Greetings SRJC!

As I reflect on my nearly 12 years at Santa Rosa Junior College in preparation for my upcoming retirement, one highlight of my time here has always been PDA Day.

We are fortunate to be able to spend an entire day devoted to professional development and interesting lectures from experts who reside amongst our own colleagues. It is a chance for us all to take on the role of a student for a brief period of time and immerse ourselves in the world of learning. I have always enjoyed listening and learning from our classified, administrators, and faculty who generously share their knowledge and expertise with the broader community in the hopes of us becoming a better organization to serve our students.

I will miss these gatherings when I retire, and the opportunity to learn how to eat well and enjoy a Mediterranean diet, or look up to the sky at the trees around me, or practice math skills like an ancient Mayan. So for one final time, on February 16^th, I will enjoy being a student again on PDA Day.

This Spring 2023, we will also continue to advance the work of social justice at SRJC. Our commitment to becoming a more anti-racist and inclusive institution of learning includes providing additional training and learning opportunities for our entire college community. As a result, you’ll see a number of sessions and discussions on DEIA topics on the PDA Day agenda. I’d like to thank the Professional Development Committee for their work in organizing all of these important workshops and sessions.

This Spring’s Tauzer Lecturer will be Dr. George Sellu and he will be sharing a lecture on “Centering OR Rejecting Indigenous Ways of Knowing: The Role of DEIA Educators”. Teaching agriculture and farming are essential aspects of our existence. Farmers and ranchers have acquired knowledge and skills through formal and informal means and this knowledge has been passed down from one generation to another. As such, it is difficult to practice agriculture without acknowledging the contribution of informal or indigenous knowledge to agricultural development. The rejection of indigenous ways of knowing has created tension between Western educators and indigenous farmers. It is unclear how many students and community members have been kept out of farming because of our rejection of what they know and how they know it? This lecture will examine the intersections and differences between indigenous and Western ways of knowing. Additionally, this lecture will explore the socioeconomic impacts of rejecting indigenous ways of knowing using agriculture as a context. Finally, this lecture will present ideas for acknowledging and embracing alternative ways of knowing using the history of industrial hemp in the United States. In addition to the Tauzer Lecture, Dr. Sellu will also offer a follow-up ‘Meet the Tauzer Lecturer’ workshop in Session I (10:20 am – 11:50 am) to further explore action ideas that stem from his presentation.

There will be a Brook Tauzer Remembrance workshop offered in Session 2 (12:50 – 2:20). Brook’s tenure at SRJC spanned from 1955-1986, and he worked as an instructor of US history, dean of instruction, was the school’s first vice president of academic affairs, and served as Interim President of SRJC between Presidents Newman and Mikalson. He is also the namesake of the SRJC Brook Tauzer Faculty Lecture, which has occurred every spring PDA Day since 1994. Sadly, Brook passed away this summer. Join SRJC retirees in a remembrance of Brook’s life and impact on the college, and hear more about how Brook helped shape the foundation of the college we all stand on today.

Please join me for a day of enriching lessons, crucial conversations and collegial camaraderie on February 16. I hope that this PDA Day can be a day of self-care and learning for us all.

In appreciation,

Frank Chong