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- THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I WANT TO BEGIN BY THANKING THE BOARD FOR THE TREMENDOUS WELCOME
I'VE EXPERIENCED. TODAY IS MY TWO-MONTH ANNIVERSARY, AND I SUSPECT I'M RAPIDLY RUNNING OUT THAT
RUNWAY WHERE I CAN BLAME SOMEBODY THAT WAS BEHIND ME. SO I INCREASINGLY FEEL THE WEIGHT
AND THE ENJOYMENT OF THIS OFFICE DAY BY DAY. AND I--AGAIN, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT
THE BOARD HAS PROVIDED IN THE BRIEF TIME THAT I HAD BEEN HERE. I ALSO HAVE A GREAT DEAL
OF APPRECIATION FOR THE STAFF, AND I WANT TO ESPECIALLY THANK THEM FOR EMBRACING A NEW
STYLE FOR THE AGENDA WHICH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOTHING WORSE THAN TO HAVE A NEW GUY COME
IN TOWN RIGHT FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND TELL YOU, "WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY WE DO THINGS,"
BUT THEY DIDN'T MISS A BEAT, ESPECIALLY *GERI, WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE ALL THIS
STUFF GOT SIGNED ACCORDINGLY AND DONE APPROPRIATELY. AND I GENUINELY APPRECIATE HER WORK AND ALL
THE VICE CHANCELLORS WHO STEPPED UP TO TRY TO DO A COUPLE OF THINGS. FIRST OF ALL, PROVIDE
A COVER SHEET ON EACH OF THOSE AGENDA ITEMS THAT REALLY PUTS IT RIGHT THERE ON THE FRONT
EXACTLY WHAT IT IS, THE TOPIC IS AND YOU'RE BEING ASKED TO DO OR CONSIDER. AND THEN ALSO,
ALTHOUGH IT MAY SEEM LIKE A VERY MINOR THING, TO CONSECUTIVELY NUMBER THOSE PAGES FROM BEGINNING
TO END SO IT'S EASIER FOR THE BOARD. WE CAN SAY IT'S ON WHATEVER PAGE NUMBER IT IS, AND
GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE CAN ALL FIND THOSE THINGS PRETTY QUICKLY. AND ALTHOUGH--THOUGH
IT SOUND LIKE FAIRLY SIMPLE ACTIVITIES, THEY, BELIEVE ME, ARE NOT. AND SO TO--AND GERI AND
ALL THE VICE CHANCELLORS, I GENERALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP. THE MONTH OF DECEMBER WAS A PRETTY
BUSY ONE. I HAD THE PLEASURE OF GOING OVER TO OAKLAND ON THE DECEMBER 1 TO TALK WITH
THE CFT COMMUNITY COLLEGE COUNCIL, COLLECT THE BARGAINING LEADERS OF OUR COLLEGES UP
AND DOWN THE STATE. IT WAS A VERY ROBUST CONVERSATION, AND I APPRECIATE THE INVITATION AND ENJOYED
THE ACTIVITY, A LOT OF TOPICS. BUT AS YOU HEARD, CHAIR BACA MENTION A MOMENT AGO, ACCREDITATION
IS FIRST AND FOREMOST ON THE MINDS OF A LOT OF THOSE LEADERS. SO IT WAS A VERY GOOD CONVERSATION.
I ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE ON THE 5TH OF DECEMBER OF GOING DOWN TO THE FOUNDATION BOARD MEETING
IN LOS ANGELES AND SEE *INAUDIBLE AND HER BOARD AT WORK. IT IS--IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING
THAT THAT GROUP OF FOLKS WHO IS SOLELY DEDICATED TO DOING THINGS TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SYSTEM AND SPECIFICALLY THE CHANCELLOR'S OFFICE. IT WAS REALLY WONDERFUL TO HAVE A CHANCE TO
INTERACT WITH THOSE FOLKS AND WE HAVE, OF COURSE, A COUPLE OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNOR
MEMBERS WHO ARE ALSO ON THAT FOUNDATION BOARD. SO THERE'S A WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
THE TWO BOARDS, AND THEY ARE VERY HIGH-POWERED AND HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE GROUP OF PEOPLE. IT
WAS A PLEASURE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. AND THEN, I'D UNDERSCORE WHAT CHAIR BACA SAID
ABOUT THE VETERAN'S SUMMIT I ATTENDED ON THE 6th OF DECEMBER. AGAIN, MY CONGRATULATIONS
TO THE LEAGUE, TO THE FOUNDATION, TO *BAC AND TO THE CHANCELLOR'S OFFICE FOR PUTTING
ON A REALLY FIRST-RATE PROGRAM. IT IS REMARKABLE, THE TO WORK THAT'S BEING DONE UP AND DOWN
THE STATE IN SUPPORT OF OUR VETERANS AND OUR ACTIVE MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS. AND I, TOO,
HOPE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO ENHANCE THOSE SERVICES IN DAYS TO COME. I WANT TO
CONGRATULATE THE BOARD. YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR A REPORT LATER ON THE UPDATE ON THE STUDENT
SUCCESS TASK FORCE. BUT IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, WE HAVE HAD REGULATIONS FOR ENROLLMENT PRIORITIZATION
AND COURSE REPEATABILITY APPROVED, AND THEY'LL BEGIN TO BE IMPLEMENTED NOW. I THINK THAT'S
A VERY TANGIBLE EXAMPLE OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE, FIRST BY THE TASK FORCE AND THEN
BY THIS BOARD AND BY THE FIELD AND THE STAFF WHO ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO SEE THAT REALLY
IMPORTANT PART OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE TASK FORCE, WHICH IS ACTUALLY GETTING THOSE
THINGS THROUGH TO APPROVAL AND IMPLEMENTATION IS BEING DONE. AND I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO
BE EXCITED ABOUT THE REPORT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET A LITTLE BIT LATER TODAY. AND THEN
FINALLY, I WOULD REMIND ALL OF US THAT LATER THIS WEEK, GOVERNOR BROWN WILL RELEASE HIS
JANUARY BUDGET MESSAGE. WE ARE ANXIOUSLY AWAITING THAT. WE DO BELIEVE THERE WILL BE SOME SPECIFIC
ITEMS RELATED TO CALIFORNIA'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM. WE HAVE HEARD BOTH DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
THAT NOW THAT PROPOSITION 30 IS PASSED, THE GOVERNOR REALLY DOES INTEND TO SPEND SOME
OF HIS POLITICAL CAPITAL ON LOOKING AT AND DEALING WITH HIGHER EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA,
AS WELL AS SOME K-12 ACTIVITY. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE GOVERNOR'S JANUARY BUDGET MESSAGE.
WE'RE WAITING ANXIOUSLY TO HEAR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY. I AM SURE, AS IS THE CASE ANYTIME
A GOVERNOR RELEASES A BUDGET MESSAGE, THAT THERE'LL BE SOME THINGS IN THERE TO LOVE,
WHAT SOME TO LIKE AND SOME THAT WILL CAUSE US TO SCRATCG OUR HEAD. BUT WE LOOK FORWARD
TO THAT. I DO THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THIS BOARD OUGHT TO CONSIDER IN MONTHS TO COME
ARE WHETHER OR NOT WE DO WANT TO CHANGE OUR JANUARY MEETING SCHEDULE FOR 2014 SO THAT
WE FOLLOW THE GOVERNOR'S JANUARY BUDGET CONVERSATION AS OPPOSED TO PRECEDE IT BY A COUPLE OF DAYS.
I THINK YOU ALL WOULD BENEFIT AND HAVE A MUCH MORE ROBUST CONVERSATION POST GOVERNOR'S BUDGET
MESSAGE AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT AS *INAUDIBLE. CHAIR, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT.