Dr. Thomas Greene
October 2018 Message
Dear ARC Colleagues,
I hope you are doing well and had a good start to the fall semester.
I'm sure many of you are aware of the hateful graffiti that was discovered at Sacramento City College this week. We stand in solidarity with our Sac City colleagues and send them our support. We also know that SCC is not the only college or location to experience an incident of hateful graffiti; unfortunately incidents like these are on the rise nationwide. Incidents like this remind us why we place equity and social justice as core values. Perhaps in the past that kind of speech was simply cleaned or removed. We recognize that such speech can have hurtful impacts beyond that remote location and can cause fear and anger, particularly for those who are the target of such messages. We are committed to being responsive and sensitive if an incident does occur, with a special focus on supporting those impacted. Please report any incident as quickly as possible so we can respond, investigate, and hold responsible parties accountable. Reports can be made to Los Rios Police (916-558-2221) or ARC Equity Officer, Kate Jaques, (916-484-8406). Additionally, students can gain support by visiting the Counseling Center and/or visiting the Hub in the Student Center. Everyone in our community deserves a safe environment free from hate.
I want to call attention to a few campus events I encourage you to consider supporting.
- ARC's Native American Resource Center is holding a silent march on Monday, Oct. 8 from 12noon-1pm from Davies Hall to the HUB to support our indigenous students.
- ARC UNITE is collaborating with the Center for Leadership and Development and UMOJA to host Black Minds Matter, a series of workshops designed to raise consciousness about the issues facing African-American males within higher education. Guest speaker Dr. J. Luke Wood will host the initial live event on Monday, Oct. 8, from 4-7pm in Community Rooms 1 & 2.
- The State Chancellor's Office has designated Oct. 15-19 as Undocumented Student Week of Action. Look for more information on this soon.
- Equity and Inclusion Town Hall on Friday, October 26 at 10AM in the Student Center.
I want to also mention a few things related to our ongoing governance work here at ARC. I want to extend my appreciation to all those working on the college's new governance process. Our councils are fully in the swing of things and their project teams are also moving into action.
There are several ways you can get involved. Our governance website has a lot of good information, including details about our councils and teams. One feature of this site is the monthly Forward Motion, a single-sheet publication designed to give you a quick glimpse at the governance work happening at the college. Then there's IGOR, the college's new Institutional Governance Online Repository, an interactive, user-friendly system that helps you easily find agendas, meeting notes, and more.
I want everyone to stay engaged. We are bringing our shared vision and new strategic plan to life. The college's project teams are currently working on crucial issues, including equity, facilities master planning, wellness, and much more. Please bookmark the governance and IGOR sites to stay informed.
I want to personally invite you to my upcoming "Talk with Thomas" events this fall: Thursday, Oct. 25, 11am-12noon, Science Area Conference Room, and Wednesday, Dec. 5, 3-4pm, Howard Hall Conference Room. Stop by anytime to share your thoughts or ask a question.
There's obviously a lot going on and the pace of our work never seems to slow down. I hope you are able to take time every now and then to take a break and remember to enjoy the journey. We often are so busy doing our work that we forget to take time to stop and celebrate the many little victories along the way.
I appreciate all you are doing for our students. You do crucial work every day and I hope you know how much that work is valued.
Thank you all.