Academic Senate
Welcome to Spring Semester 2025!
(Above photo: The Gavilan College Academic Senate members stand together at Sycamore Lane on the Gilroy campus during the group's 10.15.24 meeting.)
Hello Gavilan,
The new Academic Senate Executive Committee, Cherise Mantia (President), Bradley Stone (Vice President of Academic Affairs), Rosa Sharboneau (Vice President of Student Services), and Nikki Dequin Bena (Past President) welcomes you to the Fall 2024 semester. The last academic year saw many challenges to our education system and our college. As a college, we will continue to face challenges as we move through the COVID pandemic, the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) report being released and the resulting budget challenges that will be revealed. Some of the issues that we identified at our retreat this August include Program Viability, enrollment management, part-time equity, and filling full-time positions. Senate will continue to advocate for a shared governance process that is equitable and accountable. Issues that fall directly into the purview of the Academic Senate are the “10+1”:
According to TITLE 5: §53200, Academic Senate means an organization whose primary function is to make recommendations with respect to academic and professional matters. “Academic and Professional matters” means the following policy development matters:
- Curriculum, including establishing prerequisites.
- Degree and certificate requirements.
- Grading policies.
- Educational program development.
- Standards or policies regarding student preparation and success.
- College governance structures, as related to faculty roles.
- Faculty roles and involvement in accreditation processes.
- Policies for faculty professional development activities.
- Processes for program review.
- Processes for institutional planning and budget development.
- Other academic and professional matters as mutually agreed upon.
The Academic Senate and the Gavilan College Faculty Association (GCFA) will continue to work together on issues that crossover.
There are many opportunities for you to become involved in Shared Governance on campus. The Faculty Professional Learning Committee is looking for members from ACE, BUS/CSIS, KIN/ATH, Social Science, and Career Education. The Academic Staffing Committee has vacancies from the CTE and KIN/ATH departments. Senate also has a vacancy for Part-Time Senator At-Large. If you are not able to participate in these or other committees, I encourage you to view the agendas, minutes, and supporting documents and share your thoughts on the items with your department senator, myself or the vice presidents. Your voice matters.
To access our meeting agendas, minutes, and supporting documents, please access BoardDocs. To find out more about the statewide Academic Senate (ASCCC), you can visit their website.
Thank you for your continued work to improve the lives of our students. We don’t know everything that this semester will hold, but I believe that together we are better.
Yours,
Cherise Mantia
Adjunct Theatre Arts Instructor
Academic Senate President
(Above photo: Academic Senate President Cherise Mantia [on right] with Gavilan College President Dr. Pedro Avila [on left]).
