by Kukuk Jacob | Apr 29, 2016 | Amy's Update
Dear Colleagues, Last Friday, the Environmental Horticulture program kicked off its annual plant sale (it runs again today and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.). This plant sale is one of the most treasured community events in the area. Last Friday, there was a line through the parking lot as people waited to get into the sale. This really is more than just a plant sale, it’s a way for us to build community and stewardship with our neighbors. Thank you to the faculty and students in the Environmental Horticulture program, the staff of the LWTech Foundation, and its board members, for helping make this such a successful event each year. Thank you! External Engagement Meeting with Dr. Charles “Mac” Powell, President of Bastyr University On Monday, I met with the new president of Bastyr University, Dr. Powell. I was happy to take him on a tour of our Kirkland campus, and introduce him to some of our faculty and staff. I look forward to future partnership opportunities. Washington Executive Leadership Academy (WELA) Presentation Tuesday, I led a discussion on “A President’s Guide to Successful Labor Relations,” via WebEx, to the 2015 WELA cohort who were meeting at Columbia Basin College. WELA is a one-year executive leadership program designed for our community and technical college system’s exempt staff. Dr. Suzy Ames is a member of this year’s cohort. I asked Jim Howe and Judy Mattson for presentation feedback, which I sincerely appreciated. Superintendents Meeting Wednesday, I was pleased to host the superintendents from the Lake Washington, Riverview and Northshore school districts,...
by Kukuk Jacob | Apr 21, 2016 | Amy's Update
Dear Colleagues, Thank you to all who were able to attend the All-Staff meeting on Tuesday. As I discussed we are not alone in our enrollment and budget challenges. And although this is a challenging time, I truly believe that we have the right people in place to get us where we need to be. Your hard work to recruit, enroll, educate, retain, and graduate our students is paying off and retention efforts are showing. Yes, we have a lot of work ahead of us to meet and exceed our enrollment targets. It’s important to me that you know I appreciate your work and all that you all you do each day, thank you. With that being said, below is a recap of the latest news: External Engagement Lake Washington School District (LWSD) Annual Luncheon On Wednesday, Elisabeth Sorensen, Dr. Elliot Stern, and I attended the LWSD annual “Spring for Learning” luncheon. We were joined by LWTech Foundation board member Diane Haelsig. It’s important to me that our college be seen in the community as a very visible partner with area schools, and this is one way to do so. Five Star Consortium Lunch Meeting Earlier today, I attended the Five Star Consortium Presidents’ Lunch at Shoreline Community College. This is an opportunity for us to meet to discuss potential areas of collaboration around student success as we prepare for the next legislative session. Leadership Eastside Executive Insight Tomorrow, I will be attending an all day workshop, “Executive Insight,” which is being organized by Leadership Eastside. This workshop will focus on Adaptive Community Leadership. I think it’s important that I also take some...
by Kukuk Jacob | Apr 15, 2016 | Amy's Update
Dear Colleagues, As you know, some of my weeks are spent more off campus than on. This week I had a number of opportunities to engage with members of our community. I enjoy learning about the work going on in our community, and sharing what we all do here, and the successes of our students. I couldn’t be prouder. Thank you for all that you do to make our college the pride of our community. Below is a brief recap of the latest news: External Engagement Leadership Eastside Civic Incubator On Tuesday morning, I attended Leadership Eastside’s 2016 Innovation Summit for the Eastside Civic Incubator, as a new steering committee member. I’m looking forward to working with other presidents and CEO’s from private sector businesses, non-profits, public sector organizations, and community/resident representatives. Thank you to Kenneth Young and Shawn Sullivan for participating with me in this opening session. I will keep you posted on this one-of-a-kind process, that will result in community members coming together to engage and tackle some of our toughest challenges (transportation, education, housing, etc.). LWTech has been a proud supporter of Leadership Eastside for a number of years. Kirkland Business Roundtable Presentation/3rd Annual Totem Lake Symposium On Wednesday, I presented an update on the college at the Kirkland Business Roundtable. This meeting was combined with the 3rd annual Totem Lake Symposium that highlighted the following private sector changes in the Totem Lake area since 2012: Manufacturing, Gaming, Retailing, and Housing. Membership of the Roundtable is comprised of leaders from the following industries: Information Technology, Gaming, Engineering, Retail, Hospitality, Telecommunications, Health, Manufacturing, Education, Finance, Public Utility, Business, Arts,...
by Kukuk Jacob | Apr 8, 2016 | Amy's Update
Dear Colleagues, Welcome to Spring quarter! As you know this is a busy time of year as our students enter into the final quarter of the academic year. For those of you who enjoyed some time off over spring break, I hope you relaxed and were able to recharge. Below is a brief recap of the latest news: College Community Board of Trustees Meeting On Monday morning, the Board of Trustees met for their monthly meeting. The Board received updates on all areas of the College as well as an update about the legislative special session and budget outcome. The Trustees heard from Dr. Ruby Hayden and Dr. Elliot Stern, who presented a Completion Progress Report, and Cathy Copeland who updated the Trustees on Student Achievement and Guided Pathways Grant Application. The Trustees also recognized our two All-Washington Academic Team members, Marc Allen and Tiffany Ruiz with a Resolution in recognition of being named to the team. Photographed left-to right: Trustee, Darrell Mitsunaga, me, students Marc Allen and Tiffany Ruiz, Trustees Bruce Reid, Dr. Lynette Jones, and Anne Hamilton. As a reminder, all Board of Trustees meetings are open to the public, and the college community is always welcome. Please note that the next meeting will take place during the workday on Monday, May 2nd from 2:00p.m. – 4:00p.m. in W305A. External Engagement Currently, I’m at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) conference until Monday. This morning I attended the AACC Workforce and Economic Development Commission meeting. As a Commissioner, I am part of a group of presidents and other college and industry representatives who are keeping track of community college...
by Kukuk Jacob | Mar 31, 2016 | Uncategorized
Dear Colleagues, This morning, I had the honor of being a panelist at the annual League of Education Voters Foundation breakfast in Seattle. More than 400 invited guests and members of the media attended. I was joined on the panel by Mike Sotelo, founder of Consolidar and co-founder of the Combined Ethnic Chamber, and Will Sarett, director of NewTech Skill Center in Spokane. The panel was moderated by Colleen McAleer, president of the Washington Business Alliance. The discussion focused on the number of career possibilities for our children and how important it is to match those skills and interests with today’s workforce. I appreciated the opportunity to talk about how we can bridge the skills gap and how important our community and technical colleges are to this process. As part of being a panelist, Leslie Cohan and I wrote an OpEd article about bridging the skill gap that will be included in an upcoming issue of the Puget Sound Business Journal. Thank you to Terry Byington, Leslie Cohan, Dr. Elliot Stern, Dr. Kim Infinger and Sally Heilstedt for joining me at the event. Below is a recap of latest college news: External Engagement Legislative Update The Legislature has reached a budget agreement. There are cuts to the community and technical college system, as we anticipated, to the tune of nearly $23M. Executive Cabinet including Vice President Bill Thomas and his team are working to sort out the impacts to our college next year. Executive Cabinet will continue to meet over the next few weeks to better understand the supplemental budget, its impact on our...
by Kukuk Jacob | Mar 25, 2016 | Amy's Update
Dear Colleagues, This week, I attended the Washington Women in Need (WWIN), Women of Courage Luncheon along with Katie Viola, Kaytlyn Hoch and Maret Carrillo. WWIN’s healthcare and education grants help women who live below the poverty line. It was such an incredibly moving experience to hear from the grant recipients and how much their lives have changed because of the support they receive from the program. I can’t help but make a connection between LWTech and WWIN. According to the WWIN website, more than 460,000 women in Washington live below the Federal Poverty Level and 37 percent of female-headed households with children in our state live below the Federal Poverty Level. According to the SBCTC, our system is 56 percent female and 42 percent of our students receive need-based financial aid in eligible programs. Our programs, like WWIN’s grants, not only help the women who receive grants, but their entire families. The support that we all provide here through our Early Learning Center, Basic Food Employment and Training (BFET), Financial Aid, WorkFirst, LWTech Foundation scholarships, and so much more, make education possible for so many. I couldn’t be more proud to work with all of you each day. Thank you for all you do each day. Below is a recap of latest news: External Engagement Legislative Update and Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges (WACTC) Meeting As you know, the legislature is still in special session. As I mentioned in last week’s Amy’s Update, I don’t have any new information. Yesterday and today, I’m in Olympia for a Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges (WACTC) Meeting. The majority of this...
by Kukuk Jacob | Mar 18, 2016 | Amy's Update
Dear Colleagues, It’s hard to believe that we’re in the final full week of Winter quarter. It’s been a busy few months on and off campus for so many of us. Thank you for all of your hard work this quarter and every quarter, especially as we all do our part to increase enrollments and completion rates. For those of you who are planning to take some time off in-between quarters, I hope you have a great break. I appreciate all you’re doing each and every day. Thank you! Below is a recap of latest news: External Engagement Legislative Update As you know, the legislature went into a special session last Friday. At this point, I don’t have any new information other than budget talks are continuing with little expectation that there will be a budget resolution prior to Easter. I will update you as soon as I learn more. Seattle Goodwill Board Meeting Wednesday, I attended the Seattle Goodwill Board meeting. As I’ve mentioned in previous Updates, I’m pleased to serve on the Seattle Goodwill board with business leaders from around the Seattle area. The job training and education mission of Seattle Goodwill is similar to our mission, and we have found some positive ways of working together to bring job training and workforce education programs to underserved students in our community. Kirkland Police Chief Panel Yesterday, I was invited to join a panel composed of Kirkland community leaders as we heard from the three finalists for the Kirkland Police Chief position. Our college has enjoyed a special partnership for many years with KPD, which has contributed to our stellar safety...
by Kukuk Jacob | Mar 11, 2016 | Amy's Update
Dear Colleagues, This week, as one of the most important responsibilities of our Board of Trustees (Trustees), and as part of their governance of the college, the Trustees granted tenure to three faculty members who have been on the tenure track for the past three years: James Hicks (Auto Collision and Repair), Karen Holum (Multimedia Design and Production), and Andrew Short (Engineering Graphics). Each has made great contributions toward program enhancement and to the college community as a whole. These candidates have shown their dedication to student success by taking an innovative approach to helping our students grasp their full potential, and have worked to grow and advance their departments by developing long-lasting industry relationships. These innovative thought leaders have exemplified what it means to truly make a difference in the lives of our students. I am so pleased to see these candidates be granted tenure as they were among the first tenure track faculty Dr. McCarthy and I hired nearly three years ago. How time flies! Thank you to the members of the Tenure Review Committees, Dr. Elliot Stern, Dr. Suzy Ames, and Kenneth Young for your time and thoughtful review of this year’s candidates. Please join me in congratulating our newest tenured faculty members. Pictured left-to-right Back row: Trustees, Darrell Mitsunaga, Bruce Reid, Dr. Lynette Jones, me, Neil Johnson. Front row: James Hicks, Karen Holum, and Andrew Short There were many activities on and off our campuses this week, below is a recap of latest news: External Engagement Tour with King County Councilmember, Claudia Balducci On Monday morning, Terry Byington...
by Kukuk Jacob | Mar 4, 2016 | Amy's Update
Dear Colleagues, On Tuesday, we held our annual open house on our Kirkland campus. Months of work went into this recruitment and engagement event, and you could tell (see photos below). Even in the wind and rain storm, our campus looked fantastic, as members of the community visited the college. Thank you to the members of the planning committee: Jaime Sterio, Chris Harter, Lynne Szymanski, Krystal Blaire, Amber Hisatake, Casey Melnrick, Sheila Walton, Sara Linnertz, Kimberly Goddard, Leslie Cohan, Mary Powers, Priyanka Pant, Allen Levine, Dr. Suzy Ames, and Demetrius Gloster. Thank you to the Facilities and Security teams, ASG, and the Student Programs team, Sheila Walton, Mark Ward and Vikki Korsunskaya, and all of the fantastic students who shared their experience with our visitors, taking them on tours, showing them projects and answering questions. Thank you also to the countless volunteers, who staffed tables and welcome rooms, directed visitors and supported the event in so many ways. Thank you to everyone who handed out a flyer, visited a K-12 school promoting the event, and personally invited and provided tours to visitors. Every little bit helps as we continue to focus on increasing enrollments and awareness. Thank you! Here’s a recap of latest news: External Engagement NWCCU Workshop and Meetings On Monday, Drs. Elliot Stern and Ruby Hayden, along with Sally Heilstedt, and Cheyenne Roduin attended a workshop on crafting our seven-year self-study for accreditation. While our visit is not until the Fall of 2019, we have work to do to prepare. Specifically, we need to use these next few years to: Ensure we have 100%...
by Kukuk Jacob | Feb 26, 2016 | Amy's Update
Dear Colleagues, As you’ll see below, we will be launching the 2016 Employee Satisfaction Survey next week. Your honest and anonymous feedback is imperative to the success of the work we do here together. I encourage you to participate, and I look forward to reading and learning more from the results later this spring. Thank you in advance for your thought and consideration. Here’s a recap of latest college news: External Engagement Legislative Town Hall Meeting Last Saturday morning, we hosted the 45th District Legislative Open Forum on our Kirkland campus. Senator Andy Hill and Representatives Roger Goodman and Larry Springer took questions from the more than 100 people in attendance. Thank you Terry Byington for your work coordinating the Forum, and Jim Howe and Leslie Cohan for attending. See photo below of Jim asking a question of the Senator and Representatives. Meetings with Representatives in Olympia and the Washington Association of Community and Technical College (WACTC) Presidents Meeting I’m in Olympia this week, (yesterday and today) for the monthly WACTC meeting, and to meet with Senators Andy Hill, Rosemary McAuliffe, and Bob Hasagawa along with Terry Byington, Jim Howe and Judy Mattson. In addition, Terry, Jim and Judy dropped off an invitation to our open house, information about the college, and handmade LWTech chocolates created by Janet Waters and the Baking Arts students, to the other legislators in our district. Although we don’t anticipate any financial support for our system as an outcome of this short session, these meetings are still very important for raising awareness about the needs of our system....
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