The full HACC Board of Trustees meeting schedule for 2021 can be found on the Shared Governance Center.
The Board public speaking request form can be accessed by clicking here.
From the Desk of the President
Greetings, colleagues!
In 2020, we navigated a One-College reorganization, a worldwide pandemic, an economic recession and racial unrest, while upholding our capacity to change lives, destinies and family trees.
As the year comes to an end and we continue to try to make sense of these exceptional times, I want to express my gratitude to each of you. You have demonstrated adaptability, creativity, empathy, perseverance, resilience, resolve, sacrifice and support for each other and, most especially, our students.
Over the past nine months, we have also learned a lot about ourselves, our ability to overcome inconceivable challenges and what it takes to strengthen us individually and collectively. For me, I learned to:
Listen and communicate more by attending numerous events hosted by all four of our constituency groups.
Admire the selfless dedication of so many of you in supporting the needs of our students and each other.
Respect members of my Cabinet in new ways in seeing first-hand how they selflessly supported you and your needs in and out of the classroom.
In my recent meetings with colleagues, when I asked them what they learned over the fall semester, they mentioned some of the following lessons:
“We benefited from peer conversations about what worked and didn’t work in our remote environment and made appropriate corrections, when necessary”
“It became OK to live with uncertainty and, at times, to let go. Let me be clear, at times”
“Regular communication in emails and zooms sessions were very helpful. Many of us said it helped us feel more connected and not so alone”
“I experienced kindnesses from colleagues we did not know”
“I learned that I have nothing to complain about after better understanding the numerous personal and professional challenges many of my students have to deal with on a daily basis”
“I learned to be more understanding and less negative. Thanks to my students who pointed out my (at times) negative attitude, I was able to reprogram myself to see all that was good about the College and my life. I truly learned more from my students this term than ever before”
“We learned to use technology in new and creative ways…which I never thought possible”
“We learned new ways to stay connected with our employees and peers”
“We are in this together – no matter if we are a student or an employee – we will come out the other end better than we ever imagined. In fact, I learned how to reconnect with myself, my family and my friends and realized how distant I became from all of them”
“I learned to give myself permission (without guilt) to unplug because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be good for anyone”
Even though we will remain remote for at least the next eight months, I remain confident that we will get through these uncertain times by continuing to work together, look out for each other and lift each other up. As a vaccine becomes available, hopeful news of promise, possibilities and opportunities await us for the coming year. With this in mind, I remain confident that we will rise to the occasion together in the spring 2021 semester to build a stronger, better and more empathetic HACC.
Please remain vigilant with your health and safety while on break. Thank you and happy holidays!
Books I've Read or Currently Reading
Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.
Family in Six Tones: A refugee mother, an American daughter, Lan Cao and Harlan Van Cao
Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck
Outrages: Sex, Censorship and the Criminalization of Love, Naomi Wolf
The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket, Benjamin Lorr
Air, Ibi Zoboi
Franklin and Washington, Edward Larson