Two More Eggs, Please

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Yes, my friends, that is an omelette.

Or, rather, that is two eggs who woke up this morning with the professional goal of being an omelette.

Sadly, they're going to have to accept their lot as a bad imitation of scrambled eggs.

I share this story because I, like many of you, have been trying to take advantage of our "safer at home" status to take on new challenges.  In my case, it's cooking.

Kitchens and I have never been comfortable with each other.  I still remember in the first weeks of our marriage asking Trish how I could tell if water is boiling:  "Is it the little bubbles on the side or the big bubbles in the middle?"  I haven't progressed much farther than that.  So when I decided that an omelette would be my official entrance into the world of cooking, Trish calmly showed me how to crack the eggs, to rotate the pan to evenly spread the eggs, and finally, to fold into the omelette shape that we all know.

I now have a greater appreciation for boxed cereal.

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Another aspect of "safer at home" is the increasing demand for consistent, clear communication.  Without the informal networks that we had in our in-person world, we have to rely on websites, emails, Town Halls, and other technology-based avenues to supplement our incessant Zoom gatherings.

In this spirit, I urge you to take a look at the agendas of the monthly Board of Trustees committee meetings.  Four committees, each including three Board members with a president's representative as a non-voting resource person, consider in detail various presentations, proposals, and issues prior to moving the topics forward for full Board consideration.  As a result, the agendas are a treasure trove of information that we can all find useful, because the attachments provided offer a comprehensive look at topics that are of fundamental importance to the District.

For example, all four committees met yesterday.  Listed below, by committee, is a quick thumbnail sketch of the type of information you can find every month. The attachments are current as of Friday, April 17 when the announcements of the meeting, as well as all the supporting documents, were posted as per Brown Act regulations.  

 (To review:  At this link, you'll see a list of the meetings.  Scroll through to the meeting of interest to you.  When you open that page, scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll find the "agenda" icon.  Open that, and you'll find the agenda outline on the left of your screen.  Click on the agenda topic of interest to you.  Often, details are embedded in the agenda item itself.  In some cases, the agenda will be supplemented by attachments, which are indicated by small "paper" icons.)

  • The Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success Committee, in its COVID-19 update, received details on topics as diverse as grading options and the status of hard-to-convert courses.  The committee also reviewed the most current District enrollment statistics.
  • The Legislative and Public Affairs Committee received presentations from the District's lobbyists at the state, local, and national level, which included informative status reports on legislation of interest to (or sponsored by) the District.
  • The Facilities Master Planning and Oversight Committee, at this meeting, reviewed plans for a new building at Pierce College and held its first discussion on a clean energy and sustainability resolution (in which West is cited for its Climate Change Studies program).
  • The Budget Committee (not to be confused with the District Budget Committee) received presentations on such diverse issues as the amount of dollars expended to date on the District's COVID-19 response, details on the CARES Act, and a report on the second-quarter financial status of all nine colleges.
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AND, today in history (thanks, Bing)...