The theme for the annual joint CIO/CSSO Conference in San Diego this March is Building Bridges. I believe that the title aptly reflects the work your Association has undertaken during 2007-08. Beginning with our retreat in June, the Executive Board has focused its efforts on improving the communication, visibility and involvement of CSSO’s statewide. Building upon the work of prior presidents, the CSSO’s leadership team has established a regular presence at Consultation Council, newly revived thanks to the energy and focus provided by Interim Chancellor, Diane Woodruff. We are also regular attendees at the Board of Governor’s meetings and speak out when our student services perspectives and voices need to be heard. I have been sending you summaries of these meetings on a regular basis and I hope you have found them useful.

Another focus has been ensuring that CSSO’s are appropriately represented on the 27 different statewide task forces, committees and boards that currently exist that warrant a voice from student services. I want to thank the vice presidents of student services who have volunteered their time to represent the Association in these important venues. Additionally, we held two successful drive-in workshops in the fall which focused on Threat Analysis coupled with updates from the Chancellor’s Office. The number of attendees exceeded the prior year, in large part due to the relevance of the topics addressed. I want to thank Anne Newins and Pam Luster in the north and Michael Wilding and Audrey Yamagata-Noji in the south for coordinating the workshops. A successful Leadership Training Institute, coordinated again this year by Bob Bell, was attended by the 24 selected participants in November, 2007. The Institute serves both aspiring and newly positioned student service and instructional administrators. Participant evaluations were glowing, to say the least. And I’m sure many of you were at the CCLC Conference in San Jose last November at which our Association sponsored sessions on the Basic Skills Initiative, categorical site visits and student discipline.

Annual Conference, March 26–28

The annual conference March 26–28, 2008, should be another dynamic and thought-provoking professional development activity that, at its core, strives to further enrich the interdependent relationships of instruction and student services both on our campuses as well as and throughout the California Community College system. The joint CIO/CSSO conference is being co-chaired by CSSO president-elect, Lynn Neault, Vice Chancellor of Student Services for the San Diego Community College District and CIO president-elect Pam Eddinger, Executive Vice President of Student Learning at Moorpark College. The CIO’s and CSSO’s in Region 10 have joined forces to assist them.

Focusing on ways to improve student success has been at the forefront for the Executive Board this year as our representative leaders engage in the Basic Skills Initiative activities; implementation of the recent Title 5 regulatory changes; participation in discussions regarding concurrent enrollment policies; facilitation of ways to improve communications between campuses regarding student disciplinary matters; and providing leadership to the financial aid challenges and opportunities we face as outlined in the recently published Green Lights & Red Tape report. The recent budget cuts proposed by the Governor in January call for renewed advocacy efforts to ensure the continued integrity of the support services provided to students through our categorical programs. Your executive board is working hard on these issues in tandem with the Chancellor’s Office as represented by Linda Michalowski, Vice Chancellor for Student Services and Special Programs, and her staff.

New Changes this Year

Lastly, I wanted to share some other changes the board has initiated this year. We hired Dr. Ed Shenk, recently retired from his position as Vice President of Student Services at Napa Valley College as our new Executive Assistant. Ed supports the board by assisting with our meetings and minutes, distributing statewide notices, maintaining our directory, and assisting with the various professional development activities such as the upcoming conference. We recently launched our new website at http://www.cssofficers.org/. We will be adding new features, links, reference documents and other helpful information to assist the members of our organization. We are indebted to John Mauceri, Web Master at Cabrillo College, for the design and development of the site. Several Executive Board members are working on a CSSO resource guide to provide CSSO’s with key leadership tips and access to useful resources and links that will be completed by early this summer. Given its value to our organization, the board continues to support the iJournal with its three issues per year.

As you can see we have been building bridges to many places. But our efforts will not be effective unless we are able to ensure that our students obtain the highest quality education and services from our community colleges. Our association is only as strong as our membership. And we see our role as one of helping each of you in your efforts to help students achieve their educational pursuits.

It is my pleasure to be your president this year and I hope to see you in March in San Diego to get your feedback about our efforts, to communicate, to be visible, and to be involved in the bridge building in our state for student success.

About the Author

Mandy Davies
Vice President of Student Services
Sierra College, Rocklin, California

President
California Community College Chief Student Services Administrators Association

Mandy Davies is the Vice President of Student Services at Sierra College in Rocklin, California. During her 16 years with Sierra College, she has held various positions in student services managing Admissions/Records, EOPS, Counseling, Disabled Student Services, Financial Aid, Health Services, Police Services, Residence Life, and Veterans Affairs, She has also managed the Information Technology, Learning Resources, and Research Divisions.

Mandy has served the statewide California Community College Chief Student Services Administrators Association (CCCCSSAA) as a regional representative and served on a variety of statewide committees regarding legislation, categorical program oversight, and the basic skills initiative. She is the organization's 2007-08 president.

She received her Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Sociology from Mills College and holds a Master's degree in Teaching from Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage, Alaska and in Public Administration from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.