Glendale Community College
Home MenuSeptember 2023 • glendale.edu/StayingConnected
President's Corner
Hello and welcome to the September Staying Connected newsletter. Beginning this month, we are introducing a new feature called President’s Corner where I will share quick updates on some of the items passing through the President’s Office and being addressed by the Board of Trustees.
We could fill an entirely separate newsletter with the amount of updates that occur each month but in the spirit of respecting your time, we will keep it to short bullet points with links for items that have more details. This is a work in progress, so expect some changes as we fine tune the format. Our goal remains to keep you informed about all the good work happening in our district.
- The Fall semester is off to a strong start with enrollment in credit classes up more than 11% from Fall 2022. Continuing Education courses at Garfield are on pace to do even better. If you missed my welcome email to all GCC employees, here’s a link to read the message.
- The Caring Campus project is perfect for GCC, because it fits with who we are and our dedication to serving students. Caring Campus will empower Classified Professionals who are leaders at GCC design our campus strategies. This will assist us all in better serving our students and in promoting change through the brilliance of those working in our offices. Caring Campus focuses on core strategies to support student belonging.
- Ten Foot Rule: Whenever a student is within 10’ and seems to need assistance take the initiative to approach them.
- Nametags: Wear name badges or lanyards with the college name on them so that students will know who to approach with questions.
- Cross-Department Awareness: Learn about other departments so you know where to send students. Maintain accurate and up-to-date detailed directories.
- Warm Referrals: Call ahead or walk student to the office they need to get to. Follow up to ensure the student got there.
- First Week Greetings: During the first week of classes set up information tables and meet students in the parking lot, welcome students to the college.
- With the support of Senator Portantino, GCC has received $4.5 million from the state to launch its new Virtual Reality Center. The College is partnering with Dreamscape Learn. The VC Center will be the first Dreamscape Learn on the west coast and the first for any community college in the country. The center will include a 32-student lab as well as free roam fully haptic VR pod. The center will allow faculty to develop novel VR experiences for their classrooms, host professionally designed courseware, and support outreach and recruitment with the community and with our GUSD partners.
- Board of Trustees Updates
- The Board approved its Focus Areas for the College prioritizing restoring student access, enhancing student equity and success, and maintaining financial stability. (Link)
- The Board approved the 2023-2024 final budget at its September meeting (Link)
- The Board approved Resolution 06-2023-2024 Supporting Artsakh and Calling for a Peaceful End to the Current Blockade. (link)
- Received approved a Memorandum of Understanding – Yerevan State University, Armenia and Glendale Community College. (link)
- Fall sports are in full swing and this year a really big fan has been working up the crowds at Sartoris Field. Meet Cinco, our new mascot who will become a familiar sight during special events at GCC.
- President Office Hours are back. Mark your calendars for the upcoming dates.
- Tuesday, September 19 at 12:30 p.m. on the Garfield Campus
- Thursday, October 19 at 4:30 p.m. on the Verdugo Campus
- Tuesday, October 24 at 4:30 p.m. hosted remote by Zoom
Welcome Events Kick Off Fall Semester
The Garfield and Verdugo campuses hosted in-person welcome events on August 24. The Garfield Welcome Day included information sessions, resource fair, student IDs and giveaways. Check out photos from Garfield's Welcome Day here!
The Welcome Fair featured workshops for new students, resource fair, financial aid support, campus tours, textbooks, student IDs and Vaquero spirit pack.
Check out highlights from the Welcome Fair here or by clicking the image below!
GCC in the News
Take a look at GCC at night and from above! KCAL News’ recent "Look at This!" segment featured an aerial view of the campus along with commentary from reporter Desmond Shaw. This all came about because Barbara Falkowski, GCC planetarium technician and instructor of astronomy and physics, sent in a viewer suggestion that led to the beautiful night view of the Verdugo Campus. “Look at This!” is a regular feature on KCAL News highlighting L.A. area points of interest as seen from a helicopter. Check out the view here.
GCC Welcomes New Foundation Director
A big welcome to Paola Santana, the new Executive Director of the Glendale College Foundation! She is a first generation and community college transfer student who attended GCC and went on to earn a baccalaureate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s in Higher Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Welcome to the GCC Family!
The new academic year often brings a few new faces. Click to see a list of the managers and classified employees who have joined the GCC family over the past 13 months.New Eatery on Campus
The Great White Hut, formerly located across the street on Canada Blvd., is now open on the Verdugo Campus in the space previously occupied by the Milky Way Café. Starbucks reopened in the Learning Commons on Sept. 11. Find current hours for the Hut, Starbucks and other food options at glendale.edu/food. Find vending machine locations on the 3D map here.
Updates from the PDC
- The Professional Development Center (PDC) has just been awarded an $80,000 subrecipient grant in partnership with California Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC). The U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST, Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program supports the use of subrecipient agreements to draw on partner expertise to better serve manufacturers, expanding the capability and capacity of the CMTC in fulfilling the requirements of the MEP Cooperative Agreement. The intent is to deliver seamless MEP services statewide through California’s Manufacturing Network, managed by CMTC. Through this partnership the PDC is contracted by the CMTC to provide services to emerging and existing manufacturers and provide services which further advance manufacturing in California.
- The PDC went before the Employment Training Panel (ETP) of California board in June and was awarded funding for a $599,370 training contract. This will be PDC’s 44th performance-based contract with ETP. PDC has an exceptional track record of 100% successful completion rate for all previous contracts including the COVID Pilot Project contract that was completed this year. PDC continues to be the leader among other community colleges in providing stellar state-funded training and upskilling of employees.
Financial Aid Office Introduces New Cost Calculator
GCC rolled out a new net price calculator (NPC) so that prospective and current students can understand what it will cost to attend GCC after factoring in aid. Students will enter in basic information like their state of residency, income and GPA and they will be able to see all the aid they will get from GCC alongside the price they will pay. Required by the federal government, most schools have an NPC that isn't very user friendly or accurate and acts only as a compliance tool; and until recently this was true for GCC too. The Financial Aid Office worked with Meadow to customize a new NPC so that each student gets a highly personalized estimate in under five minutes. It is mobile first and available in both English and Spanish. If any student has questions about what it costs to come to GCC, send them here.
Questions about the NPC? Contact Christina Tangalakis: ctangalakis@glendale.edu.
Theatre Arts Program Changes Lives
Watch the videos below to hear GCC Theatre Arts students David Pumphrey and Grace Temblador share their stories of how the program has impacted their lives.
GCC Theatre Arts student David Pumphrey incorporates his own story into his performance.
GCC Theatre Arts student Grace Temblador thrives behind the scenes.
Organic Chemistry Research Students Present at ACS
Eight organic chemistry research students presented their original research at the American Chemical Society (ACS) 2023 meeting held in August in San Francisco. The GCC students were from one of only two community colleges to present their research findings at the prestigious meeting. They are students of chemistry professor Asmik Oganesyan who established the Organic Chemistry Independent Research Program at GCC. She said of the program and ACS experience, “the group of eight organic chemistry enthusiasts took on a task of investigating the effects of very important concepts of organic chemistry on actual reaction outcomes. During five weeks, they worked tirelessly to research the literature, perform reactions, fail and learn from their failures, present their data and most importantly, to be unbiased scientists. They also learned how to set a goal for a dream job and apply to it through mock interviews. Since completion of the program, they presented several times college wide, but the culmination of their success was the presentation of their results at the national American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco on August 13. They did an excellent job presenting their poster, networking with other researchers, and recognizing how smart they are.”
The research students who participated are:
Alec Baghdasarians, Karina Kacher-Glynne, Evan Hoyle, Griffin Morals, Connie Karanovic, Karina Arutunyan, Emily Boghozian, Noah Zamandy-Saad
Asmik was recognized in June with the 2022-23 Teacher-Scholar Award from the Silicon Valley Section of the ACS. Read the Glendale News Press article here.
She will be presenting “Praising the Promise: 13 years of Transformative Undergraduate Research at Community College” for the Science Lecture Series on September 26.
GCC Art Instructor's Work Exhibited in Nevada
Title: Enjoyment
Title: When Your Limit is the Sky I'm on Another Planet and You Just Fly
The exhibit had a previous run at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles in 2021 and was profiled in the L.A. Times article here.
The exhibition will also make its way to GCC in the future!
Connecting with...Mike Eberts
Mike Eberts, Associate Professor of Mass Communications, is a longtime bike commuter with extensive knowledge of local history, including GCC history. You can find his article on the early years of the college here.
Where did you grow up?
I’m a native Angeleno, with my early years spent in East Hollywood on Normandie Avenue in a 1920s duplex that looked a little like a castle. The neighborhood was home to Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes workers back when the studios really were film factories. My grandfather, grandmother, uncle and cousin all worked to some degree in The Industry. After I finished high school, my Uncle Al (who also bought me my first 10-speed bike) offered to get me a job in the Paramount mailroom, a classic starter job. I thanked him, but said I wanted to go to college.
I have spent my adult years—which are now quite a few—in Los Feliz. My partner (Nancy) puts up with me and my son (Albert) doesn’t ignore me, so I’m a lucky guy.
Why did you choose to work at GCC?
I am a first-generation student who started at a community college, where I got a D (deservedly) in my first class. I point this fact out to students who think getting less than an A will cause a meltdown similar to what happened to the wicked witch in Wizard of Oz.
Eventually, I became a halfway decent student ready for a university (Cal State L.A., followed by a doctoral program at USC). So, I know that community colleges change lives.
Besides, GCC is a great place to be a bicycle commuter—if you don’t mind a few hills. I was hired in Fall 1987 and began bicycle commuting in Spring 1988. I’ve never stopped… and have lived to tell the tale.
Do you have a favorite memory working at GCC?
I can’t say it’s a favorite memory, but somebody should make a movie about March 2020 when—some way, somehow—we were given the challenge of going remote in the middle of the semester. Jittery teachers—many of whom had never taught online--met in emergency sessions on campus. I am still amazed that we pulled it off.
Do you have a favorite part of the GCC campus?
I’m drawn to the track and athletic field. In addition to the classic Southern California backdrop of hills and mountains, it’s where we hold graduations, sending our students on to other challenges. It’s where three large helicopters landed when President Clinton spoke on campus in 1996, blowing all the cinders off the track. And it’s where the Rose Bowl bands and drill teams practice right before their big day. By the way, that’s a great (and free) show.
I also have a personal connection to that part of campus. Around 20 years ago, I got into running by taking a PE class with a former GCC track coach. Maybe it’s inevitable that I’m willing to hold summer On-Track Thursdays.
We’ve got Zoom meetings, asynchronous “meetings,” classroom meetings, office meetings and more. I think there’s room for a mini-modality where an instructor can meet with students, colleagues and others while walking around our beautiful track. After all, Aristotle walked with his students at the Lyceum.
Note: Fall semester On-Track Mondays start at 11 a.m. Meet Mike at the scoreboard!
What about your job makes you proud?
It’s always great to hear that a former student has surpassed me. Over the last several years, I have found out that one has become a well-regarded novelist, another is a television news director, and a third became a school district trustee.
What things about you might surprise your co-workers?
I struggle with forms that ask “Race or Ethnicity (pick one).” One side of my family is Southern California Latino and the other side is White Midwestern.
It might also be surprising that I come from a baseball family. My dad was second team all-city shortstop at L.A.’s Belmont High. My cousin was a fine infielder who once got two hits off Don Drysdale in a showdown between Hollywood and Van Nuys. And my uncle turned down a minor league contract to play for Paramount’s semipro team, which led to a career as a film cutter (one of the first Latinos to hold that position). Me? Lousy hand-eye coordination and fear of getting hit (it’s called hardball for a reason) limited me to collecting baseball cards and a teenage job as a scorecard vendor at Dodger Stadium.
Other interests, hobbies, career achievements?
Griffith Park is a big part of my life. I’m in the park nearly every day. I wrote the park’s centennial history almost 30 years ago. I serve on a trust that grants money for park projects that cannot find other funding. I’m looking forward to giving talks about the park’s history when L.A. gets the Summer Olympics (For the third time!) in 2028.
A person who inspires you?
I’m reading Barack Obama’s A Promised Land. He shows that you don’t have to be a scary, fist-pounding zealot to affect change. Intellect, idealism, persistence, willingness to listen and a certain amount of pragmatism are more likely to win the day… as much as it can be won.
Favorite movies/TV Shows?
It’s funny how those TV shows that were important to you long ago never leave you. This summer I was at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and came across the gravesite of Don Adams, AKA Maxwell Smart. The tombstone has him in character, talking into his shoe phone. It was strangely moving because Get Smart was part of my childhood. I’m still not sure if I was paying my respects to Don or Max—but maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be.
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