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SBCC — Plans for Fall semester instruction

by Community Contributor • June 19, 2020 • Comments Off

Santa Barbara City College’s Community Newsletter

JUNE 2020

Plans for Fall semester instruction

Based on recent guidance provided by the state, county and Centers for Disease Control, SBCC will offer a substantial majority of credit courses online for the Fall 2020 semester.

As some courses are difficult to teach online, a limited number of courses will be offered in a face-to-face or hybrid format, maintaining appropriate health and safety protocols.

Read the press release for more details…

From left: Catalog/Scheduling Specialist Victor Bryant and Communications Professor Dr. Donte Newman.

Juneteenth commemoration includes voices from SBCC

On June 19, 1865, 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas to announce that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in that state – the last state to be wrested from Confederate control at the end of the war – were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas. In commemoration of that day, the S.B. Independent has published “Voices From Our Vibrant Black Community,” which included pieces by members of the SBCC community: Victor Bryant and Dr. Donte Newman.

Katie Laris, Theatre Dept. Co-chair

Keeping theatre alive in the dark

In mid-May, Gerald Carpenter, contributing writer for Noozhawk, interviewed Theatre Arts Department Co-chair Katie Laris as part of his “continuing exploration of the strategies employed by our various performing arts groups to survive the pandemic-induced coma.”

Having to close their spring play early and converting all classes to online instruction, Katie reflected, “Some good things have emerged from this experience.”

Read Katie’s interview here…

Erik Heidner performs his “Quarantine Quartet”

Quarantine Quartet

Recently, Eric Heidner, SBCC Music Department’s “self-proclaimed Band Geek-in-Chief,” performed a quarantine quartet arrangement of Charles Trenet’s “Beyond the Sea” on the Santa Barbara Trombone Society’s Facebook page. Eric also judges high school marching bands during holiday parades and can’t wait for them to make a comeback when the coronaviris is no longer a threat.

Watch his performance here…

Rethinking “Eleven Figures” during quarantine

In the months leading up to COVID-19’s disruption of nearly every aspect of life, SBCC’s Atkinson Gallery held an exhibition “Eleven Figures in Two Parts,” featuring eleven Southern California artists working in figurative representation. By opening night of the second part, however, “our collective view of the human body had already begun to shift,” stated the contemporary art magazine Lumartzine.

Read the exhibition review here…

Older adults “Zoom In” together at School of Extended Learning

Art instructor Carissa Luminess and her students connecting via Zoom

When all instruction at SBCC moved to online environments last March, the staff and faculty at the School of Extended Learning moved rapidly to protect our community’s vulnerable adults from the threat of the coronavirus and the danger of isolation. Within 14 days, classes that normally met at the Wake and Schott campuses and served 2,000 adult students were converted to live video for the very first time.

The students were up to the challenge, learning to engage with instructors and fellow students via Zoom. Collage & Mixed Media for Older Adults student Christiane Richards captured the experience perfectly: “I have taken Adult Ed art classes and others for over 25 years. I was apprehensive about navigating the Zoom system, but to my surprise, it was extremely easy. It is a lot of fun and I don’t need to carry all my collage equipment to class.”

Foundation hosts COVID Conversations

The SBCC Foundation invites you to participate in a series of virtual gatherings, COVID Conversations: How SBCC is Meeting the Moment. These 45-minute Zoom get-togethers feature updates from leaders of various campus departments and programs on how they are adapting to the unprecedented challenges brought about by COVID-19, followed by a Q&A.

Previous conversations have included:

SBCC in the time of COVID-19, with Superintendent/President Dr. Utpal K. Goswami
Supporting Students’ Mental Health during a Global Pandemic, with Alyson Bostwick and Becky Bean.
Applying an Equity Lens to Address Students’ Needs, with Paloma Arnold and Roxane Byrne.
I’m Not a Robot: Humanizing Online Learning at SBCC, with Professor Matthew Mooney.
The Art & Science of Embracing Distance Learning, with Blake Barron and Joy Kunz.
Adult Ed: How the School of Extended Learning Has Kept Our Community & Businesses Connected During COVID-19, with Melissa Moreno.

Click here for registration information and links to recorded sessions when they become available.

Girls Inc. summer program online

Three of the four SBCC faculty presenters this summer: Computer Science instructor Nathalie Guebels, Earth Sciences instructor Geordie Armstrong and Computer Information Systems professor Esther Frankel. (Not pictured: Academic Tech Support Specialist Sara Whipple)

SBCC’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Transfer Program traditionally hosts a program every summer on campus in partnership with Girls Inc. to inspire girls about the possibilities that await them as STEM majors. Since COIVD-19 prohibits inviting them to campus this summer, Student Program Advisor Lorena Cisneros Lopez has coordinated a “Meet Women in STEM Virtually” program.

Four women instructors will each give an hour presentation to the girls online. Presenters will discuss the steps they took to accomplish their educational goals and what they do now. The girls will also get an idea of what it is to take a college class since each instructor will provide a quick teaching demonstration. Santa Barbara Women in STEM will also be part of the project. The program for Girls Inc. of Carpinteria will take place July 20-24. The program for Girls Inc. of Santa Barbara will be held July 27-31.

Upcoming SBCC Board of Trustees Meetings – June 25 and July 9

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, and in compliance with the Governor’s Executive Orders N-29-20 and N-33-20, the Board has temporarily suspended physical meetings. To watch via livestream, you can find the link after 1 p.m. on the day of the meeting posted on SBCC Official social media channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SBCityCollege
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SantaBarbaraCC
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/20561

The Board meeting will be captioned and if there are any other accommodations required, contact esqueda@sbcc.edu by 4:00 p.m. of the day before the Board meeting. The agenda for Board meetings can be found at least 72 hours prior to the meeting on the Board webpage.

Past meetings can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/user/SBCCBoardofTrustees.