Shannon Kuhfuss
City Times

San Diego City College earned the Exemplary Program Award on January 20 at the first meeting of the 2009 California Community College Board of Governors in Sacramento.
The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) gave the award to City College for its inventive faculty development program concurrent with Learning Communities.
The 2008-2009 state-wide theme was “Growing our Own: Showcasing Innovative Development Programs for Faculty.” The programs chosen are examples of what excellence in faculty development should look like in California learning institutions.
City was recognized for it’s “Pedagogy of Love: Organic Praxis in Teaching and Learning.” It was one of four programs to earn an honorable mention statewide.
City College Academic Senate President Berta Harris said, “We now have on-going campus-based professional development opportunities where faculty and instructional staff engage in learning communities on the subjects of student learning and success, pedagogy, and becoming a more culturally responsive institution.”
The program is associated to Learning Communities (LCOM), which concentrates on student retention and success. It also entails a UCSD university extension course for converting a classroom into a Learning Community, online training for faculty, professional development workshops, and the advancement of integrated curriculum for LCOMs.
“This faculty development program has served to revitalize instruction at San Diego City College,” said City College President Dr. Terrence Burgess.
Since the program’s initiation in 2006, it has produced a greatly increased number of faculty trained to teach in Learning Communities.