Chancellor's Weekly Note: September 14

Dear College Community, 
 
During a time that has so many difficulties - and perhaps, because of it – I want to focus the majority of this week’s note on things at City College that are truly worth celebrating. A good place to start is with our cornerstone Culinary Arts & Hospitality Studies Program, which has continued to shine even during shelter in place.  
 
This summer, the Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC) campaign kicked off to offer online cooking demonstrations to international audiences. Our CAHS program was the only United States-based culinary program that was invited to participate, a huge honor! I encourage you to watch the online cooking demonstration that was led by CCSF Chef Instructor Jennifer Rudd and Malaysian Chef Nora Haron to learn how to cook “trout lemak cili padi” with cauliflower purée. I know I will be trying my hand at cooking the dish this weekend – as long as I can keep the video nearby!  
 
Additionally, as of last Friday, the College has signed on to a letter to the United States Congress requesting that our elected federal officials reconsider the ways in which support is awarded to community colleges around the country. Our first request is that federal assistance to higher education be premised on headcount, rather than FTES, so that each and every one of our students is recognized as an individual, and our institution receives funding accordingly. The second request is for the federal government to provide additional funding to California Community Colleges to help reduce the incredible impacts of the pandemic-induced recession. If both of these aims are achieved, they will go a long way to providing the resources that ensures we can meaningfully support our students.  
 
And finally, we are close to concluding our work with all constituency groups to finalize our Spring 2021 course schedule and learning modalities. We look forward to sharing more information about these plans before the end of September, so our students, faculty and staff can plan accordingly. 
 
Thank you, as always, for remaining committed to our mission and the thousands of students we serve. 
 
Yours sincerely,  
 
Rajen Vurdien, Ph.D. 
Interim Chancellor 
City College of San Francisco