March is Women's History Month!
The 2024 National Women's History Theme is "Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion," In celebration of Women's History Month, I would like to acknowledge some of our advocates who currently serve on the Social Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion (SJEDI) committee:
To view some of their bios and pictures, please visit the Social Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion (SJEDI) committee
Additionally, we have a few Siskiyous representatives serving on the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Siskiyou Branch: Debbie Goltz, Sherice Bellamy, Veronica Coots and Suzie Clark (retired). AAUW strives for gender equity through advocacy, education and empowerment. Did you know that:
To learn more about AAUW, feel free to attend a meeting! Visit the AAUW Siskiyou Branch webpage for meeting details.
Congratulations Tenured Faculty!
At the March 12, 2024 Special Board meeting, the Board of Trustees concurred with the recommendation to grant tenure to the following fourth year faculty members, Tyler Knudsen, Faculty Head Football Coach and Kirk Thomsen, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Faculty Coordinator. I commend our newly tenured faculty for upholding high-quality pedagogical practices while simultaneously contributing to the overall effectiveness of our institution!
Kirk Thomsen: Kirk moved from Michigan to California with his wife and two kids in 2005 where he was a dairy farmer and a volunteer firefighter. He became a paramedic firefighter for the City of Ukiah that same year. Kirk has a long history of teaching and mentoring in the fire and Emergency Medical Services. Kirk came to us in 2020 after retiring from the fire service as a Fire Chief with over 30 years of experience in Emergency Services and took the Paramedic program through Covid. Kirk received a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Service Administration from Eastern Oregon University and is currently pursuing his Master's in Education at Oregon State University.
At College of the Siskiyous (Siskiyous), Kirk coordinates the EMS department and teaches Paramedic, EMT, EMR and CPR. Kirk was instrumental in adding the Mendocino satellite Paramedic program and now we have almost 60 paramedics being trained by Siskiyous this year. Kirk is also part of the team to coordinate and help develop Siskiyous' first Bachelor's degree program, which will be the first Bachelor of Science in Paramedicine offered by a public institution in the State of California. Kirk also has been able to step in and teach Fire Science courses when needed.
Graduation 2024
The Petition to Graduate deadline is April 15. Please continue encouraging students who may be eligible to graduate to submit their petition. Students who have petitioned will be receiving information about the upcoming event soon. If you have questions about Graduation 2024 or would like to help with the event, send an email to pio@siskiyous.edu. Graduation will be held at the Weed Campus Football Stadium on Friday, May 17 beginning at 6:00 pm. All students who plan to participate in the ceremony should also plan to attend rehearsal to be held earlier in the day at 1:00 pm.
Stay Connected Sign up today for COS Connect. This is a free system used to notify students and staff of emergency-situations, campus closures, or general information. To sign up click on the COS Connect button located on the COS homepage and follow the directions to get signed up.
2024-2025 Foundation Scholarship Applications Now Available
Scholarship applications for academic year 2024-2025 are now available for Siskiyou County high school seniors (graduating spring 2024) and current COS students who plan to attend COS during the 2024-2025 year. Scholarships range from $250 to $5,000. The application is due March 31 and is available online.
Congratulations Spring 2024 FDN Mini Grant Recipients
| Awarded to | Project |
|---|---|
| Jude Baldwin Library |
Peripherals for Ergonomics & Accessibility and Board Game Collection: Funds will be used to purchase technology peripherals that will complement the campus laptop checkout program and to enhance ergonomics and accessibility for students. These items include ergonomic keyboards, trackball mice, noise cancelling headphones, white noise generator, and rolling backpacks. Also funded, the library will purchase board games for student use in the library during game nights. |
| Ron Slabbinck Neil Carpentier-Alting Music & Theater |
Microphone Replacement: Funds will be used to offset cost to replace microphones identified and used for student musical and theatrical productions. |
| JonJon Junpradub Ty Speck Student Housing |
Card Printer Upgrade: Funds will be used to help defray/reduce overall cost to Student Housing budget for purchase of new ID Card Printer prior to the start of the fall semester. ID Cards are primarily used by student residents as their housing access key, food services purchasing card, and identification. ID Cards are also used as ASB Student Body cards |
| Veronica Rivera Facilities & Maintenance |
Rain Boots for More Than Bad Weather: Funds will be used to purchase 'All Weather' boots for Facilities & Maintenance Crew as part of Siskiyous Crew uniform. |
| Jayne Turk Phi Theta Kappa |
Culturing Anaerobic Bacteria: Funds will be used to purchase specialized equipment to grow/culture bacteria. The materials purchased through this project will support laboratory activities for Microbiology (BIO 2600) which is part of the LAS Natural Science AS program. |
| Leigh Moore, CTE/ADJ | No Cost Textbooks for ADJ 1001: This grant will enable Introduction to Criminal Justice (ADJ 1001) to be converted to a Zero-Textbook Cost (ZTC) course, in the Fall of 2024, as well as Criminology (ADJ 2528), thereby transitioning two courses to ZTC instead of the currently planned one course |
| Zachary Myers Athletic Training |
Recover Faster and New Football Travel Kit: Funds will be used to purchase items needed for the Recover Faster and Rapid Reboot program offered to Siskiyous student athletes in the Training Room. The Training Room is also receiving funds to purchase a new Travel Trunk Kit for the Football Program. |
| Julius Jones Athletics / Track & Field |
Speed and Power: Funds will be used to purchase items used to assist programming velocity-based training, from RepOne. These tools allow coaches to more precisely tune all athletic workouts with the capability of programming bar speed as another form of training that will enhance athletic performance |
| Ido Isler Science |
SLA Resin 3D Printing: Funds will be used to purchase a 3D Printer and supplies. Using this technology, the Science Department will be able to produce usable items for educational and practical purposes. Items produced this way will allow for reduced costs and create FDA compliant, auto cleavable, and chemical resistant items to be used in chemical and biological labs. |
| JT Tarantino Research & Evaluation |
COS Degree Destiny: Funds will be used for deploying ads on FB for target marketing of students who have some college but no credentials (certificate of achievements or degrees). It is hoped this new effort will raise enrollments. |
| Sherice Bellamy CTE / Business |
Entrepreneurship Collaborative Business Pitch Competition: The Entrepreneurship Collaborative has planned a Business Pitch Contest to be held May 6, 2024 at MSHS. Funds will be use to host a pre-contest networking reception sponsored by COS. The reception will include appetizers and refreshments for contest participants, including approximately 100 students, faculty and guests. |
Upcoming Activities & Events: Event dates, times, and locations based on information available at the time of publication and are subject to change.
March 2024
April 2024
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Budget entry for FY 24-25
Budgets are due to the Business Office by Monday, March 25, 2024. Please email Ryan Galbraith when finished with all entries. Budget development Zoom meetings were presented by the iVPAS Christina Van Alfen in early March. Ryan and Melissa are available to answer any questions, and depending on need, additional drop-in Zoom meetings may be available. Contact the Business Office for assistance by sending an email to businessoffice@siskiyous.edu.
Resource Allocation Requests (RARs- formerly CQIPS)
Submission of RARs will occur electronically this year. Once IPB reviews the new process at the March 15 meeting, information will be sent out to the campus on how to access the new digital form.
Purchase Cutoff Date for FY 23-24 is April 15
Please plan appropriately as this deadline applies to all areas of the district including categorical and grant programs that are required to spend out their funds by June 30th as well as the summer classes which should already be planning/purchasing for their programs. The only exceptions to this cutoff date will be for perishable items (i.e., cafeteria, etc.) and emergencies (i.e., maintenance, safety, etc.). Any requests (of any size) made after April 15th, 2024, will require a Vice President’s signature in order to be considered for processing.
Business Office Hours (NEW - until further notice) - Monday – Friday, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Due to several extremely time-sensitive projects, the Business Office will be open for walk-in traffic, phone calls and emails from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The times outside of this will be for the staff to work on these projects. We apologize for the shortened time, but it is necessary in order for us to complete priority projects.
Spring is here, and with it comes a fresh wave of excitement! Get into the spirit of the season at the Campus Gift & Book Shop, where the air is filled with the promise of new beginnings. As you embrace the warmth of the sun and the blooming flowers, don't forget to prepare for the upcoming College of the Siskiyous Graduation on May 17. Graduates… secure your cap, gown, and tassels for just $35 and step into this next chapter of your life with confidence and style. Swing by our Shop today and let us help you make your springtime celebrations even more memorable!
We are in the testing phase of the new TOAST mobile ordering application and plan to launch this new app college-wide on March 25. If you are interested in being part of the test group to ensure the system is working properly (prior to launch) reach out to Christina at cvanalfen@siskiyous.edu and she will help you get set up to order.
Facilities Management Express (FMX) is the new School Dude. The link provided takes you to the Siskiyous instruction page and sign on information.
Reminders:
Staff are here to support the needs of the campus. If you have not already signed up for FMX, please do so.
Construction News:
The Technology Services Department has completed its Operational Plan for FY24-25. This plan will be presented to the Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) in April. Shortly thereafter, it will be presented to the Board and published.
The Client Services Team will be implementing the workstation standard on all workstations in Academic Affairs in first half of this calendar year.
The Enterprise Application (EA) Team is happy to announce that Ben Harris has been hired to fill the Systems Analyst\Programmer position. He will be working 100% remotely, but feel free to reach out via email and welcome him aboard.
The EA Team has temporarily postponed testing of Self-Service Banner 9 (SSB9) while we evaluate possible accessibility issues. We still hope to have SSB9 implemented just before the opening of registration for the Fall term. Work with both the Business Office and Admissions & Records departments to implement the Nelnet application, which will give students the ability to establish payment plans continues. This new application will be deployed in two phases by first enabling students to establish payment plans for balances in the current term and then doing the same for past due balances.
The Infrastructure Services (IS) Team has implemented a new 1Gb circuit between the Yreka and Weed campuses but still expect to have it fully implemented this month. The IS Team will also be performing a refresh of all of the network switches and nearly all of the wireless access points that make-up the College's network infrastructure throughout 2024.
Vice President, Student Services
We have arrived at the mid-point of the semester and we have all been very busy. Student Services is almost finished with review of all Chapter 5: Policies and Procedures. This has been a big undertaking and all of Student Services has been involved in one way or another. Thank you to the entire team for working on these and getting them done on time.
The Strategic Enrollment Management Committee just approved the College of the Siskiyous Strategic Enrollment Management Plan for 2023-2028. This plan will now be sent to the appropriate committees and senates for feedback or approval. I want to thank the entire Strategic Enrollment Management Committee and a few others who contributed for their work and patience as we finished this plan. It is a wonderful plan and provides a framework and vision as we move into the future at COS.
Welcome to Sara Sharif. Sara recently accepted the position as Administrative Assistant II in SAS and we are thrilled to have her as part of our team.
A team of eight Student Services department members had the opportunity to attend the Chief Student Services Officer (CSSO) Conference in San Francisco. We were able to hear from experts and professional in our field. In addition, we were able to collaborate with our colleagues across the state as we work together to address the needs of students at our institutions. I appreciate Michelle Knudsen, Josh Collins, Samantha Dean, Stephanie Wroten, Janice Porterfield, JonJon Junpradub, and Meghan Witherell for attending with me.
Next month, the College will be holding 8th Grade Inspiration Day at the Weed Campus on Thursday, April 18th. All are invited to attend and are also encouraged to volunteer to help with the event. We are excited for the day. Thank you, Stephanie Wroten, Regina Weston, Meghan Witherell, JonJon Junpradub, and Janice Porterfield for their leadership and contributions to this event. In addition, I want to express my appreciation for all faculty, staff, ASM, administrators, and students who will contribute to the day. It is not possible without you all. Thank you!
February was a busy month for Basecamp. Regina and Maggie attended the California Higher Education Basic Needs Alliance Summit, also known as CHEBNA in Sacramento. This conference is held every two years and this was and the first time the summit has been held in person since COVID! It felt so nice to be in a room with close to 900 like-minded individuals who are passionate about providing innovative and forward-thinking Basic Needs services to students. We cannot wait to begin implementing some of these new ideas into Basecamp.
As in semesters past, we are offering our Soup and Grilled Cheese events every other Thursday. During our first event of the semester, Regina made her famous Loaded Baked Potato Soup and documented how to make it. The video can be found on our Instagram, if anyone is interested in watching. CalFresh Outreach Week was February 26 - March 1, so we used our Soup and Grilled Cheese lunch as a CalFresh Application Assistance event as well. Students who filled out an application have been placed into a drawing, where we will give away small crockpots and all of the ingredients needed to make the Loaded Baked Potato Soup.
An after-hours CalFresh Application event was held March 12 and another one is scheduled for March 18 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm for our CTE programs. During the after-hours event staff will be available to assist students with completing their CalFresh applications. We will also be providing students in attendance with dinner. These students will also be included in the drawing for the crockpot meals.
We are excited to have the Humane Society join us in March to bring animals to campus that are up for adoption so students to get some puppy time. Basecamp is also partnering with TRiO to bring back our Adventure Outings field trips for students. The first event is scheduled for March 21, a trip to Viking Skate in Redding for Adult Skate night. Dinner will also be provided. QR codes for sign-ups can be found on various flyers around campus as well as Basecamp Instagram.
Student Housing will be updating its Resident Applications and having those posted as soon as Housing and Dining rates are approved by the board.
Student Housing is currently in the process of posting Resident Assistant (RA) applications and Lodge Government Representative (LGR) (Residence Hall Association Program) applications the weeks of March 11 and April 1.
Student Housing will be acquiring a new sand shuffle board that will be placed in Ponderosa Lodge for Residents and guests to utilize.
Fire Academy #45 has officially completed their Structural Firefighting Module. They had a rigorous month of Live-Fire Training, Vehicle/Machinery training (cutting cars), as well as intense Cognitive and Psychomotor Testing strictly to the California State Fire Marshall standards. This marked the end of 3 of the 4 Modules required for them to complete their Firefighter 1 and 2. The Fire Technology Program would like to thank the Instructors, Facilitators, and Administrators who have helped the students along the way.
The Cal Fire Siskiyou Unit conducted their annual professional training on the Fire Technology Training Grounds. We also hosted a Level 1 Avalanche Course where the students traveled up to Snowman’s Hill, Bunny Flats, and a few remote locations on Mt. Shasta to evaluate Avalanche Safety, Hazards, and Activity.
Hi Everyone.
It's crazy that Spring Break will be upon us in a couple of weeks. Although it looks like the weather is supposed to turn sunny and warm, I've enjoyed the snow flurries we received these last few days. I love the snow, but it looks like our winter will be a bit underwhelming this year as compared to last year.
This spring there will be a couple of opportunities for faculty members to engage with the community. On April 18, 8th Graders from all over the County will visit our campus. Stephanie Wroten and Regina Weston will be sending out an email to the faculty with details about this event. Please consider participating in this community event if possible. This a chance for COS to make an impact on these young students so that they may consider attending COS in the future. The College would like to offer various demonstrations and activities for the students to do in 15-minute segments (20 minutes will be scheduled to accommodate questions and time to go to next activity). Obviously, it’s important to offer presentations/activities that will be engaging and fun for students.
Another opportunity to engage with the public is through the COS social media sites. Our Social Media Coordinator, Kaci Masson, is interested in doing a “Featured Faculty” segment that will feature a particular faculty member with their photo and responses to a few questions. This will allow Kaci to have content for the summer months when there is less happening on campus. It may also help with enrollment because students are more likely to take classes from someone who is a bit familiar than a complete stranger.
Finally, I want to thank the students and colleagues for putting my name out there for the "Educator of the Year" award. I am honored to receive this award because I strive to be good instructor to my students. My fellow faculty colleagues also inspire me with their commitment to their students and passion for their discipline.
I'll end with a quote from Aristotle who said, "To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold."
Thanks for listening.
Andrea Craddock, Ph.D.
Academic Senate President
No other reports received.
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