President/CEO Message

April 5, 2021

Last Friday, I was so tired that when my last of eight zoom meetings ended, I went directly to sleep. I am so looking forward to the campuswide Zoom Free day. Hopefully, the Consultative Council will schedule the Zoom Free day sooner than later this semester. I want to thank all the faculty and Classified staff who participated in the "Collaborative Governance - All Institutional Standing Committee Summit" on Friday, April 2, 2021. A copy of the presentation from the summit is available here. I enjoyed this meeting and looked forward to the following steps, which are listed below.

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness will schedule monthly training sessions for faculty, Classified staff, and managers/supervisors to review the Collaborative Governance document and provide additional information on the Collaborative Governance Flow Chart (available on page 13 of the Collaborative Governance document).
Encourage campus committees to have more brainstorming sessions before making formal recommendations to the President/CEO.
Work with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness to ensure a campus committee evaluation form is developed and implemented this spring.
Schedule a meeting with all Campus Committee co-chairs in the fall 2021 semester to discuss the Collaborative Governance document and the Collaborative Governance Flow Chart.
Include a closing the loop section in the President/CEO Messages to ensure the President/CEO decisions are communicated to the campus community.
Provide written communication through the formalized feedback loop to campus committees about the President/CEO's decisions.

Once again, thank you to everyone who participated in Friday's summit. The President/CEO Message - April 5, 2021, includes COVID-19 information and other campus-related updates.

Compton College COVID-19 Update

Los Angeles County's current risk level is Red Tier (substantial), according to California's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy." On April 4, 2021, there were 535 newly recorded confirmed cases in Los Angeles County. The county now has a total of 1,222,114 reported cases (including cases reported by Long Beach and Pasadena Health Departments). For more information, go to http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/data/index.htm. Due to a confirmed COVID-19 case on campus, Compton College is operating at Level 4 - Severe Infection Rate according to the Compton CCD Pandemic Outbreak - Emergency Operations Plan.

Abel B. Sykes Child Development Center Reopening

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health provides guidance for the operation of early care and education sites such as the Abel B. Sykes Child Development Center. The guidance balances the increased need for childcare as more parents return to work outside the home with the critical need to avoid transmission of the COVID-19 virus to children, their families, and early care and education staff. The Child Development Center will open on Monday, April 19, 2021, to provide childcare for Compton College employees and currently enrolled students. Individuals interested in enrolling their children should contact Dorothy Bush, Sr. Administrative Assistant at 310-900-1600, Ext. 2902, or dbush@compton.edu. The Child Development Center is accepting applications for enrollment of children between the ages of 12- to 48-months. Compton College students may be eligible for FREE or low-cost childcare.

Open Pandemic Coordinators Meeting

At the April 1, 2021, Open Pandemic Coordinators meeting, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health "Protocol for Institutes of Higher Education" was discussed. Over 30 Compton College employees participated in the meeting. Questions asked during the meeting included:

Will additional entrances to campus be opened to accommodate more people on campus?
Will individuals who have been vaccinated still need to complete the wellness questionnaire?
Is there a budget to order cleaning and disinfecting supplies for individual offices and areas?
What if faculty volunteer to teach their class(es) in-person on campus? Is that an option?
Has signage or markers been installed in areas where lines may occur [to ensure physical distancing]?
Is the College considering air purifiers for areas/offices occupied by more than one person?
What is the timeline for moving into new instructional buildings?
Is there information available about the status of HVAC systems on campus?

These questions will be reviewed by the Pandemic Coordinators and addressed accordingly. The link to the recording from the Pandemic Coordinators meeting will be sent in a separate email by Heather Parnock, Director of Community Relations.

Safe Return to Campus Survey

A survey was emailed to all Compton College employees to gather input about their considerations related to returning to in-person work and activities. The College will use this input to inform the Safe Return to Campus Plan. The survey will be open through Friday, April 9, 2021. Results from the survey will be shared at the April 21, 2021, Health, Safety & Parking Committee meeting. Please contact Lauren Sosenko at lsosenko@compton.edu if you have any questions.

Compton Community College District Board of Trustees Meeting

The Compton CCD Board of Trustees' next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20, 2021. The closed session begins at 4:00 p.m., with the open session commencing at 5:00 p.m. via Zoom Meeting. Information on how to access the Compton CCD Board of Trustees meeting is available here.

Final Thoughts

After announcing the decision regarding the fall 2021 semester in the President/CEO Message - April 1, 2021, I received creative input on the Safe Return to Campus planning for Compton College, including a recommendation to provide a comprehensive update on the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems for all buildings on campus. Once the report has been finalized, we will share it with the campus community and make it available on the Compton College COVID-19 webpage. Please note, Compton College's Safe Return to Campus Plan follows the guidelines set forth by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's "Protocols for Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs)." We are utilizing these protocols to guide our decision-making for the safe return of employees and students. Furthermore, please visit the Consultative Council; and the Health, Safety, and Parking Committee webpages to review the minutes and the discussions regarding the Safe Return to Campus planning.

My goal is to make decisions in the best interest of our campus community and, most importantly, for our students and be very transparent with the decisions we are making.

Thank you, and please have a wonderful week.

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