>> Special meeting of the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees. We have Mrs. Thomson here--I don't see her so I guess-- >> She's in the back--she's back there. >> She's there, okay. We'll you do the roll call from back there? >> I think I can. Mr. Thomson? >> I am here. >> Mr. Brown? >> Present. >> Mr. Martin? >> Present. >> Ms. Brown? >> Here. >> Dr. Fellow? >> Present. >> Dr. Mann? >> Present. >> Mr. Pack? >> Present. >> Okay, we now turn to the pledge of allegiance. Dr. Mann, would you lead us in that please? >> Please join me. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation under God indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." >> Is there any public comment on non-agenda items? And I would note that the Brown Act prohibits us--that is the board from discussing or taking action on any item not on the agenda. We can make comment or ask questions or response to public comments but anybody here on non-agenda item? I don't see anything, okay. We're now gonna move into the purpose of the evening which is to interview five candidates who would fulfill the vacancy in Area 5 succeeding Dr. Hillary Bradbury Wong. And so when I spoke to Hillary a couple of weeks ago and she is doing fine in Portland. She and her husband and daughter are adjusting well to the new environment and seemed to be doing fine so--but moving back to this, we were originally going to reduce the 13 questions that were in the public document down to 8 because we have 8 of us basic up here who will be asking questions. We thought it would make [inaudible] sense to have one question per person and just limit the number to 8 and get beyond with it. We were then advised however by our council that because the 13 questions had been published, we should not reduce them to 8 but we should stick to the 13. So this means that our--members of the Board of Trustees are gonna have to use our good judgment and pick a question and ask it. We would hope we will not go on to all 13 questions just because they're on the piece of paper but that is the background of this. I have a basket here that I think has something in there that indicates the name of each individual and so what I would like to do is to ask Mr. Pack--we'll put him on the spot and give him this awesome responsibility to draw these names out. That will be the order then which the people make the presentations. >> I would be delighted. [ Muffled Discussions ] >> Benjamin Figueroa. >> Okay. Mr. Figueroa will be the first interview. We need--we need to do all. >> Let's do them all [voice overlap]. [ Pause ] >> Melinda Hsia, Miss-- >> Ms Hsia would be the second interview. >> Warren Weber. >> Mr. Weber will be the third interview. >> Linda Wah. >> Ms. Wah will be the fourth interview. [ Muffled Discussions ] >> You really have to do that. >> Adam Murray. >> Mr. Murray will be the fifth and final interview. >> Okay. Okay, thank you very much Nolan. I appreciate that. We have a situation where we have five people who are basically contending for a single spot and there are I suppose arguments that we've made either way on this one but it would be my request that when candidate A is being interviewed that candidates B, C, D and E adjourn themselves and go outside or something and not sit there to receive the benefit of the questions and answers. That's your decision entirely your discretion whether you want to do that or not but I would ask that you do that and so having come to this point now, I think it's timely for Mr. Benjamin Figueroa to-- >> I'd liked to say something if it's okay. >> Yes. >> There is a difference of opinion. I just wanted to state for the record, I feel strong that this is a public meeting and all members of the public should have access to the entire preceding and so I think that everybody should be welcome to attend the entire meeting. I understand other colleagues feel differently and this is a substitute for a public election and so--and that's a very public process and I want this process to be as open and transparent as possible. >> Okay, Mr. Figueroa would you join us please? [ Inaudible Remark ] >> There's a room over there I believe that's vacant. The outdoors--it's a beautiful day. There are other rooms if you don't feel comfortable all sitting in the same room together at the same time but we'll leave it to your good judgment to find a place to hang out for a few minutes. >> Maybe Mrs. Thomson could show them the conference room so that when we get ready to interview them, we don't have to run all over campus looking for them or Dr. Rocha I think is [inaudible]. [ Muffled Discussions ] >> Will there be a time keeper? >> Well there is--there is not gonna be a time keeper as such. Don't worry about that. We will go through this and we're--guess estimating it would be roughly a half an hour but we're not gonna tell you that it's time to leave-- >> I only asked if--just to give them one minute--you know, I [inaudible] but that's okay. I prepared my remarks it should be about five minutes. >> We'll--we'll do that. That's fine but don't worry about the time. First of all, thank you very much for coming and applying for the position and coming here this evening. We've read the information that has been given to us in writing about your self. Let me if I might just begin by asking you to tell us why you're interested in becoming a member of this board of trustees? >> Just a point of clarification--do I have the five minutes initial presentation or should we go straight into the questions? >> That we're going straight to the questions. >> We're just gonna do the questions. >> Just the questions I think. >> Not the five minute presentation? >> We did--did we say that? >> We did--okay, well. >> Ask--ask Dr. Rocha. >> What's the pleasure of the board. You want to make the presentation before we start asking questions or--how do we [inaudible] John? >> I guess the reason I asked because I've received instructions to--for a five minute presentation but-- >> Okay [laughs] >> I'm ready to do whatever your pleasure. >> My feeling is that if we'd ask the candidates to prepare a five minute presentation we should afford them the opportunity to deliver that five minute presentation. >> Yeah, we'll do that. Right and that'll be the time. >> That's probably the wisest course to do so forget-- >> Sorry if you got a trouble maker [laughter] >> We'll have it very smooth by the fourth. >> That's right. >> We'll get our act together here shortly then. >> I was gonna volunteer to go first really. >> Okay, Mr. Thomson our procedures actually say candidates shall have five minutes to make a presentation to the board so I think we should-- >> Okay. Yeah, now--I agree. >> Then we ask questions. >> So Mr. Figueroa this is five minute timer and you'll see it will go green and with a minute left it will go yellow and then five minutes will be the red. >> Okay. Great, thank you. >> Good. Well, thank you for being here and it's now your opportunity to tell us why--whatever you'd like to tell us. >> Thank you Chair Thomson, Trustees and President Rocha for the opportunity to speak to you this evening my interest in filling the trustee vacancy in Area 5. In the next five minutes I hope to give a brief introduction of who I am, my background, my professional experience and at the same time communicate my interest in serving the district. I live in South Pasadena. I'm married to Mary Ann Chu Figueroa. I have three smart and beautiful children, Kevin who's 17 and I have 14-year-old twin daughters. One attends--both Kevin and Emily--I'm sorry Kevin and Samantha are freshmen at South Pasadena and Emily is a freshmen at LA County High School for the Art also known as LACHSA Cal State LA. All of us are very active in volunteering our time in our community from scouting to the youth commission, to supporting sports clubs, to my son being an ambassador for the Tournament of Roses this year which is especially rewarding because I'm a White Suiter so this year it gives us a chance to work together, volunteering together. We're a biracial family and tricultural. We're what you call an American--all American Latino-American-Asian American family. 21st century Ricky and Lucy if you will-- >> My wife is a third generation Chinese American with roots in Orange County, before it was Orange County, South Central LA in Monterey Park. I'm a first generation immigrant from El Salvador. I came to the states as a 12 year old, 7th grade, of course speaking maybe a couple of words of English, I grew up in the eco-park area of LA. How we came together, between my wife and I, it would take a couple of hours to share that story. Let's just say that we're very rich in cultural diversity appreciation, tolerance and nothing to say at the expansive and delicious food menu that we enjoy. I attended LA Unified Schools; I attended Virgil Junior High School in Vermont Avenue and Belmont High School near downtown LA. I completed a bachelor's degree at Cal State LA and a master's in Public Administration at Long Beach State. I've also completed graduate work at Claremont Graduate University. In addition, I attended a number of institutes most recently the Harvard Institute for Educational Management and the graduate school of education, it was a residential program with 90 other college universities' vice presidents from throughout the country and different parts of the world. I have dedicated my adult professional life to the advancement of education in the process accumulated much knowledge and professional experience. I'm not a young pup anymore, I'm 49 years old however I can still claim to have run the LA marathon twice. However, I must--my wife says that--because I'm so out of shape, I cannot claim that privilege anymore but I beg to differ. I'm the Associate Vice President for Children's Hospital Los Angeles responsible for the management of this research enterprise with approximately 120 million dollars in annual revenues. I oversee the office of research advancement administration responsible for managing all federal and private donations and gift made to the hospital for research, education and training for our USC faculty both at Children's Hospital and in concert with USC faculty at Keck School of Medicine. Needless to say, I consider myself extremely fortunate to serve such an institution such as Children Hospital at Los Angeles, a unique special mission in providing the best pediatric services to the children in my region and to be part of the mission in saving kids lives. Prior to Children Hospital Los Angeles, I was with the California State University for 20 years. 12 years with the Chancellor's Office in Long Beach and 8 years at Cal State, LA working for the system office afforded me the opportunity to work closely with all 23 campuses and experience firsthand major system wide initiatives. Working for the LA campus afforded me the experience and see immediate positive impact on the lives of our students. There was a particular enriching experience having received a bachelor's degree some 20 years or so prior to that. I had the opportunity to collaborate with students in matters relating to student housing, student fees, childcare centers, athletics, parking, other support programs such as the Trio [phonetic] programs and having such other opportunities for managing bond issuance such as the one that led to the construction of new student union at Cal State LA. I had the opportunity to collaborate with faculty in matters related to accreditation, faculty affairs, strategic planning and other faculty committees, in particular overseeing committees' response for internal research awards. I had the opportunity to work with university administrators at the 23 campuses, in development and operating budgets, physical plant development, issuance of tax exempt bonds, overseeing campus operations such as the tax and financing of central utility plants and particularly, managing the system-wide portfolio of revenue bonds for the parking housing, student unions, health centers, athletic centers, foundation and other facilities. I had the opportunity to assist university presidents and trustees in finding for new facilities such as the forensic laboratory facility at the LA campus that required working with multi public agency task force for over 4 years. Also, I had the opportunity of working and overseeing the over 80 51C3 not-for-profit entities that assist the CSU campus with fundraising research administration, student government and other support services. And of course, I had the opportunity to interact with parents of students in issues affecting housing, parking and other support services as well. A key and important work experience was right after graduating from college and before working for the CSU. I had the opportunity to work with the county board of supervisors and the chief administrative office. In addition to working with the county commissions, taskforces and joint powers authority, I had the opportunity to develop my legislative analysis skills. You should know that I'm not a politician. I've not pursued any endorsements at this time, although given my background and contact with multiple officials at different levels, many have offer and I foresee the support if I need to run for office next year. I just say that I do have to support 2 key people in my life. Of course that's my wife and my employer, plus my family travels along with me as well. You should also know that I'm ready to make this commitment to the district. I'm not pursuing this because I have extra time. I'm pursuing this because I felt giving back my knowledge and experience to my community is critical and important and I am making time. For personal beliefs such as those institutions that I served are aligned with the work and being part of institutions and communities. Children's Hospital is part of the same community [inaudible] giving and at the same time if need be I'm ready to divest myself of other voluntary commitments that interfere with my time and commitment as a trustee of the district. You should also know that I have a different learning curve, if appointed. Higher education is what I do, every time we travel, I have to go visit the local college and I think I might be almost out of time so let me conclude by saying that I wanna thank the board and I want to thank the rest of the folks have been nominated here today. It is through their commitment and volunteered their time that we are able to sustain our communities. We're here before you because we care about the district in which it was right for students, the faculty and the overall institution. However, I believe that the accumulation of my experience and dedication to my community and my passion to serve higher ed make me uniquely qualified to serve as a trustee to the district. I am truly thankful for your time and consideration and I welcome your questions. >> Thank you very much. Let us begin just to go from one end of the table to the other and begin with Trustee Berlinda Brown? >> Sure. Okay, I do thank you for coming out today and the interest that you have in becoming a board member. I'm very impressed with what your resume sounds like and looks like-- >> Thank you. >> What I would like to ask you is--what do you see as the major issue facing the community colleges in the next decade? >> Sure. It's gonna be a--what I call a double squeeze in the sense that the mission is to serve and to be open to the students. But on one hand, I foresee the reduction of state resources to continue. I see that continuing, so while there's gonna be less resources available, there's gonna be higher demand for places like PCC because of its quality and so you know, in respect to the other community colleges in California, much will depend in how they're able to weather that storm. I realized that you managed well in the sense with your reserves but in reviewing your budget, I think that will help you for the next year or 2 but unless there's planning that starts now, there's gonna be major issues in the year or 2 for now because I don't see the state recovering in a year from now or 2 from now. I think there has to be planning for this kind of environment for the next 5 to 10 years. So back to your initial statement, the major issues is how to look for those opportunities in an environment of diminishing resources and increasing demand for services. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Mann? >> Yes. My question is could you please describe your public service and community involvement, the skills that you will bring to the board, you told us a lot about your background, but specifically how would those relate to being on an elected public--a board? >> Sure, let me start with the broader and see if I can give you some specifics. Most of my professional life has been working with groups. My success has depended in how effective I'm with working with groups whether it's faculty, whether it's students, whether it's public officials. And so it's a key I learn from early age that we have to work as a group to achieve common purpose and goals. And so from individual skill set, I have a lot of experience working in groups. I have a lot of sense for how to move key goals and objectives from a concept to reality. Working with university presidents, the administrators where they have an idea. And then I have to then work with different group sets to move those ideas to reality. So from a global perspective, I have experienced working in a group. In addition, I'm well versed in higher education. So as a trustee, you know, I live and breathe this stuff. I read the chronicle daily. I get publications daily. It wouldn't be very difficult for me to, you know, with your guidance of course and mentoring, to get caught up with the issues of the day and be prepared and be ready to be an active contributor to the board. So from that perspective, that would be a [inaudible] one. And third, I think that the fact that I worked at higher ed all this time, I've gotten to know a lot of the players whether they're at this CSU, whether they're at the UC. Keep in mind I worked with federal agencies all the time now. So, you know, it maybe an oxymoron but I have friends at the federal level in the sense that, you know, the inspector general is one of my best friends because, you know, that's the nature of federal dollars. So from that perspective, I have the experience of having worked with multiple agencies either at this county or the city. It's not easy work. It's not easy work when you get involved with a lot of agencies. And so, those are some of the things I hope to bring to the trustees. >> Thank you. >> Mr. Martin. >> Mr. Figueroa, I've already put down a positive plus by your name because you asked the questions before we started. >> Thank you. >> Here is a guy who knows how to ask a question. Wait a minute, the format is wrong, what's going on? [ Laughter ] >> Plus for that, a little bit assertive, I like the sense of humor and the opening remarks so we've already got some pluses there. >> Thank you. >> I'm gonna--I'm gonna lead off with question number1 and I'm gonna give it a twist. Question 1 is why are you interested in becoming on the board of trustees? Well, don't answer that. You've got this incredible resume of public service. >> Thank you. >> I mean soccer, baseball, children's hospital. It's phenomenal when you talk about it, I hear the passion and I appreciate that. So then I say to myself, So from little league to children's hospital and everything in between, why PCC? >> Sure. >> And then after you answer why PCC, go ahead, take me to the next level. What's the aspirations for Ben Figueroa in the future with and beyond PCC. >> I should have written down a set. I think I heard about 4 questions. >> Why PCC? Why PCC? >> Why trustee, why PCC trustee. >> Why PCC trustee out of all these phenomenal things you're doing. And so why PCC and hey, take me above and beyond PCC to the future aspirations. >> Sure. I'll start with the "why" and then why PCC, and then aspirations. This summer to be candid with you, I was sitting in a room full of 90 administrators and we had the pleasure of listening to Pres. Garcia, Juliet Garcia. And if you don't know who she is, she is the President of Texas Southmost College, also the University of Texas at Brownsville. She described everything she has done over the last 20 or so year, probably more. In terms of moving from a community college to a 4-year institution, you know. There is this woman there, we're all like--then she talked about the federal lawsuit we're all going. And so, we all came back going, yeah, you know, she's done all these things, what have we done? So the why is to give back. [ Pause ] >> You can take a break there. It's okay. [ Laughter ] >> So you're giving back all over. You are a man that gives back. >> Yeah. >> You told me. >> Yeah. So first I felt after listening to her, I felt underachieved in public service. NowI-- >> I hate to see where that puts me. >> Well-- >> That's alright compared to you. >> Well, compared to her, we were all in the room going, "Wow, there is this incredible person in the room that she"--she actually made us all feel like, "What have you done for the community lately?" So I came back going, and keep in mind, I inhabit this place on a regular basis whether it's getting scooter training, the parking lot, whether it's one of my daughters taking a Sunday class here, whether it's us going to the pool store a block or two away. So we're constantly driving by here. And so, I have a lot of respect for the campus. I visit often, every opportunity I get for different things. I visit the Swap Meet, my son bought a guitar there. And so, you know, I gotta be candid with you. It's not like I was going, "You know, as soon as one of these guys retires or election time comes around, I'm gonna run for that office." That was not my intent. So it was really a meeting of two opportunities. Me looking to see what else can I do, and somebody saying, "I need to move," and there is gonna be a vacancy. Shazam, I'm dating myself, Shazam [laughter]. You know, here is an opportunity. I have all this background in higher ed. It wouldn't be that much difficult for me to get up to speed with the issues you have here. And I saw it as a perfect match between what the needs of this institution or with my experience. To the aspirations, I'm a lucky person. So far opportunities have presented themselves. When I moved to children's hospital, I was not looking to move to children's hospital. I was recruited by--by children's hospital from the LA campus. When I was at the chancellor's office, I had two opportunities. I was recruited by Stanford to come either Director for Finance because of my tax exempt background. At the same time the Cal State LA wanted me to come to be an assistant to a vice president, Stanford, director of finance, Cal State LA assistant to a vice president. You know, believe it or not, it was a tough choice. The money was better at Stanford obviously, but there was a lot more that Cal State LA have to offer. So, you know, I'm not sure where I'm gonna be after children's hospital. It may be that I'm there until I retire which wouldn't so bad. >> Alright. Thank you. >> Okay, very good. Mr. Baum? >> First off, thank you so much for putting your name forward to for us to consider here. >> Thank you. >> Your credentials are very impressive and the financial background that you have is truly impressive. It would be asset to any organization. >> Thank you. >> Your involvement with [inaudible] or other organizations like that make you a very compelling candidate. And I'm just so impressed with the caliber of individuals that came forward to volunteer to be considered for this commitment. So I wanna extend my best appreciation for that. >> Thank you. >> Getting back to what you hope to do here and your understanding of how a governing board operates, what is--you've had some time to think about it and being part of this institution. What is your understanding of the role of a governing board member and what would be your chief responsibility as a member of the board of trustees? >> Mission and vision in the sense that I understand the difference between the task, by the way, I think back to your initial question what are the challenges in a community colleges, one of them is future leadership. So your recent recruitment needs to be commended because that is a challenge for a lot of community colleges. But back to--I know the difference between an executive officer and the trustees. So wouldn't ever be, you know, with all my experience, it's not like I would be anxious or have a desire to interfere with the administration of the university. I worked with trustees all my life whether it's the CSU trustees or the hospital trustees. I know the key differences between being a trustee and an administrator. My goals as a trustee would be to advance the mission as currently defined, redefine the mission that needs to be redefined to address the challenges for the next 10, 20 years. In terms of more specific, I review your agendas. Thank you for the video, you know, I watched some of your meetings. I understand the process, I understand the issues you're facing. I am familiar with the process of your meetings. What I can contribute and I thank you for bringing that up is that my extensive financial background. You know, I know financial statements backwards and forwards. I know state budgets backwards and forwards. I manage operations. I know budgets backwards and forwards. I think I can contribute significantly with the future financial stability of the college. Now, I'm not saying that, you know, I mean I'm reviewing your budget, your last presentation from last year. It was optimistic in the sense that, you know, perhaps it was foreseen maybe another year or two of this situation, which is my sense being a public servant all my life, I'm always preparing. And so, part of my role as a trustee would be to help prepare to try to identify what the priorities are for the institution, try to support our president in how he manages and how he carries out those responsibilities. So as trustees, we come together and say, "This is--this is what we're seeing. This is where we need to focus our priorities." >> I appreciate that, you quickly just--you mentioned mission and vision, what's your understanding of the mission of this institution? >> Well, you know, I wrote it down in terms of the functions but I know the functions is just part of what the college does in terms of its general ed, in terms of the college transfer. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any of the key 4. But if I was just to pull back from that [simultaneous talking]. >> You said somebody in the community-- >> Yeah, and say that, really, we're the place that offers the first opportunity for education? >> Great. Thank you very much. Dr. Fellow. >> Mr. Figueroa, major reductions in funding or what would be your priorities for the most important programs or services to retain. >> We want to retain all our students. So, I mean broad stroke is how can we maintain, you know, our courses. How can we sustain the demand that our students make for courses. That would be my first priority. Now along with that goes our faculty as well because somebody has to teach those courses. Now, you know, more and more administrators are being asked to be creative because the core has to be sustained. And what I mean by core is the classes, our mission, the purpose, the delivery of instruction has to be sustained. So that means under that requirement with diminishing resources, how do we get creative? And so that would be my first goal to see. We need to sustain the core which is instruction and let's see how we can do it better. >> Thank you. >> Mr. Pack? >> Coming from a student perspective, I'm looking at your very extensive experience that I like to see how your vision for the college matches up for with the student perspectives. So I would ask what are some major accomplishments of the district in the past few years and what if any, areas for improvement should the board address? >> Sure. You know, I don't mean to repeat myself but I will make references to similar things. I think that the key accomplishment of the trustees recently is the recruitment of Dr. Rocha. I'm familiar with the recent changes you had up in this last few years. So I think that should be commended. I think the fact that the board has been fiscally conservative in terms of managing its reserves should be commended especially right now as many other colleges are struggling to meet instruction. That should be commended. I think the fact that this board was successful in passage of a bond measure to rejuvenate the campus should be commended. It's exciting to know that the arts building is gonna be going up very soon. This facility especially ought to be commended. I mean I was a part of the new student union facility at Cal State LA and if you haven't visited the new union, it's all these students did a great job in the planning of that. Now in terms of the future, it's how to sustain excellence, PCC is known for its excellence. It has a brand. It has a name. People wanna come here. People wanna volunteer as a trustee. People want to attend PCC. People wan to work here, so it's a good brand. Children's hospital, we have a good brand as well. So we're going through some of the same challenges and issues as well. How do we diversity our portfolio? Do we need to pursue more private dollars from donors? Do we need to pursue more federal dollars? Do we need to look at our courses that provide supplemental dollars to enhance our core mission? Do we need to look at our mix of strategies that we're working with? I think those are key opportunities but I think that I hope state wide that community colleges are working at this already. Because in my opinion and I'm an optimist by nature. In my opinion it's not gonna get any better if your PCC is sitting pretty to be honest with you, a new president, [inaudible] everybody wants to come here. Hopefully I have the opportunity to serve with you all good--it suck you know. It's a perfect--a perfect storm if you will. I hope that answers your question. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Rocha. >> Thank you Mr. President, I yield my time. >> Okay. Well thank you very much. And I wanted to ask a question and give you an opportunity to say anything else that you think we ought to give consideration to. But let's suppose hypothetically is that you are selected to serve in this position. I have 2 questions for you. One, assume that there has been a very spirited debate over an issue and you come out on the short side of the vote on that. How would you handle that? >> Did you say it was a 2 part question? >> Well that--deal with that one first? >> Okay. Sure, that's okay, I tend to be a little--we tend to-- >> No, that's good. >> Its just my nature, sorry. You know in working with groups there is disagreements and agreements daily so you have to keep focused on the ultimate goal. And so you cannot afford for daily interface to affect that relationship. The relationship is long term. The goals are long term. We want to have long term success. You have to anticipate that there's gonna be disagreements. But then you have to be able to anticipate that at the end of the meeting you're gonna say hey, do you wanna have some coffee or we're having a barbeque, you wanna come over? Because it's not personal, I don't--hardly ever take anything personal. You can attack me personally I would think you're just messing with me. But I would--I don't take things personal. So from that perspective if I lose you know--to me it tells me either I didn't prepare well, I didn't communicate well or I didn't prepare my group well. Because if I expect success I wanna be able to prepare my group so that I achieve what I need to do. I can't expect success if I'm one person team just storming through and saying this is what I want and this is what we're gonna do, right, that's not gonna happen. >> Good. The other part of what I was gonna ask you I think you've answered with Mr. Martin. But let me be quite explicit about it. Are you seeking this position as a stepping stone to the state assembly or the state senate or who knows what else? >> Sure. I'll answer that question and I'll answer the question that other people have asked me is whether I would run for office next year if appointed. I've been approached before to run for office. I haven't been interested. Its--I've been approached to work for politicians before, I haven't been interested. I was more focused on working in a place where I can make--have that individual impact more of a direct impact sooner. Now legislation has big impact, and so up to now I haven't been interested in running for office. Now it's meeting my application to this group, I'm a big planner. I should tell you that. I plan like 5 steps ahead. Because I know and also I have to share with my wife to say look, if appointed this means that if I wanna continue with this, I have to run for office. So are you onboard? Because it's a public persona, you know I'm a public administrator or public executive but now it's okay. I'm gonna put an additional hat, honey. Because it's not just me, it's our family. And she said "okay, I guess we're getting old you know. I can't say no forever." And so if appointed I hope to continue with this. I hope--you know it's-- >> Your [inaudible] are here or are you gonna-- >> No, no, no, no I'm not--I'm not you know if I was interested in politics to be candid with you I would've started much sooner. I would've maybe run for the assembly when I was 30 or 35 maybe run for the school board where people perceive as a stepping stone to other positions. No, it's--I'm interested in serving this district. If I could be appointed next year instead of running for office, is that possible? I would welcome that because I'm not interested in you know being a politician. I think I have to be to serve the district at least that's my understanding. And so I'm gonna make that commitment if appointed to run for office--I'm hoping that I have as--you know 1 year time should give me enough lead time to get familiar with the--with the perils and challenges and opportunities and joy of running for office which you all have to experience. I hope that answers your question. >> That's fine. Let me in closing again thank you for applying and thank you for being here this evening. Is there any thing else that you would like us to give consideration to as we move further with this process? >> Yeah, I just like to finish by saying that well first of all thank you. But second to say that all the people you're gonna hear from today, we're all good people. We all volunteer in our communities. Trust me I know, I know one that we volunteer almost in the same things very often. We try to do the best possible for everyone. So we're all very interested in being a trustee. And so from that perspective I think we meet the good citizen criteria. What I bring to you is my background, and being a public trustee so far. I worked in environments that are very transparent. I cannot manage federal dollars or state dollars and I have to make sure that what you see is what you get. So what I bring to you is my financial background, my legislative background, all these experience that can complement you as the trustees. So I thank you for the time. >> Good, well thank you very much. Let's take a short break wile we-- >> Mr. Figueroa [ Inaudible Remark ] >> No, the-- [ Inaudible Remark ] >> No because--that's a very good point, thank you for reminding me. It is not our intention to do any public deliberations or do any voting this evening. That will take place tomorrow evening. So you're welcome to I think go home if you--get to reunite with your family. >> I can stick around for any reason. >> If that's--I don't see that as being necessary. We'll not feel bad if you wanna go home. >> I'll go watch the video. [ Inaudible Remarks ] [ Pause ] >> Okay, the board is back in session and we're now going to talk with and work with Dr. Melinda Hsia who is the number 2 person in the procedure that we're following is that you can make up to a 5 minute presentation if you wish. And then we will start asking questions after that, so welcome, good to have you here and we really appreciate your application, your willingness to serve in this important position. >> Thank you, hopefully after I do my presentation it will answer quite a few of the questions and then it'll streamline the process and get you moving along. Okay, my name is Dr. Melinda Hsia, I'm a pharmacist by profession. I've been involved with the South Pasadena's Unified School District particularly during high school, as I guided my own teens through for 7 years. I was curious about the dynamics that would drive kindergarten parents to camp out overnight just to get a summer school class. I found out it got only more competitive as high school came upon us. It was then that I became committed to learning about higher education and the passion to share what I was learning about district policies, working with the budget, and the accessibility and desire to get into college. As PTSA vice president of programs, I brought the developing capable young people series to parents and hosted the very popular, helping your kids get into college and surviving discussion panel. I'm a supporter for programs that give access to information about the college and financial aid process to junior high schoolers and first in the family to go to college students. I was a participant in the campaign for college opportunity organization which helped to bring then Senator Jack Scott's bill--Senate bill 890 to Governor Schwarzenegger's desk which he signed in 2008 as the Early College Commitment Bill. As a PCC board trustee, I would have the honor of working directly with you as individuals selected for their leadership, communication skills and respect for each other's opinion to doing what is right for one of the top community colleges in California. I would in partnership with the rest of the team affect [inaudible] and revised programs that highly impact the students, faculty, and administrators' futures. I wanna be part of the streamline decision making on policies and issues that would inspire world movers and shakers and content administrators and faculty. I can learn from the past but want to move forward into the future. I believe the professional way that the board serves and carries out its decision is not just a role model for the college but also for surrounding districts and communities that it serves. Since one of the responsibilities of the board is approving employment for faculty and staff, it is imperative that the board has open thought processes, discussions and evokes leadership that is approachable and caring. The board acts and responds as a whole unit but the diverse backgrounds and character of each trustee is healthy to bring deeper insights and deeper thoughts to an issue. My focus has been on strengthening community outreach and bringing groups together to support each other. As past president of the South Pasadena Chinese American Club, I have increased visibility partnered with and participated in all the city events. Increased our fund raising efforts for educational and cultural projects and recently the group was honored with the service above self organization award by the Rotary Club. I bring energy, enthusiasm and a new perspective to each group that I am involved with. Working with city council members and politicians as a chamber of commerce board of director, has given me a wealth of information, developed my listening and communication skills and I have continued to passionately learn. I am also licensed in real estate and that has helped me as a member of the South Pasadena Unified School District's real estate advisory board, when questions about the district's real estate acquisitions played a role in the district's future budget. I understand the trust that each of you have been given by your communities. I believe in transparency and yet I acknowledge confidentiality where appropriate. I believe all students can learn well if we provide them the environment, to nurture their passions, expose their talents and ultimately make the world a better place because of their contributions. I've gone through the successful college transfer process with my son and a very competitive recent college application process at this exact time last year with my daughter including the--trying to get a Math class at PCC experience. I believe the purpose of the community college is to provide high quality education particularly a priority for area 5 to allow transfer to four year universities, successful learning vocational skills and continuing education at a lower cost relative to a four year institution to those primarily in the immediate area. South Pasadena and Temple City have a 33 to 38 percent Asian population respectively with the Hispanics Latinos and foreign born residents above the state average. San Marino has about 48 percent Asians with 70 percent of the residents there, older than 25 having college degrees. A college education is a priority for these residents and the needs even if between foreign and American born residents do differ. Just as the student body and the community PCC serves is diverse so with the ideas and contributions from these groups be also, leading to the best suggestions as a whole. I would take the special request from this diverse population, help the other trustees to look at concerns or issues in the eyes of area 5 and bring back answers and the voice that may experience in community involvement would help me do. Although many students are able to seek out counselors and attend the PCC visitations at their high school, I have found that many parents depend on friends to inform them. I believe the board's responsibility to make effective and educated decisions on policy and issues brought forth by the administration or student, after studying the pros and cons, is one of the responsibilities. The new challenges of today require creative thinking. I have had the unpleasant experience of taking the budget and determining which programs needed to be cut as a member of the South Pasadena Unified School District's Committee. Academics must still be the strength of the college as this is the foundation to provide further career options whether it be to transfer or whether to--it is to go into this job market. The chamber of commerce board hosted the vision 2020 town hall meeting last year with Dr. Huang and Dr. Sugimoto and we heard many of the praises from the students, businesses and parents. We listened to the concerns about access in classes necessary for the transfer alliance program to continue to be successful and to keep PCC as one of the top community colleges involved in this program. Kudos to the LEED, the environmental design for the new buildings and the beautiful improvements for Measure P, more internships and direct workplace opportunities, I believe are needed to teach soft skills as accountability, time management and promote self confidence. >> Forgive me Dr. Hsia but that, that red light there means that your five minutes is-- >> Oh okay. >> So if you could bring your comments to a close, we'd appreciate that. >> Okay. >> All of the above requires a lot of time. Last week I became an empty nester so I do have--I gave my two children a strong foundation, nurtured their independence and now they have flown off on their own. Now I do have the time to take on 30,000 more students. And Congressman Adam Schiff recognized my ambassadorial skills and philanthropic work last year by selecting me as one of the 29th congressional district's woman of the year reinforcing my belief that in order to be a good leader and member in any organization it requires total immersion of thought, time and research. I want to be part of the PCC board of trustees that is moving forward because as Dr. Rocha knows as a runner, if you're in front of the pack, the view is always exciting but from the back, it never changes. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Ms. Brown? >> Yeah. A couple, I have a question for you. First I wanna thank you for joining us for showing interest and coming and be part of this board. We will definitely listen attentively to you today because that is what we're here for. My question for you is I see that you are pharmacist, you're a realtor, you are full of energy and my concern or question is I'm sure you're aware of what it is to be a board member. I would like to know how would you manage your time because being a member of this trustee board requires a lot of time and preparation for the meetings. Sometimes we have to have as many as three meetings in a week like this one and I'd just like you to give me an idea of how you will manage your time. >> Okay. As a pharmacist I am per diem which means my volunteer efforts and groups come first. >> Okay. >> And my actual paid job come second. I am able to actually pick and choose when I want to work which actually works to the volunteer group's advantage. My real estate is more on the side. I don't do that full time. >> Okay and you're on several boards? >> I am terming out as of this month. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Dr. Mann? >> Yes. This is kind of a logical follow up, could you describe for us how your public service and community involvement will have--let me reword this. What skills have your public service and community involvement developed that you could bring directly to this board? >> Many of the leadership positions that I have done in the past require listening, conflict resolution, definitely being able to communicate both to the community and to the members of the board of whichever group I'm involved in. To bring back discussion to--and to also I'm very good at focusing. So what usually happens is if members of the discussion-- >> You're a pharmacist, that's a really good characteristic to have. >> Actually as as a pharmacist, it's surprising that I can actually I have very good listening skills and also conflict resolution. We are definitely as a characteristic, counseling people, talking with people and knowing confidentiality is very important and being able to do that is I think a forte. >> Great. Thank you. >> Mr. Martin? >> Dr. Hsia again, extremely impressed with all the different variety of organizations you've been a part of, tremendous commitment, I love to hear the passion and the voice and I say to myself you're obviously somebody that can almost go anywhere and almost do anything and so I say, so why PCC? Why is it of all the opportunities and all the fields you could volunteer or move in, contribute to with all that and such an impressive resume, why PCC? Why now and what's beyond? >> Well, I've always loved PCC when I moved into the community. I mean even before I had kids. It's just been an impressive institution. Everyone knows about it. Everyone knows about it in relation to real estate, cities, and communities. When I become involved in the schools and the processes during high school, like I said, PCC was always brought up into the picture as a very strong institution and a foundation for the students of the high school. And, although I did not personally go to a city college, I could see the strengths of the college and a third of the South Pasadena high school does go to PCC. And I saw at the high school their needs, what they were looking for, seeing that they were taking advantage a lot of the people that were coming to for visits, for visitation days, the kids were taking a lot of advantage of that. But their parents seemed to not do that. Their parents were more in the--in the dark about what PCC, what their expectations of PCC were. And I saw there is a need there. Now, time wise, like I said, this is a perfect time for me. I am actually trimming out of my two biggest things in September which means one of them being bingo for the high school. But I did that every month for seven years. But, all that did take a lot of time but now I do have the time and it seems like the timing of it and to be involved in a higher institution where I was so involved in at South Pasadena High School would be like a next stepping stone. And, considering that I do have a lot of connections in the city itself and the community seems just like a natural step for me. >> And continue on and what lies ahead beyond, what's in the dream? >> The dream is to do what the best I can for PCC. And, I become a natural ambassador in whatever I am in, involved in. So, PCC would just naturally start to go other places where I would be and I would be--I'm very good at being connections and connecting with other groups of people. >> Thank you, Mr. Baum? >> I also wanna add my thanks and my personal appreciation for your willingness to put your name forward and come forward and your past service to this district. And your service on the presidential search committee. I really appreciate the individuals like you of your caliber to our--when you bring your experience and your devotion to the community. And now, you've wanted--you've allowed us to consider you for this opportunity. So, thank you so much for that. >> Your welcome. >> I wanna get to your sense of your understanding of community colleges at large and then your priorities that you would bring as a board member. And so, what do you see as the major issues facing community colleges in general in this community college? And then, as we all know we're in a period of declining resources. Where are your priorities if you have to make funding reductions, where would you--where would the programs that you would do everything that you can to retain because of your commitment to that as being a board member? >> Well, as I've said, my priorities would be mainly for the general education classes because that is academics should always be the foundation of the college. I see very creative thinking in taking some of the other classes that may be cut which usually come first on the cutting board when it comes to budget crunching. I see a partnership of perhaps creative thinking and partnering with either city resources or some kind of other community groups where there is more of an, maybe, a perhaps an outsourcing of involvement, partnering with more community, if they're--if a particular class cannot actually be taken. But, as long as they don't need that for a particular--to graduate or something like that, it's more of a special interest type of class that may be that would be dealt with in that respect. That way, people, the students can still have that exposure. But it may not happen at the city college level if there is no funding for those classes. >> So, aside from funding which we talked about and you've said that your priority would maybe to first maintain those general education classes. What other issues do you see facing our college and the community college system as a whole? >> One of the things I think that everyone seems to be talking about with the PCC is the accessibility obviously to the overcrowding of the classes and the fact that perhaps, transferring may take a little longer than possible. So, I think one of those--one of that issue itself would have to be taken care of with size of classes and the number of the classes that's offered. >> Okay, thank you, okay. >> Dr. Fellow? >> Yes, Dr. Hsia, please discuss your understanding of the differences between the roles of the chief executive officer or the president and other administrators and the role of the board. >> I believe the president would be there to identify issues and concerns that would be brought up to the Board of Trustees. And they would be the ones to discuss the issues at that level, but not procedure, more issues and concerns and policies. >> Thank you. Mr. Pack? >> So, given that everyone sort of has a foundation of the understanding that we are in a tough economic climate and so on. All colleges are facing issues about major, what are some specific areas for improvement that the board should address at PCC that are unique to our school? >> One of the things I really like the fact that there--there is more study-abroad programs now at PCC that I'm noticing but I think we can increase that studying abroad within the different subjects. Because I think just being able to expose students to become global citizens, I think that's a very much of an emphasis now in universities and colleges and to break out of the box, to give them the foundation, but to also let them know and plant the seed in them to know that there is something out there that they can do and to expose themselves to. I would like to see more of that. And, another thing would be to have more connections with the businesses in the area where, perhaps, there is more internships that type of thing connections, again, a support group, a connection because as we have less of the programs and budget within the college, we might have to use other sources. >> Great, thank you. >> Dr. Rocha? >> Thank you President Thomson, I yield my time to whoever. >> One of the major issues that we in the community colleges and certainly not unique to Pasadena City College are facing is that significant numbers of the students who come here are not prepared in basic skills, Mathematics, Reading, and writing. What are your thoughts on how we can do effective job of addressing those needs. >> I've noticed that a lot of the concerns are the fact that a lot of those who are coming here still need to have the basic skills. And some of the time and efforts are still being used to have those basic skills catch--caught up on before they are able to actually get into the college scene and the college classes. I think that we will have to use more of the, again, perhaps outside sources to try to work with those particular students rather than take up actual college time to try to do that within the class that you're trying to teach other courses. And I think that has to be done separately. >> By outside sources, what do you have in mind? >> Perhaps, partnering with community groups to who would offer maybe language, English as a Second Language, other schools, high schools that have that as an outside classroom like evening class and things like that for language, basic language and even tutoring for math skills. >> Well, thank you very much. Let me close by giving you an opportunity to tell us anything else that we ought to consider as we move forward to this process. Anything that we've not asked you or you've not had the chance to tell us up to the present time but we really do want to thank you so very much for number one, applying and number two, coming here this evening and meeting with us. >>I'm just glad that, you know, there were quite a number of applicants. I was just very happy about that and I know you will get a very good one and I hope that it will help the process and keep the operations at PCC going strong. >> Well, good. Thank you. We're not going to give any deliberation to this, this evening when we are through with the interviews. That will take place tomorrow evening. So, if you want to join us then or watch us on television, if that's possible for you, I--that's your choice but there is no need for you to remain here any longer this evening. You can return and get back together with your--your husband at least, I understand your children have departed for the time being. >> I know. >> So, again, thank you so much for coming and being with us. >>Okay, you're welcome thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. [ Pause ] >> Moving right along we're back in session here and welcoming Mr. Warren Weber, a person who really does not need much of an introduction to any of us who are at least not to many of us or to this college. So, thank you so much Warren for applying and for taking time to be with us this evening. The procedure we're following allows you to take up to five minutes and tell us whatever you think we need to know about you that we may not already know. As you are well aware the light here will tell us, tell you rather when you're getting to the end of your five minutes because the red will show up and all that. But, so welcome and whatever you like to begin by telling us, we will be delighted to listen to you. >> Thank you sir. Well, as you mentioned half of you at least probably know more than you wanna know about me. And so, for the relative newcomers, I'll just say briefly what my background and some of the things that I've been involved in the college and then we'll quickly get to some questions. But, anyway, I was 35 years in business in Pasadena to--following my graduation from college I went to work in my family business and became aware of what was going on in the community. I've been a resident in the City of San Marino since 1960. I was elected to the board in 1977, actually in March because they changed the election dates. In that period of time, I think I could be called an observer or possibly student of governance that I have a perspective that I think most of you can appreciate. I have been involved in the construction processes on the campus, the promotion of Proposition P and the Proposition P oversight. I was first involved in construction when they demolished Big Boy restaurant and built the library. So, I've been paying attention to that and my background is in construction. So, I have an interest there. I understand the role of a board member. I think I think I can do the work that needs to be done and I think I offer the perspective that it takes to make a board work. And that's the end of what I have to say about myself and would welcome any questions. >> Okay, well thank you very much. Let us begin with Ms. Brown. >> Yes, Mr. Weber I appreciate you coming back today and I have been informed before you came that you were a previous board member extremely qualified, service amount of years and that's commendable. I'm sure the Board could use someone of your background. But, my question to you is which I have asked my colleagues. Why are you interested in coming back to the Board? [ Pause ] >> Primarily because I care about the institution. I don't need a job. I'm not politically ambitious. This school, this institution has had some inconsistency in recent times. And, I would like to change that. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Mann? >> Yes. I've been asking everyone the same question. So, could you please describe your public service and community involvement and the skills you would bring to the board and I think you touched on that a little bit, but I would like for you to tell us a little bit because there are some new people on the board, more the skills which you developed on the board and the kind of things that you did as a board member. >> Fine. I did not have a political career. I chose the path in my business life along with my brother-in-law where we did not get involved in the community. For 30 plus years, we just minded our own business and most of our customers were out of town and doing business in the City of Pasadena. And all of a sudden, we became aware of the fact that we've made a mistake. We should've been involved. The City of Pasadena from time to time has not been business friendly. And we decided that we had reached the point where we could become involved and we should be more involved in the community. He chose to be--run for office and be elected to the South Pasadena City Council because I live outside of South Pasadena, I had to choose something else. All of my family, immediate family, had gone to PCC. My oldest daughter had become acquainted with some professors here and when the previous trustee decided to retire, these two professors came to me and said, why don't you consider running for that position. And, I thought about it and decided I cared about education. I cared about San Marino Schools and I respected the success that my children have had here and I decided to run and was successful. And as a net result, in--I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge to participate, to try to see to it that the institution prospered. I think that the institution is bottom line as far as I'm concerned. Since my time on the board I have spent more time in other activities. I have become more involved in the San Marino Rotary. I chair a committee to offer many grants to San Marino area students whether they are in private schools or in public schools. I've been active in the many grants that the PCC Foundation offers, surprised myself I went back to work at San Marino [inaudible] this last year which I hadn't done for a dozen years. But I'm interested in preserving our institutions and making them as effective as they possibly can. >> Mr. Martin, I'm gonna be consistent and ask the same question that I've been asking and that is about, why are you interested in becoming on the Board of Trustees which you've elaborated on already and then I always use to give it a twist of what's your future aspirations as related to the Board of Trustees or other general pursuits in life. >> If Hilary had continued on the board, I would not have elected to run against her. I considered that the time I'd put on the board was enough. In the time since I retired from the board, I recognized that there were some problems. I recognized that maybe things could have been done cleaner. And I decided that there was an opportunity for me to come back and serve the board. I don't want a long term career as a trustee. I've got other things to do but currently I have the time, the interest to try to bring some stability to the institution. >> Would you consider--are you considering if you're appointed running again in the next year? >> The only reason I would consider is if I couldn't support someone else who is running. >> Mr. Baum. >> Hello Warren. First of, I wanna extend my personal thanks to you for willing to put yourself forward in your service to the district for so many years. You've been an effective leader and effective trustee and a role model for many of us on the board and I appreciate your willingness to come back and say you're willing to have another opportunity to serve this district. >> Thank you. >> Will you articulate for me and for others and what you see--you've talked about bringing stability, what are the challenges you think are specifically facing this district and then as a second part of the question, we all know, we're on the period of uncertain revenue situations state wide as well as in a period of declining revenues, how do you prioritized those decisions that the district is gonna have to make. What is--what has to be preserved first? Who gets in the lifeboat first at the district? But also what other beyond finances, what are the other challenges you think the district and the system is facing? >> Well, having not been on the board, I'm in a difficult position to say exactly what the problems are. But based on my observations, there hasn't been the same collegiality that there was when I was on the board. And so I see that as an opportunity. As far as my priorities, my priorities are always for the student first. Transfer students always seemed to go to the top of the list. I have a history of supporting vocational education. So my allegiance is divided because I think the community college has to perform both services. But seeing to it that as many classes as can possibly be offered would be my priority. Thank you. >> Dr. Fellow. >> If the board wouldn't let me indulge on this. I've never met you before this evening but I don't know if you remember about 15 years ago, I called you. >> You did. >> I was asked to call you because I was going to--I was asked to run for a high political office and gives me an opportunity tonight to thank you. I think I was on the phone for an hour and we were not even the same political party but your kindness, I will never forget. So thank you-- >> Thank you. >> For that. You've been a board member and I'm interested maybe you can teach me more this evening. I'd like you to discuss your understanding of the differences between the rules of the chief executive, the president of the board, president of the college, and other administrators and the role of the board. >> Well, the board is elected to represent their area and that's a matter of politics. As far as I'm concerned, if you are elected to represent your area that has to take second seat to the vitality of the institution that you've all taken the code of ethics of the board that says that even though you're elected by district, you will put the institution first. I firmly believe in that. We've had some people that didn't agree with that but I believe that the board has to work very hard to understand the needs of the institution and that involves becoming acquainted with people on campus and you have to tread this very fine line of not politicking on campus and not representing one group or the other and be careful about where you get your information but you need the information to come back and help guide the administration and the board's job is to establish policy and hire somebody that can run the place. And if they can't run it, then you get rid of them and you get somebody else. And I've hired a few and then I've fired a few and I strongly believe that the board has their function and they shouldn't be micromanaging and they shouldn't be out politicking on campus. >> Thank you. >> Mr. Pack. >> So given your tremendously respectable amount of experience with the PCC board, I will not ask you what the major accomplishments are. I'm sure you're familiar with that but I am interested in your perspective on PCC's areas of improvement. What would you identify as PCC areas for improvement and how should this board address them? You were talking about collegiality, stability and so on but more specifically. [ Pause ] >> I'm not sure that I can identify a particular weakness. I can relate that we do a better job, I shouldn't say we, the institution, PCC does a better job in most all areas than the competition. The fact that we draw more students in our student body from outside the district than we have from inside the district would certainly indicate that we're doing a few things right. There are restraints by law that keep us from doing certain things. There are restraints in dealing with personnel. You have to live within those but I feel that it's the board's obligation to stay informed, make the decisions as they are required and then ask the administration to do the work. >> Thank you. >> I'm not bypassing Dr. Rocha but he--I told him if he wants to ask a question just tell me and if not, we'll just move on here. I'm not gonna go into lots of question that are questions about your assessment of the college, et cetera, your service and resume speak for themselves and certainly you've addressed many of that. So let me just turn to you and say, is there anything else that you would like us to know or to consider as we move forward through this process? >> Just one, one observation. You asked in your list of questions what--what the proper conduct for a board member is when they find they're on the losing side of a vote. I would have changed that question. I wouldn't ask what you don't do when you're on the wrong side of the vote and you don't go to the star news and you don't go to campus organizations and you don't go around the administration and the board. And that would be my sole observation. >> I was contemplating asking you that. I thought, no, you know. [ Laughter ] >> He's so well experienced I don't need to ask for [inaudible] that question. But I'm glad that you volunteered that. That's helpful information. Unfortunately not everybody all the time-- >> Well, they don't have the same perspective. >> Yeah. Anyway, anything else? >> I think that's it. >> Well, thank you very, very much for both applying and for taking the time this evening to come and share with us. We really appreciate this and we are most appreciative as well for all the years of service, the various roles you played on behalf of the college and all the good things you've done for the college. So thank you so much. >> Thank you, sir. >> We're gonna take a-- >> Mr. Thomson, can I make a brief comment? >> Sure. >> I can not tell you how much I appreciate Mr. Webber's learning of to be sensitive to language that I personally use to find him insensitive to. And when he used to say, I think the board should hire a man and tell him what to do. And like tonight he said, they should hire someone. [ Laughter ] >> And I appreciate that. I appreciate the gender neutral language. [ Laughter ] >> I appreciate how you are open to new ideas and new ways of seeing things and how you said that so naturally. And I don't know if no one else must have heard it. But I heard it and I appreciate it. >> I took some instruction from you and in addition I have 3 daughters. [ Laughter ] >> You're a good learner. [ Pause ] >> Okay. If I could ask that the board come back into session and moving along with our process this evening. Our next person to talk with is Linda Wah and we wanna begin by first of all thanking you very, very much for applying and thanking you for being with us evening this evening and sharing your perspective on PCC and on education. So we are very grateful for that. The process or procedure we're following is that you have up to 5 minutes to tell us whatever it is that you would like us to know, maybe something that's not in the written papers you presented to us or it's there and you wanna emphasize it. This fancy little gadget over here, will tell you approximate time you have remaining. When it starts flashing yellow that means you're getting close to the 5 minute warning. When it's red, you're at the 5 minutes and it means wrap it up. But other than that, when you're finished with that, we will each ask you a question and have a little dialogue back and forth. But if you would like to spend a couple of minutes, 5 minutes is max telling us some things that you think we ought to particularly be aware of as we give consideration to this, please do so. Thank you. >> Okay. Well, thank you very much for the opportunity to present. My name is Linda Wah and I also wanna thank you for the openness in this process. I was at the board meeting where you were discussing it and I know this was really important for you to have transparency in the process and it's important to the community too. I was approached by the National Women's Political Caucus to apply for this vacancy and I was really honored to have that to be recommended because undoubtedly PC, their mission is to seek qualified women for public office. But I'm also interested in this position for several other reasons. I've been a long time resident, 30-year resident of the PCC district so I lived in the west San Gabriel Valley for over 30 years. I've been in area 5 for over 10 years and I'm also the parent of 2 PCC alums who then transferred over to Cal State LA [inaudible]. So education and the success of PCC is very important to me. Three years ago I retired from the city of Los Angeles as an information technology manager. And so, my dream in retirement was to spend more time in the community and with boards. And while I served on boards for over 30 years, I had to split my time between working and raising a family. So now I get to work full-time on community projects which is great for me. As an IT manager, one of the focuses I've had is really to use technology to help organizations increase their viability and the delivery of services. And like all public organizations, we also face dwindling budgets. So, some of the accomplishments that I've had in that--in my professional career, I worked on the [inaudible] Blue Ribbon Technology Committee. And under that committee we worked with [inaudible] industry and technology. And at that time I was working on a project with my department, and so one of the things we delivered as part, one of the outcomes of that committee was spatial technology in the city of LA. So I put out electronic maps on the web and I joined it with tax role assessor information and through that we were able to cut down a process of permit research in the city of L.A. from a three-week process to a two-day process. So I have first hand knowledge that technology can do amazing things to help organizations really change. As I said, I've also had over 30 years of experience working on various sports. So I've been a member of the national organization of women. I've served on their state and their local boards. I'm currently a member of women at work which is a Pasadena-based organization and we've had an affiliation with PCC and we help our clients in their career goals both to hone their career seeking skills. I've also been very involved in the Asia Pacific Islander communities. I've been a member of organization of Chinese-Americans, Organization of Chinese-American Women and I'm currently on the board of the Chinese-American Museum of Los Angeles. So what we do is I promote programs and exhibits to educate the public on the history and the culture of Chinese-Americans. I've also served on several educational boards, so I've been on the Cal State L.A. Alumni Board and part of that time, I was the president of the board and I served on the Charter College of Education and in that capacity I was both the board member as well as the community adviser and I helped them in their strategic planning process and in meeting their goals. So while I've had all of these, I worked on all of these diverse boards, I think that--it gives me some insight I think into an area of this college of area 5 which has a very diverse community and it's really been a very highly changed community over the last ten years. So I feel I would be a very good candidate to represent this diverse community and bring a perspective and also to bring my own professional skills to the board and to help the college in their endeavors. >> Well thank you very much. We're now each going to ask a question and a dialogue and so let me begin with Berlinda Brown. >> Yeah, thank you for coming today. >> Thank you Trustee Brown. >> And I would like to ask you, what do you see as the major issues facing community colleges in the next decade? >> Well I think, community colleges like all public organizations really face some very drastic cuts to the budget and I read Chancellor Scott's budget message about how this is probably one of the most dire economic environments that he's seen in his tenure and I think that's true. I think that PCC has always had such a wonderful reputation of being an educational gemstone in our community and I think it's important that we maintain that high bar, that standard and that academic excellence and that we maintain our accreditation but then how do you do that with all of this dwindling budgets. So it's sort of how do you do more with less and I also think that the college is also facing the challenge of a very changing environment, so not only demographically changing but also I see that the careers that we use to prepare our kids for 10 years ago are not the same careers that are gonna be needed today or even in the next ten years. So it really is going to force the organization to be much more fluid and much more insightful. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Mann. >> Yes. You've talked about your experience on boards which are rather impressive. I wonder if you can tell us how this experience has developed skills that you could bring to the work to the board. >> Well, working on very diverse boards has exposed me to working with a lot of different personalities and what I find is, everyone that I have worked with, all has the best interest of the organization at heart which is the right thing to be and so while you may have differing opinions, I think its important that you form a team that you have some solidarity in your group and so even though we all have a chance to express ourselves there might be differing opinions, in the end we all have to come together and I think part of that then that experience in working with this various teams is--in this various boards is to learn how to work within all of those different personalities to achieve the common goal. But to also ensure that everyone gets heard because while you may have a different opinion, you still--it still has to be expressed and it should still be honored and heard. >> Thank you. >> Mr. Martin? >> Thanks so much and again a very impressive resume. I appreciate you putting your name forward. I was wondering if you could elaborate a little bit about why you selected PCC as your potential focus when I'm sure you have the capability of targeting many other institutions. And if you were appointed, would you be interested in running again. And what lies even beyond in the next decade for Linda Wah? >> Thank you Trustee Martin. That's--it's actually something I thought about for a while. I was gonna address it in my opening speech. Yes. While it has always been my desire when I retire to give more back to community, I do focus on certain things. So I'm very dedicated to the Asian-American community. I'm very dedicated to women's issues and I'm very dedicated to educational issues. And that's why when I graduated from Cal State LA when I had an opportunity and they asked me to join the alum board, I immediately volunteered to do that and then went on to be the president. But it's true. When you're retired, there are a lot of organizations who may seek membership. And so, it's given me an opportunity to be very judicious and how I spend my time and which organizations I spend my time with. And my criteria is really whether or not the organization meets a personal interest of mine and education does. And as I said, PCC, I've been in the PCC district for many years. And also, whether or not I feel that I have the skills that could make an impact for that organization. So for me, the connection with PCC and Cal State is very strong. And the priority on education both personally and in my community is very strong. >> Mr. Baum. >> First off, I want to also express my personal appreciation for you putting yourself forward. We have some fans in the audience. I see an endorsement by Prof. Elaine and others. So I really appreciate you coming forward and your public service to the community is very admirable. I wanna get a sense of who you are as a trustee and what you--how you set priorities. But first off, tell me what your understanding is, the role of a governing board member especially when vis-a-vis the administration. How does that dynamic work and what will you see as your role as a governing board member. And then we're asked to set some priorities especially in the time of shrinking resources. What--what method would you use and what are the priorities you bring when we are trying to deal with shrinking resources. Where should those resources be directed towards? >> So the-- >> For instance, the role of a governing board member, what's your understanding of that especially when it comes to interacting with the administration. And then also as a trustee, what are the priorities that you see we should be focusing our resources on. >> Thank you trustee Baum. >> Yes. >> I think that the role and my experience in working on various boards, so I worked both as a director, I served as well as the director and I served on advisory boards. But I think in the board of trustees, I do see that the role is to develop policy, set guidelines. And I know that they have a legal responsibility. But in terms of administration, that's certainly I think the role of the operational management of the organization falls to the president of the college. And while he may answer to the board and there is a very, I guess there is a 2 way relationship where while the board sets guidelines, the president may also offer advice and set guidelines. But I don't see the board as intervening with administrators. I think that the administration really falls to the president and that's the head and that's who the trustees turn to, the management. I think in setting priorities to me, a college can exist without their accreditation. And so the priorities have to be focused on all of the programs and the courses that allow that organization to maintain their accreditation and that high academic bar that's been set. I think that the other priorities in facing these--these shrinking budgets is focusing on the core programs that allow the students to reach their academic goals and to matriculate quickly to streamline that process through the organization so that they each the next level of their academic goals so that we can then expand our availability to other students. So those would be my priorities. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Fellow. >> Ms. Wah, I was very impressed with your letters or recommendation particularly from assemblyman Portantino [phonetic] who hit a home run last commencement here. Excellent, invite him back again. I thought he was the best commencement I ever heard. Let's see. I have a question here. Nobody asked my questions. >> I was gonna ask you, how would you respond to a concern from a student or a staff member or community member about any part of the college operation. >> Thank you trustee Fellow. I believe that as I said, that the president is the head of the day to day operation so I think if there is a concern about an operation. I think it should be referred to the president to handle. And I would not want to usurp that authority. And then that having been said, having worked for many years in the public sector I have to say that I have come across many incidents where maybe I was the first to come to be approached by a concerned--. And while I would never usurp the authority of another manager and I always stay within the chain of communication and command. I also saw often that sometimes those concerns may have got fall into the crack so I always feel like it's my obligation and responsibility to then follow up and make sure that it's handled. But, you know, I'm sure in most environments, you would never have to do that. But I'm just very sensitive to that having worked in the public sector. As you know, you often hear people say, how I referred to that person and who knows whatever happened to it. It went into a black hole and I never wanna be responsible for that kind of communication. >> Thank you very much. >> Mr. Pack? >> Let me say really quickly I'm thrilled that you integrated so much of your experience with technology into your resume and application. I'm very intrigued by that. And also, I love the URL address, the changing nature of the jobscape if you will. So I guess in relation to those things, what are PCC's major areas for improvement and then how can this board address those issues, how would you as a board member address those issues? >> Thank you Mr. Pack. >> I think PCC does a wonderful job and I think that is why it's one of the most admired colleges in the California Community College System. If I could maybe just offer some things, I think that not only PCC faces these things but I think as the 4-year colleges are turning down more and more, their own applicant status is dwindling or they are much, I guess they don't have as many spots open. And so, I see that the community colleges, a lot is going to befall the community colleges to provide this education. So what do they do with this burgeoning applicant, full and yet they have this shrinking budget. And I see that technology can be used to help expand the resources and I know that PCC is already very involved in some online learning. They're also looking at technology to offset how they might get better, more communication across the students and among staff so that in those cases where you don't need one to one, one on one face type. So I think technology is one of the areas that could be ramped up to really help the college expand their resources. To be frank, I have often wanted to take classes here and I have to tell you the traffic here is horrible. Even coming over here today was pretty horrendous. I don't know all of the issues of transportation but I do know that my husband is in transit and he did help on some community college's transit issues. And so I would look at a program hopefully where there would be other alternate forms of transportation so people could--so the college and the campus could be more accessible. And even satellite sites which I know that the college has already been developing. But looking at those venues is a way to just make the access much more feasible. >> Wonderful, thank you. >> Well, thank you very much for both applying and for coming and spending time with us this evening. Let me ask you a question and then give you an opportunity to tell us anything else that you would like us to know and to consider as we go forward with the process. But let's just suppose hypothetically that there is a discussion of an issue by the board that said and a spirited discussion. And you end up on the short side of the vote. How would you handle that? >> Well, I have to say that has happened. [ Laughter ] >> It's not always pleasant but I have to say that as I said, I worked with a lot of different boards. They have a lot of different personalities and they bring a lot of different perspectives which I would say I think is a good thing to happen. And I think that as a representative of community, it's really your obligation to bring issues to the table even if it's the minority opinion. And it's your obligation to present facts so that decisions can be made in an informed manner. And then that having been said, if I still end up in the minority opinion and the majority prevails, I think that as I said, the board really needs to act as a whole and there needs to be solidarity. And once the vote is taken, then I think everyone has an obligation to support it. And I think that as long as you don't take the issues personally, you know that you're just presenting information. Then I think that, you know, you won't make this a personal issue and hopefully no one will make it a personal issue. >> Good. Well, thank you very much. Is there anything else that you would like to let us know or to emphasize? So as we move forward we can give consideration to that as well. >> Well, just to thank you all for this time. And as I sad, the openness of the process I think is certainly commendable for all of you. And as I said, I was here for the discussion so I know you will all try to make sure that this was as open and fair as possible. So, and once again to reiterate, I believe I could bring skills to the board that will help the organization. I look forward to participating in the continued success of PCC. And now being retired, I have time to devote to those issues. So thank you very much. >> Ms. Brown has-- >> I have one quick question. >> Yes, yes Trustee Brown. >> What are your political aspirations? >> You know, I've never run for political office. I don't really have any aspirations for the future. I was approached as I said, by NWPC. And as I said before, I really look at organizations that approach me and whether or not it's a good fit for what I wanna do. And PCC and higher education is very close to my heart. >> So really what I'm asking is should you be one--should you be the candidate that gets the position for this year. What then, would you be running for office or this is just temporary? >> You mean would I--would I run for the subsequent term? >> Correct. >> I would be interested in doing that. >> But you have not made that decision. >> No, I would be interested in running for the subsequent term. >> Thank you. >> Again, thank you very, very much for your time, for your interest. We appreciate that. We are not going to be deliberating on any of the discussions or the events of the evening publicly. We will be doing that tomorrow evening and on a regular scheduled board meeting. And it's our expectation to be making an announcement tomorrow night after we vote on it. And if the person we select is here, we will swear that person in and sure, he will take her--the seat with us. So again, thanks so much for being here for sharing with us. We really appreciate that and we will now take a short break and [inaudible] on our way to get the final person. >> Thank you. [ Pause ] >> Okay. Let's move back with our process for the evening. Mr. Murray, we appreciate your patience and hope we didn't keep you too bored back there in the back room. You were able to get some legal work accomplished--we're very appreciative of your application and your willingness to be with us this evening and share with us some background for us that you think we ought to take particular note of. The process that we are following, or procedure rather is that you have up to five minutes to talk to us and tell us whatever you think that we need to focus on from what you've given to us or perhaps something that's not been given to us. This fancy light over here will tell you when it's blinking yellow that you're getting close to your five minute limit, the red means you are at that limit and so bring it to a close just like being in a court room and dealing with it with it there. So that's the background and then we'll ask questions when you get through with that. So with that opening, why don't you take your up to five minutes and tell us the things you'd like to emphasize and we ought to take particular note of as this process moves forward. >> Thank you Mr. Thomson. Can everybody hear me all right? >> Yes that's fine. >> So first of all, it's a pleasure and honor for me to be here tonight and I wanna start by thanking all of you for the service that you provide and all that you do to make Pasadena City College such as an amazing place. Five minutes is not a lot of time. I'm gonna focus on three things. First I'm gonna tell you a couple of things about myself that I think you may not have--may not been self-evident from the materials that I passed into you. And then I'm gonna talk just a little bit about what I see as the main mission and purpose of the college and a couple of challenges that I see coming for the board and for the college. And then finally, I just wanna say a couple of words about which of those challenges I'm most excited about grappling with and working with if I should be lucky enough to join you. So first a few words about myself, you already know a good a bit about me from--on the materials you have, you know where I went to school, you know where I've worked, you know that I've sat a number of boards, you know that I have taught at a community college and that I come from a family of teachers. But there are at least four things--five things that I think may not be self-evidence from the materials. The first is that I'm very comfortable with financial matters, I'm very comfortable with budgets, the second is that I'm very comfortable with technology particularly new technology. I don't believe in technology for technology's sake but I'm often excited by the possibilities that it allows. Third that I have some experience with the Brown Act, I do sit on a commission with the county that is governed by the Brown Act, and fourth and I think what would be most important for me where I was sitting in your shoes is that I believe that I have a very collegial and collaborative manner of dealing with people, it's something that I pride myself on. I certainly have passionately held views and any of you who know me and have talked to things--talked about things with me know that. But I also certainly recognize that I'm not always right. I certainly know how to disagree with someone without being disagreeable. And I also recognize that at the end of the day, it's not my opinion or what I say that's important but rather where we collectively can come to and what we can agree on. And so I'm very aware of that and I think that's one of my strengths and skills. I'm also very aware and this will be the fifth point of what the purpose of the--the purpose and the role is of a board. Our job is to make sure that the mission of the college is being fulfilled as well as it can possibly be being fulfilled. And what that really means is that we should be focused on questions about priorities, questions about strategic direction, big picture questions. Now obviously, we don't do that in a vacuum. There are often many people in the room who know more about those issues or about the details of those things that we do so we get input from a lot of folks. But ultimately, it's the board that sets that direction. And then we make sure that the administration is prioritizing the things that we said is prioritized and we support their efforts and the faculty's efforts to then go and move forward with those strategic priorities. As far as the mission of Pasadena City College, I've obviously seen the mission statement. I've seen the core values. For me it's fairly simple. It's the mission of the college is to do the best job we can possibly do of enriching students lives. For some students that may mean that we--because of the education here set them on a path that enables them to make more money, we may set them on a path that gives them opportunities in their career that they otherwise wouldn't have and they have more fulfillment. It may be because we share with them and teach them how to learn and teach them how to love learning so that they have that for their entire lives. So there are lots of different ways that can happen but that we enrich students' lives. As I said in my materials, I believe that the greatest civil rights issue of our time is to what extent we provide access, quality access, access to quality education for everyone and I believe that in a place like California where the rubber meets the road on that question is with the community colleges, its places like PCC. This is a place where people come for second chances. This is a place where people come because they want to go on to a four-year university, because they want to get the last bit of formal education that they're gonna be able to get before they go into the workplace. I think that PCC does an excellent job of fulfilling its mission right now. But times are changing. There are immense challenges facing PCC and other community colleges. Budgets--and I don't need to tell you all this but just that you know that I understand it. >> Budgets are being cut at the state level at the same time the demand is going up. I mean the Cal State System is less able to absorb folks and are sending more folks our way as the economy goes down, people stay in school longer, people return to school, the demand is going up at the same time that the resources that we have to deal with these issues is going down. The challenge is really how can we do more with less. And in speaking to many of you over the last few weeks and other folks, I think the seeds of those answers of--at least some of the things that we need to do are evident. For example, I think we're gonna need to dramatically increase our use of technology. I think that we are gonna need to look at our curriculum and see whether that it accurately reflects the economic realities that we're moving into. I think that we are gonna have to find better ways of ensuring that we recruit and that we retain students from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly students from local communities. And I think in the long run, we are gonna have to find how we can rely less on the state for funding. I recognized that's not gonna happen quickly but we need to figure out how we can tap local resources better and it's those last two points that I'm particularly interested in working on, how can we do a better job or recruiting and retaining disadvantaged students particularly from local areas and how can we work with the foundation, whatever other resources we have to better tap local financial resources and bring them to bear on what we need to do here. I don't mean to suggest by prioritizing those areas that they aren't areas that you're already working in. I recognize there're a lot of things that are happening in those areas. But I think they are areas that I would be excited about and other areas I'd be excited about working on more. That light is red, does that mean my time is up John? >> Yes, that's-- >> Alright. So me close--let me just, one really quick final thing is that I recognize you have a list of 13 questions. I'm certainly happy to address any of those. I think I've touched on a number of them in my remarks and in my materials but I also just want to be explicit about--if there's anything else that is at all a hesitation for you about my candidacy, I would love for you to address it even its beyond those questions. This is something I would be very, very excited about doing. I know you have a lot of great candidates. But if you have any hesitations about me in any way I would love the opportunity to at least address them and voice my response to them as best that I can. So thank you. >> Thank you. Ms. Brown? >> Yeah, well thank you Mr. Murray for coming here tonight and we appreciate your interest in serving as a Trustee here for Pasadena City College. One of my questions for you is I've looked at your resume and I see you're a very involved young individual and we appreciate--I appreciate the fact of what you're doing to help throughout. But the board, PCC board is--takes a lot of time for a preparation and meetings and, you know, sometimes we're called when we don't expect, how available would you be to serve in this board and meet the time that we need? >> First let me say that I'm a believer in that saying that probably many of you have heard that if you want something done, you give it to the busiest person you know. I mean there's a reason why that person is busy is because people they get things done. And having said that however, I also recognized there will be a significant amount of time involved with serving on the PCC Board and I would want to invest that time because I would wanna do it right and do it to the full extent of my abilities to do it. It would involve me stepping down from at least one of the board that I'm currently on simply because the schedules conflict so that would free up some time at my end. But it's something that I'm committed to doing and so to doing well. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Mann? >> Yes. I've asked everyone the same question but I'm still gonna get my glasses. You have a very impressive record on community service and serving on boards and you just mentioned a board and that you've been on the Brown Act board. Could you just tell us a little bit how your service on these other boards and this community involvement have developed skills that you could bring to the board and what those skills might be. >> Sure, I think it'd be in a number of areas, I think most of which are the ones, the ones I would put upfront are the ones that I mentioned in my opening remarks. I think I have further improved or learned some skills on those boards about how to interact with people. How to talk to--how to disagree with people and yet still find common ground and move forward, how to be collegial, how to try to get back to what people agree on, you know? You always--I mean you all serve on this board because you feel very deeply about the quality of education here and who is served here at PCC. You all have that in common. And whatever you're disagreeing about, I would bet 99 percent of the time, its because you have different senses of how best to do that but it's still rooted in that, almost always. And that's been my experience on boards, is that the people who serve at least on the boards I've been on overwhelmingly share that sort of common vision about what the organization should be about and focused on that. So I think, rooting our conversations in that and bringing it back to that is a very useful thing if we're trying to build consensus and collaboration. I have experience on a number of the boards I've worked on with managing budgets or not managing budgets 'cause that's the role of the staff, but with overseeing them, with approving them, with keeping up on whether or not they're being done in a proper way. >> Mr. Martin? >> Wow! Adam, I enjoyed talking with you and enjoyed listening to you and I just have to open up by saying this. At first you remind me of a younger John Martin. [ Laughter ] >> With just a few exceptions. >> When you were 22 and-- >> A few exceptions--a few exceptions. >> We will hold that against you. [ Laughter ] >> A younger John Martin except for you are more articulate, more educated, more energetic, more experience, more excited and regrettably even more handsome. [ Laughter ] >> But I won't hold any of that against you, because I've been delighted in hearing you in our conversation earlier today. My questions is--so with all that, with all you've done and all that you're doing, why did this light that could span into so many different organizations or into so many different political opportunities, why did it focus and land on PCC right now? And then take it for me maybe to next year when the seat is up for election, will you continue and run again? And don't stop there. Take me Adam Murray five years, ten years, what's the aspiration because obviously you are going somewhere and we all know that and we can all sense that and see that. And so I'm anxious to know so that I can say--I'm doing this so I can say I knew Adam Murray, yeah. Adam and I were close. So someday I'm gonna be saying that. I'm just interested in what area I will be saying that ten years from now. >> Well thank you for that question Mr. Martin. And let me if I might raise an issue that I think is related to that that I have heard second hand is on some of your minds about--and it's not as you articulate it but it's related which is just to put it on the table whether or not I'm truly interested in this position in it of itself. And that may not have been what you meant by the question but I've heard that from other folks that there's some concern amongst some of you along that. And I am, is the answer. I mean I am--I truly believe that education and access to education is the civil rights issue of our time. And I think you can tell from my background when I say something like that, that means that's something I wanna work on and that I wanna be involved in. Pasadena City College is an incredible resource for the communities that it serves. It is especially an important resource for students who don't have other options or other opportunities. I mean it serves lots of folks and I recognize one of the challenges you deal with is how you balance all those things. But for me, this is where the rubber hits the road, I mean there's 30,000 students who come through here every here. That's more than anyone else is serving in education. People--a lot of people when they think about higher education or education in California don't think about the community college system but that's where the students are. That's where people are getting their education. And this community, that's where people are getting their opportunities. So it's incredibly important. It's something that very much resonates with me. I--you know, when I was a young associate, when I started at a law firm, I carved out time to go and teach at East Los Angeles College. You know, I don't know of another associate but those of you who know the law firm environment, you know, Howrey is a national--international firm with incredibly demanding hours and I am going and teaching in the evening and then going back to work often because being involved with those students in that way was incredibly rewarding for me and incredibly meaningful for me. This sort of opportunity, this particular opportunity resonates with me in the same way. There's a story I'll tell you that I tell people sometimes that I think is a little insight to sort of why I do what I do and it's something my father told me when I was in 6th or 7th grade. And he grew up just after his--just after World War II. And he talked about his coming to the realization, that the holocaust, the Nazi holocaust had happened and he said for him that fundamentally changed what it meant to be a human being, to realize that human beings were capable of doing that sort of thing to one another. And what I took away from that story was that we define what it means to be human. We define who we are. You know I look at our state, I look at our country and I see lots of wonderful thing but I also see lots of thing that make my stomach churn. I mean I deal with a lot of homelessness issues in--in my job. >> We're the homeless capital of the United States. Fifty to 73,000 individuals are homeless every night in L.A. County. You know there are issues that don't speak well to us as human beings. I want to work on the issues that will make us better that will--that I can say to our children, you know, I did--at my children, my young children. I--I did everything I could do to make humanity better, to make us a better--a better place. And for me it fits with that. In terms of the specific question of whether or not I would run again for the seat, to be completely honest with you, I don't know. I--I don't tend to think and I probably should, but I don't tend to think two or three or four years down the line. I just never have. I tend to look at what opportunities are in front of me right now. I'm constantly asking questions about what my plans are longer term which is flattering for me that someone would be interested in and--and be interested on that. But, I don't really honestly think much about that. I regularly turn down opportunities or tell people I'm not interested in things that are brought to me as this is a good stepping stone to something else. I'm interested in doing things right now that I find rewarding, that I find--that I enjoy and that I get something out of right now. Not something that's gonna set me up to do something later on. So, I don't know if I'll run for something in the future, my guess is I will at some point. It might be this--this office. I think there's a good chance if you brought me on that I probably would. But, I honestly haven't grappled with that in a way that has a conclusive answer. >> Thank you. >> Let me follow up if I may with that before turning it over. My understanding is you ran for the state assembly what, four years ago? >> It's 2006. >> Okay, and--and against Mr. Portantino and if my understanding of the state term limits is correct he's termed out after this, the next--after the next two years I believe. >> That will be correct. It'd be an open seat in 2012. >> So, are you gonna run again? >> I honestly don't know. And I--I would tell if you I did know. I mean, I'm not--I'm not trying to be [inaudible] or hide the ball. I honestly don't know. When I ran in 2006, it was because of those issues that I've mentioned. It was because, you know, one in four kids in the state lived in poverty. It was because there are state--there are school districts around the country where 50 percent of the kids aren't graduating from high school. These are the issues the state legislators deals with. They appeal then and they still appeal now. I'm in a different position now that I was then. I have two young kids at home which is very different. I also have a job now that I love and that I get a lot of fulfillment from that I get to work daily on the issues that I care deeply about which wasn't the case when I ran in 2006. So, I honestly don't know. There are lots of questions about re-districting. These are logistical questions that we don't know the answers to it yet. I--if I knew I would tell you the answers to any of these questions. What I can absolutely commit to you is that I want to do this job that I will come here and I will throw myself into this job and I would dedicate myself to doing this job as well as I can possibly do it. I don't do things halfway when I do them and this is something I wanna do and I would do it fully. >> Mr. Thomson? Mr. Baum? >> Well, first off. Let me express my personal appreciation to you for throwing your head into the ring and--and coming forward and offering to dedicate a portion of your life to serving this district. And I--I think you are actually on the right track on that issue because I will say that having spent some more time in Sacramento lately, this is a better job serving in the state assembly. This is a place where you have more of a profound impact on the community than going up to Sacramento and--and so I think you are on the right track. >> Can't just go up and turn everything around like that? >> Yeah. You're on the right track by--by wanting to serve the community in this format. And I--and I don't question your--your commitment to this district and to the students of Pasadena City College. I wanna get a sense a little bit more about who you are as a trustee, what type of priorities you bring to that, what your understanding of board governances and so, describe briefly what your understanding of--of the role of the--of a governing board member especially when it comes to interacting with the president and the administration. And then what specific priorities will you advocate for when it comes to making very tough choices about resource allocation within the districts. >> So, thank you for your--your opening comments. So, I think the role of the Board is, what I tried to articulate in my opening is to set--to answer the big--the big picture questions, to set the general directions, the strategy, to prioritize but not to micro manage. I--I am an executive director and so I deal with the board from the other side of the table. And, I am very careful and I have a great board. But, I am very careful about making sure that I take that direction from them that they--that they have an opportunity and that they take seriously their responsibility which they do to provide that direction but then that I run with it and that I report back to them. So I would view Dr. Rocha as us giving him direction on what the priorities are and what the strategic direction is in the big picture sense and then him coming back to us and saying, well this is how I'm going to do that and us saying that sounds reasonable, it seems like that accurately reflects our priorities or it doesn't and you need to go back and do it again. And then on and on going basis continually checking to make sure that's happening and support that. I mean what I do with my board is I'm either going to ask for their direction on something on a big picture or I'm asking for their support on something more concrete. So I think our role is both to support the administration of the faculty's implementation of that strategic vision or to tweak it as budget realities come into play or as the situation changes and to make sure we're on track. It's that specific enough for you? >> A little bit but then let's get back and again to specific resources and allocate--the district is engaged in a lot of activities. >> Yes. >> What are you gonna makes sure gets preserved in support to the faculty? >> Yes. So let me tell you where I feel, where I sit on that currently, but with the caveat that you all know much more about the situation and the details than I do and it would subject to that, and it will subject to listening to not just you all but to the administration and the faculty on where things stands and the students on where things stand. But as I sit here currently, it's the things that I listed and sort of the direction that we need to go. I think we need to find better ways to retain and to recruit disadvantaged students, particularly from our local communities. I think we need to put resources and I recognize you've already done this to some degree, put more resources into the foundation to raise funding locally, I mean it has some success with the Arts building recently and I recognize you've dedicated more administrative resources to that recently but to continue along that path. Those would be the top two, the other two things that I mentioned or one other thing I would just mention is I think we're gonna have to move in the direction of more technology. That's more--that's not an immediate thing to do and it's not necessarily what I would prioritize with immediate dollars but in the long run, we're gonna have to get there. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Fellow? >> To follow up on what Geoff had to say, the university, the Cal State Universities are going to be looking at impaction which means-- >> Again? >> Trend impaction. >> Impaction. >> Which means they're going to raise GPA--San Diego state has just raised up to 3.75 for community college student outside the district, Cal State forward to this now are going to be looking at impaction and really eliminating students from outside the Fullerton area. In looking at the priorities of PCC and looking at what's on the horizon, operating without a budget, we think that budget is gonna get worse. What are some of the important programs do you think--what would be some of the things you would push here as far as the academic programs, with the technical programs or adult education programs, basically how would you prioritize this? >> As I understand it, I don't know much about this but you have a student benefit index. That at least is used in the context that may only be used in that context of what classes to prioritize. Is it broader than that or is it just using that context? Do you people know? >> It hasn't been formally adopted but it's just the way we use it for data to make decisions. >> Okay, okay. And I would wanna go through a process that at least as I understand that you're doing with that which is to look at the impact on students and what you're getting for your money and what the outcome is and I would need to grapple with that before I could answer that question. I think there are some things around distance learning and around more use of technology that show some real promise in terms of serving more folks with your existing dollars. I think that--when I think of the community colleges, I really do think of them as people, not everyone obviously, but a lot of people who are coming for a second chance and needs some very basic assistance. I think one of the challenges you face is how, 'cause I would like to see us to continue to prioritize and even more prioritize some of those services. How do you that while still maintaining the excellence and the sense of excellence and of high quality overall that has lots of benefits for the community, it's a whole and the students and the alumni and the college. So it's really--it's a balancing act. And, you know, those are the things that are important to me and that I would be looking at but I would do it in the context of what's the student benefit index saying, once its fully developed and of having to learn a lot more from the individuals who are grappling with things, does that give you enough of a sense of where I'm coming from one of those? >> A difficult problem. >> Yeah, its not a simple, I mean its not an either or you're not gonna all of a sudden just do trade stuff or just focus on people who could transfer to four year schools or just do continuing ed., it's a question of the balance between those. >> We understand. Thank you. >> Mr. Pack. >> So you've identified in this discussion a lot of areas for improvement that PCC can work toward, what--having identified that, how will you--how would you as a trustee help us move toward achieving those improvements and long term, what will PCC look like as a institution once we have achieved the said improvements. What's the vision for that? >> I think it will look--in some ways similar to how it does now, at least in terms of how it's perceive and how its thought off. I mean PCC has an incredible reputation in the community. I mean we attract folks from all over and that's because we're so highly thought off. So I think the vision I would have would certainly maintain that and continue that. But I think in order to do that, it's gonna have to look different. There's gonna have to be a lot more technology, we're gonna have to find ways to serve more students even in the time of diminishing support from the state which is partly gonna mean we're gonna find things like distance learning and the like that can do that more cost effectively. It's also gonna require us to raise more resources locally and to make our foundation even more effective. And also by talking about problems, you know, and there was a question in here and someone asked it, but you know, I don't mean to suggest that there aren't lots of successes that have happened. I mean I do see and I've mentioned the campaign for the arts building which I think is a great success. I think bringing Dr. Rocha on board is a great success though it's still in the early terms but at least it looks to be and-- [ Laughter ] >> Still wondering? >> No pressure, no pressure and I think-- >> Don't get his hopes up too high, I think. [ Laughter ] >> The other thing I would just mention is something that I see as an enormous success of this district is the fiscal stewardship that this--this board has shown of the organization. To a large part, the reason that PCC is in as good of a position and the students are in as good a position, and the faculty as good a position as we are today is because if you are fiscal stewardship and the folks who have proceeded you fiscal stewardship of this organization. So those are things that I would say were large successes and I would hope we would continue. >> In the position you hold now as the executive director of the Inner City Law Center which you've been there from 2007 to the current--to the present time, I would assume that you have--as a large part of your responsible is the need to go out and help the organization raise money. Is that correct and if so-- >> That's correct. >> Could you kind of elaborate upon how you go about doing that and perhaps to identify some of the more successful effort you've made? >> Sure. So we have--that you are correct for starters. When I started at Inner City Law Center it was in April or May of 2007 and if you think about that time period from 2007 until now, that's a time period when a lot non-profits really suffered. Legal service non-profits were no exception to that. I think without exception, I don't know of another legal services organization in Los Angeles County that hasn't laid-off staff during that time period. We grew by over 50 percent during that time period which means we are providing far more services than we did in 2007. Our staff is larger, we have additional programs and more expanded programs. For example and I think I've sent an e-mail about this a while ago but the work we're doing here with the veterans on campus. Our budget now today is about 2.3 million dollars for this year and that has to be raised. It's raise by a combination of lunch that we have it's raise by me going out and asking folks who are supportive of our work or I think might be supportive of our work to support us financially. We get some of it from foundations probably about 20 percent or so of the budget come from foundations. We get some money maybe about probably a little more than that maybe 22, 23 percent from some city and county contracts that we have particularly working with housing issues or a few homelessness prevention programs. But a lot of it is me going out and essentially knocking on doors and talking to people and talking about what we do, why it's compelling, why they should be supporting it especially, you know, even in these times when people have fewer resources to support. I have a very supportive board that helps with that, obviously it's not me doing it in isolation but yes, it's a big piece of my job. My job is basically managing the 30 staff and raising the funds to keep the doors open. >> Good. Thank you. Is there anything else that you would like to tell us that you have not, or emphasized that you've not as we bring this to a close? >> I'm sorry. >> I just wanted to ask one really quick question. I've notice that you've been coming to the board meetings fairly regularly for the last couple of months. >> Yes. >> And I wanted to give you a chance to also say what--you've observed us in action, what dynamic do you think you could bring to the--to this board that would make you an asset to the operation of the district? >> Well I think and it would be the same response to both those questions is I think if you ask around about me and I know some people have contacted some of you on my behalf, but if you ask around for people who have worked with me, I really do pride myself on working well with people. I mean I work well with my board, I work well with the boards I sit on, I work well with the people--the donors I go out and ask for support, I work well with my staff. I think you get a lot more done if you're in a community or in a collaboration with folks who are focused on the same goal and you find out how you can best do it together. And that's the spirit that I bring to the vast majority of my endeavors, that's the spirit I would bring to this. You know, my role would not be to put my voice necessarily forward always but rather to try to help us reach the best collective result that we can reach. In my experience boards work best not when people voice their opinions necessarily or just sort of state their positions or advocate for their positions but rather when they really try to have a conversation and the discussion about where we're collectively going. And so if somebody else raises a concern, I would take that concerns seriously even if it's not on the top of my list. Because it's serious for them and I know they're coming from a place of wanting PCC to be better so I would try to help each of you grapple with whatever your priorities are and whatever you wanna see happen just as I would expect that you would help me grapple with that. And I think as we go through that process that's gonna result hopefully in a collective vision of where we're headed and what we need to prioritize and what the strategic direction that we then give to the administration to go and run with. >> Okay, unless there's anything you would like to add, we wanna thank you again for both your application and your time with us this evening and what you've shared with us. We will not be deliberating on this at all this evening but we will be doing so tomorrow. It's on our agenda for our regular board meeting, it's our expectation, our intention to make a selection tomorrow evening and to swear in the person who is selected so again, our thanks to you for sharing with us. It's been a really good dialogue and we're very appreciative of what you would bring to us, thank you. >> Thank you, I'm honored to be considered and I would love to join you if you choose to make that decision, thank you. >> Let's take just a short break and I wanna come back then and just formally adjourn ourselves but let's say goodbye to Adam and let him go back to his family. [ Inaudible Remarks ] >> Come back just briefly if we may please and if I may take just a moment and ask Mary Dowell to kinda walk us through what we're gonna be doing tomorrow evening and how that process may work out. >> Thank you Mr. Thomson. When the board reaches this item on its agenda tomorrow night of course there may be more people here than there were tonight. And you may very well have speakers which would not surprise me and these would be speakers to an agenda item so they should be heard before you take up the agenda item. It is in my view a little bit different than a normal agenda item where somebody moves in seconds and votes on a resolution or an action item because you have several candidates and accordingly what I'm recommending to you is that after you have heard from speakers and if there is any discussion amongst the members of the board that you vote by ballot. Now the board's votes must be publicly recorded so each board member's vote will--must be and will be publicly recorded. And of course the final candidate must receive at least 4 votes from the seat of trustees although we are anticipating that Mr. Pack will also be casting his normal advisory vote. So I've worked with your staff to develop the ballots after I discussed it with Dr. Rocha. And Mary advices me they're ready to go. And you can't--it's similar to the kind of voting that you see at a convention. We'll go through as many ballots as you need to go through and it will not surprise me if you need to go through a couple of ballots. You may do it on the first ballot, there maybe a candidate that gets 4 votes the first time. But each board member will have individualized ballots labeled with their names so that they can become part of the permanent record of the actions of the board. >> And so, my recommendation would be that when you're ready to start the voting that you--you vote a ballot. The ballots would be turned in to Dr. Rocha or Mr. Thomson who will read them identifying the votes of the individual board members for the public record and you can then move on to another ballot if necessary or you can have additional discussion and then you can move on to another ballot. >> Is this is a procedure that's followed in other community college districts? >> Yes, I--I didn't make this up myself. This is what I have--I have observed. >> I didn't--I assumed you had knowledge, I just wanted to clear that it was used in other districts. >> Yes, yeah, yeah particularly in--in a selection process where there is more than one or two candidates. >> Okay. >> And--and that--and you have here five very strong candidates, so. >> And the procedure that we will follow is that there will be opportunities for the public to address us on this issue. >> Mr. Thomson, it would be my recommendation that it--when this item comes before you on the agenda, you hear from the public, but you're just gonna hear from the public once. And then, any member of the public who wishes to speak to you about any or all of the candidates or the process or anything else should be allowed to speak just as they normally do when an item is before you. But then, once all of the people who have--who have given you slips before the meeting have spoken, then the public participation concludes and, you're not gonna reopen it for--for further public discussion. It's not a town hall. >> No, then the board begin its own deliberations. >> Correct. >> And then after that at some point in time, we're to use the ballots you're proposing, that's your recommendation? >> That is my recommendation. And once you have--once four of you have voted then you will have filled the vacancy. And that you will have done what you need to do and one of the questions that was asked to me during one of the breaks is can we swear the person in tomorrow night. I believe that you can because the action item is the selection of the--the new trustee. The actual swearing in of the person is not an action item. >> So that can take place tomorrow night as well. >> That can take place tomorrow night or you can defer it 'til your next board meeting. But, once you have voted, you will have filled the vacancy and you will have complied with the 60-day requirement. >> And then to remind us that there is a process I believe in the state law that that can be challenged. >> It is referred to as a provisional appointment precisely because for 30 days after the board has acted the--any member of the community can by gathering enough signatures make an application to the registrar of voters to call an election. >> Okay, Dr. Mann? >> Okay, I have--I have two questions. First of all, after we have the--the ballot and let's say candidate A has four votes. Could we not then--could not someone make a motion to say, I move that we select candidate, you know, one candidate and then everyone if they wanted to could vote so we would have the unanimous vote? >> You certainly could. And--and I have seen that where somebody gets four votes and then someone moves to essentially by acclamation, you know, I move to make it a unanimous and--and all board members at that point, very gracious say, you know-- [ Simultaneous Talking ] >> We don't have to but we could do that if we--if we chose? >> That's correct. >> And the second thing is about--is about the public comment. And we have a practice in fact it's a statements that should be on our agenda that it was, public comment is limited to thirty minutes per item, but it can be extended with the--if the board so chooses. What would your recommendation be on that? >> Exactly that, that since you're--you're rule and your practice is to confine public comment to 30 minutest that if you have public comment up to 30 minutes if that's what you do. That if--that if it is the will of the board to extend--extend the time available to members in the public to speak about the candidates or the process that you do that but you're not required to do that. And you're not required to do 30 minutes for each candidate. That would be 30 minutes for the entire process. >> Geoff? >> If we--two questions. One is would it make sense that there's a role the clerk can play as the tabulating and the announcing of the vote or something like that? >> Certainly. That-- >> Ought to give them something really good. [ Laughter ] [ Simultaneous Talking ] >> It would be the clerk or the board. It could be the--it could be the secretary of the board, it could be the president of the board, it could be your general counselors, so whoever you like. >> I like the clerk. >> I would recommend the clerk though. >> He's not--he's sitting here doing nothing. >> The--the other question is if there are multiple ballots, so there is no set procedure to say, okay, three people got votes, two people didn't get any votes. >> Correct. Now, Mr. Baum I am recommending to you that in order for you to, first of all so that you have all of your options and second so that we haven't artificially taken an option away from you that the way I've recommended that the ballots be constructed, all five names will appear on each ballot. And they're gonna be different colors, so you don't get mixed up as to which one. >> Well, hold on, John is colored blind, right? >> They are also labeled ballot number one, ballot number two, ballot number 3, ballot number 4. >> I would also recommend that we-- >> And but no we're--we do--I deliberately concluded that it was not appropriate to start deleting names because I think the board has the right to have all its options, all the way through the process. >> I appreciate that. One of the--the practices that we have engaged in is that we have--the--the theory behind it is we have allowed the student votes to be made before we cast on it. So, our vote is informed by the advisory vote of the student trustee. Is that something we want to consider that we hear the--the advisory vote and then we cast our ballots as well? Or are we all just gonna cast our ballots at the same time? >> What you're recommendation on that? I--can--can he vote by ballot? >> We--we've prepare ballots for Mr. Pack assuming that because your policy allows him an advisory vote that he would be allowed to vote and I think he should be since that is your policy. >> Sure. >> Mr. Baum, I--I understand what your usual practice is with respect to the student trustee's vote. In this particular case, one of the reasons I'm recommending a ballot is so that--that no trustee's vote is necessarily influenced by any other vote that they've heard somebody make that you all simultaneously vote. This is--this is the best way I could think of for you to simultaneously vote and still have a public record of how you had voted. And so, I suppose we ought to consult Mr. Pack see what his opinion is and how it should be done. But, my recommendation would be that you all vote simultaneously including the student trustee. >> My hope is that we all influence each other in the vote that's why we deliberate and hopefully reach a consensus. >> And that--and that will occur during your deliberations. >> But even--even as the process is voting. >> Yeah. >> Are there any questions of this? Dr. Rocha? >> President Thomson, just I would ask the board just to--to spend a moment or two that given this and given that, we're hopeful of a result in filling the vacancy tomorrow night to perhaps decide whether you want to decide tonight, whether you will want to swear in the trustee tomorrow. On the one hand, obviously that--that immediately puts the person to work, okay? On the other hand, it's a momentous moment in any person's life to five candidates will have just found out that moment and normally, you know, you want to give the person a chance to have their family and friends and--and so on and so forth to observe the swearing in. So, I just the--I'm not recommending one or the other, but I would just ask us to decide that tonight if you may. >> Belinda you had--? >> Well I agree with him that that is a good point. >>Yeah. >> As long as we're in compliance that by making me taking the action to a point. >> When you take-- >> And then we can agendize the oath of office for the next board meeting. >> So, as I've mentioned Mr. Baum. Your agendizing the Oath of Office is ceremonial, you don't vote. You don't act to swear them in. They're sworn in. >> Well then by the fact of our appointing that person theoretically then can walk up to the day and they can take their seat. >> That's yeah--that is correct. And I have seen that happen. >> And we will comply with this 68 requirement which is-- >> So, the minutes will then reflect either a non-vote by this trustee on action, late, subsequent action that's taken because we've made that point or an abstention in the-- >> Well, I guess the question is do we want to have the formal swearing in tomorrow night or wait until the next board meeting? >> In most of the boards I have been on, it would be the next meeting. You're really putting the person at disadvantage too. They don't have the information packet in front of them. >> I'm just saying that when we vote to a point that person as of that moment is legally a trustee. >> Yeah, they--there's--I've checked the Ed Code while we were--because if they take off-- [ Simultaneous Talking ] >> Then the minutes would then subsequently reflect that any subsequent action even if we excuse the trustee and say, we'll swear you in it the next meeting will reflect that there was none--not a vote by that trustee. >> Well there--it is going--it's simply gonna reflect not a vote, Mr. Baum no reflection on the trustee. >> I know, I know. I'm just saying-- >> They won't be able to vote until they have been sworn in but-- >> Okay, let--let's--what's the sensitive word. >> I think we swear him in at the next meeting when they can have the proper ceremonial decorum and all they're really missing is the votes on H, the policy, the policy votes on, you know, these four--four items is the only real substantive vote other than directing staff time not that that's not substantive. >> So, I--it seems to me that the decorum gives more honor to the institution and to the person as Dr. Rocha said than to worry about that the exact period at the end of the--and how it's written in the minutes. >> Is that the--is that the consensus then, we'll do it the following meeting? >> Yeah. >> Okay, good. Any--anything else that would be brought up this evening? >> Well I--well I was just gonna say since, you know, Mr. Thomson well since you did say to some of the candidates that there might have a swearing in, I think it would appropriate for us to at least notify them on all that board decided effort that the swearing in will be at the next meeting, alright. I mean they can come if they want to but they won't be sworn in. >> Okay, I will do that. >> Yeah. >> Mr. Thomson I just wanted to thank you for your leadership tonight. I think this went very well. I thought I'd be here 'til midnight. [ Laughter ] >> You did a very good job. >> I try hard not to do that. [ Laughter ] >> Second that. >> Here, here. >> Okay, we are adjourned and thank you. >> Oh good. ==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====