Road Map to the Future: Steering Committee Minutes--March 9 2022

Roadmap to the Future Steering Committee Minutes

March 9, 2022, 10:30 am – Noon

Attendee Members: Melisa Galván, Jonathan Hay, Crist Khachikian, Gigi McGuire, Mario Ontiveros, Kaitlyn Orozco, Yazmin Peebles, Amanda Quintero, Kiana Requena, Diane Stephens, Michael Tejax, Nate Thomas, Mary Beth Walker (Chair), Jason Wang

Absent: David Dufault-Hunter, Elena Miranda, Barrett Morris

Staff to Committee:  Hazel Kochocki, Bonnie Paller

      I.         Call to Order: 10:35am

    II.         Approval of Minutes of February 23, 2022 Meeting: approved      

  III.         Welcome/Goals for Meeting          (Walker)                   

What have we learned in the sessions? What has worked? What has not worked?

IV. Feedback from Focused Conversations To-Date: Learnings, Problem Areas         

• There is no front door. Campus access is very confusing. Think about a welcome center and other ways to be welcoming. Signage could be improved.
• The front of the campus building needs painting.           
• Need a front door for families and one which is embedded into programing and into the institution. In order to express our values, the front door would send a powerful message.
• We need to better tell our story. A virtual front door should tell our story to the community.
• We need to accurately represent our students authentically. Make sure that our students can honestly tell their story and have their voices heard.
• Lack of centralization of resources and information about our rich offerings. There should be management of information but not management of activities.
• No central campus calendar; no way to convey all the great work which is being done and activities taking place
• There is a lack of an updated mission and a lack of message from the top management
• Folks have engaged with the surveys but some voiced concern with the demographic information.
• Staff and faculty express a lack of one common culture. We should find ways to express a common culture from the time that any employee begins working on our campus.
• Silos of activity
• Going to other institutions reveals how to create a small campus feel even in a large institution.
• Reiterates the need for a student welcome center to connect student with clubs, tutoring, and other needs. This would help students find what they need to find and find it upfront.   
• A welcome center could also convey mission, vision, and values. It would provide a means to convey our history and core values.
• Strategy: Take specific comments and walk them back up to the lens of DEJI

• Problem in getting student participation in the groups           
• Problem: we have lost between 30-50 faculty through exits and retirements. There is no HR process which would illuminate why people have left. Why are we losing them? There is now an exit survey for faculty. There should be one for staff.   

     V. Meeting Structure: Sharing What Has Worked Well            (Stephens/Quintero)

• Use of the facilitation guide is helpful
• Would have been useful to go to each other’s sessions
• Having Dr. Watkins host the session underscored the importance of the project. He framed why we are doing this. He put the theme out there. He introduced the team but also the role of the team, which obviated questions about that.
• Ultimate goal at the end point will be a Town Hall
• Define the subgroup theme
• Talk through the experience of the engaged focused conversation.
• Round 2: Still have William Watkins frame but streamline the conversation
• Move the conversation into priorities
• Use polling function
• Showing what has been said. But more focus on ranking and prioritizing data.
• Moving on to the “what we heard” phase
• Flexibility to add on sessions on the fly
• Goal reiterated: trying to get to big ideas and not to specific initiatives.
• Structure of the sessions highlighted
• We need to frame how we work through the Round 2 sessions.

  VI.         Subgroup Meetings

VII.  Takeaways/Action Items/Preparation for Next Meeting (Walker)

• Think about the structure in your subgroup for Round 2 sessions
• Final step: in person Town Hall which showcases Strategic Directions.
• Conversation regarding timing of final Town Hall ensued
  • Town Hall could occur perhaps on the first day of commencement
  • May 9-13 would be best from students’ point of view

  IIX. Adjournment

 12:03pm