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PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP BRINGS MORE STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES The Business Entrepreneurship and Culinary Arts Management (CAM) programs are piloting a new idea that hopes to better prepare students for the world of work. Business Professor Man Phan and new Culinary Arts Management Professor Michael Frigm, along with Associate Vice President Torence Powell, have been working together over the summer to develop the collaboration, in particular, curriculum that would help students who graduate from the CAM program be ready to manage their own business if they choose. The project is a pilot for what Phan and Powell hope to become a series of entrepreneurship efforts that span multiple disciplines across the campus. “Culinary Arts happens to be the easiest and most applicable entry point from a curriculum perspective that we currently have, because we have a new culinary arts management instructor with a lot of experience in this field, in startups and mobile food management, and running the business side of the house,” said Associate Vice President Torence Powell. “This is a great opportunity to really merge those focal points and come up with some really cool programing.”
The opportunity for this collaboration arose with the desire of the entrepreneurship program to work with career programs to engage students in a way that would train students in the hard skills needed to be competitive in the industry. “It makes sense because this will give students who are learning how to prepare food the additional skills of starting or conceiving, developing and managing an enterprise of their own,” said Business Professor Man Phan. Phan said embedding some entrepreneurship curriculum across disciplines would bring skills to CRC students that would better prepare them for their future. “If we’re successful in this culinary arts pilot, we envision taking this to digital arts or let’s say a student taking photography. Why can’t he or she transfer that skill into making a living?” added Phan. Phan is meeting with new Culinary Arts Management Professor Michael Frigm to decide the specifics of how best to implement the new collaboration, something they hope to launch in 2018. “My goal is always to provide students with the highest level of training so they can go into industry and fulfill their professional aspirations,” said Michael Frigm, Culinary Arts Management continued on page 3
President's Message Fall 2017
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o those of you who were able to take some much needed and well deserved time away from the college, I would like to welcome you back to the start of the greatest year in the history of CRC. To the many faculty, staff, and administrators who worked through the summer, I thank you for your continued efforts and excellence in serving our students, and I hope in your own way you had the opportunity to be reinvigorated as we move into the new academic year. As President I have the privilege to talk to various groups about the direction of CRC and the work that we will be engaged in over the next couple years. On the last few occasions I have found myself using the word “intentionality” to describe that direction. I believe I have been drawn to this notion because I am convinced that the key to redesigning a college, or any organization to meet the needs of the population that they are serving, lies in its ability to identify and implement a clear set of intentional actions. As we enter a new academic year I am convinced more than ever that we have the collective wisdom, expertise and will to improve the educational outcomes of our students. I am optimistic because we have been intentional about being the preeminent community college in the nation. Moreover, there is clear intentionality around the plan to make sure our students are on an academic pathway that affords them the tools to successfully navigate through the CRC in a manner that allows them to complete on-time. In addition, we have been intentional to develop an environment where collegiality, transparency, open and courageous dialogue, and the nurturing of innovative ideas is valued. Getting to this point has not been easy, and unquestionably we still have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us. Being intentional does not alleviate or even lighten the load, but it does define the work. And when we are all working towards the same goal it does make the work more substantive and rewarding. I know that many of us are feeling the weight of our college’s effort to transform the students’ educational experience. I see all of your hard work and I want you to know that your efforts matter. Meaningful and substantive work with the mission of improving outcomes to empower and transform students’ lives is happening across CRC, and I thank all of you who have, and continue to be, engaged in this work as none of this has happened in isolation. All that you have accomplished has taken a great deal of time, energy, and effort; for that, I thank you. This past academic year we successfully completed our College’s Strategic Plan (“50 Years and Beyond”). CRC was selected as one of 20 colleges in the State to participate in the California Pathways Project, which is designed to assist colleges in the development 2
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of a guided pathway structure as a method to increasing student completion. In addition, for the first time in CRC history, we were successful in obtaining a Federal TRIO Grant. CRC also received two Upward Bound grants. Each grant was awarded 257,000 a year for five years, which is a combined grant total of more than 2.5 million dollars. The Upward Bound grant is a program the serves low income, first generation high school students with the intention of preparing them to attend college. Moreover, this June, we received notification from the accreditation commission that CRC has successfully meet all of the standards and our accreditation is reaffirmed for seven years. As we go into another academic year, we will continue to engage in institutional intentionality. We will keep the momentum for the implementation of an aggressive agenda around the powerful notion of improving the outcomes for all of our students while simultaneously closing the achievement gap for those students who may be “at risk,” and we must commit ourselves to accomplishing each of these goals without compromising the academic rigor necessary to produce top quality students. We are on the path to being the preeminent community college in the nation. I am grateful to be on this journey with you. In Service,
Edward C. Bush
PRESIDENT’S LETTER Editor
Contributors
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Cosumnes River College 8401 Center Parkway w Sacramento, CA 95823 For more information: (916) 691-7199 w www.crc.losrios.edu Los Rios Community College District
PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP Professor. “I see this program transitioning into a more hands-on, lab-based curriculum while continuing to focus on management principles and culinary mathematics, which are vital skills.” Frigm has always loved cooking and began working in restaurants at the age of 15. He has worked as the Sous Chef of a guest ranch in Wyoming and as a Food and Beverage Director of an upscale restaurant in Delaware. But he transitioned into teaching because he wanted to make a difference in the lives of students. “It has been a good fit for me,” Frigm said. “I wanted to come to CRC because I believe in the values New CRC Culinary Arts Professor the college holds; Michael Frigm in the kitchen a commitment to diversity and graduating well-rounded students,” he said. A third component of this collaboration is providing externships for hands-on experience. For this, the college is talking with Matthew and Jonathan Burgess, who currently own Burges Brothers’ BBQ & Burgers. The twins attended CRC and are interested in providing mentorship to budding entrepreneurs. “We can offer testimony to students along with real life perspective,” said Matthew Burgess. “We can put students who want to go into culinary into the business side of it, so they’ll actually know how to apply it with things like food safety and hands-on training.”
continued from page 1
Their goal is to inspire other local entrepreneurs to come back and invest in the college and CRC students. Eventually, the college would like to create a physical and intellectual space where students can develop entrepreneurial ideas across the curriculum. “We want it to be interdisciplinary – to connect the departments that are closely aligned with each other under the spirit and the idea and concept of entrepreneurship,” added Powell. Those involved feel there are plenty of reasons to make sure this pilot project works. “These partnerships will ultimately benefit both the students in our programs as well as our industry partners, allowing us to train and graduate competitive professionals,” said Frigm.
Professor Frigm & Business Professor Man Phan having fun in the Greenhouse
“I wanted to come to CRC because I believe in the values the college holds; a commitment to diversity and graduating well-rounded students” -Michael Frigm, Culinary Arts Professor 3
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GREETINGS FROM THE
Classified Senate
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elcome to the Fall 2017 semester! I am very excited to be serving as your new Classified Senate President and am looking forward to an exciting year. Joining me as Classified Senate officers will be: newly elected Vice President Miguel Lemus, and continuing officers Secretary Trevor Stevenson and Treasurer Julie Elliott. We will be working together to represent the Classified Professionals at Cosumnes River College and to serve as your voice carrying out the
GREETINGS FROM THE
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Jennifer Patrick, Classified Senate President
Academic Senate
elcome back to campus on behalf of the Academic Senate. While I am always amazed at how quickly the summer passes us by, I find the fall semester to be an exciting time. Our return means reuniting with our colleagues, meeting new students, and checking out all of the changes that have happened on the campus (did you notice the stoplight on Calvine is finally done?). Some days as I walk around the campus with its many beautiful trees, I am struck by how fortunate we are to have such a wonderful environment for our students to come and learn. Even as the world outside may change in ways that may be detrimental for many of our students, we have opportunities to make changes within our own spaces that can help them succeed. We are adopting the Guided Pathways program, streamlining our BSI, SSSP and equity funds, and 4
mission of our institution and meeting the needs of our students. I would like to give a warm welcome to all of the Classified Professionals that are joining us this year, a proud congratulations to those that have promoted, and a huge thank you to those that are demonstrating continued dedication to our students. Together with faculty and management we create a village that is helping our students realize their goals. Thank you for all you do!
investing in new software dedicated to Course Enrollment and the Student Experience Lifecycle. These endeavors will involve a great deal of collaboration from across the college. As your Senate President, I believe that working together in an environment of respect and compassion for everyone involved is paramount to achieving these changes. I am most excited about the opportunities we will have to collaborate with our students in ways that were not possible in the past. I am grateful to be your new Academic Senate President and to be supported by newly elected Vice President Constance Carter, Secretary Donnisha Lugo, and Past President Julie Oliver. I would also like to welcome our new faculty to the campus -- I believe that as academic leaders and educators, we can all continue to support each other through these changes as we invest in making our college the best possible place for our students to succeed in achieving their goals. Shannon Mills, Academic Senate President
CRC Alumna Combines Medicine and International Relations to Find Clear Path
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eing able to help those without basic medical care around the world is what motivates Cosumnes River College (CRC) alumna Brittany Cox, 23, to finish her degree in the medical field. “I felt that my major had been decided since I was a child,” she said. “I always enjoyed the sciences more than any other discipline, but it wasn’t until I sat down in a government class at CRC that I thought about changing my major.” Cox is currently a biological sciences/premed student attending Stanford University and minoring in international relations. She is also an emergency room technician at Stanford Hospital. In addition to her studies and work, she is also doing an internship as a researcher based out of San Francisco State University. She is focusing on liver cells, enzymes and how genealogy impacts conditions. Cox is one of just 17 transfer students admitted into Stanford last year. The schedule keeps her extremely busy, but Cox is excited to be on a path that, thanks to her time at Cosumnes River College, has become crystal clear. After returning from a medical mission in Guatemala, Cox remembers a stirring lecture Morales gave on U.S. foreign policy. “With the case study on Guatemala, my eyes were opened to the realities of our world and I broke down. I was so bothered by what I had learned, and after talking to Martin, I felt compelled to tie international relations into medicine,” Cox said. “He’s the reason I stayed to study I.R. and work internationally.” Cox says her time at CRC not only prepared her to transfer to Stanford University, but encouraged her to reach beyond just
CRC Alumna Brittany Cox doing research 5
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Brittany Cox at UCSF Medical Center where she is an Emergency Room Technician
attending class. “I was shocked at how willing faculty were to still give me their time and advice on work I’m doing in my international relations classes at Stanford,” she said. “Professors (Gabriel) Gorman, (Martin) Morales, and (Elizabeth) Huffman, helped prepare me with their academic excellence. I sacrificed my social life to some extent but at the same time, gained a family. My classmates became new friends and we are closer than ever because we had common ground and would constantly push each other in our academic lives.” Cox says advice she received from Political Science Professor Elizabeth Huffman is something she will take with her wherever she goes. “She told me that it was ok to rest and recover, that school wasn’t as important as my health,” she said. “She also told me I was strong and that it was ok to be weak sometimes for the sake of recovering and rebuilding yourself and that it was ok to ask for help.” After she receives her undergraduate degree in biological sciences, Cox plans on applying for medical school, her first choice would be into the University of California San Francisco. Post medical school she plans to become a surgical intern. “At this point I am stuck between cardio thoracic and trauma surgery, but that might change as soon as I am an intern,” she said. “After residency, I will join Méddecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for a six month mission based in Africa. I am not drawn to any specific region on the continent, I am just sure that Africa is the first on my list of many places around the world I would like to provide services and patient care.” Her biggest inspiration is her mother. “My mother inspires me every day to achieve my goal to become a physician,” she said. “She has faced so many obstacles in her life and she has always been the one to show me that education is never something to give up on, it’s something you only work harder at.” No doubt, Cox will continue to work hard to achieve her goals. “It doesn’t matter how you get to your goal, but that you arrive,” she said. “Wake up every day knowing you are going to do everything within your power to take a step towards your goal, continued on page 12
Fortune Early College High School Gets Underway
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osumnes River College is proud to commence our partnership with the Rex and Margaret Fortune Early College High School (RMF ECHS) beginning Fall 2017. Beginning this semester the RMF ECHS will welcome CRC/ Fortune students at their new location: 9270 Bruceville Road, Elk Grove, CA 95758. Our first students are enrolling in INDIS 313 Freshman Seminar taught by CRC Faculty at the Bruceville Road location in addition to their high school classes. Early college high schools are designed to enable students to experience rigorous high school and college coursework that leads to improved outcomes. Upon high school graduation RMF ECHS students will have completed the requirements for an associates of arts degree and their high school diploma. This ECHS model is patterned after those across California and throughout the United States. The Rex and Margaret Fortune ECHS is Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) focused. https:// www.crc.losrios.edu/services/fortune. It is important to detail the extensive collaborative work across the CRC campus to bring this partnership from conception to execution. Timeline Details to Rex and Margaret Fortune Early College High School This formative partnership originated in Fall 2014, where the first meeting included Fortune Schools and former CRC President Debbie Travis. Spring 2015 Los Rios Chancellor Brian King and then Academic Senate President BJ Snowden were informed of the exploration of a Memorandum of Understanding with Fortune Schools. Three faculty members were appointed by the CRC Academic Senate to the CRC-Fortune School Committee: Donnisha Lugo, Amy Leung and Michael Carney. From Spring 2015 to Spring 2016 ongoing meetings occurred between CRC and Fortune Schools where tentative course schedule patterns were
developed by CRC faculty and administration, which included an associates of arts degree in liberal arts with math and science emphasis and associates of arts with social behavioral sciences emphasis. Spring 2016-Fall 2016 a MOU was initially developed between CRC and Fortune School. Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 the CRC Fortune Committee was expanded by Interim Vice President of Instruction, Robert Montanez, beyond the 3 Academic Senate appointed faculty to include former CRC Curriculum Chair Michael Lawlor and Counselor Teresa Aldredge, Student Services staff, Amber Lopez and Student Services Dean, Chad Funk to create and refine the on-boarding process, CRC Deans, Colette Harris-Mathews and Kathy Sorensen to coordinate the RMF student visit, which included faculty led field lessons in Art and Chemistry, Business Professor, Man Phan, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Heather Tilson and Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management, Kimberly McDaniel to track data and continue the early college formation process, and Admissions and Records Supervisor, Richard Andrews to ensure the registration and application process was examined. All campus constituency groups as well as the Greater Sacramento Community were given updates regarding the RMF ECHS Spring 2017. Late Spring 2017 RMF ECHS began to hold open enrollment meetings for the Sacramento community and current RMF students. Commercials advertising the enrollment meetings and subsequent partnership were played on local and national radio and television outlets. May 2017 CRC hosted almost 50 RMF students at the CRC Main Campus. Students experienced college class practicums, in Art, Chemistry and Kinesiology courses. The visit also included a reflective panel presentation from CRC Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) current
Fortune School students gather in a biology lab at CRC 6
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Athlete Alum Joins White Sox
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CRC President, Ed Bush, welcomes Fortune School students to the college for orientation
and former students. Subsequent to and after the May 2017 visit, CRC representatives attended the RMF ECHS open enrollment meetings and begin to hold orientations for potential RMF ECHS students late in the Spring 17 semester and through Summer 17. RMF ECHS anticipates over 100 RMF ECHS 9th grade students beginning August 2017 and plans to add one additional class of students until the school has 9th -12th grade students. August 2017 CRC will welcome RMF ECHS students to the Bruceville Road location. Incoming 9th graders will gain a broader understanding of college through our INDIS 313 Freshman Seminar course which puts them on the path for success in completing not only the rigors of college courses, but also their high school curriculum. CRC’s success in this partnership is one long term approach to address disparate student success outcomes in both high school and college. Early college designs enable more students, particularly lowincome and minority students, to experience rigorous high school and college coursework that leads to improved outcomes. Early college students are outperforming their peers nationwide: • 90% graduate high school vs. 78% of students nationally • 94% earn free college credit while in high school • 30% earn an Associate’s degree or other postsecondary credential while in high school http://www.jff.org/initiatives/early-college-designs Our end of academic report will include data regarding the number of students enrolled in RMF ECHS, course success rates, student support service practices, participation in co-curricular CRC Main Campus activities and elements for the 2018-2019 partnership. We start the Fall 2017 semester anticipating the success of the Rex and Margaret Fortune Early High School College students!
osumnes River College athlete alumni, Kyle Von Ruden successfully signed with the Chicago White Sox earlier this year. Kyle was raised in Elk Grove and joined the CRC baseball program as a student athlete in 2014 to pursue his lifelong aspiration of becoming a professional baseball player. “I didn't have any college baseball offers after my senior year in high school and after speaking with Bloomfield I decided to head CRC to continue baseball,” Von Ruden explains. The program helped shaped Von Ruden’s philosophy on and off the field. “I think the baseball program created a culture and mindset for me that has guided me to where I am today,” Von Ruden explains, “…we were all competitors and Bloomie (Coach Bloomfield) did his part in making sure we brought our best selves every practice and every game.” elationships contact with his Hawk teammates and Coach Bloomfield was one of the first people he called after being signed to the White Sox. “My time at CRC prepared me for college as well as learning to play baseball at a high level,” says Von Ruden, “You learn how to use the mental side of the game to your advantage and I feel that CRC helped me develop that as well as push me to be a good student, now I have a college degree and an opportunity to play professional baseball.” Looking to the future, Von Ruden is considering pursuing a career in the fire department, setting aside the money for EMT and fire science courses. For now, he is going to give his attention to baseball.
Kyle Von Ruden pitching in his CRC days 7
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(since AUGUST 2016)
NEW FACES
Sandra Wheeler Abeyta
Communication Studies
Comm., Visual & Perf. Arts
Michael Kearney Evaluator
Admissions & Records
Gabriel Rivera IA, Music
Comm., Visual & Perf. Arts
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Jordan Cervantes
Amanda Chin
Student Life & Leadership Center
Humanities & Social Science
Nam Lam
Amber Larsen
Science, Math & Engineering
Facilities & Operations
MollyAnna Robinson
Derrick Santiago
SPA
Mathematics Professor
Evening Clerk
Comm., Visual & Perf. Arts
Evening Clerk
Clerk
Graphic Designer
President’s Office
Aileen Dy
Michael Frigm
Linda Hoang
Culinary Arts Professor
Mathematics Professor
Crystal Martinez-Alire
Jerry Minamide
Counseling
Careers & Tech
Admissions & Records
Comm., Visual & Perf. Arts
Careers & Tech
Science, Math & Engineering
IA, Culinary Arts/ Nutrition
Araksya Movsisyan
Jason Patterson
Kinesiology, Health & Athletics
Science, Math & Engineering
Traci Scott
Oleksandr Sledz
Paolo Soriano
Careers & Tech Education
Library & Tech Services
Counseling
Counselor
Outreach Specialist
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Martin Flynn Theatre Arts Professor
Clerk
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Sr. I.T. Tech
Evening Clerk
Counselor
Biology Professor
Dustin Sperling
Grant Program Director
Career & Tech Programs
Christopher Torres Counselor
Counseling
Danielle Weast Public Relations Technician
President’s Office
Olha Ustyak Custodian
Custodial Services
Rebecca Withey
Douglas Worcester
Comm., Visual & Perf. Arts
Facilities & Operations
IA, RTVF
Printing Svcs. Operator
Welcome to the CRC Family 10
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Vicki Vang
Inst. Services Assistant
Instruction Office
Transforming the College through Guided Pathways Cosumnes River College is an innovative educational and community center that prepares and empowers students to realize their unique potential to transform their lives and contribute to a just and democratic society as global citizens. – CRC Vision Statement
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s a college committed to providing all students opportunities to transform their lives, and improving the lives of the communities in which our students thrive, Cosumnes River Colleges continues to re-envision who we are and how we deliver the high quality education our community has come to expect. Guided pathways development at CRC rises out of the need to continue to improve the success of our students. For almost fifty years, CRC has prided itself on building a college that reflects the needs of an increasingly diverse community. The College provides excellent student support programs and rigorous academic programs that has made CRC a beacon of equity and social justice. Recognizing that not all our students will be prepared for college, we offer a variety of programs to support students wherever they are when they come to us. For example, First Year Experience, Diop Scholars, and Puente are illustrations of successful initiatives that provide our very diverse students – often the first in their families to attend college – the academic, social, and cultural support needed to navigate the sometimes rocky road that can be emblematic of the college experience. And because equity in achievement matters at CRC, English faculty have re-designed how basic skills courses are taught with a focus on reaching college level English in one year. And, faculty in Math, ESL, and English, have engaged in transforming how to more appropriately assess and place students with a goal of narrowing equity gaps from the beginning. Because CRC is a place where dreams come true, the College offers scores of associate degrees and industry based certificates providing students with multiple paths to complete college and realize their potential. For example, whether one wants to try her or his hand at acting or directing, prepare for a specialization in Children’s Theatre, or prepare to transfer to a 4-year university performing arts program, CRC has the Theatre Arts programs available. For the student interested in an Allied Health career, CRC offers multiple pathways to specific industry jobs in, for example, Medical Assisting, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and Pharmacy Technology. Guided pathways development at CRC builds upon all these successful developments and initiatives. While much has already occurred at CRC that promises to improve student success from entry into the College to exit to university and/or career, the work of building clear and focused
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guided pathways at CRC aims to improve the college experience for all students who come to us. The potential of guided pathways at CRC is consistent with the mission of the college: to prepare all students “to realize their educational and career aspirations through exemplary transfer, general, and career education in an academically rigorous and inclusive environment.” Guided pathways development at CRC becomes the College’s GPS for students. By design, guided pathways provide clarity and direction; they make the college journey less intimidating, more cost effective, and more efficient. To build the many guided pathways needed at CRC, faculty, staff, administrators, and students will work collaboratively to create integrated and sustainable institutional policies, practices, processes, infrastructure, and culture that together will improve student performance and completion. In conversations regarding guided pathways development, the CRC community has emphasized the importance of building pathways that work for CRC. To this end, the work will not be rushed, but will be intentional and focused on the end goals. Beginning in Fall 2017 semester, CRC joins the California Guided Pathways Project. As part of the CGP Project, CRC joins 19 other community colleges who together will envision a future of student success unique for each college, but built upon a shared foundation that every college student deserves the opportunity to succeed on a path that supports the student from when the student begins her or his college career, to when the student completes college on-time. Because diversity is CRC’s strength, it is imperative that all concerned with student success engage in the important work of transforming the college through guided pathways. In the end, the benefits will speak for themselves.
CRC Alumna Combines Medicine and International Relations to Find Clear Path continued from page 5
whether that be just showing up for class, sacrificing a few hours of sleep to study harder for that exam, or even stepping foot inside a very intimidating professor’s office to let him/ her know what you’re going through in life. Take advantage of that your school has to offer. Education is limitless and has no bounds.” The world may inspire Brittany Cox, but she continues to inspire those around her.