President's Office
June 18, 2025
(1) Sign up, line up, & show up for the Commencement Celebration
Join us for this year’s commencement Friday, June 27th at 10 a.m., as we honor our incredible students and recognize all the work you have done to support them on their journey. This won’t be anything like you’ve seen before! The celebration begins with a lively pre-show at 9:00 a.m., featuring the Niner Noise drumline, dancers, games, and a fun dance contest. To kick off the ceremony, a mariachi band version of Pomp & Circumstance will lead our graduates in with energy and pride. Next week you’ll see the big tent go up over the quad. Be part of the party! If you would like to participate in the ceremony and you have regalia, it’s not too late. Please arrive at Smithwick Theatre by 9:15 a.m. to line up. If you would like to volunteer to help and make this special day run smoothly, please sign up using the link below. Let’s show up for our students and celebrate this incredible milestone together. Volunteer Sign-up link
(2) A special video request from Professor of English (emeritus) Scott Lankford: Join him at the Foothill Hall of Fame Gala.
(3) Student Poet Laureate – Look for an announcement in Parliament.
These times require us to lean into our resources. Poetry is a resource we can’t live without. As one of my favorite poets, Audre Lorde, wrote, "Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before."
I’ll be using my Experience Foothill fund to provide a paid stipend for a Foothill Student Poet Laureate each academic year. My thanks to Dean Valerie Fong and faculty members Ulysses Acevedo, Suzy Quezada, Hilda Fernandez, and Allison Herman for giving purpose and clarity to this idea. The 2025-2026 Student Poet Laureate will be named and announced in the coming issue of Parliament.
(4) ICYMI: President’s Office Sponsored Registrations to Futures Summit 2025
The Foothill College President's Office will be sponsoring 16 registrations for employees that wish to attend and learn at The Futures Summit 2025: Educational Innovation in the Digital Era, hosted by the California Community Colleges Digital Center for Innovation, Transformation and Equity, an initiative of the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, operated with principal partner, Foothill-De-Anza Community College District, on September 9-11th at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Your registration includes access to keynote and breakout sessions, hands-on workshops in the Futures Hub, and admission to the evening reception on Tuesday, September 9. For more information, visit the website. To apply, please fill out this short form. Deadline for requests: July 2nd. We have strong interest in this event and will do everything we can to fund as many slots as possible. Decisions will be communicated by July 9th.
(5) Last MIPC meeting of AY 24–25, June 20th @ 1 p.m. in 1901 or online.
See the agenda. If week eleven finds you too weary to click, the highlights include reviewing program review budget requests, deliberating over the students' request for extending Open Gym hours on an ongoing basis, and taking a second look at our ILOs and Blueprint for Success--the Foothill 2030 Strategic Plan.
Yours in service,
Kristina
Dr. Kristina Whalen
President, Foothill College