All College Employee Meeting Kicks Off Spring 2021 Semester
Publish Date: Feb. 9, 2021
On Thursday, January 14, Crafton Hills College welcomed back faculty for the Spring
2021 semester at an in-service meeting held via Zoom.An informal 30-minute meet-and-
greet session allowed for staff and faculty to connect while sharing stories and photos
of their animal companions in celebration of the “bring your pet to work day” theme.
College President Dr. Kevin Horan welcomed the group of over 150 and provided an update
on questions that he had received regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, which will be available
to employees during the State’s Phase 1B, Tier 1 distribution plan. He assured the
group that the vaccine will not be mandatory and will be free to employees. Horan
also noted that the Chancellor’s cabinet is following County and State guidelines
in determining when general on-campus instruction and services will resume, perhaps
in summer or fall 2021. A decision is expected by mid-March.
Horan then shared a newspaper clipping highlighting the CHC employee donations of
food for the Redlands Community Hospital staff working in the COVID unit, ICU, and
emergency room, stating that the group raised close to $1,000 to provide lunches for
90 hospital employees.
Horan then encouraged everyone to participate in the One Book One College program
and specifically take advantage of the guest speaker opportunity, which will virtually
bring to campus Oscar Vazquez, one of the four undocumented students featured in the
best selling book Spare Parts, on March 3.
Vice President of Administrative Services Mike Strong provided an update on the campus
projects related to Bond Measure CC followed by a presentation from Dr. Gio Sosa,
Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Research & Planning. Sosa shared preliminary
findings of a web-user study completed in December that will inform improvements to
the website and online tools used to support learning and services.
Next, the team from the most recent USC Alliance e-convening session presented information
on the importance of teaching about race and incorporating race education into the
classroom, which provided a segway to the keynote speaker, Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade,
who spoke about racial justice and equity.
Dr. Duncan-Andrade, an author and professor of Latina/o studies and race and resistance
studies at San Francisco State University, discussed the need for greater equity in
our educational system to overcome traditions that favor the white majority and create
impediments for many minority students. He focused on the importance of understanding
the history and evolution of the educational system as a way to improve our schools.
Duncan- Andrade left the virtual audience with ideas on how we can incorporate equitable
practices to meet the needs of students both individually and as an institution.
