Kenneth D. Yglesias, Ed.D.

I would like to encourage District Office employees to continue to share ideas, thoughts and concerns through the use of the Suggestion Box located near the Quiet Room in the Human Resources Wing.  I will read all of the suggestions and share them with the Vice Chancellors as well as members of the DAM (District Area Management) Committee.

Here is a sampling of some concerns and our feedback. 

• Will the handicap door ever be repaired?  Yes, the facilities staff is working with the vendor and it has taken longer than we would like to get that particular door repaired.  The main entrance handicap door works well at this time. 
• Another colleague asked if the water coming out of the water fountains has been checked as it has a cloudy color.  This item just appeared in the Suggestion Box and we will check into it and give a more definitive response in a future D-Mail.  We do know that the water is safe to drink.
• Another question posed was whether the Benefits’ Office door that leads directly outside should be open.  We have been told that the doors are configured the way they are as a fire suppression measure.  The doors are fire-rated and the heavy weight of the doors, combined with keeping them in a closed position, enables the sprinkler systems to easily contain a fire.  It also enables the heating/cooling energy management system to operate properly.
• There was a suggestion to have designated parking for “Employee of the Month” recognition.  At this time, we do not have an Employee of the Month program but we do have the employee recognition event sponsored by the DAM group yearly.  I have had some discussion with the Vice Chancellors about considering a monthly recognition program.  At the next All-District Staff Meeting, we will ask attendees what they think about this matter. 
• A question was posed about replacing door handles with push bars.  The facilities staff will look into that possibility, with the obvious consideration of cost as a factor, given the difficult state of the budget for community colleges. 
• Another colleague asked a question about the completion of the floor in the small workout room.  The floor is now installed and the room is functional. Please check with Ardith so you can fill out required paperwork before using the facility.

This is only a selection of the kinds of questions and comments posed in the Suggestion Box.  It is not a complete listing of the topics cited by District Office employees.  Please continue to communicate your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.  Thank you for your continued support as we have completed the move to our new District Headquarters.  Your superb efforts to make this a better place to work are deeply appreciated.

Coast Board Elections Update

Dr. Lorraine Prinsky, Area 3 representative-elect CCCD Board of Trustees

On November 4, Trustees Mary Hornbuckle and Jerry Patterson were re-elected to the CCCD Board of Trustees and Lorraine Prinksy was elected to represent Area 3.

“I am really looking forward to a new challenge,” said Prinsky, a Professor of Sociology at California State University, Fullerton for more than 35 years.

Prinsky also stated that “there are so many people that have pinned their hopes on me and I look forward to working with them and my fellow trustees.”

Dr. Kenneth Yglesias said, “I look forward to working together with Dr. Prinsky and all of our board members to continue to provide educational opportunities to our community.”

Shake Down – Getting Ready for the BIG ONE

Coast Community College District will be featured as one of California Community Colleges’ largest participants in the state’s annual Golden Guardian exercise.  This year the exercise will simulate a catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake along the southern portion of the San Andreas Fault – a quake approximately 5,000 times stronger than the 5.4 Chino Hills quake that shook Southern California in July.  Dr. Lucy Jones of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has led a team of over 300 scientists and engineers to study the consequences of this potential earthquake and develop the scenario known as The Great Southern California Shakeout.    

At 10:00 a.m. on Thursday November 13, millions of people in homes, schools, business, and other public places all over Southern California will participate in the drill. The drill will last approximately two minutes and be immediately followed by an evacuation drill.  In addition, to these primary activities, the District will activate its Emergency Operations Center in order to practice coordinating disaster information, Orange Coast College will host a “Mass Care and Shelter” exercise in conjunction with the American Red Cross and the City of Costa Mesa, and Coastline College will host a region-wide “Continuity of Education” exercise at the Garden Grove Center.

As for the real thing, earthquakes occur with no warning, so you are not likely to have an indicator of when to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On.”  According to the USGS, most earthquakes have a sharp jolt a few seconds before the strong shaking.  You should learn to “Drop, Cover, Hold On” immediately upon feeling the jolt, rather than waiting to see if the earthquake will be large.  If it is, it may be too late to protect yourself.  

For more information on The Great Southern California Shakeout, please visit their website at www.shakeout.org.  We encourage you to get your family involved in this drill (your children will likely participate at school) and would like to remind you to take the time to write and/or revise your family’s emergency plan. 

After all, the goal of The Great Southern California Shakeout is to ensure that we are all prepared for the big one!     

The District Commits to Going (Even More) Green!

In 2007, the Coast Community College District signed a commitment to be a part of an unprecedented initiative to lead higher education sustainability efforts.  The American Colleges and Universities Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) challenges schools to eliminate their contributions to global warming and effectively model climate stewardship to the educational community.

Since the initiation of this commitment, Coastline, Golden West, and Orange Coast Colleges have made it a point to prioritize environmental sustainability on their campuses.  “It gave our campuses the wind under their wings to do what we were working toward anyway,” according to Jerry Marchbank, District Environmental Health and Safety/Transportation Manager.  “Long before the commitment our campuses had first rate recycling programs, were dedicated to energy efficient design, and implemented work practices to conserve resources.  Now we have an opportunity to quantify our efforts and then take the next step.”     

The next step on the road to sustainability is to conduct a District-wide greenhouse gas inventory, which will provide each campus and the District office with their “carbon footprint.”  Greenhouse gas is produced by a wide variety of sources, including fertilizer, vehicles, heating & cooling equipment and electricity production.  According to Marchbank, “the process of data collection is extensive and will require the involvement and support of everyone in the District.”  He added, “We have begun collecting information and have an optimistic goal of completing the inventory by the end of January.”

Early next year, our campuses will have a benchmark on which to measure progress, but in the end the ACUPCC is really about taking action to reduce our emissions and putting forth the effort to create a “sustainable culture” on our campuses.

Don't Miss Strikes 4 Scholarships!

On November 15, from 5 to 7 p.m., Coastline will host the first annual Strikes 4 Scholarships bowling event at Fountain Bowl. For only $30 per person (or $125 for a team of 5 people), you'll get two games, shoe rental, pizza, sodas and a chance to win a number of prizes awarded for the winning teams and through raffle opportunities.
           
All proceeds will benefit Coastline students as part of the new California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment Fund, an historic, three-year, matching fund campaign launched by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

To sign up as an individual, as a team of five, or as a sponsor of this exciting event, contact the Foundation office via email or call (714) 241-6154.

Martial arts action star, Fabian Carrillo, visits Coastline

Fabian Carrillo, martial arts legend and star of the soon-to-be-released movie Double Tap, was a guest speaker at Coastline Community College’s “Self-Defense Arts” class on October 8. The class, open to the public as part of Coastline’s fall course offerings, is attended mainly by Newport-Mesa Early College High School students in grades 9 through 11.

Prior to his lecture, the class viewed trailers from two of Fabian’s movies, which included edited outtakes showing how his stunts were choreographed. The topic of his lecture examined how martial arts techniques are used in the movies compared to how they are used in real-life situations.

Course instructor, David Dye—who has worked as one of Fabian’s personal stunt choreographers and as a stuntman on two of his movies—had his class take notes during the lecture and demonstrations as part of their mid-term class project.  Fabian, with the assistance of stuntman and martial artist Paul Hayes, set up an impromptu scenario using martial arts stunts for the class to see at two different angles, one from how the camera films the scene and one from how the movie goers would see it in the theaters. At the conclusion of the lecture and demonstrations, there was a question and answer session for the students. Betty Disney, Dean of the Costa Mesa Campus of Coastline College, was also in attendance during Fabian’s lecture and demonstration.

Course instructor David Dye has over 47 years of martial arts training experience and served 34 years as a law enforcement officer for the City of Costa Mesa. “It is a Physical Education course designed to introduce students to the martial arts of Aikido, Judo, Jujutsu, Karate Jutsu and the ancient Hawaiian martial art of Kaihewalu Lua,” he stated. Fabian Carrillo has been training with his instructor, Sensei David Dye of the Shuyokan Dojo (located in City of Costa Mesa) since 1991 and holds a black belt ranking in Shuyokan Ryu Aikijutsu.

For information on next semester’s course offerings in Self-Defense Arts, contact Coastline’s Costa Mesa Center at (714) 241-6213.