President/CEO Message

October 25, 2021

Good evening! I apologize for the late message. As many of you may have experienced while on campus today, our servers went down in the afternoon, and I could not complete today's message any sooner. Many thanks to our Informational Technology Services Department, who solved the issue. The Compton College website, MyCompton, internet access, and other college-specific systems are back online.

Over the weekend, I noticed the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice would be hosting a #realcollege Virtual Journey titled "A National Reckoning: Exploring Racial Justice in Higher Ed" on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at noon. This session will focus on how institutions can broaden their practices to be fruitful for students. In addition, the session will explore how faculty can start with their syllabi and other ways to convey wealth justice to students. For more information on the #realcollege Virtual Journey, click here. To register for the webinar, click here.

The President/CEO Message - October 25, 2021, includes COVID-19 information and other campus-related updates.

Compton College COVID-19 Update

Los Angeles County's Daily COVID-19 Data webpage reports 916 newly recorded confirmed cases in Los Angeles County as of 6 p.m. on October 24, 2021. For more information, go to publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/data/. As of October 21, 2021, 79.1% of Los Angeles County residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine; and 71% are fully vaccinated. For detailed vaccine information, including individual city data, go to publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard. Compton College is operating at Level 3 - Moderate Infection Rate according to the Compton CCD Pandemic Outbreak - Emergency Operations Plan.

Fall 2021 Enrollment Update

As of today, October 25, 2021, Compton College has generated 1,,290 FTES for the fall 2021 term. Our fill rate is currently 61%, and our seats filled is 8,999. Click here to view today's enrollment snapshot.

Food Truck Tuesday - Free Hamburgers for Compton College Students

All currently enrolled Compton College students are invited to stop by Lot A and pick up a free hamburger courtesy of the Associated Student Government tomorrow, October 26, 2021. Marolyn's Old Fashioned Burgers will be serving free hamburgers (beef or turkey) with French fries and a soda from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Students must show their Compton College student ID or their fall 2021 class schedule.

Student Survey to Inform Spring 2022 Scheduling

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness is administering a "Student Survey to Inform Spring 2022 Scheduling" to students. Current Compton College students were emailed a link to the online survey via their @compton.edu email accounts. Click here to read a sample of the email. The survey asks students about how they want to take classes (online or in-person), challenges they are experiencing related to their education, and other considerations that may inform how the College offers classes in spring 2022. The deadline to complete the survey has been extended to Friday, November 12, 2021.

Students Encouraged to Apply for Scholarships

The application period for Compton College's 2021-2022 scholarship program is now open, and students are encouraged to submit their scholarship applications through February 28, 2022. The scholarship application is available via MyCompton. A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better and at least six graded units of Compton College coursework are required.

A list of upcoming application workshops is available at www.compton.edu/district/foundation/scholarships. For a list of Compton College scholarships and eligibility criteria, please visit www.compton.edu/district/foundation/On-CampusScholarships.

Update on Compton College Student Housing

As mentioned in the President/CEO Message - September 16, 2021, and the President/CEO Message - October 18, 2021, the California State Legislature passed Senate Bill 169 - Postsecondary education trailer bill. SB 169 establishes a program of one-time grants for the construction of student housing. Compton College has entered into a contract with Gensler, who is working with Compton Community College District, to prepare our funding proposal, which is due by Sunday, October 31, 2021. Today, Gensler provided an update to the Tartar Support Network, and it is my understanding the Tartar Support Network shared some valuable feedback on the proposed student housing project.

As previously mentioned, the proposed student housing will be located in the northeast corner of campus and will be three-four stories and approximately 135,350 square feet. The long-term goal for this project would include 450 beds with about 120 double room units, 80 double suite units, and 50 studio units. Those with dependents will be accommodated by combining a studio unit with shared rooms. Amenity spaces include approximately 38 lounges, 30 shared kitchens, and 18 shared baths for the double room units. We have decided our funding proposal will be for 250 beds for phase 1 of the Compton College Student Housing Project and are requesting approximately $77.2 million. Then in future years, we will submit a proposal for phase 2 funding, which will be for the 200 remaining beds.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will begin to have additional conversations with the Tartar Support Network about the student housing and other issues/concerns that may need to be addressed. If you have any creative input on Compton College Student Housing, please forward your input to kcurry@compton.edu.

Mobile Food Pantry On-Campus - November 9, 2021

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Compton College have partnered together to provide FREE healthy food to our community. Tuesday, November 9, 2021, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., the public is invited to stop by Compton College (enter from Greenleaf Blvd. between Santa Fe Ave. and Long Beach Blvd.) to pick up a box of free food. This is a drive-thru-only event, and no walk-ups are permitted. Due to limited supplies, food will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis. For more information, including upcoming dates, click here.

2022-2023 Compton Community College District Faculty Hires

I have reviewed the recommendations from the Compton College Faculty Prioritization Committee, and the following full-time faculty positions have been approved for the 2022-2023 year:

Anatomy/Biology
Art
History/Ethnic Studies
Sociology
Spanish
Theater

I have also approved the Faculty Prioritization Committee recommendation to hire a full-time Sign Language faculty position for spring 2022. Please note, we will also continue the current recruitment for the Adult Education Guided Pathways Counselor position, which is a mid-year hire for the 2021-2022 year. Today, this decision was discussed during my weekly meeting with the Academic Senate Executive Board, and the written decision was communicated to Dr. Minodora Moldoveanu, President, Compton College Academic Senate. Thank you to everyone that was involved in this process, and a special thank you to the Compton College Faculty Prioritization Committee.

Closing the Loop

I want to provide updates on the following requests and projects.

Website Redesign - The discovery phase of the redesign project continues this week with interviews with key stakeholders including, students, faculty, Classified staff, and managers/supervisors. The vendor chosen for the project, Yoodle, Inc., has provided a Mood Board to kick off the design phase of the project. The Mood Board provides a collage of images, colors, font styles, and design elements that will be incorporated into the final design of the new website. Feedback on the Mood Board should be emailed to hparnock@compton.edu.
Use of the Weight Room by Employees - It was asked at last week's Health, Safety & Parking Committee Meeting when employees would be allowed to use the weight room on campus. We will review the usage schedule for Winter 2022 and ask the Health, Safety & Parking Committee to develop a recommendation regarding access and cleaning/disinfecting protocol at their next meeting.
Holiday Celebrations - Programs and departments wishing to schedule holiday celebrations must submit a Facilities Usage Request and provide a plan on how the group will follow the updated Centers for Disease Control guidelines for Holiday Celebrations. Celebrations should be held outdoors if possible, masks are to be worn unless individuals are eating or drinking, and it is recommended that food be served individually versus potluck style and catered versus cooked by individuals.
As a follow-up to the President/CEO Message - October 4, 2021, the Consultative Council had a follow-up discussion today about establishing the task force to provide a recommendation to me regarding a vaccine incentive for students. During our meeting today, the council agreed that our vaccine incentive for students should be $350 for providing proof of vaccination. The funds for the incentive program would come from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) II. The task force will need to provide recommendations on the implementation and timelines associated with the distribution of the student vaccine incentives. If you have any creative input on the proposed student vaccine incentive, please forward your input to kcurry@compton.edu.

Final Thoughts

One of the most challenging aspects of the President/CEO job is construction and construction management. In the President/CEO Message - September 13, 2021, and the President/CEO Message - September 20, 2021, I discussed the $5.2 million problem with the Physical Education Complex Replacement project. The problem is now closer to $5.83 million. As such, we will have to review all our options as it relates to the additional cost. In the coming weeks, we will revise the Compton CCD Measure C and Measure CC Bond Budgets and follow up with the California State Department of Finance regarding the request we submitted last week for additional funding for the Physical Education Complex project.

Please be safe and have a wonderful week.

Keith Curry, Ed.D.
(preferred pronouns: he/him/his)
President/C.E.O.
Compton College