Posts Tagged Marie-Elaine Burns

Students, faculty, staff and the community are invited to the public forums for the College President, Berkeley City College Finalists, on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, from 11:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., in the Berkeley City College Auditorium.

Public Forum Schedule (Moderator to be announced):

Marie-Elaine Burns: 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Michael Reiner: 1:00 p.m. -1:45 p.m.

Rowena Tomaneng: 2:15 p.m. -3:00 p.m.

Candidate Bios:

Marie-Elaine Burns

I was born in San Mateo and raised in San Francisco, I am a native Californian. I am a first-generation college student and a single parent.

As an educational leader, I am visionary, energetic, and passionate. While adaptable to change, I also am a risk taker/entrepreneur; not afraid to explore an idea different from my own or to encourage others to try their ideas. I encourage and support innovation and creativity.

My leadership style is characterized by respect, inclusiveness, transparency, collaboration, effective listening skills, and participatory governance. I am committed to equity and student success. Contributing to a positive impact on students has always been integral to the decisions I make as a college leader.

Having worked in higher education for many years, I have been responsible for college access, student retention, support services, transfer and graduation success which are major components of student success. I have worked at universities and colleges throughout the state which include but are not limited to the following: San Francisco State University where I had my first opportunity to teach; California State University at Long Beach where I assisted the Director in training college and university learning assistance professionals (faculty, coordinators and practitioners) from countries around the world; Skyline College in San Bruno where I was the Director of The Learning Center and the Student Support Services TRIO program and lead the establishment of the Jump Start Program for high school students that continued long after I left the college; and Foothill College in Los Altos Hills where I was Dean of the Middlefield Campus and established the successful Dare to EXCEL program for high school students with a grade point average of 2.0 and below.

As Vice-President of Student Affairs at San Jose City College (SJCC). I developed a vision and championed core values for student affairs and cultivated an effective Student Affairs management team. Under my leadership the College opened a Veterans Resource Center; the Annual African American/Latino/Pacific Islander/Native American Male Summit was established which I led for six years; the Mental Health Advisory Committee (MHSAC) was established and is running effectively; and I developed the first online student support services which assisted the College in being released from an accreditation sanction.

Currently, I am Vice-President for Special Services at San Jose City College (SJCC). In this position I work collaboratively with the SJCC vice-presidents and the Milpitas Unified School District partners to ensure the establishment of student services at the new Milpitas Community College Extension and a successful opening; I represent the College and participate in the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) Working Council and the Education Committee; and assist the District and colleges in providing Title IX Responsible Employee training. These are only some of my career accomplishments.

My postsecondary educational accomplishments include a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Broadcast Communication Arts from San Francisco State University, cum laude; a Master’s of Science Degree in School Management & Administration, summa cum laude and a Doctorate in Institutional Management, magna cum laude, both from Pepperdine University.

The greatest accomplishment and success in my life, however, is my daughter Marie-Alicia Burns, who is completing her Bachelor’s Degree at California State University, East Bay.

Michael B. Reiner

Michael B. Reiner is an innovative leader in higher education with experience in strategicplanning, budgeting, outcomes assessment, accreditation, liberal arts education, workforce development, psychology, cognitive science, design of learning spaces & learning commons, international education, prior learning assessment, & promoting educational opportunities for veterans. He has been involved with numerous projects using technology and pedagogical innovation to accelerate degree completion without sacrificing the quality of learning.

He currently is a team member with the California Community College System’s Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative, a state-wide project to provide colleges with consulting and technical assistance to enhance student success and achievement, improve accreditation and accountability, and advance integrated planning with resource allocation.

Previously, he served as Vice Chancellor of Educational Services for the Riverside Community College District, University Fellow in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost at the City University of New York (CUNY), Provost and Senior Vice President at CUNY’s Queensborough Community College, as well as an administrator at community colleges in Florida at Miami Dade College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Edison State College (recently renamed Florida Southwestern State College) & Santa Fe Community College (now called Santa Fe College, winner of this year’s Aspen Award as the nation’s best community college).

Prior to his administrative appointments, he was Professor of Psychology at Kennesaw State University, as well as held faculty positions at Salem College & Texas Wesleyan University. While at Kennesaw State University, he was honored with the Distinguished Teaching Award and appointed University System of Georgia Board of Regents Distinguished Professor for Teaching & Learning.

An advocate of international and global education to promote diversity and inclusiveness, he has traveled with students and faculty in Europe, Central and South America, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. In addition, he has taken part in workshops sponsored by the East-West Center, spent a summer at the Japan Studies Institute at San Diego State University, and participated in a Summer Fulbright-Hays Faculty Travel Seminar in Southeast Asia. While at Kennesaw State, he had a Chancellor’s summer fellowship to study Chinese culture at Nanjing Normal University.

At Miami Dade College, his portfolio included international education and supervising the Confucius Institute.

Dr. Reiner’s Bachelor of Arts degree was from Haverford College, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with high honors in psychology, and he holds a Ph.D. from the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, where he was the recipient of a NIMH National Research Service Award.

His personal and professional mission is to help students achieve success by working with faculty and institutions to provide the highest quality education to prepare citizens for the uncertainty and excitement of our ever changing world.

Rowena M. Tomaneng

Rowena Tomaneng’s leadership, teaching, service, and research are guided by social justice frameworks and a student-centered focus. Since 2010, she has been the Associate Vice President (AVP) of Instruction at De Anza College, a 23,000-student college in Cupertino, with a diverse student population consistently ranked at or near the top statewide in transfer to universities. She oversees the Academic Services Division, which is home to a wide variety of student-centered offices and programs, including the Office of Equity, Social Justice, and Multicultural Education; the Office of Professional Development; the Vasconcellos Institute for Democracy in Action (VIDA); and Pathways programs such as the Learning Communities of Umoja, Puente, and First Year Experience.

She also oversees the collaborative units comprising the Learning Resources Division: Online Education, the Library, and the Student Success Center. She currently holds leadership roles in state initiatives including both the Student Equity and Student Success and Support Programs (SSSP); has obtained and administered state and federal grants including the Basic Skills Initiative, Asian American/Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), and Title III: Strengthening Institutions; and has worked on faculty and district-wide administrative teams for many years, completing program reviews and accreditation documents.

Prior to becoming AVP, Tomaneng served for over two years as Interim Dean of the college’s Language Arts Division, which includes 50 full-time and 140 adjunct faculty members, and offers 85 courses ranging in the English department from basic skills to multicultural literatures, as well as the departments of ESL, Journalism, Reading and Speech. She was English Department chair for the preceding three years and led initiatives to foster equity in faculty hiring and cultural competency. Prior to these administrative positions, Tomaneng was a full-time English instructor at De Anza College from 1996-2010, teaching all levels of composition and literature, including basic skills, as well as Asian American literature and culture and Women’s Studies.

She participated extensively in curriculum development and revision, including developing service learning and linked Learning in Communities (LiNC) courses. In 2006, she was a founding co-director of De Anza’s then-Institute for Community and Civic Engagement (ICCE), now VIDA, and developed various community and educational partnerships.

In addition, Tomaneng is actively engaged in culturally focused local, regional, and national organizations and has led advocacy campaigns to increase police accountability. She has written and contributed to a variety of publications and currently serves on the advisory board to the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ (AAC&U) Diversity and Democracy. Upon completion of her dissertation on the educational dimensions of Filipina migrant workers’ activist identities, Tomaneng is scheduled to receive her doctorate in International/Multicultural Education with a concentration in Human Rights Education from the University of San Francisco in December. She holds a master’s degree in English from UC Santa Barbara and a bachelor’s degree in English from UC Irvine.