Palo Alto’s not
what it used to be.
As Dr. Ana “Cha” Guzman’s first year as President winds to a close, you won’t have to look very hard to find her influence. Her vivacious presence seems to permeate the air, leaving faculty, staff and students filled with a sense of expectation and energy. Since her appointment on August 13 of 2001, Guzman has been a catalyst for change and improvement throughout the campus.
“Bright, energetic, motivated, caring, outgoing and directed to the betterment of others, her leadership will bring Palo Alto College to unheard levels of success,” said Dr. Robert Ramsay, Chancellor of the ACCD.
Through Guzman’s tireless efforts, the wheels of change have been set into motion. Reforms in administrative structure, a reorganized office of Student Affairs, infusions of money, student facility improvements and a strengthened Occupational Technology program are just a few of her accomplishments thus far.
Plans to expand the
Student Center have already been approved and wait for the ACCD Board
to choose a contractor. Guzman has not been afraid to stick her neck out
for Palo Alto when she sees an opportunity.
“No one has the energy of Dr. Guzman,” said Dr. Rodger Minatra,
dean of Occupational, Technical & Continuing Education. “Guzman
has established the urgency of a good education,” he said.
Starting in the Fall,
five new Occupational Technology programs will be added: Landscape and
Horticultural Science, Turf Grass and Golf Course Management, Electro-mechanical
Technology, Telecomm Technology and Leadership.
Guzman sets expectations and then leads through example. She is a forthright
individual who doesn’t like to mince words.
“Operationally, she is very, very sound. In fact I have yet to see
her unfamiliar with any type of procedure,” said Pat Terrell, Interim
Vice President of Student Affairs.
Terrell chaired the selection committee that chose Guzman as Palo Alto’s
new president. After narrowing the choices to three, a team was sent out
to perform ‘on site’ inspections of the various candidates.
Terrell and Carolyn DeLecour, another selection committee member, were
picked to observe Guzman at the college she was working in at the time.
“Obviously she was a person of very high ability and came with a
wealth of experience from previous positions she’s held,” said
Terrell. “She possessed the know-how to run a college effectively.”
Before coming to Palo Alto, Guzman was vice president of the Cypress Creek
Campus of Austin Community College. Guzman has also held positions ranging
from associate vice chancellor for Academic Support Programs, to chair
of the Presidential Commission on Excellence in Education for Hispanic
Americans, to senior adviser to the U.S. Department of Education Secretary
during the Clinton Administration.
Terrell has worked closely with Guzman during her first year, and he has
been quite pleased with her performance. “She is a results-oriented
person who follows through and has high accountabilityæsomething
that is very important,” said Terrell.
Guzman has shown herself as a caring individual who has students’
interest at her heart.
“She spoke at the awards ceremony for a journalism contest that the
Communications Department held for high school kids,” said Ericka
Lopez, a junior, Education major. “On top of the prizes given to
the first place winners, she added $500 scholarships to Palo Alto, which
I thought was very generous.”
During her speech, Guzman gave a heartfelt message to the students in
attendance, praising them for their talent and skill. Guzman commented
how they were far ahead of where she was at their age. Arriving from Cuba
at age 13, Guzman did not really learn how to write until she trudged
through her doctoral dissertation.
Guzman also brought a fresh approach to how schedules were analyzed and
created. Working with Ginger Carnes, the Director of Community & Public
Relations, they were able to determine what classes students most wanted,
then found a way to give it to them at more opportune times. After Guzman
discussed the findings with every department chairperson, a new plan was
forged. The optimized scheduling program helped to increase student contact
hours from 4.5 to 7.7.
Guzman describes her first year with Palo Alto as a good marriage. “I
wanted to go somewhere that I could bring about a change in a positive
direction, and Palo Alto needed someone to get things going. We were a
good fit,” said Guzman.
The president points out core beliefs and values that allowed her to mesh
readily with her executive team. Guzman attributes much of her success
to her team, which meets weekly to discuss vital topics and school politics.
The atmosphere is comfortable and the dialogue is not what you’d
expect at a typical board meeting. “We laugh a lot,” said Guzman.
Her main priorities this year have been to improve Occupational Technology,
revamp Student Affairs, and gain more funding for PAC. Guzman has also
re-organized how many of the school’s programs are run.
Tutoring is no longer held in the SLAC, but in its own academic department.
Students needing help in math now go to the Math Department, and so on.
This was done with the intent of improving the assistance offered and
to get the departments directly involved with students.
“I feel the best way to manage and lead is to get people involved,”
said Guzman. “It gives them a sense of empowerment.”
Student services have been expanded as well, allowing students attending
night classes to have access to them. Another area of improvement involved
how the administration was arranged. From the previous ‘hierarchical
organizational structure,’ the current set-up allows more direct
interface with faculty members. Guzman is particularly proud of how well
the faculty interacts with each other and the teamwork that is displayed.
“Guzman’s new administrative set-up and procedures created an
environment where everyone can help each other more efficiently,”
said Dr. Cecilia Gonzales, dean of Science & Technology. Chairs, deans,
and the president meet twice a month on Fridays, which allows Guzman to
hear directly from her team.
One such procedure covers protocol. If a member of the faculty has a concern,
they approach their respective dean. If they go to the president directly,
she will listen to what they have to say and then recommend they to go
to their dean and talk it out, which saves confusion.
“She’s a very good motivator. If you don’t know how to
make something happen, she has no problem with showing you how,”
said Gonzales.
Being a hands-on person, Guzman tries to involve herself as much as possible.
The demands of the job would sap anyone, but Guzman relies on her secretaries,
Greta Zavala, Erlinda Ybarra and Sandra Mora, to keep her sane. “I
have never been so well taken care of in my life,” Guzman said.
In addition to being a mentor to much of the staff, Guzman has also shown
exemplary leadership ability.
“Guzman has benefited the campus in several ways, both tangible and
intangible,” said Stacey Johnson, interim dean of Arts, Humanities
& Social Sciences. “During the reaccredidation period with SACS,
she proved herself a very capable leader. It was imperative for us to
have a president who knew what she was doing paired with a good committee
in order to be successful,” Johnson said.
In addition to leading Palo Alto through a successful reaccredidation
process, Guzman has been able to obtain a mid-year infusion of money from
the ACCD Board. Of the $605,000, an estimated $470,000 will go toward
hiring new employees. The positions to be filled are vice president, budget
affairs officer, three clerical, four professional and seven full-time
faculty.
President Guzman has large hopes for the future and a master plan that
her staff is ready to follow. With the help of an executive team, which
has matured with her, Guzman is ready for the upcoming year. Plans to
create a committee dedicated to increasing scholarships and strengthening
the Student Government are on the table.
