President's Update: August 26, 2025

Dear Shasta College community,

It was great to see everyone at our Welcome Back Day event on August 15! I hope the semester is off to a great start for all of you. Certainly, it's been wonderful seeing so many students and faculty back on campus and enjoying our newly remodeled Library and Tutoring Centers. I hope you will consider joining us at the ribbon cutting on Sept. 3 at 9:00 a.m. It will be a great opportunity to show off to the community. It'll be a "Wear it Wednesday." If you can attend, please wear your Shasta College green! 

Today I simply want to welcome you all back and follow up on a few things from the Welcome Back Day update. 

First, just before flex day the Board of Trustees formally approved Shasta College’s new Mission Statement:

Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District empowers students and strengthens the diverse communities we serve. As a teaching-centered institution, we are committed to student success in the classroom and beyond. We strive to foster a sense of belonging and ensure that every student, regardless of background, has the resources they need to thrive. Through quality instruction and compassionate support, we offer career-oriented programs and transfer degrees to prepare students for meaningful professions and active engagement with our communities.

This critical milestone was the result of a collaborative process led by a College Council–initiated task force. A special thank you goes to the task force and to all who contributed their feedback—your voices were essential in shaping the Mission. College Council will next embark upon the task of creating a new Educational Master Plan. The EMP is the central planning document that guides everything we do. It develops broad institutional goals based on our Mission, and it is referenced in one way or another in every other plan we create, including our Strategic Plans. 

Second, one of my initiatives this year is the AI Ambassadors project. Please expect an email regarding its launch this week from Associate VP Breitbach. The idea here is to develop faculty leads regarding AI content creation for instruction, for efficiency in instruction, and possibly to identify the most critical professional learning faculty might participate in. I am aware the Academic Senate is working on some AI-related projects and there is an ongoing AI community of practice. The AA Ambassadors project is something different. 

Third, I'm interested in forming a workgroup to determine how best to serve our Native students and to help build bridges with our Native communities. Please email me directly if this is something that you have an interest in being a part of.

Fourth, if you have ideas for photo-op features for our Quad or 100 building remodels, please send them to Theresa Markword. We're thinking of things like the Chico State wildcat statue, the UC Davis eggheads, the UCLA bruin, etc. 

Fifth, the first of the President's Office Hours are next Tuesday at 1:00. Signups are on the President's Office website, and times will change each week. This is an opportunity to connect if you so wish. 

Sixth, I shared with you all on Welcome Back Day the great ways the Shasta College Foundation allows us to serve our students. Again, please consider doing a small monthly donation or increasing your donation. I've committed to increasing mine by $10 per month for each of the first 5 new donors we get. Here's the link. 

Finally, it's shaping up to be a pretty week. Keep cool and thank you for your great work!

Best,

Frank