End of the Year Message
Dear Colleagues,
As we close out this academic year, I extend my sincere appreciation for all that you have given, both personally and professionally, to our students during this unprecedented, if not surreal, time in our district’s history. The pandemic has challenged us in ways we never could have imagined, but in true West Valley-Mission fashion we found a way to keep moving forward and working together with a resolute commitment to caring for our students, supporting them through a world turned upside down, and enabling their success. I have no doubt that we again demonstrated our signature excellence in the classroom, lab, office, and athletic field. But perhaps most importantly, we gave our students hope, showed them how to persevere through tough times, and inspired them to do work that champions the public good.
Much work remains now and into the summer to prepare for our next class of students. Although early reports on summer enrollment are strong and we remain optimistic about potential growth in the fall, there are still many unknowns. Against the backdrop of declining state budgets, uncertain tax revenue, rising unemployment, and growing challenges to higher education across the nation, the quality and value of a community college education is more apparent than ever before. At West Valley-Mission, our community will be looking to us for support in many ways and we will respond with an institutional commitment to meeting the holistic needs of our students and by leading emerging regional efforts to promote access.
While many colleges and universities have already decided to teach online only in the fall, we are working with our public health experts and elected officials daily as the shelter-in-place orders evolve in the hope that we can safely resume, at least in part, on-campus operations in the fall. This would allow us to serve the social and emotional health of our students and lessen the impacts of inequities faced by many of them every day. I expect that we will have enough information to make a decision on fall semester sometime during the first week of June, and then begin discussions with our partners on the most appropriate way forward. We have no doubt, should instruction be in-person, online, or somewhere in between, that our faculty will rise to the challenge
This week is Classified Employee Appreciation Week at the district, and a special opportunity to recognize and honor the outstanding work done every day, and especially during the last two months, by our classified professionals. Whether you have been coming to campus every day or working from home, thank you for keeping us safe, clean, organized, paid, and much more. I look forward to seeing each of you again soon, and thanking you personally, albeit with an elbow bump. Bravo for a job well done.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, thank you to the entire West Valley-Mission Community College District for rising to meet this challenge to public higher education. My best wishes for a safe, healthy, and productive summer.
Take good care,
Bradley J. Davis
Chancellor
West Valley-Mission Community College District
