Faculty Returns to the Campus

The first day back was a mixture of serious and silly. We listened to the interim president of our college tell about her husband's favorite football team, Pittsburgh Steelers, and how everyone who works for that institution, from the janitors to the administrators, when asked what is their job, answers, "To win football games!" She challeneged us that our job is to make sure that "students are successful."

Our Video Gaming department gave us a demonstration of the animation game they created this summer, so throughout the morning they called up instructors in groups of two to play the game, competing with each other for best score (see photo). It was crazy fun to watch these professionals instantly playing. Of course one of our math guys earned the highest score (he obviously has spent some time playing video games).

Mid-morning the district chancellor stopped in to speak to us, to challenge us, to encourage us (see photo). He wants us to know that we are now going to side-step the governor of California, the wretched budget and financial cuts to community colleges, and we are going to begin to ask the folks in our region to give -- so fund raising is basically what he is proposing. He told us that an outside firm has surveyed the citizens of this region and the district has a 87% approval rate, which they claim is unheard of. Also 91% of that same surveyed group said they'd reach into their pockets to help fund the programs of the institution. So the chancellor is excited.

Everyone had lunch together and then the afternoon brought a selection of workshops. I attended the session on Blackboard 9.1 which is the newest system we'll be using to teach our online courses, and since I teach my classes in a hybrid form, I meet students one day a week and the rest of the time I meet them in cyberspace, I decided to attend that workshop.

Now that classes are about to begin the summer temperatures are arriving. The high here today was a hot, hot, hot 97 degrees. Dressing professional and walking several times across the sweltering campus was not a favorite moment.

AND my office -- I am so glad I held my tongue when I saw the mess the other day because one of the male professors just let it rip about the devastation we have walked back into at just the moment we need to be focusing on starting classes. Lots of apologies from administrators today about the office situation. Twice today I walked into my office to be greeted by a workman inside--that felt weird. I quickly decided that getting something accomplished there would be impossible. Oh the fun!

So that's the news here. Good night from a warm Southern California.
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol