Many thanks to all who participated in the recent design charettes.

Approximately 130 faculty, staff, student and community members attended the charettes on March 24 and 25. Students and faculty members provided assistance at the events. Biology/Environmental Landscape Instructor Fernando Agudelo-Silva, Chemistry/ Engineering Instructor Erik Dunmire, Architecture Instructor Mark Gorrell, and Chemistry Instructor Patrick Kelly helped facilitate the charettes. Students Hoa-Long Tam and Daniel Korson introduced the materials that were used in the charette activities.

About 100 people attended Friday’s charette at the Kentfield campus, including 26 faculty members, 15 staff members, one member of the Board of Trustees, 11 community members, 42 students, eight administrators, and seven others. Thirty-two people attended the charette at the Indian Valley Campus on Saturday, including six faculty members, four staff members, two Board of Trustees members, 10 Community Members, five students, two administrators and six others including a City Council Member, and a member of the California Native Plant Society.

On April 6 and 7 of this week Sim Van der Ryn will continue the charettes with a focused work group session titled “Building the Bond: Strategic Visioning, Regenerative Designing.” These work group sessions will use the information learned from the first two charettes to build a more focused vision for the COM’s future facilities. Several prominent green architects have volunteered to help facilitate the sessions, including Ken Kao, leading green architect at Harvard University, Sean Culman, and Brian Williams. Invitations have been extended to constituent groups including the Faculty Senate, Classified Senate, Student Senate, Administrators, and Board of Trustees to identify participants for the upcoming events.

A comprehensive report on all of the charettes will be presented on Wednesday, April 19 from 3:30 PM to 5 PM in Olney Hall, Room 96, and again on Thursday, April 20 from noon to 1:30 PM at the IVC campus in Building 12. Faculty, staff, students and community members are encouraged to attend. All ideas and concepts developed at the charettes and work products from the Building the Bond: Strategic Visioning, Regenerative Designing session will be presented. Time will be set aside for feedback and comments.

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John Sutherland and Bernie Blackman elected to Co-chair the Governance Review Committee. 

John Sutherland and Bernie Blackman have been elected to Co-chair the Governance Review Committee (GRC). The GRC is currently developing a process to evaluate the effectiveness of the Participatory Governance System. The GRC will be conducting surveys to assess committee process, participation, and communication. The committee will also evaluate the system as a whole.  Information gathered will be reviewed, and recommendations for revisions will be presented to the College Council. In addition, the GRC will review the charges and responsibilities of the standing governance committees. At the last GRC meeting, the Student Services Planning Committee presented a proposed draft to revise its charge to conform more closely to Accreditation Standards. The GRC will be working with the committee to clarify the charge and recommend revisions.

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Kudos

College of Marin baseball coach Steve Berringer deserves much praise for his many accomplishments. Our team is 7-2 in the Bay Valley Conference this season, in second place after Saturday's game against first-place Los Medanos, and 15-8 overall. In Berringer's seven seasons as head coach, the COM has made the BVC playoffs twice, and will likely do so again this season. Thank you coach Berringer, and go team!

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Floor product samples will be installed for your review.

Sample floor products will be installed in several locations on the Kentfield campus.   The samples are intended to be scuffed, test-driven and otherwise viewed for ease of maintenance, aesthetics, texture and wear and tear. Please note that the products do not reflect or suggest any choice of color or pattern. The Interior Subcommittee, including Katrina Wagner, because of her expertise in color design, will select the colors and patterns.

The flooring samples will be installed in four locations: on the first and second floors of the Learning Resources Center near the bookstore and upstairs in a portion of a hallway; on the second floor east of Fusselman Hall in room 123; and on the second floor of the Fine Arts Building in room 121.

A number of vendors have offered their products free for this purpose. The material will be installed during the Spring Break during the week of April 10-14. Two locations (Fusselman and Fine Arts) will have the existing flooring removed April 8 and 9 with the work performed under asbestos abatement controls arrangements. The other existing materials do not pose such a risk or concern.

The installations will be left in place for a number of months. It will be highlighted as a recommended “place to visit” during the upcoming Furniture Fair being held April 18-20 on the Kentfield campus.

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You can help select our new furnishings.

As part of the district’s modernization program, the COM will hold a Furniture Fair in two locations: on April 18, 19, and 20 from 11 AM to 7 PM in the student-and-staff-lounge in the Student Services Bldg. at the Kentfield Campus, and on April 25, 26 and 27 from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM in Bldg. 12 at the Indian Valley Campus. You will able to see and choose from a wide selection of actual furniture samples for our classrooms, labs, and offices. Each day, the first 200 participants will be treated to a free hot dog and soda.

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Taking steps to better inform the public that the COM is fully accredited.

Our own publications can be an effective means to help dispel rumors and inform the public that the COM is in fact fully accredited. The Communications and Community Relations Office will ensure that District public information documents include appropriate accreditation information:

1. All District print advertisements, including modernization ads, that have run for the past four weeks include under the college’s logo and contact information the statement that “COM is fully accredited by ACCJ/WASC.
2. The college website now has the following statement at the bottom of the front page and most other pages: “College of Marin is fully accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges”

In addition:

1. We will include a full accreditation statement in the upcoming class schedules.
2. Letters to high school students will include our accreditation information.
3. News releases will include accreditation information in the general paragraph about the college.

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The Center for Regenerative Design at the College of Marin presents: Envisioning a Green Economy for Marin COMmunity Round Table. The Center for Regenerative Design will hold a community round table discussion on Wednesday, April 5th starting at 7:00 PM in Olney Hall. The event will explore strategies for developing a green economy supporting the College of Marin’s Kentfield and Indian Valley campuses. Sim Van der Ryn, visionary architect and director of the COM’s Center for Regenerative Design, and Andres Edwards, educator and author will moderate this event. Dr. Frances White, Superintendent/President of the College of Marin, and David Schwartz, President of the College of Marin Foundation, will provide opening remarks.  Round table presenters include: Kevin Danaher, Global Exchange; Michele Rodriguez, Marin County Community Development Agency; Jack Kaplan, Kaplan Trading; Jeff Klein, Cause Alliance Marketing; Nanda Schorske, COM Dean of Workforce Development; Dan Thompson, SPG Solar; and Jeff Jacobs, Relish. For information about this event and the Center for Regenerative Design (CRD) call: (415) 457-8811 Ext. 7727 or visit: http://marincc.blogspot.com

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Drama Department presents Lighten Up John - Instant Theatre!

Date:      Friday, April 7, 2006

Time:      8 p.m.

Fee:        $25 suggested donation at the door, but no one will be turned away.

Guest improv artists Lighten Up John and Instant Theatre will perform in the Studio Theatre at the College of Marin. All proceeds from the improv shows by both Lighten Up John and AWOL, the COM resident student improv company, will benefit the Drama Scholarship Fund and help to defray production costs.

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The College of Marin will present its 10th Annual Latino College Awareness Day.

On Thursday, April 6, 2006 the College of Marin in partnership with the Latino Educational and Cultural Foundation (LECF) will present its 10th Annual Latino College Awareness Day. An anticipated 350 Latino students from Marin high schools will attend. They will observe various educational programs, view the campus, and listen to a motivational talk by the comedy group Culture Clash. The Latino College Awareness Day program offers Latino students the opportunity to become familiar with higher education and the possibilities it offers.

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Mayan World Alive! Astronomical and Cultural Exhibit

The College of Marin is hosting the Mayan World Alive! Astronomical and Cultural Exhibit, which will be on display through April 25th in the LC at the Kentfield campus. There will be a Lecture and Cultural Dance performance on April 18th, 7:00 PM in the Fine Arts Theater. The Marin County Board of Supervisors District 4, the College of Marin, Marin Museum of the American Indian, and Asociación Mayab sponsored the exhibit. This special event has been produced by the Government of Yucatán, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institute of Anthropology and History in the Yucatán (INAH), Indemaya, Ideum; with collaboration from UC Berkeley Center for Science Education at the Space Science Laboratory (SSL). Faculty, staff, student, and community members are invited to attend.

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Educational Excellence Innovation Fund Call for Submissions.

You are invited to submit a proposal for an Educational Excellence Innovation Fund (EEIF) grant. The EEIF will provide seed money encouraging College of Marin’s faculty and staff to “dream out loud” by developing innovative ideas to improve teaching and learning at the College of Marin. Faculty proposals should be submitted to U.D.W.C. per Article 8.3 of the UPM contract by April 28, 2006 for projects to begin fall 2006. Awards will be announced in mid-May. Administrators and staff must submit their proposals to the President’s Office by April 28, 2006 for projects to begin fall 2006.  Awards will be announced in mid-May. The EEIF is one of six annual Board Priorities that is partially funded by the general fund and the President's Circle.  Proceeds are designed to provide opportunities for excellence in teaching, learning, institutional planning, professional development, and support for academic and culturally diverse programs and services. For more information or to request an application form, please contact the President's Office.

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College of Marin’s Independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee Solicits New Members.

Six committee members are being sought by the College of Marin to serve on the College of Marin’s Independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee.  The Committee is seeking applications for members to represent the following: a bona-fide taxpayer’s association, an enrolled student active in a community college support group, a member of a senior citizens’ organization, a member active in a business organization representing the local business community, a member representing the community at large, and a member active in a college support organization. New members will be appointed by the College of Marin Board of Trustees at its April meeting.  Applications are due April 7, 2006. Oversight Committee members may not be employees, officials, vendors, consultants, or contractors of the College of Marin.  For application information contact the College of Marin President’s Office at 415.485.9502.

Have a great week!

Frances L. White, Ph.D.
Superintendent/President

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