LACCD held a public forum on the LAVC presidential search with Chancellor Rodriguez on February 8. Monarch Hall was filled with more than 75 students, faculty, staff and the public who came to hear about the search process for a permanent LAVC president, and participated in a discussion on the desirable qualities and characteristics for our new permanent leader. The District is putting together a search and interview committee, which will finalize the job posting and screen the candidates. The committee's finalists will be forwarded to the Chancellor, who will then forward a smaller group of final candidates to the LACCD Board of Trustees. The District hopes to select a new LAVC president on or about July 1, 2019.

Did you know that there is an LAVC Historical Museum on campus? Established in 1975, it houses an amazing collection of treasures from San Fernando Valley's 100-year history including historical photos, artifacts, oral history recordings and more! The LAVC Historical Museum invites students, faculty, staff and the general public to its Spring Open Houses on February 28, April 25 and May 23 from 1-2 p.m. in LARC 204.

In honor of Black History Month, we are highlighting the efforts of our LAVC Black Scholars program to help increase the academic success of African-American students at Valley College by providing providing a mentorship-based learning community on campus. This month, it is also coordinating LAVC's Black Heritage Week activities including a The Hate You Give screening with panel discussion on February 25, a keynote address by Nate Howard of Movement BE on February 26, a Black Heritage Cultural Celebration on February 27, and more.

The campus community is invited to the first B.U.I.L.D. Series lecture on Choice Architecture by LAVC Professor Tyler Prante on February 14.  Professional Development will also soon begin implementing the objectives of our Our Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI) plan. To recap last month, Professional Development kicked off the new year with two Strengths Finders Inventory Trainings (one with the college leadership team and the other with classified staff) as well as held a successful Winter Tech Fest featuring presentations on a range of topics including Photoshop, Outlook, Canvas, Podcasting and more. Stay tuned for more activities this Spring!

The Anthony & Jeanne Pritkzer Foster Youth Initiative has recently awarded the LAVC NextUp/Guardian Scholars program with a $25,000 grant. In addition, the Pritkzer Initiative's Foster Care Counts has awarded a $5,000 grant plus an additional $1,000 for student scholarships through the LAVC Foundation. The funds will be used to help support current and former foster youth at Los Angeles Valley College. Congratulations!

LAVC waved goodbye to a few of its old 1950s bungalows on campus. Bungalows 50-52 were torn down in December 2018 to make way for a new thermal energy storage tank on campus. A crowd of faculty and staff gathered in Lot H as Dr. Endrijonas climb into a bulldozer to ceremoniously mark the beginning of the removal of these now-abandoned bungalows. The onlookers cheered once the bulldozer began leveling the bungalow structure to the ground. The remaining bungalows in the area are scheduled to be demolished at a later date.

LAVC faculty and staff got into the holiday spirit at the "Grinch-Mas" themed Winter Wonderland Holiday Party on December 4. More than 170 faculty and staff donated $430 as well as a mountain of toys to "Operation: Santa", which brings holiday presents to low-income families in the San Fernando Valley. This annual event brings together faculty and staff to enjoy the joys of the holidays with a tasty holiday lunch, raffle prizes, and to see who wins the annual musical chairs competition. This year, it also included a "Grinch-Mas" costume contest.

LAVC warmly welcomes Luiza Minasyan, its new Graphic Designer. Working under Professional Development, she will work on college-wide projects as well as can assist college departments and programs with various graphic design projects.

LAVC Professional Development is excited to offer several professional development activities for faculty and staff this Winter! Classified staff are invited to learn how to use their personal strengths in work and life at the "Strength Finders Workshop on January 18 at 8:30 a.m.; lunch is provided for those who RSVP. The college leadership team are also participating in the "Strength Finders Workshop" on January 17. If any faculty and staff want to learn new ways to incorporate technology in their work at the Winter 2019 Tech Fest on January 28-29. Stay tuned for more exciting opportunities this Spring!

LAVC honored Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian for his help in securing a $800,000 California State Budget Carve-Out to enable the LAVC Family Resource Center to expand its services for students who are parents. In addition, the LAVC Foundation established The Adrin Nazarian Scholarship & Endowment to help student parents at LAVC.