Announcements

Dear Seattle Colleges community,

On Thursday, Feb. 27, Governor Ferguson announced a series of recommended cost saving measures to help resolve a nearly $16 billion state budget shortfall.

Among other things, the governor’s proposal calls for 24 furlough days from July 2025 through June 2027 for most state employees, including those in higher education. (This amounts to one furlough day per month for the next two fiscal years.)

This is a proposal and the first step in a very long and complex process. Ultimately, it will be up to the House and Senate to come together and write a final state budget for the 2025-2027 biennium.  

As this process moves forward, I wanted you to know that Dr. Solemsaas, Dr. Recasner, Dr. Brown and I are working with our fellow statewide college presidents and chancellors and the State Board (SBCTC) to advance our system’s priorities in support of students, faculty, and staff.  

With gratitude,

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap 
Chancellor 
Seattle Colleges

Good evening, Seattle Colleges colleagues at North, Districtwide/Siegal, and at South,

I am sharing more broadly the announcement below regarding Seattle Central College’s presidency. It was initially sent to the Central community on Sunday afternoon (February 2, 2025).

Dr. Rachel Solemsaas, Dr. Monica Brown and I have appreciated working with Dr. Chantae Recasner as the acting president of Central since November 2024. We welcome her again to the role, now as interim president moving forward.

Please read the note below for the full announcement.

Thank you,

Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap, Ed.D.
Chancellor, Seattle Colleges

Message sent to Seattle Central College Employees Sunday, February 2, 2025 1:41 p.m.

Dear Seattle Central community,

Although we were expecting Dr. Bradley Lane to return to the role as president of Seattle Central on Monday, February 3rd, he has decided to pursue other opportunities and will not return to Seattle Central College. Effective immediately, I am appointing Dr. Chantae Recasner to interim president of Seattle Central, continuing her duties and responsibilities as acting president. (A role she has held since November 2024.)

I am grateful to Dr. Recasner for stepping into the role of president. Her leadership provides vision and stability as Central and the entire district prepare to balance our budgets, as Central prepares for an accreditation review, and plans for future growth and evolution. I have full confidence in her and look forward to our continued partnership alongside Dr. Monica Brown (South), Dr. Rachel Solemsaas (North), and the rest of the districtwide leadership team.

On a personal note, I am grateful to have worked closely with Dr. Lane for the last 15 years. Over these years, we’ve collaborated several times as VPs in the district. We’ve shared in goals to improve our strategic enrollment approaches and bring more clarity to our districtwide dynamics. His leadership of the Central community ensures that though we continue to face challenges, we are well positioned to work through them together and maintain the momentum the Central community, and Seattle Colleges as a whole, has gained over the past several years.

In the coming days, while Dr. Recasner immediately assumes the interim president role, I will be working directly with Dr. Lane to transition his district leadership duties in Instruction and Institutional Effectiveness to others. We wish him the best as he begins a new chapter in his career.

Thank you very much,

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap
Chancellor
Seattle Colleges

Good afternoon, Seattle Colleges,

For the past several years, college presidents have been asked to serve as vice chancellors. As such, they’ve either led district-wide efforts or helped accomplish a unique or specific goal. (For example, as president of South, I also served as the vice chancellor of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) prior to EDI becoming a districtwide and standalone division. Presidents have also been assigned VC roles based on major functional areas, or on specific focus assignments such as external relations.)

As the needs and the focus of the district have evolved over the years, so has the approach in assigning VC duties to presidents.

Today, I’m writing to share how I have assigned VC responsibilities with our new cadre of presidents.

My goal in the current assignments is twofold:

1. To empower our team of presidents as executive leads/sponsors for districtwide initiatives and improvement work that have impact districtwide, and
2. To leverage the expertise and particular sets of skills that each of our presidents bring from their career backgrounds.

Following are the new VC assignments:

Dr. Rachel Solemsaas: President at North and Vice Chancellor of Finance (acting) 
Considering the recent departure of Julienne DeGeyter as Vice Chancellor of Finance and Operations (VCFO), I am pleased to have an experienced CFO among the president group. Until we rehire the VCFO position, Dr. Rachel Solemsaas will provide leadership to the districtwide Finance and Operations teams. She has many years of experience as a community college CFO/VP of Finance/Administrative Services.  I will reassess her Vice Chancellor assignment as we move toward finalizing leadership in the VCFO position. Learn more about Dr. Rachel's background here.

Dr. Bradley Lane, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Effectiveness and Instruction 
Dr. Lane has already been leading as VC of IE through our current strategic planning process. As the intensity of that development process shifts over to implementation and monitoring (following the anticipated BOT approval of the plan in December), he is taking on the executive sponsorship of district-wide Instructional efforts and regular VPI convening. Learn more about Dr. Bradley's background here.

Dr. Monica Brown: President at South and Vice Chancellor of Student Services 
Dr. Brown comes to us with 20+ years of experience in Student Affairs both in community college and at the university level. She will be stepping in as the executive sponsor of any district-wide Student Services efforts and will convene the VPSS group regularly as well. Learn more about Dr. Monica's background here.

These assignments are in place effective immediately and will be reassessed periodically in the future as the work and organization needs evolve.

Thank you all for your work in service to our students. I am excited for the leadership our college presidents will also bring to our collective work across the district.

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap 
Chancellor 
Seattle Colleges

Good afternoon Seattle Colleges community, 

I write today to introduce another stellar colleague. Dr. Cedric Howard started on June 17, 2024 as our Associate Vice Chancellor of Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM). 

Dr. Howard brings a wealth and depth of experience in enrollment management and Student Affairs leadership to this inaugural role. He comes to us after successfully re-establishing the Division of Student Affairs and increasing enrollment at the University of Northern Colorado, with further experiences at the State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia and University of Washington Tacoma. In addition to these professional roles, he has been an active leader in the national and international Strategic Enrollment Management arena, serving as co-chair for the AACRAO SEM conference, and has himself presented workshops and keynotes on SEM, student success, student development/identity, student communications, and Black Male Achievement. 
  
Dr. Howard's work location is at Siegal Center, though his responsibilities will bring him across the three colleges connecting with many of you as he learns the college environments and the landscape of our enrollment needs and opportunities.

A re-aligned position: AVC of SEM

This is the first time Seattle Colleges has invested in an executive leadership position with Strategic Enrollment Management specifically in mind. In Fall 2023 I sought to reassess the role of the VCASS position (formerly Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Success), which had been in place since 2017. 
  
After considering  how best to serve the needs and goals of our three colleges—along with the financial stabilization efforts required to ensure our success moving forward—it felt natural to focus on building our capacity to better plan for and nurture student enrollment and completion. In planning for the 2024-2025 budget, I prioritized enrollment as one of our key areas of investment for the near- and long-term future. 
  
These factors led me to establish the AVC of SEM in place of the former VCASS position. My intention is that Dr. Howard's work will strengthen the student success and Guided Pathways efforts active across all three colleges and better focus our capacity to enroll and retain students who represent our diverse communities through collaborative efforts, training and planning. Dr. Howard will lead the development of our first SEM plan in alignment with the Strategic Plan that is now under development.

Developing our first SEM plan

As we work to develop our SEM plan over the next two academic years, 2024-2026, our priorities will be to establish a flexible and research-based approach to enrollment management across Seattle College and to support student access, equity, and success in alignment with our districtwide 2024 strategic plan. We will consider the diverse academic needs and goals of our students, emphasizing the importance of adapting programs and services to meet their evolving needs. 

Like any enrollment plan, this document will serve as a dynamic framework outlining goals, expectations, and strategies to support disciplines, departments, deans, and students in the enrollment management process. It will also facilitate adaptable and innovative approaches tailored to the students and curriculum of each academic unit. The focus will be on quality, access, inclusiveness, efficiency and completion throughout the students' educational journey. 
  
This is all exciting and important work. I look forward to Dr. Howard’s active leadership in this area as we continue the momentum of the past year. Please welcome Dr. Howard when you see him.

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap 
Chancellor 
Seattle Colleges

Colleagues across the Seattle Colleges,

It is with great pleasure that I announce the permanent presidents for North, South, and Seattle Central College.

I have selected Dr. Rachel Solemsaas to lead North Seattle College. Dr. Bradley Lane has been selected to lead Seattle Central College. And Dr. Monica Brown will lead South Seattle College.

Bios for Drs. Solemsaas, Lane and Brown are available on the presidents’ search website. I invite you to read up on each president’s depth of experience they are bringing to our colleges. More information and insight on each president’s vision for their college will be posted soon on each college’s respective website.

Today, I would like to focus on the leadership team and culture I’m trying to create, how these appointments support this model, and what you can expect.

Leadership and Culture

I sought out leaders who would be strong college advocates and representatives, and who understand how to meet the needs and support the unique cultures at each of our colleges while keeping students first. I also sought leaders who were experienced in enterprise leadership and working collaboratively across systems alongside other leaders to improve educational outcomes for our diverse students.

Drs. Solemsaas, Lane and Brown each demonstrated the strength and value they will bring to our colleges and our district as college presidents, and as change leaders. The path ahead for Seattle Colleges will not be determined by how well we hold fast to existing or historical structures, but by how adaptive and responsive we become to our students, the needs in our communities, and the pace of change in our society. I am excited to work with these leaders and all of you to map this path forward.

Presidential Collaboration and Support

My vision for our district is that North, Central and South continue to be strong colleges with distinct identities and program offerings. AND, as the Seattle Colleges, we have remarkable collective impact across the city of Seattle and beyond.

As a district of three colleges, we already share a clear academic mission to prepare each student for success in life and work. We have also crystallized around the desire to accomplish this through a relentless pursuit of equity and inclusion. And through our engagement in Guided Pathways reforms and other systemic improvements, we are seeking to build a high level of consistent excellence in the ways we educate and support our students.

This requires that presidents and the greater district leadership team be fiercely collaborative and supportive of one another and the colleges and areas we each lead.

Our Future

A common question asked of me by the college president finalists was: “What would be a sign of success for a president after one year in the role at the college?” My response was consistent:

• That a new president would build meaningful relationships and trust across their college colleagues and stakeholders;
• That the core functions of each of the colleges continue to be stable and sustainable (and I hold myself to that expectation for district and districtwide functions);
• That we will have made strides in improving the student experience consistently across the district in ways that can be seen and felt at each college.

This is what I hope and expect us to experience over this next year.

Over the last year and half, we have shown that the faculty, staff and leaders across Seattle Colleges can make increasingly positive changes despite many external challenges and significant internal transitions. Now that we will have three college presidents settling into their roles over the next year, I have never felt more hopeful about our future as the Seattle Colleges and for our current and forthcoming students.

Next steps

As much as this is an exciting beginning to the next chapter of our Seattle Colleges story, this is also the time of year where we are all very busy wrapping up this academic year. Looking ahead a bit further, this summer will be a busy time for the presidents to get newly settled into their permanent and new roles at each of the colleges.

Drs. Lane and Solemsaas’ appointments are effective July 1. Dr. Brown will begin August 1 to allow a move from the east coast.

I hope you share in my enthusiasm around what is next for us in the Seattle Colleges. We have three stellar reasons in these leaders to be excited and hopeful about our collective work on behalf of our students.

With gratitude,

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap 
Chancellor 
Seattle Colleges

Colleagues,

I am writing to announce a change in bookstore operations at each of the colleges in the coming year. The email that follows shares important information for faculty and staff who are a part of the textbook adoption process, and more information will come to provide further instruction and support.

Akademos will serve as Seattle Colleges’ bookstore vendor for Fall Quarter 2024 and for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Follett, our current vendor, has chosen not to renew its contract but is committed to completing all adoptions for Summer Quarter and fulfilling all student commencement regalia orders at our campus bookstores.

The relationship with Akademos is a temporary contract for the coming academic year only to allow us the time to engage in an inclusive process with stakeholders from faculty, students and others to determine what the Seattle Colleges students and faculty need in a bookstore function. This will guide the steps we take to provide this function in the future.

What faculty need to know and do

Please do not submit Fall Quarter adoptions to Follett. Submit Fall Quarter adoptions via this form: https://forms.office.com/r/xvke4uH2QZ.

When sending the adoption list, please note the:

• Course number
• Section number
• Campus
• ISBN, and
• Whether the course material is required or optional

Once we have the new contract in place, these adoptions can be sent to Akademos for processing. Note: any adoptions for Fall Quarter already submitted to Follett will be transitioned to Akademos.

The majority of book orders will be delivered directly to students, however over the course of Summer Quarter, on-campus delivery locations will be identified for students who prefer to pick up their materials on campus.

Why this is happening

On April 18, Follett informed Seattle Colleges that it is exercising its right to decline renewing its service to Seattle Colleges with a 120-day notice, as permitted in the contract.

Since receiving notice from Follett, the Finance Office has revisited vendors who previously submitted proposals in our solicitation for bookstore management vendors to minimize the time needed to research vendors who can provide this service. This review has identified Akademos as an acceptable vendor for our upcoming 2024-2025 academic year.

The transition to Akademos is an emergency response to the short notice of termination provided by Follett. It allows us to minimize the interruption of course material access for our students and faculty across the district. We understand that this is not an ideal scenario—and it will not solve all issues involved in this process—but we will proceed to provide access to course materials via a reliable vendor.

What to expect next

We will provide a timeline and instructions for Fall Quarter 2024 adoptions as soon as possible. Angela Gurney, Director of Purchasing, is working with Follett and Akademos to gather information to share openly as we finalize our contractual commitments.

If you have questions about the textbook process with Akademos, please contact Angela Gurney, angela.gurney@seattlecolleges.edu.

We will provide more information in early fall 2024 of the process we will initiate to make bookstore services decisions beyond the 2024-2025 academic year.

Thank you,

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap 
Chancellor 
Seattle Colleges

Hello Seattle Colleges colleagues,

I am writing with an update on the college president searches underway for North Seattle College, Seattle Central College and South Seattle College.

Process

We are well-underway on a four-phase process.

1. Job description revision to ensure current relevance (Fall 2023)
2. Recruitment nationally, regionally, and in key representative community venues (positions posted from December 18, 2023 until March 11, 2024)
3. Search and interview phase led by campus search committees to consider and assess candidate pools to ensure a highly qualified finalist pool
4. Finalist phase where we will all have the opportunity to further assess the selected finalists, and where I will solicit your feedback and engagement in selecting our next three college leaders

We are now moving from the recruitment phase to the search and interview phase, and our college search committees have been convening to prepare to review applicants with a focus on inclusive practices.

Acknowledgements

In an unprecedented effort of this magnitude for our district, it has already required the contributions of many of our colleagues to get us to this point. Below, please find the list of committee members and other individuals involved.

North Seattle College President Search Committee membership:

• Kristen Burton and Dr. Cindy Riche, co-chairs
• Dr. Cooper Sealy, EDIC and Cabinet representative
• Myele Johnson, College Council representative
• Lyle Crews, AFT representative
• Kara Schwartz, AFT-SPS representative
• Thuy Nguyen, WFSE representative
• Minh To, student representative
• Colleen McClure, community partner representative
• JD Burchfield, HR Director (non-voting)
• Lydia Adira, Inclusion Advocate (non-voting)
• Toni Stankovic, President's Office EA (non-voting)

Seattle Central College President Search Committee membership:

• Dr. Johnny Woods, chair
• Kao Lezheo, Cabinet representative
• Mikaila Harris, EDIC representative
• Polina Lopez Valez, College Council representative
• Chisa O'Quin, College Council representative
• Jay McLean Riggs, AFT representative
• Dr. Conrad Webster, AFT-SPS representative
• Dawnelle Wilkie, WFSE representative
• Fatimah Abdullahi, student representative
• Shayne Wong, Interim HR Director (non-voting)
• D'Andre Fisher, Inclusion Advocate (non-voting)
• Cassandra McGuire, President's Office EA (non-voting)

South Seattle College President Search Committee membership:

• Ty Swenson (Cabinet representative) and Melody McMillan, co-chairs
• Maggie Argiro, College Council representative
• Dennis Denman, EDIC representative
• Julian Barr, AFT representative
• Rachael Guenthner, AFT-SPS representative
• Sandy Long, WFSE representative
• Quynh Tran, student representative
• Brianne Franks, HR Director (non-voting)
• Lynn Kanne, Inclusion Advocate (non-voting)
• Koh Phasomsap, President's Office EA (non-voting)

Logistics Team: D'Andre Fisher, Vanessa Johnson, Earnest Phillips, Dr. Chantae Recasner, Andrew Svec

Recruitment: Tim Collins

Current Status and What's Next

The recruitment phase is wrapping up. The positions were advertised widely from December 18, 2023, until March 11, 2024, on LinkedIn, social media outlets, higher education media including Chronicle of Higher Education and Higher Ed Jobs (and others), and in local targeted media outlets as well (Seattle Medium, other local publications).

Search committees will be reviewing and interviewing applicants through early April. We will learn who the finalists are at that time and will be planning on-campus finalist interviews and forums late April into early May. We continue to be on-track for all three presidents starting in their roles no later than July 1.

Thanks to all of you for your engagement and support of this process. I am excited for the opportunity to select our next college leaders with you all this spring.

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap
Chancellor
Seattle Colleges

Good evening colleagues,

I am writing with updates and next steps for the upcoming college presidents' search process. We are preparing to launch three search committees simultaneously to develop a strong pool of potential executive leaders from around the country to consider for each college's president role. Any one president search would be a significant task in any given year, and we are in a position to coordinate three this year. I also know that we cannot compromise or dilute the most important elements of an inclusive search process, and so this will require great coordination and planning to effectively accomplish.

With many details to share, including desired timelines, committee composition, and a broad districtwide job description update process, I have put together a video message attached to walk you through the plan and the ways you can be engaged. The video runs approximately 10 minutes, and I have also attached the 9-slide deck as a PDF here.  

Please view the video (below). You can enable captions in the YouTube player if needed.

I also want to acknowledge and thank my colleagues serving in interim and acting leadership roles. Though the roles are not permanent, they are serving in ways that will have lasting positive effect on our colleges. We have been fortunate to have Dr. Bradley Lane as Interim President of Seattle Central College since August 2022; Dr. Sayumi Irey serving as Acting President at South Seattle College since September 2023; and Dr. Rachel Solemsaas serving as Interim President at North Seattle College also since September 2023.

I look forward to engaging with all three campuses this year through this search process!

Rosie

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap  
Chancellor  
Seattle Colleges

Colleagues,  

We know that addressing and improving the Financial Aid process is a critical action that can improve the Seattle Colleges student experience. So, it is with much excitement and optimism that I am writing to you with an update about our efforts to improve and strengthen our financial aid operations across Seattle Colleges.

The Financial Aid Redesign Team—working side-by-side and in partnership with our labor partners, current financial aid and associated Seattle Promise financial aid staff—has created a financial aid structure with the resources and capacity we need to provide the student experience we all desire.

Working Together to Build a Better Structure for Better Outcomes
The new structure has two operational pillars:  

1. District-wide processing and funds management  

• Reviewing and processing applications.
• Financial aid packaging.
• Transmitting federal and state files for financial aid.
• Reporting, Seattle Promise assistance for billing and student level reconciliation.

2. Campus-based coaching and student/customer service

• Coaching students to compete the application process.
• Support students to complete the financial document check list.
• Review of funding package.
• Conduct outreach and financial aid training to high schools and the community.

The Financial Aid Team—led by Joe Barrientos, South’s Vice President of Student Services, along with Brianne Sanchez, South’s Interim Dean of Student Achievement and Registrar; Melody McMillan, Senior Executive Director, Seattle Promise; JD Burchfield, North’s HR Director; and James Grigsby, North's HR Business Partner—along with campus and labor leaders have assigned current and future staff into the appropriate pillar.

The new structure officially begins November 27,2023. A series of intensive training days are now scheduled for the dates listed below, there may be days when the financial aid offices are closed or providing limited service. We/I ask for your patience, understanding, and support for our colleagues who are simultaneously navigating, managing, and implementing a significant change while continuing to support quarter- and year-end responsibilities.

• Tuesday, November 14 (Noon to 4 p.m.)
• Wednesday, November 15 (1 to 4 p.m.)
• Friday, December 1 (Noon to 4 p.m.)
• Friday, December 8 (1 to 4 p.m.)
   

Federal Changes Coming
Though not a direct influence of this transition, the Seattle Colleges and the entire nation are also awaiting major Department of Education changes to the federal Financial Aid process (and, in turn, our state WASFA process). This will be the largest major overhaul of the FAFSA process to occur in quite some time.  

This forthcoming FAFSA change will mean that many of us—whether working in Financial Aid or not—will be learning a newly defined process to support our students. The new Financial Aid organizational structure I describe here will better support students and staff to navigate those changes once they are handed down later this year.  

Following the Strategic Plan
The Financial Aid alignment and intentional consolidation of certain functions is part of the district strategic goal identified three years ago, and more recently reinforced in our Strategic Bridge Plan. The alignment and intentional consolidation of these functions will provide a consistent and improved student financial aid experience across the district. As we move along this path, we will center equity in our work–it serves as our guiding principle.

I want to thank everyone involved for their hard work. These changes represent our commitment to putting students first. As we progress, there will be opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to share feedback aimed at continuous improvement. As those feedback spaces are established, I encourage you to engage. You can expect to learn about them from me and your campus leadership teams.

Thank you,

Rosie

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap 
Seattle Colleges 
Chancellor

Seattle Colleges colleagues,

After consultation with Financial Aid experts, review of student feedback, research on possible improvement options, and discussion with several stakeholder groups, I’ve decided to move forward the work of consolidating select functions of Financial Aid processing at our three colleges, to preserve and strengthen student-facing Financial Aid service at North, Central and South. This aligns with our Strategic Bridge Plan and is intended to lead to better student and staff experiences.

Background

Through consistent feedback over time from students and colleagues, we know that the way we administer Financial Aid needs improvement to strengthen access and persistence for our prospective and continuing students. The first step in this work has been to align our policies and procedures across the three Seattle Colleges.

Since Winter 2022, the Financial Aid Directors and Assistant Directors across the district, under the leadership of Dr. Chemene Crawford (until her departure from North last month), have been working together to unify the financial aid policies and procedures for students of the three Seattle Colleges. As their work draws to completion and in preparation for implementation of these new policies and procedures, our financial aid teams have been undergoing standardized training, with the support and guidance of Blue Icon Advisors, a service of the National Association of School Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).

Let me take this moment to thank our Financial Aid colleagues at North, Central and at South for their work together through these last 18 months, including the late Dolores Taylor. I am also grateful to Dr. Chemene Crawford, a former Financial Aid professional herself, for the expertise she brought to this effort while she was also serving as president at North.

Our “Why” & Rationale for Change 

We know that Financial Aid is a key access point for students hoping to begin or to continue at Seattle Colleges. Accomplishing process improvement efforts in this area has been of interest to many of you, our leadership team and even the Board of Trustees.

Student success and improving the student experience has been and will continue to be our guiding principle as we look at implementing shifts and changes in our processes. As we wrap up the policy and procedures work with Blue Icon Advisors, we will utilize their recommendations as the foundation for phase two of the financial aid alignment effort.

What’s Next 

The next phase of this work will be developing a structure to support an aligned financial aid experience across our three-college system. The college presidents and I have tasked South’s Vice President of Student Services, Joe Barrientos to lead this work. Brianne Sanchez (South’s Dean of Student Achievement and Registration), Melody McMillan (Senior Executive Director, Seattle Promise), and Josh Ernst (North’s HR Director) are providing primary support for this next phase.

They will be reaching out to campus stakeholders and leaders, Vice President and Executive Dean of Student Services, Deans and Financial Aid Directors and staff at each campus to share timeline and information as well as gathering input and feedback that will shape the decisions which need to be made to create a financial aid structure that supports an enhanced student experience. The leading intention for this change is to strengthen the student experience and ensure adequate capacity for high quality service and support at the colleges.
 
I also share this update with you to acknowledge that the Financial Aid alignment and intentional consolidation of certain functions is not new but rather a part of the district strategic goal identified three years ago and more recently identified in our Strategic Bridge Plan.  I believe working toward the alignment and intentional consolidation of certain functions will provide both a consistent and improved student financial aid experience across the district.

As more substantive and concrete decisions are made with input from stakeholders regarding our financial aid structures, we will provide updates as appropriate.

Thank you for your attention to this email, and for your concern for our colleges’ work. These changes in Financial Aid are truly focused on students first, and I am very hopeful for the important ways these changes will improve student experiences and success outcomes.

Thank you,

Rosie

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap
Chancellor, Seattle Colleges
 

Colleagues,

Earlier today the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap as the 11th chancellor of Seattle Colleges after a competitive national search.

“Dr. Rimando-Chareunsap has led Seattle Colleges over the past year – first as acting and then as interim chancellor – with courage, skill, and profound passion for students, faculty, staff and our Seattle community,” said Board Chair Louise Chernin. “Our organization was honored to have three stellar candidates for the permanent role, and it is our great fortune to be able to benefit from Dr. Rimando-Chareunsap’s unifying leadership and big-picture perspective going forward.”

“The Trustees all offer heartfelt thanks to the Chancellor Search Committee and the hundreds of others who attended the candidate forums,” said incoming Board Chair Rosa Peralta. “Their care, commitment, and thoughtfulness have set us up for long-term stability. In a rapidly evolving region, responsible stewards of the colleges’ people and resources are more important than ever.”

More information, including a full news release, will be posted to the Chancellor’s website as it becomes available.

District Communications 

Good afternoon Seattle Colleges colleagues,

I bring you important operational and organizational changes that will better position the Seattle Colleges for the context we are in today and the future we want to create together for our students.

A Leadership Transition: Opportunity to focus on Enrollment

Dr. Kurt Buttleman had served for well over 20 years in the Seattle Colleges, most recently as the Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Success (VCASS) since 2017. He has recently left the organization and we wish him the best and also recognize the many years of leadership he has provided the Seattle Colleges. This vacancy creates an opportunity to reflect on what our needs are across the district.

The college presidents (Dr. Chemene Crawford, Dr. Bradley Lane, Dr. Jean Hernandez) and I have decided to reconfigure the VCASS position to focus on strategic enrollment management and planning.

We know that strengthening our enrollment will be critical as we continue to rebound from the pandemic, and as we face a rapidly changing demographic here in Seattle. It will also be critical to build enrollment plans that complement, support and further the anti-biased/anti-racist efforts we are developing as well. This reimagined role will add to the capacity that is in place at the colleges, in our Guided Pathways collective work, and in our EDIC team as well.

The new position is in development now, and I will share updates broadly on how this shift progresses.

Presidents as Executive Sponsors of Change

In reconfiguring the VCASS role, it also brings opportunity to better connect the strengths and insight of our three college presidents in guiding change efforts district-wide. I am returning--in part--to a previous structure that existed prior to 2017.

As some may remember, the college presidents have long had additional assignments as Vice Chancellors. These assignments are determined by the chancellor. Over the next few months, I will be tasking our college presidents to take on Vice Chancellor roles to more directly guide district-wide change efforts and convene the college VPs and leaders whose areas are impacted by these evolutions.

Dr. Bradley Lane, Interim President at Central, will immediately assume the role of Vice Chancellor of Institutional Effectiveness, working closely with college IE/IR colleagues in leading our Strategic Planning efforts.

Dr. Jean Hernandez will step in as Vice Chancellor of Instruction for the time being, and I will be designating a president as Vice Chancellor of Student Services in the near future as well. My many thanks go to our college VPIs and executive Student Services leaders for their collaborative work now, and throughout this transitional period.

Strategic Planning – A Bridge to a New Plan

Our current Strategic Plan was developed in 2016-2017 and covered the span of 2017-2023. In 2022, considering the substantial transitions our colleges had been experiencing throughout the pandemic, the Board of Trustees voted to extend our existing Strategic Plan for one more year.

In February, our Board of Trustees unanimously approved a Bridge Plan—an extension of the existing Strategic Plan—that is aimed at focusing our time and resources on providing equitable experiences for students in key student-facing areas through Summer 2024 in anticipation of finalization of a new Strategic Plan in Fall 2024.

The strategies in the Bridge Plan are not new, but the structure of the Bridge Plan will keep us focused on these high-priority items as we search for a permanent Chancellor and gain more clarity about working as a system.

While working on the Bridge Plan for the next year and half, we will, simultaneously, develop a new, comprehensive Strategic Plan for Seattle Colleges. This will start in earnest later this year. Some of that work will include securing faculty, staff, student and community representation on committees, establishment of a project plan, and engaging with the Board of Trustees and the permanent Chancellor.

It is also important to note that in the February 2023 Board of Trustees meeting where a Bridge Plan was approved, the trustees also voted unanimously to pause the exploration and discussion of "Single Accreditation" until a permanent chancellor is identified and can make further recommendation about whether to resume the exploration.

With so much change and transition occurring at once, I hope this email provides some needed clarity on where our organization is heading. I expect to bring more updates as these and other transitions take place. Thank you so much!

Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap, Ed.D.
Interim Chancellor, Seattle Colleges

Dear Seattle Colleges colleagues:

In November I shared a three-pronged Interim Path Towards Financial Stability:

• Stabilize Budget & Finance Workforce
• Transparency Around Our Numbers
• Budget Support for Managers

In a key step forward in the finance workforce stabilization, I am pleased to announce that Julienne DeGeyter has been selected for the position of Vice Chancellor of Finance and Operations for the Seattle Colleges.

Julienne brings over 18 years of public education finance and operations leadership experience to the role of CFO for our colleges. For the last five months she has stepped in as interim Vice Chancellor of Finance and Operations, where she has been focused on filling critical vacancies and assessing the infrastructure needs of our colleges and districtwide finance functions. Prior to this, she had been serving since 2019 as the Vice President of Finance and Administration for South Seattle College.

Julienne's background in finance and operations have spanned the education sector: from a role as controller up to chief business officer for K12 schools, to multiple progressively responsible finance and facilities/capital leadership roles in the University of California system. Since coming to Washington, she has been deeply involved in system-level statewide committees, and has grasped the complexities of our state budget allocation process and the ctcLink challenges and opportunities. Her experience in complex budget environments and strained resources will continue to be an asset as the Seattle Colleges remains focused on stabilizing our finances moving forward.

My many thanks to the search committee, led by Dr. Bradley Lane: Zahra Alavi, Lynn Christiansen, Dennis Denman, Davina Fogg, Tona Khau, Terri Plishke, Cindy Riche with HR support from Scott Rixon. And many thanks to those of you who participated in the open forums and provided feedback as well.

Please join me in welcoming Julienne to the permanent role of Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration.

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap
Interim Chancellor, Seattle Colleges