The time is coming for students, faculty and staff to speak their mind and bring ideas to the president of Cerritos College.
The first ever President’s Hour will be held on Feb. 11 and will be an open forum for all who would like to speak and present any topics to Dr. Jose Fierro.
Miya Walker, Director, College Relations, Public Affairs and Governmental Relations, said,”Dr. Fierro wanted to create a regular opportunity for students, faculty and staff to talk to him about anything ranging from new ideas, campus issues, and more.”
Walker and the Public Affairs team will help the president execute his idea so that people on campus know that President’s Hour is an outlet for them to share their concerns directly with them.
She went on to describe the process of the session.
“The process is pretty informal, he [Dr. Fierro] will be in the board room on the second Thursdays of every month,” she said.
The hour will be open to anyone and there is no RSVP process.
Although there is no date planned yet, there is plan to also have a table in Falcon Square so students will have the opportunity to engage with him.
Walker is looking forward to hearing discussions between the president and the campus community.
Fierro has past experience with having President’s Hour in his previous jobs.
He served in a similar role as a vice president for Academic Affairs and started having open office hours and eventually the vice president and president got involved in an open forum.
“Last semester it was just so busy that I didn’t get the chance to do it,” he said.
One way is to have everyone speak for a few minutes and answer some quick questions.
The other option would be to listen and take notes about things that may require a follow-up.
“There may be things I can answer right there, and there may be things that I can’t, then at least I know it is happening so I can get back to the person that is asking,” he said.
For him, the purpose is to give people the opportunity to interact with him and get to know people and understand what is happening.
He does not know what to expect, he revealed he has received all kinds of questions, however with faculty wages a main issue at board meetings, he would not be surprised if that topic were to come up.
He hopes to get to know people and create a good relationship with everyone on campus.
The hashtag that will be used is #POCCHour.
