There were a few issues of interest discussed at the Senate this week. A group is working on a new tool, the :Instructional Showcase”, which will make it easier for faculty to advertise events. The goal is to create a form which can be submitted with information about upcoming events, which would then be automatically routed to the appropriate places for advertising, flier creation, or other such publicization options. Faculty input on the tool is requested; please email Jack Kahn, dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences, if interested.
Ian Ruskin will be speaking at Political Economy Days this Wednesday (April 6) at 2:00 pm at the Brubeck theater.
The Senate heard a presentation on Palomar’s involvement in the use of block grants meant to support expansion of adult education programs. These grants are provided to a consortium of local school districts and Palomar College, and are intended to support provision of basic skills and ESL classes, transfers to colleges and workforce, and other related functions. Palomar faculty will be involved in developing curriculum and training those who will be offering the classes, and the program is seeking volunteers (who would be paid via NOHE) for curriculum development over the summer. Some concern was expressed at the fact that this program seems to have begun with effectively no faculty input, despite the fact that it involves development of curriculum by Palomar faculty to be used at other institutions.
The Senate held an election for a new Senate president; Travis Ritt will begin serving in that capacity on May 9.
The Senate also held an election to determine which of the faculty who have volunteered would be appointed to serve on the selection committee for the Superintendent/President position. All divisions except CTEE (SBS, MNHS, AMBCS, L&L, and Counseling) put forth volunteers for the six available positions. The Senate elected to appoint three representatives from SBS, and one each from MNHS, L&L, and AMBCS.
As always, please let me know if there are any issues you’d like me to bring forward to the Senate!
-Richard Albistegui-DuBois