Río Hondo College Board of Trustees is seeking applicants to serve the remaining term of trustee Norma Edith García, who stepped down from the governing board in July. The board expects to conduct interviews next month and appoint a new member in late September. The member will serve until García’s term ends in December 2022.
Río Hondo College launched the fall 2020 semester on Aug. 17 with an enhanced distance learning model, centering the academic and personal needs of students and supporting educators as they take on the new year. After intense planning over the summer, Río Hondo College developed a plan that focuses on student feedback and supports learners through an increase in technology resources, academic and mental health counseling, and specialized assistance for student groups.
Río Hondo College leaders on Aug. 14 emphasized the need to show care and compassion to students struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while delivering online instruction in fall 2020-21. The message was the core focus of FLEX Day, an annual training program held the day before classes began for fall semester. Faculty and staff leaders praised College employees for their swift and effective shift to distance instruction in spring 2020 but said the new year will require a redoubled focus on the needs of students.
Río Hondo College’s Roadrunner Hand Crew 77 has been activated for the second time this summer by the U.S. Forest Service, deployed first to fight the Texas Fire and then to assist efforts against the rapidly expanding Lake Fire, both in the Angeles National Forest. The crew began its activation on Aug. 5. It was previously activated to backfill behind crews in June. The crew, created by the College’s Wildland Fire Academy, is staffed by a team of graduates from recent cadet classes, including Victor Apodaca, Nicholas Casimiro, Nicolas Demonte, Evan Espinoza, Yulfiano Gerwynaldo, Daniel Ingelmo, Jesse Jimenez, Marcus Manty Ortiz, Ilunga Mulonga, Diego Rodriguez, Alan Perez, Eduardo Reyes, Hector Samayoa and Andrew Salinas.
Río Hondo College will prepare for the 2020-21 academic year with a virtual training session on Friday, Aug. 14 that will emphasize care and compassion for students while pandemic-forced online instruction continues. Acting Superintendent/President Teresa Dreyfuss, Board of Trustees President Oscar Valladares and leaders of the faculty and staff will deliver recorded speeches to launch the annual training day program, called FLEX Day, which will be held the day before classes begin Saturday, Aug. 15.
Former Río Hondo College Superintendent/President Teresa Dreyfuss has stepped in to lead the College as its acting chief administrator starting July 30. Dreyfuss started at the College as a part-time faculty member in 1987 and rose through the ranks to become interim superintendent/president in 2012. She assumed the job permanently the following year. She is credited with overseeing $300 million in construction projects, opening three regional campuses and leading the College through the Great Recession. She also started a program that gave students free tuition for their first two years. She retired in June 2019.
Río Hondo College’s Citizens’ Oversight Committee commended the College’s staff and leadership on July 8 for management of Measure A tax dollars, which have been used to transform the campus into a modern academic facility over the last 16 years. In its 2018-19 annual report to the Board of Trustees, the Committee said the College met all fiduciary responsibilities in managing funding provided by the community in 2004 as part of a $245 million bond measure.
Río Hondo College’s Roadrunner Hand Crew 77 has been activated by the U.S. Forest Service to assist with national wildfire needs, backfilling behind “hot shot” crews normally assigned to the Angeles National Forest. The crew began its 14-day minimum activation cycle on June 26 and could be assigned almost anywhere needed.
Río Hondo College student Marcela Rodas, who is studying English and psychology, has been chosen as the College’s 2020-21 student trustee. Rodas, a 2017 graduate of Los Altos School in Hacienda Heights, said her goal is to provide the perspective of students on issues such as the pandemic and equity in education. In 2019-20, she served as senator at-large for the Associated Students of Río Hondo College.
Graduates of Río Hondo College’s Class of 2019 are pursuing their dreams of higher education at some of the best four-year universities in the state, with 970 students attending such universities as UCLA, UC Berkeley and Cal State Los Angeles. Over 640 students enrolled at CSU campuses and 109 enrolled at UC campuses in 2019-20, according to new data from the UC Information Center and the CSU Data Center. The number of Río Hondo College students matriculating at the California universities and other four-year colleges has climbed 75% over the last 10 years.