SCC Program Honored with Chancellor's Student Success Award

In recognition of the “ambitious and unstinting” efforts of three California community college programs toward fostering student success and equity, Chancellor Brice W. Harris presented the Student Success Award at a ceremony Nov. 21 to representatives of American River College’s Veterans Resource Center, Merced Community College District’s Study Central, and Solano Community College’s Umoja Program Scholars.

The Chancellor’s Student Success Award, given annually, honors programs that demonstrate a commitment and significant progress toward achieving success and equity goals for students from diverse backgrounds. Winning programs also must exhibit success in the areas of access, retention, course completion, degree and certificate completion, and transfer.

“The ambitious and unstinting efforts of the people honored today have given students who harbored doubts about a college education the resolve and support necessary to finish and excel in their studies,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris. “I thank them for exemplifying all that is special and unique about the California Community Colleges and for challenging their fellow educators through their example to see to it that we make a difference in our students’ lives each day.”

This year’s ceremony was held today during a major statewide meeting of community college representatives sponsored by the Community College League of California at the Westin Mission Hills hotel in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The winners were selected from a highly competitive group of college and district programs.

“The great work Dr. Karen McCord has done to cultivate our UMOJA Program is undeniable. She is dedicated to the UMOJA scholars and believes in the mission of the community college wholeheartedly,” shared Dr. Jowel C. Laguerre, SCC Superintendent-President. “Learning communities such as UMOJA are essential to our mission and the success of our students. We are proud and humbled to receive such an esteemed recognition as Chancellor Harris’ Student Success Award.”

Dr. Karen McCord commented, “It is a great honor to be recognized for serving students! The UMOJA team is awesome and we work hard together to help students reach their highest potential, despite where their journey began. The statewide UMOJA program has been an invaluable resource in helping us to best serve our students.”

Umoja Program Scholars is designed to help students make smooth transitions to college and transfer to a four-year university. It is open to all students, with a particular emphasis on serving African-American students. The program offers academic and career counseling, a summer orientation program, and a curriculum that focuses on improving reading, writing, and critical thinking skills among participants. Umoja courses are transferable and fulfill General Education requirements. The program makes tutors available on a one-on-one basis to students. Those in the program attend workshops that teach life and career skills, have mentors, go on educational field trips, and are assigned readings that focus on cultural studies. Umoja also provides social work interns to help students grapple with personal issues preventing them from achieving their academic goals.

Approximately 250 students are enrolled in the program. Several of the program’s courses, in fields like counseling, social science, and English have a passage rate of more than 90 percent. One participant, a veteran who had been incarcerated, credited the program for helping him to earn a 3.2 GPA at Solano and transfer to San Francisco State University.

Solano’s UMOJA team: Dr. Karen McCord, Program Coordinator; Professor Sandra Moore, Social Science; Professor Dawna De Martini, English; Dr. Brenda Tucker, Counselor; Ms. Diane Crosley-Mayers, Field Instructor; Ms. Michelle Williams, Student Service Assistant; Mr. Kelley Cadungug, Instructional Assistant.

About Solano Community College:

The College has served as the preeminent educational institution in Solano County since 1945 when it was founded as Vallejo Junior College. In the early 1970s, the College moved to its present Fairfield site, and is presently serving over 20,000 students throughout the academic year.

In addition to the main campus in Fairfield, the College has one Center in Vacaville, and one in Vallejo. To further serve the community, SCC offers courses at Travis Air Force Base, and operates a School of Aeronautics at the Nut Tree Airport.

Currently, Solano Community College offers Associate Degrees and Certificates in various disciplines, to include transfer courses to California State Universities (CSU) and Universities of California (UC), and provides training in several trades. For more information, please visit us at www.solano.edu.

--Information and photo provided by Solano Community College

--Photo: (left to right) Dr. Shirley Lewis, Dr. Karen McCord, Chancellor Brice W. Harris, Dawna De Martini,