A Delta College Town Hall meeting with President/Superintendent Dr. Omid Pourzanjani and members of the Executive Cabinet took place on April 29.
Pourzanjani opened the meeting with an overview of the events that have transpired since the institution moved to remote instruction in March 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests and “one of the most contentious national elections.”
“We’ve been through a lot this past year and we’re all still here, thank goodness,” Pourzanjani said. “We’re all still here for the same purpose, which is to help our community members achieve their educational goals and dreams.”
Pourzanjani then transitioned to discussing plans for the Fall 2021 semester. He pointed to California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Oakley’s recommendation for reopening, which includes adding more hybrid courses in the fall and planning for a full return in the Spring 2022 semester.
“We will take all of this to our Board and they will set the guidelines for us and determine how we proceed,” Pourzanjani said.
Pourzanjani also offered his own recommendations for the institution’s reopening plans.
“My first recommendation is that we did a lot of work to put everything online, and I would hate for us to give all of that up and then go back to exactly how things were like before the pandemic,” Pourzanjani said.
According to Pourzanjani, the institution is considering offering more certificates and programs “fully online,” and expanding wraparound services.
“Before we put random courses online and we didn’t have complete programs or services, so I’m just asking us to consider having a more comprehensive, more intentional and thoughtful online offering,” Pourzanjani said.
Assistant Superintendent/Vice President of Instruction and Planning Dr. Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson said 70 percent of classes are being scheduled online for the fall semester, while 11 percent of classes are being scheduled for in-person and 19 percent hybrid.
“We’re looking to increase our offerings to include as much access as we can for the fall, but please bear in mind we are still subject to social distancing guidelines and the protocols that we have established,” Lawrenson said.
One of those protocols includes routine cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfection of office spaces and other populated areas.
Vice President of Administrative Services Dr. Amanda Preston-Nelson highlighted the work the facilities and maintenance team has done to ensure the safe operations of the campus.
“Our team has remained on campus throughout the pandemic. The routine cleaning and maintenance that they typically conduct as part of the normal operations has been enhanced to follow CDC guidelines,” Preston-Nelson said.
Preston-Nelson said routines include cleaning high-touch point areas such as desks, tables, lightswitches, chairs and door handles.
“We really are trying to do everything we can to make sure that we lessen the spread of this virus on campus,” Preston-Nelson said.
Pourzanjani ended the meeting with the acknowledgement of the work Delta College employees have done throughout the course of the pandemic.
“None of us have been in a pandemic before, but I think we have all worked together to keep our students and employees safe,” Pourzanjani said.
