Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC)
By Dan Crump, American River College and CCL Liaison to the ASCCC
The ASCCC held its Spring Plenary Session this last week (April 7-9) in Burbank. In contrast to the last three Plenary Sessions (Fall and Spring 2021 and Spring 2022), which were held in a virtual environment, this time it was in a hybrid mode, with the ability to attend either virtually or in-person. All breakouts and general sessions were livestreamed for synchronous interaction with all attendees, whether virtual or in-person. The theme of the Session was “Strengthening Teaching, Leading, and Learning through Racial Justice and Academic Freedom,” and the first two days of the Session consisted of breakouts and general sessions on a variety of topics of interest to faculty, focusing on academic freedom, equity, anti-racism, and inclusion. I want to include part of the message that ASCCC President Dolores Davison sent to attendees:
As [our session] theme indicates, many difficult conversations have been taking place regarding the role of faculty in the California Community Colleges system and systems around the country, and indeed, around the globe. The challenges that colleges and colleagues have faced should worry everyone: contending with forces that seek to silence those who speak against injustice, who would prefer that colleges not teach portions of the history of this nation that might make some people uncomfortable, or who believe that faculty should only serve as automatons in the classroom, using the same curriculum as everyone else. For those reasons, faculty must come together now to talk about how to support the efforts of the practitioners on the ground who are doing that work that should be admired instead of pilloried and what campus leaders can do to ensure that their colleges are spaces that are safe for education, for change, and for social justice.
On the last day of Session, delegates voted on resolutions that will shape the positions and actions of the ASCCC. The full text of the resolutions is on the ASCCC website.
It is always great to see fellow librarians at ASCCC events, and I saw several at Session): Stephanie Curry (Reedley College), Celia Huston (San Bernardino Valley College), Matt Magnuson (West Hills College-Coalinga), Cynthia Orozco (East Los Angeles College), Nancy Persons (Santa Rosa Junior College), Van Rider (Antelope Valley College), and Chisato Uyeki (Mt San Antonio College). Apologies in advance if you were there and I haven’t acknowledged you. I will blame it on my senioritis and my being the “absent-minded professor”!
I have the honor and privilege of being the CCL Liaison to the ASCCC and therefore attend their meetings to present the library faculty perspective. I can attest that they are a hard-working and fantastic group of faculty leaders. The ASCCC is very supportive of the role that librarians perform in the instructional processes at all of our colleges (see the 2019 ASCCC paper, “The Role of Library Faculty in the California Community College").
I also wish to acknowledge the strong and continued support of the ASCCC for the Library Services Platform (LSP). They have been great in every step of the way!
And one last thing–the ASCCC held their elections for the Executive Committee for the upcoming year:
ASCCC Executive Committee, 2022-2023
| President | Ginni May | Sacramento City College |
| Vice President | Cheryl Aschenbach | Lassen College |
| Secretary | LaTonya Parker | Moreno Valley College |
| Treasurer | Michelle Bean | Rio Hondo College |
| Area A | Stephanie Curry | Reedley College |
| Area B | Karen Chow | DeAnza College |
| Area C | Erik Reese | Moorpark College |
| Area D | Manuel Velez | San Diego Mesa College |
| North | Eric Wada | Folsom Lake College |
| North | Christopher Howerton | Woodland College |
| South | Robert L. Stewart, Jr. | Los Angeles Southwest College |
| At Large | Juan Arzola | College of the Sequoias |
| At Large | Carrie Roberson | Butte College |