Glendale Community College

Dr. Viar to Retire at End of June

June marks the final month of Dr. David Viar’s nine-year tenure as superintendent/president of GCC. In recent weeks the college and greater community recognized Dr. Viar’s 45-year career in higher education and his commitment to making Glendale an even better place to live.

Well-wishers packed Plaza Vaquero Wednesday, May 25 for a BBQ honoring Dr. Viar. Thank you to ASGCC, Guild, CSEA, Academic Senate and the Glendale College Foundation for hosting the midday event that featured several speeches acknowledging Dr. Viar’s important contributions to the college. The event concluded with Dr. Viar himself addressing the audience which you can watch here.

Click here to see a photo album of the special gathering.

On Thursday, June 2, the Glendale College Foundation hosted a community reception to thank Dr. Viar for his service and kick off the Bridge to Excellence Campaign to raise $3M to support the facilities created with Measure GC funds. Dr. Viar has agreed to serve as the honorary chairperson of the fundraising effort.

Click here to watch a video that looks back on Dr. Viar’s career and the impact he has had on the Glendale community since his arrival in 2013.

Juneteenth Observed Friday, June 17

The Glendale Community College District will be closed on Friday, June 17 to observe Juneteenth National Independence Day which was enacted into federal law in 2021 to observe the end of slavery in the United States.

Although Abraham Lincoln declared the end of slavery January 1, 1863 with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, it was not until June 19, 1865 that news of the proclamation reached Texas. June 19 has now become the date recognized in annual commemorations as the ending of slavery.

Although, Juneteenth is not recognized as a state holiday in California, the GCC Board of Trustees unanimously voted in December to approve a local holiday that will be included in the Academic and College Calendar in future years. This year, June 19 falls on a Sunday, therefore the holiday is being observed the preceding Friday with no loss of state funding.

Commencement Ceremony Returns

For the first time in three years GCC graduates will walk the stage on Sartoris Field to receive their diplomas during commencement ceremonies. More than 500 graduates representing the Classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 will participate in the ceremony set for 7pm on Wednesday, June 15.

This year’s event will be live streamed on the GCC YouTube Channel so family and friends can watch from anywhere in the world.

GCC Employees Included in Workforce Housing Opportunity

Some employees of Glendale Community College may be eligible to participate in the City of Glendale’s new Workforce Housing Opportunity program. In May, the City announced a plan to convert five multi-family properties in an effort to increase the amount of workforce housing in Glendale.  As part of the deal, GCC staff and faculty are included in three groups who will receive priority at three of the multi-family properties. 

Households that fall within 80-120% of the area median income will receive discounted rent. Click here to read the City’s announcement and for contact information for the three properties. If you have more questions, contact Mike Fortney, Principal Housing Project Manager at the City of Glendale at mfortney@glendalece.gov or (818) 548-3723.

Phishing Emails: What You Can Do

Phishing is the biggest threat to our college computer network. These email attacks can take many forms, but they all share a common goal – getting you to share sensitive information, such as login credentials.

Although ITS maintain security controls to help protect our networks and computers from cyber threats, we rely on you as our first line of defense.

To avoid becoming a victim, please observe the following email best practices:

• Do not click on links or attachments from senders that you do not recognize
• Do not provide sensitive personal information (like usernames and passwords)
• Do not try to open any shared document that you're not expecting to receive
• If you can't tell if an email is legitimate or not, don't hesitate to get in touch with the helpdesk
• Be especially cautious when opening attachments or clicking links if you receive an email containing the [EXTERNAL] tag in the subject line

ITS has created a webpage dedicated to cybersecurity, where you may find more helpful information here.
 
Thank you for helping to keep our network and our people safe from these cyber threats.

Garfield Parking Lot Nears Completion

Crews have laid the asphalt and will begin painting stripes on the new expanded parking lot surrounding the Garfield Campus. The 253 new parking spaces are expected to significantly reduce the number of cars circling the neighborhood looking for a place to park. Three new modular buildings are also expected to be delivered and installed before the end of the month.

For updates on the various construction projects on campus, go to glendale.edu/campusprojects.

Verdugo Gym Ribbon Cutting

You are invited to
Glendale Community College's
Kinesiology and Vaquero Athletic Complex
Ribbon Cutting

Friday, June 24, 2022
10:00 am - 12:00 pm

RSVP by Friday, June 10
to Rubina@glendale.edu or 818-409-5552

Free Parking Available in Lot C
Tram Service Available to the Ribbon Cutting Site

Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Recipient

GCC student Rishi Lakhnori was selected to receive the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Rishi, a graduate of Arcadia High School, was an inspirational tutor and mentor in GCC English instructor Cynthia Flores' courses. When he's not delivering meals through the Chino Hills Hindu Temple or serving as an ASGCC senator, he is an Argonne National Laboratory Research Intern, where he has helped improve website functionality and aided in research. His plans include a stint as a NASA SIRI Research Intern and participation in the NASA Mission Concept Academy (MCA).

“GCC’s small class sizes as well as the small student population (especially in the STEM department) was a significant factor that made me choose GCC over the other community colleges I was considering,” Rishi said of attending GCC. He credits Cynthia Flores for much of his success.

Rishi’s major is Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. On receiving the scholarship, he said “I feel honored, and honestly quite shocked, that I was selected as a finalist for this scholarship! This scholarship will allow me to attend any four-year institution of my choice without thinking about the cost of attendance, which is something that alleviated a lot of my stress regarding transferring.”

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation named 100 high-achieving community college students as recipients of the prestigious Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The highly competitive national scholarship provides transfer students with up to $55,000 a year to complete their bachelor’s degrees. Click here to find out more about the scholarship program.