April 13, 2004

To: Members, Board of Governors, and Statewide Colleagues

From: Mark Drummond, Chancellor

Subject: Update

The System is fortunate to have added some well qualified members to the Board of Governors. There have been six appointments (four new and two reappointments) and more are expected soon. Details about the individuals appointed can be found on the home page of the system office web site. We are planning an orientation process for the newly appointed members that will focus on the districts as well as our system office. I hope you will join me in welcoming the new members, and helping them quickly come up-to-speed with matters important to us all.

The Legislature has now returned from their break, and the Capitol is back in full swing. The budget is foremost on our minds, however there are a number of bills that could effect our system that we need to track and work on to provide the best possible outcome. Here is a general issues update:

• May 3-4 Board of Governors Meeting - at this meeting we will have an opportunity to meet and welcome several of our new BOG members. Also I intend to recommend positions for the Board to consider regarding the various aspects of the 2004-05 budget as well as positions of several bills of great interest. These matters will be discussed at consultation later this week.

• College Visits - David Viar of the CCLC joined me last week in a visit to the Santa Barbara and Ventura Districts. We were well treated, and had good exchanges with trustees, faculty, staff, students and administrators. These visits are valuable because I learn more about the needs of our districts, and also get valuable feedback on how the system office affects those who deliver education to our students. I will continue visit throughout my tenure and if you have not seen me you will before long. Thus far I have visited the San Diego and Imperial Valley area, Riverside and the Inland Empire, Orange County and Santa Barbara and Ventura. Next will be Fresno and Merced. Of course I have frequent opportunity to visit our local colleges and participate in some of their events.

• System Office Review - Note that I prefer to call the operation I am responsible for the "System Office." The label "Chancellor's Office" to me denotes some sort of special mission relating to the Chancellor. My view is that this office exists to serve the needs of all colleges and districts in the State, and that idea should be reflected in the title given the operation. The make-up of the steering committee can be found on the system web site (archive.cccco.edu) using the link found on the right side of the screen. There are progress reports and a process for providing input is available on the web site. My hope is that we complete the study and discuss and finalize the recommendations by the July/August time frame. Further, I hope to implement recommended changes before the end of the calendar year, except for those that require legislation. This is a real opportunity to realign the role and mission of the system office, and I hope you will add your support to the effort.

• Legislation - There is a myriad of legislation that touches on our mission in various ways. My office, the faculty and labor organizations and the CCLC do a good job of tracking all of this, and it is my goal that whenever possible and to the maximum extent possible we all communicate and come to common positions on legislation. Of course all of us cannot agree on everything, but in most cases we see the job of serving students better in the same light. My greatest concern this year (outside of the usual funding worries) relates to inter-segmental issues with the CSU and UC. As you know there are several bills that address various aspects of the transfer relationship, and it is my intention to try and get these bills into a configuration that benefits our students and supports our mission. That will probably be difficult, but my office is working closely with the State Academic Senate and others to try and accomplish the task. If we are successful your support will be needed.

• System Office Governance - We are getting near the end of the process of detailing a bill to give the Board of Governors more authority over budgetary matters (with the System Office) and executive level hiring. This is proving more difficult than I expected, but a bill will be introduced that keeps all authority changes at the System Office level and that does not interfere in any way with existing laws or practices regarding district autonomy. We need to move incrementally towards a legal structure that will empower the Board of Governors to support the System Office operations in a way that accomplishes the goals and work plans that they establish. This is very difficult given the current legal authority of the Board and Chancellor.

• Planning for Fall - Don't forget that next fall the System Office and the CCLC are combining their conferences. We will all meet in Anaheim November 18-20. This will be a great time to share experiences and best practices and will make our fall schedules more efficient by having a single event. Please plan now to attend and think about presenting success stories from your college.

• Chancellor