Welcome to Fall Quarter
Sept. 27, 2016
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to fall quarter. I am writing this as students stream past the fountain at the heart of campus, Admissions and Records staff work the hallways in front of their offices to get students registered, and numerous others – faculty, staff and administrators alike – assist students with every need. It’s a good day, and the temporary parking system appears to be working well, despite the expected congestion. As we requested on Friday, please do be patient with students who are late this first week as they work out the logistics and routines of parking. In addition, with our enrollment remaining soft, I encourage you to add students to your classes if you have space.
It was wonderful to see everyone at our Opening Day events Friday, and to hear from our students as they begin their voter registration work. I deeply appreciate the willingness of faculty to give students an opportunity to speak in their classes regarding the voter registration process, and for their broader support of students becoming involved in the electoral process. This election has so many rough edges that it’s good to appreciate the democratic heart of the matter: Votes matter, and each eligible voter should vote. As a reminder, the De Anza Votes webpage has numerous resources to provide your students, and a link for them to register to vote: www.deanza.edu/vote.
Some great news: Thanks to The Democracy Commitment's relationship with The New York Times, all De Anza employees and students will have free yearlong access to the digital version of that publication. Details will be announced soon.
I’d like to remind you that this is the year we prepare our Accreditation Self-Study, and that about a year from now, the ACCJC Evaluation Team will visit the college. I want to give a shout-out to accreditation liaison officer and college researcher Mallory Newell, and to our governance bodies handling the Self-Study work. We will provide updates as the work continues throughout the year.
I wish you an excellent fall quarter. It’s good to be back, and the students’ energy and enthusiasm is a welcome antidote to the often-depressing news and noise of the national electoral scene.
Sincerely,
Brian Murphy