December 2, 2025

RAPP Meeting Minutes 

Hybrid Mtg. 9:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m. 

Tuesday Dec. 2, 2025 

Summary
The meeting focused on reviewing and discussing the selection process for fifteen prospective hiring positions, buckets of five each, across different categories. Constituency groups reviewed hiring submissions from non-instructional faculty and instructional faculty positions. RAPP decided to maintain the same process as the previous meeting, dividing participants into five breakout rooms (Faculty, Classified, Administrators, Students, and Affinity Groups) for a 10-minute discussion on the selected candidates. The meeting chair emphasized the importance of transparency and encouraged participants to speak up if they felt information was being incorrectly conveyed.

Hiring Prioritization Discussion
RAPP discussed the restructuring of counseling services and addressed concerns about counselor ratios and student access. Vice President of Student Services Leblue Burns explained that while the general counseling ratio is 1,100 to 1 long waits are common. Adrienne provided context on the Pride Counselor's role, noting they serve approximately 300 students annually, while the Pride Center itself sees over 8,000 students annually. 

Faculty Position Advancements for Council
RAPP discussed and voted on proposals regarding the selection of faculty positions to advance to College Council. They decided to move forward with the top five positions each in two buckets that received the most votes. Then they voted for the third bucket which included the following non-instructional positions: Transfer Center Counselor, Pride/Learning Communities Counselor, College Life/Faculty Coordinator of Student Activities, and Guided Pathways Coordinator. They also agreed not to rank positions. The selected positions, three buckets with a total of 14 positions, will be presented at the College Council meeting Thursday Dec. 4, 2025 with President Torres expected to make the final decision before the winter quarter.

New Committee Proposals Discussion
RAPP then discussed a draft proposal for two new committees: the Faculty Prioritization Committee (FPC) and the Program Sustainability Committee (PSC). Veronica presented the proposed structures, memberships, and responsibilities of these committees, which are intended to alleviate workload from RAPP and provide more focused review processes for faculty positions and program sustainability. Participants raised questions about the committees' memberships, decision-making processes, and how they would handle instructional versus non-instructional positions. Key concerns included the potential impact on classified employees and the need for clear definitions of programs. The group agreed to continue discussions and refine the proposals, with plans to revisit them at the beginning of winter quarter.

Next steps
Veronica/Erik/Augustine: Continue revising the draft proposals for the Faculty Prioritization Committee and Program Sustainability Committee based on committee feedback, including clarifying definitions (e.g., "program"), expanding classified representation, and considering ACE/CSEA union representation as needed.
Veronica/Erik/Augustine: Present updated committee proposals to RAPP for consideration and approval including incorporating feedback from this meeting.
RAPP: Determines and clarifies the decision-making body and process for adopting proposed changes to RAPP structure and processes (e.g., whether College Council or RAPP votes on new committee structures).
Veronica/Erik/Augustine: Add AVP of Instruction to the proposed membership of the Program Sustainability Committee, as suggested.
Veronica/Erik/Augustine: Review and potentially expand classified representation on the Program Sustainability Committee.
Veronica/Erik/Augustine: Add ACE/CSEA representation to the Program Sustainability Committee as needed, especially for issues involving classified positions.
RAPP: Clarify the process for handling replacement versus new classified and administrative positions, and update relevant documentation/proposals accordingly.
RAPP: Review the draft proposals and provide additional feedback to Veronica, Eric, or Augustine as needed.
Veronica/Erik/Augustine: Return at the beginning of winter quarter (or as scheduled) to present updated proposals and address questions.
 

Attendees: Ram Subramaniam, Mallory Newell, Veronica Acevedo Avila, Sam Bliss, Michele LeBleu Burns, Farhard Sabit, Nazy Galoyan, Garrett King, Agustin Espino Diaz, Eric Mendoza, Michelle Hernandez, Kim Palmore (for Alicia Mullens), Felisa Vilaubi, Simon Kang’a, Christina Wright, Alicia De Toro, Caitlin Lam, Alan Ma, Zander Blackman, Adrienne Hypolite, Erick Aragon

Absent: Jayme Brown, Sushini Chand, James Nguyen

RAPP Voting Members include: Ram Subramaniam, Mallory Newell, Veronica Acevedo Avila, Michele LeBleu Burns, Sam Bliss, Nazy Galoyan, Garret King, Augustin Espino Diaz, Erick Aragon, Adrienne Hypolite, Eric Mendoza, Michelle Hernandez, Felisa Vilaubi, Christina Wright, Alicia De Toro, James Nguyen, Zander Blackman, Caitlan Lam, Jayme Brown, Sushini Chand, Kim Palmore, Ryan Yi

Non-voting Advisory: Martin Varela, Randy Bryant, Erik Woodbury