Academic Senate News

Hello colleagues. My name is curry mitchell. I teach English composition, and I am currently serving as your Academic Senate Vice President. I’m new to this role and level of governance. I feel lucky to work with your senate representatives who have made teaching and learning, enrollment management, and community building their core goals for the year.

I see collaboration as a clear hallmark of this Senate. With the efforts of MiraCosta's Native American and Alaskan Native Heritage committee, your Senate faculty have partnered with the Classified Senate and the office of Diversity, Equity, & Accessibility to establish a brand-new annual student scholarship to honor our Native American and Alaskan Native students.

Also, Faculty and Classified Professional leadership are currently planning a Spring FLEX event devoted to building Human Connections on January 19th (look for more info on that coming soon!). And we continue to collaborate across the college with the Faculty Assembly, MCAAF, Associate Student Government, administration, as well as Departments and committees to promote the work and resources that empowers teaching and position students as agents of their learning and educational path.

Email: CMitchell@miracosta.edu
Website: miracosta.edu/governance/academic-senate

We are gearing up for Flex Week Spring 2023 right now and are accepting proposals for workshops. Here is the link to submit a proposal. This year, we're looking for a few people to participate in a new type of session called Hallway Chats. These will be loosely-structured conversations between faculty members. Participants will bring something to share with us in the "hallway" as we exchange ideas and talk teaching. More info can be found in the proposal form!

Please mark your calendar for on January 19th for an event hosted by the Academic Senate, classified senate, and our committee. The theme for the day is Cultivating Human Connection, and the event will take place at the cafeteria. Please look for emails from our amazing Jim Sullivan for more information. All MiraCostans are welcome to attend.

We also launched a new thing called The Vibe. It's a short collection of music, contemplations, articles, and other resources. Check it out here.

The Associated Student Government (ASG) has frequent workgroup meetings ranging from public relations to diversity, equity & inclusion, to law. All are welcome to join and participate. These events can be found on our ASG engage page at: https://miracosta.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/asg

As well, we have created a form to gauge interest in the planning of spring events. Please feel free to share this form with any of those you are connected with! The more the merrier!

Form: https://forms.gle/DbgyyfP8twwRKsGX7

Update from the Salary Advancement Committee:

The Fall applications for Salary Advancement (for FT and Associate faculty) are in the final approval stages. We will have one more deadline of March 1, 2023 to submit courses for Salary Advancement for the 2023-2024 academic year. Don’t wait until the last minute or for our Spring FLEX workshop to get answers. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to SAC Chair, Donny Munshower and he can assist you.

This fall, MiraCosta Online Educators (MOE) has been finalizing and beginning to implement important revisions to its charter and practices which were initiated last spring to center equity-mindedness and anti-racism. MOE has met with VP Denée Pescarmona and with the leads of the renewed MiraCosta Online Mentor program to provide input on issues within MOE’s purview.

The key task ahead for MOE this spring is developing a new Online Education Plan for the college.

MOE meets 2nd and 4th Fridays in OC 1253B and simultaneously via Zoom, and all are welcome to join us.

Faculty Helpers are available to work with you one-on-one on all things online teaching and learning. If you want some help with your class or just want another person to discuss pedagogy, design, accessibility, etc. -- please read on!

Trouble with getting your syllabus to look right? Students won't participate in the discussion board? Can't get things organized? Still, making Canvas or Zoom your friend? Looking for some fresh inspiration?

Whether you need help now or over the upcoming break, connect with a faculty helper now so y'all can collaborate on a short- or long-term plan.

Contact one of the helpers listed below today – or anytime - for a quick question by email or to schedule a Zoom meeting. They are compensated by the college. You can claim Flex for your time working with them. No strings attached! Free to work with them as much or as little as you need! No forms to fill out – just select one from the list below and contact them directly or email Sean Davis (sDavis@miracosta.edu) if you want help being matched up with a helper.

Faculty Helpers:

David Detwiler

ddetwiler@miracosta.edu

International Languages

Pilar Hernandez

phernandez@miracosta.edu

International Languages

Laura Hayek

lhayek@miracosta.edu

Counseling

Katy Bailey

kbailey@miracosta.edu

ESL

Lisa M. Lane

LLane@miracosta.edu

History

Laura Paciorek

lpaciorek@miracosta.edu

Child Development

The Awards Committee is happy to support Erica Duran in her application for the Hayward Award; her application went to the Academic Senate body for a first read on 12/2. While the application is beautifully written, the applicant and committee will seek the guidance of the writing center for polishing touches and the application will return for a second read and senate approval on 12/16. Congratulations Erica!

Associate faculty recognition for semesters of service and a special honorific for associate faculty that have taught at MiraCosta college prior to SURF (2001-2002) are in the works in collaboration with Human Resources. The goal is to honor these faculty at the Spring celebration of excellence.