President's Office

Reports to the Board of Trustees

August 4, 2025, Board Meeting

Each month, President Kristina Whalen gives a report on college activities, honors, and achievements during the regular meeting of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees.

View Board Reports Archive

Awards & Achievements

Respiratory Therapy Program Recognized by CoARC for Credentialing Success

The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care awarded Foothill's Respiratory Therapy program with the designation of Distinguished program and special honors with the CoARC Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award on July 18, 2025. Congratulations to Brenda Hanning, Lisa Hills, Adam Thompson, and Dean Nancy Cheung! 

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Foothill College’s Merry Ramirez Featured in the State Chancellor Office First Workforce and Economic Development Annual Report

Merry Ramirez, a student in our first-of-its kind Semiconductor Manufacturing Apprenticeship program, was featured in a short piece in the Chancellor’s Office Workforce and Development annual report. Congratulations to Chris Allen and the Apprenticeship team, along with our industry partners, Infinera, Enablence, and Applied Materials. 

Read the story here.

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Events

President Whalen Speaks at Sunnyvale Rotary Meeting on Plans for Workforce Innovation and Allied Health Hub

President Whalen was invited to speak at the Sunnyvale Rotary on July 15.  Joined by Chris Allen, dean of the Apprenticeship program,  and Nadene Torres, program coordinator, she informed Sunnyvale community leaders about plans for the Sunnyvale Center Workforce Innovation and Allied Health Hub, currently under renovation, and shared some details on our apprenticeship model. Thank you for the invitation, Rutawari Sharma, Sunnyvale Rotary President; Jose Leon, Rotarian; and Nivisha Mehta; Chief Development Officer of Sunnyvale Community Center. Afterwards Chris Allen, Nadene Torres and President Whalen enjoyed a tour of the Sunnyvale Community Services facility with Nivisha Mehta. 

Pictured from left: Chris Allen, Nadene Torres, President Whalen,  and Sunnyvale Rotary President Rutawari Sharma.

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Mountain View Tech Showcase, July 17

Foothill’s own Karl Welch, Josh, Pelletier, and Adiel Velasquez  in attendance!

For the second year running, Foothill College promoted technology programs, including robotics and AI curriculum, at the Tech Showcase. Foothill was the only community college present — with mostly AI, Drone, and autonomous vehicle companies filling the booths. It was great to connect with our community and promote our Emerging Technologies Institute and other STEAM programs. 

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College Kickstart Enrollment Days, July 24 & 28

This is the third year Foothill has organized our quarterly College Kickstart days, with students completing their orientation, taking care of any assessments, meeting with a counselor to get an Ed Plan, and getting help registering. And, we feed them too! More than 500 students took advantage of these two days to register for fall. Thank you to Dr. Laurie Scolari, the entire student services team, the counseling department, and Outreach!

Strategic Updates

Meet our Faculty Supporting Faculty SLO Team

SLO coordinators Allison Meezan and Dolores Davison; Faculty Supporting Faculty coordinators Kimberly Escamilla, Amber La Piana, Eric Reed, Amy Schidler, and Sally Baldwin; and our Instructional designers Paula Schales and Helen Graves are working together to support our new Student Learning Outcome process

This group has created a Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) resource with training materials that 32 faculty are currently working through as part of a summer learning community. These 32 faculty will become the SLO leaders in engaging the full faculty body to engage in the SLO process in the fall.  

Commitment to Global Experiential Learning Continues with Summer 2025 Trips

Students are back from 3 weeks in Ecuador with Sam Connell. The group traveling in Spain with Kathryn Maurer for 4 weeks just returned. Next, Sam Connell heads to Clearlake in Lake County, California on August 8 to teach a 10-day Archaeological Field Methods class, and Brian Evans will lead the annual Guatemala Service Trip starting August 12 for two weeks. Thank you to Ajani Byrd, dean of Institutional Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and  Kathyrn Maurer, GEL program lead, for their continuing efforts to develop enriching experiences for our students.

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Support for Paid Internship Program in Congressman Sam Liccardo's Office

Thanks to Asha Guha, Foothill community ambassador and generous district supporter, Foothill College students will have a continued opportunity for a paid internship in U.S. Representative Sam Liccardo’s office. The recruitment for internship is taking place with a September start date. 

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Building Trades Summer Study Internship for Dual-Enrolled Students 

This summer the Apprenticeship team collaborated with the Milpitas and Eastside high school districts to offer paid apprenticeships for their students to study building trades management at Sunnyvale Center. Completion of the program was celebrated with a graduation ceremony on July 23. These dual-enrolled students were paid a stipend, earned their OSHA certification, went on field trips to construction sites, and learned practical mathematics by solving common construction-related problems.

Thank you to Phuong Tran, Jazmine Garcia, Teresa Ong, and Chris Allen for organizing this opportunity and to all our partners and Foothill community members who attended the completion ceremony to celebrate the students!

Invitation to the Board

Tuesday, Aug. 12 • Athletics Opening Day • 10 a.m.

Please join us to welcome our student athletes into our Foothill College community. They day will start in Appreciation Hall with keynote speaker Arthur Renowitzky from Life Goes On Foundation, followed by a campus tour and student services resource fair, plus lunch with music and prizes. Thank you to Laurie Bertani , Mike Teijeiro, and the coaching staff for organizing this annual kickoff to the academic year!

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Community Building Events This Summer

Join the Foothill team to meet our community and tell the Foothill College story. Each year, we make important contacts, recruit volunteers, new faculty, and highlight our college’s excellence at these  local summer events. We hope to see you there!

• Los Altos Rotary Fine Art in the Park, Aug. 9-10, 2025, 10 a.m.– 5:30 p.m. in Lincoln Park
• Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, Aug. 23–24, 2025  10 a.m.–6 p.m. on University Avenue in Downtown Palo Alto
• Mountain View Art & Wine Festival, Sept. 6–7, Downtown Mountain View on Castro Street, Saturday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

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Sunday, Aug. 10 • KFJC Vinyl Swap • 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

The Vinyl swap event is back on campus after nearly two decades. Join fellow audiophiles in the Foothill College Dining Hall to swap your records and CDs or find new music! All proceeds go to support KFJC.