Students and faculty gathered Tuesday for Superintendent-President Andreea Serban’s first chat of the school year, designed to address the variety of issues affecting the college-in a less formal atmosphere.
“I hope to prove to all of you that I’m the right person for this job,” Serban said.
Topics included the state budget, affordable housing for faculty, raising funds for The Foundation, enrollment growth, accreditation requirements and even comments on Serban’s leadership style.
In fact, one faculty member asked her to comment on rumors that that she is “introducing traits of micro-managing.” Staff has heard, for example, that Serban wants to impose a faculty dress code.
Serban returned that she believes it inappropriate for teachers to be wearing “shorts and slippers” during class.
“Maybe I’m a bit old fashioned, but the way faculty and staff dress is supposed to be an example to students,” she said.
Serban said she does not plan on applying a faculty dress code. “I hope that at an individual level, they will make their judgments themselves,” she said.
About 20 people – almost all staff – gathered in a classroom in the Humanities Building at Serban’s invitation to talk informally. They met for an hour, snacked on chocolate-chip cookies and coffee, and engaged in cordial, low-key conversation.
College finances was another topic on the participants’ minds.
“This is a very critical year in terms of the budget,” Serban said. “We’re in a very tight situation.”
The state budget recently passed – 85 days late – on Tuesday, and allowed the college to stop spending its reserve funds.
The new budget includes about the same amount of funding as last year, and a .68 percent cost-of-living adjustment. Budget planners are currently auditing incoming funds, but for now, the collegewide-hiring freeze remains.
“I know the importance of these jobs and I stand behind them 100 percent,” she said. “I just feel it’s smart to look at our funding before we fill these positions.”
Faculty members also asked whether the college would help them obtain affordable housing.
In Santa Barbara, “affordable housing is a great challenge,” Serban said.
To assist employees with affordable housing, seven condominiums – and possibly four extra units – are being built off Cliff Drive on the Mesa for staff members who qualify. Eligible staff must earn below a certain income and will be chosen through a lottery.
“I’m not sure that we may gather enough units to make a big difference, but every bit counts,” Serban said.
The conversation shifted back to campus construction, and what needs to be done to prepare for the new state-of-the-art SoMA building. The building is set to break ground in December 2009.
In preparation, the portables that house the two Faculty Resource Centers, two East Campus Office Centers, and campus security will be moved to another location on East Campus. The ESL building will be destroyed and the department will be relocated.
“That building has been up since the ’40s, so we’re actually afraid of what we will find when we destroy the building.” she said, joking.
With accreditation around the corner, Serban said she is taking steps toward what she believes is the right path for the college. Within her first semester, Serban began chairing College Planning Council and its committees-a job formerly held by Dr. Jack Friedlander-to get certain tasks out of the way.
“Some things that should have been done haven’t been done yet,” Serban said. “Chairing these meetings will ensure that these things get done.”
The meeting took on a lighter tone when Serban was asked what she thought was special about City College.
She responded by talking about how close the campuses are in the Orange Coast district; in comparison, Santa Barbara City College is the only 2-year college within a big radius.
“We’re not lost in a myriad of multiple community colleges,” Serban said. “Everyone here knows who we are.”
-Kenny Lindberg contributed to this report