialogue.

The amount of high-quality work completed in such a short period of time was both astonishing and outstanding. Expansive appreciation is warranted, and special appreciation goes to those who met with our peer review team: Allison Meezan, Amber La Piana, Amy Shidler, Ben Kaupp, David Marasco, Denise Giotta, Dolores Davison, Eric Reed, Jeff Bissel, Jordan Fong, Judy Walgren, Jue Thao, Kyle Taylor, Lene Whitley-Putz, Patricia Crespo-Martin, Pia Staana, Sally Baldwin, Voltaire Villanueva, and Warren Voyce.

(2) Phase Two of Organizational Realignment Opportunity

海角社区 is launching Phase 2 of the process to gather broad input on how some discrete changes to the college鈥檚 structure can best support the transformational goals of the Blueprint for Success (BP4S) and how we might consider a longer and broader discussion in 2026鈥�2027 about how the design principle of love informs our commitment to institutionalize Career and Academic Pathways.

From April 13鈥�24, the campus community is invited to participate in a series of interactive design engagements, including two all-day, drop-in brainstorming sessions (April 13鈥�14 in the Dining Hall and online through Padlet), a discussion opportunity at MIPC (April 17), and small-group design workshops (April 22鈥�24, both in person and online).

Participants will help shape and prioritize short- and long-term organizational design scenarios鈥攑ossibly reimagining divisional structures, support clusters, and service strategies that strengthen student belonging and operational effectiveness. Ideas developed through these sessions will be synthesized and shared broadly across the campus and for MIPC review in May and June. Be part of the conversation.

RSVP to workshops:

(3) Join Us for Foothill鈥檚 Day on the Hill 鈥� May 2

Foothill's signature community event, Day on the Hill, is Saturday, May 2, and we can鈥檛 wait to welcome students, families, and community members to campus. Join us for an outreach event that highlights our academic programs, student services, and the experiential learning environment that defines Foothill.

We encourage every member of our community to participate鈥攚hether by hosting an information table in the Library Quad, leading an interactive activity in your classroom, or simply joining in to welcome visitors. And if you can鈥檛 attend in person, please help spread the word in your classrooms, service areas, and professional or neighborhood networks. We usually host 800鈥�900 visitors, so this is a great day to promote your program!

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(4) CEO Leadership Transition at De Anza College

In his recent message to the De Anza College community, Chancellor Lambert expressed deep gratitude for the thoughtful dialogue at Wednesday鈥檚 town hall and affirmed his commitment to continuing open, engaged communication. He shared that an interim/acting president will be appointed soon to lead De Anza through June 30, 2026, ensuring compliance with accreditation expectations and providing stability during this period of transition.

While the Chancellor will be looking for an external retired and former president, superintendent/president, or chancellor, he emphasized confidence in De Anza鈥檚 senior leadership team, as well as classified, faculty, and student leaders, to sustain momentum on goals for the next 90 days, such as renewing the Strategic Plan, strengthening trust and innovation across campus, advancing the college鈥檚 exploration of artificial intelligence, and deepening the work of workforce education, program review, and institutional planning under basic aid status.

While transitions naturally bring worrisome change, I felt a strong sense of optimism. #SomosUno!

(5) Urgent Call to Action: Lifting Our Value

I鈥檝e traveled to both national and regional professional development events recently. At each, the same concern is front and center: across the country, widely cited surveys and enrollment trends continue to document a crisis of confidence in higher education, with many Americans questioning whether college is worth the investment and with overall enrollment declines that have been over the last decade.

As internal stewards of this work, we know that the value of public higher education is far broader than today鈥檚 headlines suggest, advancing democratic ideals, civic engagement, and community well-being even as shows that postsecondary education remains one of the most powerful levers for long-term economic mobility.

For Foothill, our most urgent task is to bring our data, stories, and partnerships together to counter the prevailing narrative by clearly showing that our students gain economic mobility through college and that our institutions are a significant economic engine in the communities we serve. This work is already underway through Aspen鈥檚 Unlocking Opportunity project on student postgraduate outcomes and now through an upcoming economic impact report currently being developed in partnership with Lightcast.

This project, being led by Vice Chancellor Gohar Momjian and our researchers, will highlight district-wide impact as well as college-level findings.

Moreover, in April, a small Foothill team, including the president of the Board of Trustees, will deepen this effort by joining colleagues from across the region at ACCJC鈥檚 Transparency, Storytelling, and Value Literacy regional convening at Skyline College, where the featured workshop, 鈥淭he ROI Story: Advancing Economic Outcomes and Student Mobility 鈥� What if no college ever graduated a student into poverty?鈥�, will engage this topic. Participants will be guided to data and then to action by equipping us with tools and templates for embedding program-level ROI, social mobility, and clear value storytelling into campus culture.

Enjoy the quiet campus and/or your Spring Break!

And, as always, Go Giants!

Yours in service,
Kristina

Dr. Kristina Whalen
President, 海角社区