Welcome to the start of our new academic year! I’m so glad that we can gather, in person, to celebrate what feels like a new chapter for Salt Lake Community College.
I’d like to begin our day together by reading our land acknowledgment; an acknowledgement crafted by SLCC students, staff and faculty to honor those who lived on these lands before us and the rich history and cultural legacy that lives through our indigenous students and communities:
“Salt Lake Community College is located on the Native American shared territory of the Goshute, Navajo, Paiute, Shoshone, and Ute People. We honor the original ancestors of this land and also offer respect to our other tribal communities. We acknowledge this history to cultivate respect for and advocate with our indigenous students and communities still connected to this land.”
I’d like to start this State of the College address, by welcoming and introducing students, faculty and staff who have stepped up to leadership roles for the new year. And let’s start by the most important group, and the reason we are all here, our students. Please stand or wave when I call your name: Lindsay Lauren Simons, SLCCSA President, Derrick Tuff, Executive VP, Sophia Gaona, Equity and diversity VP, Atziri Regalado, Clubs and Orgs VP, Ashley Edlefsen, Central VP, Adrienne Cole, South Region VP, Belal Glab, North region VP. Thank you for answering the call to serve your fellow students!
I’d also like to introduce SLCC’s Executive Cabinet — a team who works diligently to lead the diverse and essential divisions of our college. Jeffrey Aird, VP for Institutional Effectiveness, Dr. Lea Lani Kinikini, Special Assistant to the President for Equity and Inclusivity and Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Chuck Lepper, VP for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Alison McFarlane, VP for Institutional Advancement, Dr. Clifton Sanders, Provost for Academic Affairs, Tim Sheehan, VP for Government and Community Relations, Jeffrey West, VP for Finance and Administration / CFO.
Leading our schools and areas of study are our academic deans: Dr. Dennis Bromley, School of Business; Dr. Craig Caldwell, School of Math, Science and Engineering; Interim Dean Tara Haight, School of Health Sciences; Dr. Roderic Land, School of Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr. Jennifer Saunders, School of Applied Technology and Technical Specialties; And Dean Richard Scott, School of Arts, Communication and Media.
We have new leadership in our Faculty Senate and Faculty and Staff Associations ready for a new academic year. Please stand and be recognized: Adam Dastrup — President, Faculty Senate, Shirene McKay- President, Faculty Association, and Gina Alfred — President, Staff Association.
And finally, I want to particularly welcome staff and faculty who are new to the college and for whom this is their first convocation. If you are joining us today for your first convocation, please stand so we might properly recognize you. Let’s give them a big round of applause and make them feel welcome!
As many of you know, we begin each academic year with a quote that guides our work throughout the year. The quote is carved in our respectus, an area of reflection on campus where anyone can pause, every now and then, for reflection. The respectus is located outside the AAB on the Taylorsville Redwood campus. Beginning this year, we will be inscribing new quotes in the Peace and Justice Garden at the South City campus. Over time, there will be respectus space on each of our campuses.
I want to begin my remarks this morning with the quote for this year: The poet David Whyte said: “The antidote to exhaustion is not rest . . . it’s wholeheartedness.”
For the past 18 months, we have acknowledged the unprecedented time we have experienced and continue to experience. I know that work — and life — has been different for all of us and there has been tremendous effort needed to just navigate the world around us. We’ve been engaged in efforts that require tremendous attention, intention and energy. And it’s clear that for many it has been at times exhausting.
I chose this quote because I believe it reminds us what is really necessary to navigate the coming academic year. We must all call upon the sources which bring us wholeheartedness .... the passion that drew us to this work .... the life changing, transformative experiences found in the endeavor of education. The opportunities and outcomes we witness every day in the lives of our students, at least for me, provide a source of energy that can overcome any weariness. I hope the quote will help you ground yourself as you begin this new year and remind you to keep the passion and wholeheartedness front and center as you do your work. I know that you will all do mindful work with deliberate and intentional effort. I see you rise to that challenge every day.
So let’s begin with news to set the stage for this upcoming year. We, of course, are still dealing with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and now the delta variant. We have now experienced a full year of meeting many of our students’ needs in a remote or hybrid format. I’m in awe of the creativity and commitment you’ve demonstrated in serving our students during the pandemic.
We are still taking a cautious approach given the virus variants and the need to increase vaccination rates across the state, but I assure you, many members of our college community are doing their part to keep our college community healthy. Based on a recent student survey, 84 percent of our student respondents and 93 percent of employees who responded report that they are fully vaccinated.
We are strongly encouraging masks in public areas and areas where it’s difficult to socially distance, including classrooms. Until the variant cases subside, wearing masks in crowded areas is highly recommended even for those who are fully vaccinated. This week we are offering vaccines on several of our college sites and continue to encourage anyone who has not been vaccinated to do so immediately.
We continue to call on volunteers to serve tirelessly as members of our Covid Task Force. This work was constant, dynamic, and requires daily vigilance and judgement and I am deeply grateful to each of the task force members. Let’s give ourselves a round of applause. I’m proud of our demonstrated commitment to our community’s health and well-being.
During this past year we’ve also watched our country and our own community experience civil unrest. As a country, we are awakening and reflecting on the social injustices, inequities and harm experienced by our African American and Black community members. We are witnessing changes in policy and politics that affect our Dreamers and undocumented students. We have seen divisiveness and acts of violence and hatred toward Asian American and Pacific Islander, Native American and LGBTQ populations.
SLCC strives to be part of the solution by providing many opportunities for education and reflection so that we might all be better allies. As an institution, we are committed to cultivating an environment of respect and empathy, advanced by diverse cultures and perspectives.
Last year we dealt with acts of hatred and intimidation aimed at our community members. Let me be clear there is no space for hateful speech at SLCC. We will continue to strengthen our mitigation mechanisms to ensure our learning and working spaces, including those found online, are free from racism, hate, intimidation and interference with learning.
Becoming a more equitable institution where all feel welcome and respected is directly tied to the integrity of the college. I want to invite everyone to do their part, this year and every year, in supporting our equity and inclusion efforts. Get involved in our programs, participate in conversations and take time to ponder different points of view. There are many resources that can be found on the People and Workplace Culture website for faculty and staff to access teaching, training and discussion materials.
I’ve seen the change we can make in the community when we all pull in the same direction. Let’s do our part and practice compassion, love, kindness and empathy for our fellow humans and live up to SLCC’s goal of being a positive force for good in the lives of our students and for everyone living in our community.
As we consider the College values of community, inclusivity and integrity, we have many accomplishments to celebrate. The development of our land acknowledgement statement which I referenced earlier, and which has been added to plaques on our campuses and to the scripts of several formal college-wide events.
Last spring, 355 employees took the YWCA 21-Day Challenge, an inaugural partnership between SLCC and YWCA Utah designed to expand education and conversations about racial equity and social justice. We will be repeating the program again this fall. The 2021 21-Day Challenge takes participants through a self-study of twenty-one days of core concepts focused on racial equity followed by facilitated small group conversations about the material. At SLCC, we see this challenge as one of many efforts to fulfill our vision, “Salt Lake Community College will be a model for inclusive and transformative education.” I encourage you to register if you haven’t already participated.
The Clifton G. Sanders Racial Justice and Black Liberation Library opened last fall at the South City campus at the height of the unrest related to injustice toward Black people in the U.S. This library is filled with texts on the Black experience, culture and history and related texts on social and racial justice. Next time you are at the South City campus, I encourage you to check it out.
SLCC Magazine won four top national awards for the “Dreamers in College” edition, about undocumented college students at SLCC and the challenges they face as they seek success and pursue their dreams.
And lastly, Student Loan Hero recently published the latest Pride Index ratings, based on resources and support offered to the LGBTQ+ community, and Salt Lake Community College is ranked number one as the most affordable LGBTQ-friendly college.
Congratulations to our teams in the Office of Diversity and Multi-Cultural Affairs, People and Workplace Culture, Institutional Marketing and Communications, the Gender and Sexuality Student Resource Center, the Dream Center and our Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Kinikini for these important efforts, accomplishments and recognitions.
Besides our accomplishments related to diversity and inclusion, we’ve made other remarkable progress this year. We are ranked number one by Best for Vets in the Western United States. This accolade is due in part to the great partnership we have with The Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs.
And in the past year the Utah Veterans Business Resource Center, located at The Mill, launched the “VBRC Outreach Program” which assists Utah’s veterans, active duty, reserve, National Guard and their spouses with assistance in starting and building their businesses.
Speaking of business, a shout out goes to our DECA/PBL Competition Team, who took part in national competitions for the first time and walked away with seven national placements including a BEST IN WORLD First Place title for Business Ethics.
Our Small Business Development Center also received recognition for their diligent work this past year. They were selected to receive the SBDC Excellence Award from the US Small Business Administration.
In Skills USA with state and national contests held virtually, we were part of 11 contests, with 18 SLCC competitors. With four gold medals, a silver and a bronze, our students excelled in photography, architectural drafting, advertising design, aviation maintenance technology and welding. Congratulations to the students and their remarkable faculty!
And, the nearly 700 Utah small businesses that have participated in Salt Lake Community College’s Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program recently surpassed combined total revenue of $1 billion.
SLCC’s Goldman Sachs program is the most successful small business training effort in Utah, with more direct impact on the growth of our local small businesses than any other public or private program in the state. Congratulations to all those at the Miller Campus who work so hard to support and develop Utah’s entrepreneurs! This effort benefits everyone, you, me and all who call this place home, so thank you!
There is also great teaching, learning, innovation and community service going on all over at SLCC. One example is our folks in the English department who, along with their University of Utah partners, earned the 2021 Diana Hacker Award for Outstanding Programs in English for Two-Year Colleges from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
The SLCC and University of Utah Writing Studies Transfer Partnership was selected as the exemplary program in the category of Reaching Across Borders. This is a shining example of some of the important transfer work happening at Utah’s higher ed institutions.
We were also recognized this year for offering the state's first higher ed drone program. SLCC’s path toward earning a certificate of proficiency to become a commercial drone pilot is the first of its kind within the Utah System of Higher Education.
The college was also acknowledged for being a great place to work, and our congratulations goes out the People and Workplace Culture Wellness team for receiving the 2021 Healthy Worksite Award by the Utah Worksite Wellness Council. It’s so much easier to come to work each day when you love what you do. That being said, a shout out to David Neal, a professor in Radiologic Technology who in June sent me an email with a link to a song by the Dirty Heads. The lyrics start out “Hey, hey, hey...I’m on vacation every single day because I love my occupation. He noted what a great song it would be to kick off Convocation and that’s exactly what we used. I hope you heard the song as you entered and will add it to your playlist
We learned a lot in 2020 when it came to getting work done. We learned to be flexible, agile, creative and adaptable. We learned to work smarter and become better engaged with our colleagues and employees. Based on these lessons, our good folks at People and Workplace Culture are helping SLCC supervisors and employees modernize where, how and when our teams work, through the Workplace Transformed initiative.
The SLCC Workplace Transformed model aims to maximize efficiency and effectiveness in the workplace by making innovative updates to our management philosophy, considering telework and flexible work hours, and staying curious about all the new ways employees and supervisors can connect while continuing to transform the lives of our students.
Moving forward, these options and guidelines will ensure consistency in how we collaborate across teams, organizations and divisions through Workplace Transformed. As we went through the process of identifying positions across the College as Campus-Based, Hybrid or Remote, here’s we currently stand: Out of 2,153 full-time and part-time staff, 54% are designated as Campus-Based meaning they work primarily at a single space in a regularly assigned on-campus location. Another 34% of positions are designated as Hybrid which provides flexibility of work locations for employees whose responsibilities requires some in person interactions. Finally, 12% are designated as Remote, which provides a qualified employee the opportunity to work at a place other than a regularly assigned office location, such as the employee’s residence.
We believe we’re better when we work together! It all starts with compassionate and equitable conversations between supervisors and employees about how best to maintain on-campus vibrancy, presence and culture in an evolving workplace.
In addition to Workplace Transformed, we also piloted new Focus and Learn days designed to give folks a day without scheduled meetings and dedicated time for professional development: we held our three Focus and Learn Days in March, April and May. This pilot program provided time free from meetings or interruptions for employees to catch up on neglected tasks or projects, focus on strategic planning and organization, and have dedicated time to engage in learning, complete requisite trainings, etc.... Based on the success of the pilot we’ll set aside the third Friday of every month from September to April as a Focus and Learn Day.
Now, how about a shout out to the SLCC’s sports programs. What a banner year! During this last academic year, every sports team at the college was nationally ranked. This is almost unheard of for a community college, and it’s a testament to the skill, talent and work ethic of our athletic administrators and staff, coaches and student athletes.
And of course, we capped off this very successful year with major triumphs for our men’s and women’s soccer teams! Our women’s soccer team made history by being the first soccer team at SLCC to earn a trip to a national tournament. These champions of teamwork, spirit and perseverance brought home the honor of placing second in the nation! I am so proud of them and the grit and grace they displayed this year.
And in June, our men’s soccer team won their first NJCAA Division I soccer championship! They battled back from a disappointing opening game to move past several competitors and claim the title. It is an amazing achievement, especially when given the fact that we only began the program five years ago. My heartiest congratulations to our team and coaching staff who shined throughout the year and now claim the title of NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
Our campuses, buildings and classrooms continue to transform and evolve. Several developments have taken place since we last met, including a remodel of the Applied Technology Building at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus following last summer’s fire. We are set to begin construction soon and the building is set to open in fall 2022.
The Tim and Brenda Huval Student Center on our Jordan campus began serving students in January. The 45,000 square-foot center houses academic and student advising, a new childcare center, a Student Writing and Resource Center, a STEM Learning Lab, improved commons areas, a Veterans Center and more.
The Huval Student Center is a tremendous example of how SLCC successfully partnered with its Student Leadership. It was our students who recognized the need for a better facility at the Jordan Campus, many years ago, and they raised money through student fees to make this effort come to pass. We appreciate the partnership and vision of SLCCSA and congratulate them on their beautiful new building that will serve many thousands of students in the coming years.
On July 15, we broke ground on the Juniper Building at our new Herriman campus, where access to higher education is critical for the southwest quadrant of the county’s rapid growth. Starting in fall 2023, students who attend the Herriman Campus will be able to spend their first two years earning an associate degree at Salt Lake Community College and either move on the workforce or pursue a bachelor's degree through the University of Utah at the same location.
The Herriman Campus will open in fall 2023 and is a great testament to the close partnership we have with the University of Utah. The project is also keeping in line with our commitment to making education accessible to everyone.
Another way we have made progress in making college accessible is by pursuing on-campus housing for the first time in our 73-year history. We know that students do better in school and have higher completion rates when they can access housing on campus. And it’s no secret that affordable housing in Salt Lake County is nearly non-existent. To help our students, we will soon break ground for a nearly 400 bed affordable student housing building at this Taylorsville Redwood campus on the east side of the business building.
All of this work is closely aligned to the college’s strategic plan. As you know strategic planning is a continual and dynamic process. Many of you will remember the inclusive work that we did in 2016 to create, develop and launch our plan. We then worked on an updated plan in 2019.
For those who are new or long for a refresher course on strategic planning, we have 5 strategic goals including: Increase student completion, Improve transfer preparation and articulation, Align and respond to workforce needs, Achieve equity in student participation and completion, Secure institutional sustainability and capacity.
We have just completed a final update to the plan, which will take us through to the end of the 7-year planning cycle which coincides with the college’s 75th anniversary in 2023.
You’ll remember that we began our work with 16 strategies. We created several collaborative work teams across the college to focus on key programs and initiatives including: Implementing SLCC Pathways, Merging workforce divisions, Reflecting our community in faculty and staff hiring. In 2019 we revisited the strategies and sunsetted, revised or created new ones tied to the original goals. That process identified 19 strategies which we’ve worked on for the past two years. Over this summer we have reviewed again and updated the plan to take us to 2023.
The last update on the strategic plan moves or consolidates our 19 strategies to 10. Several of the 19 strategies continue to be implemented but through their functional areas. Some have been completed. And some have emerged as new strategies to focus on for the next two years.
We’ve identified four new CWT’s to implement this year:
- Strengthening instructional program review
- Aligning and expanding technical education and occupational trainings
- Strengthening the engagement with our westside communities
- Expanding Student Employment on Campus
These CWT’s will be composed of faculty and staff from across divisions to ensure a range of diverse perspectives and input and will in some cases, hold open forums to get feedback and input.
We can’t talk about the strategic plan without a nod to our major, multi-year Pathways initiative. We made a lot of progress this year. We are now entering year 5 of the Pathways model and this has been a big lift across the college with significant work by many individuals, departments and leaders. You will see on the timeline of the slide the progress that has been made, year to year.
Specifically, we have revised our placement process to ensure student success. We completed an AAC&U Guided Pathways Grant that explored equity gaps in general education. We underwent major course redesign efforts that focused on student success and equity. We formed area teams focused on curricular reform and effective coordination between academic and student affairs.
There have also been some system-level developments that support the Pathways model. The USHE Board Transfer council established better statewide discussions around transfer and has created expectations as to how the system will support transfer. The Utah Transfer Guide is one practical outcome of those discussions which helps students identify direct transfer paths.
This year, the areas of study design teams will be focusing on building Program Maps and Supportive Communities for Students.
As you might guess, we continue to watch enrollment like a hawk, and are concerned with the declining enrollment trends we are experiencing. Our Admission, Enrollment Management and Institutional Marketing teams continue to stretch to find new ways of recruiting students and also retaining our students.
There have been bright spots including, last academic year, our admissions office processed a total of nearly 44,000 applications and offered students services in new formats, including virtual appointments and conferences. The office hosted 115 virtual events and smaller in-person events. The application fee was removed for all applicants beginning Spring semester 2020 and we deferred a tuition increase in the midst of the pandemic.
The admissions office also launched the Spanish admissions application this spring resulting initially in admitting 88 new students and receiving an additional 62 inquiries.
And given the horrendous year many of our high school seniors experienced due to the pandemic, we expanded our Summer Bridge Program to help make up ground and prepare those coming to college this fall. Major kudos to Richard Diaz and Kino Hurtado who ramped up this program and supported 150 Granite and Salt Lake School District seniors for college-level work.
We also launched our first PREP summer program bringing 25 6th–8th graders to campus for an intensive STEM summer workshop which will continue to build their skills for subsequent summers and line them up for strong college going rates.
A year ago, we launched SLCC's Honors program. Open to all AA/AS degree seeking students, the program recognizes that historically, honors programs across the nation have not been set up for community college students.
The Honors Program uses the cohort learning model to sharpen academic and scholarly skills by leveraging High-Impact Practices, reflective ePortfolios, honors courses, and enrichment experiences. Students receive individualized success coaching, financial support and faculty or peer mentoring.
Upon graduation, students receive an Honors Program designation as they transfer to four-year institutions and for those who transfer to the U, SLCC has partnered to provide a seamless transfer into their Honors College, including offering scholarships and housing opportunities.
Due to a generous allocation from the Utah State Legislature, this year we were able to offer the Learn & Work Grant Program. Learn & Work is designed to assist people displaced by the pandemic with job re-tooling and training so they can seek new employment in some of Utah’s most needed fields, including manufacturing, health care and computer programming. Through the Learn & Work program, this past year we were able to award almost $1.2 million to students for 796 course/program enrollments.
As we look toward institutional sustainability and fiscal strength, we made extraordinary progress in our Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign even in the midst of a pandemic. We have now raised more than half of our $40 million goal!
Over the last year, the SLCC Foundation doubled the total scholarships available to our students. SLCC students can now apply for more than 140 scholarships, and a very broad range of students are eligible to apply.
We also had a very successful Giving Day debut this year! Our goal was to raise $100,000 over the span of 1,948 minutes — in honor of the institution’s founding in 1948. We exceeded that ambitious goal by raising $242,642. For those of you who donated and supported the Day of Giving... THANK YOU!
We are here because we know that education is the transformative power in our community. We know education has the power to eliminate generational poverty and create a brighter future for not just the person attending college but for their families as well.
We experience firsthand the benefits of higher education. The question is what are each of us doing to make sure our families, friends, neighbors and community members catch that same vision?
I challenge each of us to think about the types of conversations we are having in our classrooms, work teams, and outside of the college within our circles of influence, about higher education. I challenge each of us to think and act on how we can be a more effective advocate not only for SLCC but for the value of higher education in general. I encourage wholeheartedness as we harness the power to transform our communities.
As we started convocation this morning, I hope you noticed the parade of pictures of your colleagues and what makes them happy. Thanks to those of you who shared your photos. It was great to see all of the wonderful things we have in our lives.
As we begin this new academic year, I know that each of you and your department colleagues have many goals and plans to better serve our students and make SLCC the best it can be.
I am truly in awe of our community’s resilience and commitment to our students. We have seen our workplace transformed and it continues to be my greatest joy to work alongside you as we navigate a changing world.
It’s an honor to endeavor to turn hope into happiness — in a community where people find purpose, success, meaning and a brighter future.
Thank you for all that you do! Let’s make it a great year!
Dr. Deneece G. Huftalin
President, Salt Lake Community College
August 23, 2021
