Los Medanos College brought three finalists for Vice President of Instruction to center stage. Nov. 13 for a campus-wide candidate forum in the Student Union Conference Center.
Current LMC Vice President Interim A’kilah Smith, former Chabot College Dean Deonne Kunkel, and current College of Marin Dean Lauren Servais each spent an hour in front of an audience of students, faculty and staff addressing 10 questions compiled by the Classified and Academic senates. The event was recorded so those unable to attend can watch and provide feedback on the candidates.
Overall, each candidate provided similar responses about not just faculty and the community, but students, their rights and their success.
Smith, who spoke first, shared her perceptions of the college.
“LMC’s biggest strength for me is our community. It’s what makes us different,” she said. “Every college has a different culture…and I think the reputation that we have of having a family-type atmosphere is very true.”
After serving as LMC’s Academic Senate president and dean of Math and Science, she and her family moved to Georgia in 2017 only to return to LMC a year ago due to her love for the college.
With over 20 years of experience, Smith explained what she wants to see on campus.
“My vision for this role is to focus on two main priorities, moving the needle on equitable student success and instructional excellence,” she said, adding that “equitable student success will be at the heart of everything I do.”
In her role as VPI, she said she will ensure “that we offer academic programs and support services that help students stay engaged, overcome challenges, and reach their educational goals.”
Kunkel, who has 20 years of experience working in community colleges, said she has been focused on “making a measurable difference on reducing disproportionate impact for students.” Kunkel praised LMC’s reputation for “holding on to students,” and building community connections before they even enroll. She also noted the importance of LMC’s Guided Pathways program and the support it provides to students throughout their education.
Her view of the role of VPI is to “take responsibility for the pieces on the back end and generation of resources,” to make student goals possible.
As a former member of Chabot’s Black Excellence Committee, she said it is important to focus on the needs of Black students. She also emphasized the importance of growing enrollment in light of the state’s new formula for funding community colleges and said that dual enrollment of students in high schools and colleges would be an important initiative.
Marin’s Servais, who has more than 20 years of community college experience, started her remarks with an anecdote about how her former students taught her to be a better teacher by focusing on meaningful activities rather than in-class assignments to fill time.
She described LMC’s strength’s this way: “You center equity. You center your
racialized and minoritized students. I think that there is amazing work that you’ve already done, and I would love to be a partner with you all.”
She also talked about the hardships the LGBTQ+ community struggles with and how they are a group that needs recognition and support as well.
Her vision for the VPI role was to be a “chief partner in learning” while facilitating and engaging with the whole staff to support students, especially those with minority backgrounds. She said it is important to foster collaborative relationships across the college and to integrate equity-minded principles and practices throughout all the courses.
LMC is soliciting feedback from those who attended the forum in person and those who watch the recording online. Click on the LMC Forums tile on InSite and you can watch individual recordings of each of the three candidates. Feedback can be provided through Nov. 19 at noon. The final hiring decision is expected later this semester.
