Dominican University of California Has Received a National Award for “Institutional Transformation”

Dominican University of California has received a national award for “institutional transformation” in recognition of the university’s work creating partnerships that deepen student civic learning and strengthen local communities.

Dominican has been awarded Campus Compact’s Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation. The award recognizes four-year or graduate institutions that have successfully implemented institution-wide efforts to address issues of public concern by aligning teaching, research, practice, and values in service of the common good.

Dominican has, over the past decade, taken comprehensive and sustainable action to ensure community engagement is deeply embedded in its curriculum and programs.

This includes:

  • Developing the Dominican Experience, an educational model grounded in high-impact practices with community engagement as one of four tenets;
  • Adopting institution-wide learning outcomes with a category for practice of civic skills and social responsibility;
  • Redesigning the curriculum, comprising revisions to every major, minor, including a new Social Justice major, and the general education program, which now contains a category for Civic Knowledge and Engagement;
  • Founding the Center for Community Engagement, whose advisory board has defined effective practices in community-engaged teaching and learning for the campus and developed a Civic Action plan that is currently being implemented;
  • Creating campus and community partnerships to advance equity work both on and off campus.

Community voice, community priorities, and community-based teaching and learning will remain institutional priorities, President Nicola Pitchford said.

“Our university is uniquely positioned as an engine of greater social equity, not only through opening educational opportunities to a student body comprising many from diverse and formerly excluded populations, but also through our capacity to produce research and knowledge in partnership with local communities,” she said.

“We will continue to build on a decade of intentional, institution-wide reorientation around the insight that all students, and especially underrepresented students, learn best (and we teach best) in contexts of applied problem-solving.”

The 2021-2022 academic year marks the 17th year that Dominican students have served as advocates for equity, working alongside community partners and community residents through the university’s Service-Learning program.

“We value our many reciprocal partnerships — and a shared commitment to social justice and equity — that inspire our work,” President Pitchford said. “The guiding objective for this work is clear: to challenge systemic racial and economic injustice through community engagement and civic knowledge, to prepare students for fulfilling careers and meaningful lives, to see our campus and community thrive.”

Each semester, about 300 students participate in service-learning-designated courses, engaging with non-profit organizations and schools. Last semester, for example, students connected and contributed to the greater community through 20 service-learning courses. Much of the work focused on addressing issues in marginalized communities throughout Marin County that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. The work is particularly urgent, as the COVID-19 pandemic is stretching the resources of many community and non-profit organizations.

Dominican’s Center for Community Engagement, led by Executive Director Julia van der Ryn, advances the university’s commitment to community partnerships, providing support and advocacy for the greater community and in turn generating meaningful connections and social justice education for our students.

“Grounding and connecting academic learning with relevant and pressing issues is crucial in our current climate,” van der Ryn said. “Community-engaged learning that intentionally focuses on the larger contexts and social issues that impact people’s lives, that values lived experience and knowledge of our students and community members –– is education for social change.”

The crux of the university’s transformation is its signature program, the Dominican Experience.

Developed over the past decade, The Dominican Experience is an educational pathway that provides undergraduates with access to personalized coaching – including academic and career advising and peer mentors – and the opportunity to engage with the community through service-learning, internships, and fieldwork. Students also work with faculty mentors to develop original research or creative projects and, through digital portfolios, showcase personal growth, academic accomplishments, and professional skills.

Dominican has 2,089 undergraduate and graduate students. One-third of the undergraduate students are Pell-eligible, 68% identify as BIPOC, and more than 25% are the first in their family to attend college. Dominican’s graduation rates have improved more than 14% since 2016. Both the four-year and six-year rates are well above the national averages.

In the last five years, Dominican ranked #10 in the nation for early college graduate career earnings; #11 among 578 selective private colleges for social mobility; and #1 in the nation for institutional transformation.

Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to supporting institutions in fulfilling their public purposes by deepening their ability to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility. The Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation is presented as part of Campus Compact’s Impact Awards, which recognize the outstanding work of individuals and institutions in pursuit of the public purposes of higher education.

https://www.dominican.edu/news/news-listing/national-award-cites-commitment-student-civic-learning

Dominican University Postpones the Inauguration of Nicola Pitchford

In a memo sent out to all concerned parties:

Dominican University of California has made the decision to postpone the presidential inauguration events scheduled for January 16-17. While we are disappointed not to be able to celebrate the installation of our 10th president with you just yet, postponing these events is our safest option given the current public health situation. Please stay tuned for updates regarding a rescheduled date for the Inauguration of President Nicola Pitchford.

Basin Street Properties’ Santa Rosa Oak Valley Business Center Attracts Magnolia Bank to Move There

Basin Street Properties, a prominent northern Nevada and northern California real estate investment, development, and management firm, is pleased to announce Magnolia Bank has signed a lease for 3,665 square feet at Oak Valley Business Center in Santa Rosa, California.

“It’s an excellent location which will allow continued growth in mortgage originations,” said Jason Ehrlicher, Magnolia Bank’s LPO Branch Manager. “Magnolia Bank continues to innovate and thrive since its founding in 1919, and we are happy to serve customers across the country.”

Magnolia Bank is dedicated to providing great customer service through its “Personal Way” approach, which includes fostering employees’ personal and professional growth, increasing shareholder value, and encouraging community involvement through time and resources. Magnolia Bank honored its 100th year of service to its clients and communities in 2019. Magnolia Bank has grown to over $400 million in total assets as of September 2020.

“We’re excited to welcome Magnolia Bank to Oak Valley Business Center’s diverse tenant mix including healthcare, engineering, wine and now finance.” said Scott Stranzl, Chief Portfolio Officer of Basin Street Properties. “Oak Valley’s campus-like setting provides many nearby amenities and easy access for employees and customers alike.”

Oak Valley Business Center consists of three 2-story Class A office buildings that total 132,000 square feet. It is located within the Airport submarket conveniently close to the Santa Rosa Airport. The center offers beautiful water features, picnic areas, a volleyball court along with spectacular views of Mount St. Helena. The center further features ample free parking for employees and clients plus an automated card key system for safe after-hour access.

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ABOUT MAGNOLIA BANK:

Since its foundation in 1919, Magnolia Bank has been an independent community bank serving the local community. The Bank celebrated its 100th year of serving clients and communities in 2019. The company’s tagline, “We have a personal way,” is exemplified by employees’ daily acts.  For more information visit magnoliabank.com.

ABOUT BASIN STREET PROPERTIES:

Basin Street Properties, established in Petaluma in 1974, is one of Northern California’s and Northern Nevada’s most prominent developers, investors and managers of commercial properties. The company owns and manages over 5 million square feet of Class A office space. Basin Street is widely recognized for its office, retail, hospitality, multi-family and mixed-use developments. The company offers a broad range of real estate services, including development, property management, construction management, financial and asset management, and property acquisition and disposition. For more information, visit basin-street.com.

Redwood Credit Union Receives ENERGY STAR Certification for its Santa Rosa Administrative Office

Redwood Credit Union (RCU) has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR certification for commercial buildings for its administrative office at 3033 Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa, California.

To be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, a building must earn an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher on EPA’s 1 – 100 scale. RCU’s Santa Rosa office achieved a score of 97—meaning the building meets strict energy performance standards and is outperforming 97 percent of similar buildings nationwide.

ENERGY STAR certified buildings save energy, money, and help protect the environment by generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings. Together, all 38,000 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings have prevented more than 21.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

“RCU has been working hard over the past few years to reduce our energy footprint,” said Kimberly Williams, senior vice president of strategy, projects, and corporate real estate. “Investing in green technology and helping our communities do the same is integral to what we do.”

RCU has been investing for years in green technology such as its 2,000+ solar panels powering 61% of the Santa Rosa office. Their sustainability programs include loan discounts on qualified energy-efficient and hybrid vehicles, solar loans, yearly community shred-a-thons to securely dispose of sensitive documents, companywide recycling, and an online green center at redwoodcu.org/green.

Educating on the use of green-friendly services is also a focus for the credit union. Members are encouraged to take advantage of paper-free online and mobile banking, online bill pay, and eStatements, reducing visits to the branches and emissions. To date, 85 percent of RCU’s membership uses those technologies.

About Redwood Credit Union
Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. RCU offers complete financial services including checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, online and mobile banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through CUSO Financial Services L.P., and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU’s wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $7 billion in assets and serves more than 390,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for news and updates.

Burbank Housing Featured as Part of the Chan Zuckerberg Housing Initiative

Burbank Housing is the North Bay’s leading affordable housing nonprofit. For 41 years, the organization has built, preserved, and managed safe, affordable rental and for-sale homes in the North Bay. It currently provides homes to approximately 10,000 people across more than 70 rental communities, and has built over 900 ownership homes. Burbank Housing also has more than 500 affordable housing units in its pre-development pipeline.

Friedman’s, a Petaluma Landmark, Celebrates 75 years

In March of 1946, Santa Rosa residents Joe and Benny Friedman handed over their savings – $4,000 – to buy the contents of Meyer Lerer’s Petaluma junkyard and renting the property at 17 East Washington St., on the river and near the corner of what was then known as Main Street.

And on April 1, the City of Petaluma issued a business license (at a cost of $3) to the new firm, Friedman Brothers. A third brother, Harry, would soon join the fledgling company.

In “The Friedman’s Way,” a privately published book detailing the company’s history, Harry spoke of Petaluma then as “languid. You could walk across Washington Street and stop in the middle to tie your shoe.”

Lerer had told the brothers business was great but, as the book reported, the first day’s sales totaled $1, and that was only because there was no change, Benny recalled. A gregarious man with a sense of humor, Benny continued the story with, “The second day business fell off. And on the third day, a man came in to ask for change for a twenty-dollar bill. We made him a partner.”

However, the demand for metal by the military during World War II meant a post-war scarcity of raw materials and the hard-working brothers did well. So well, in fact, that 75 years later, that junkyard and salvage business, now known as Friedman’s Home Improvement, is a fixture in the Sonoma County community and continues to prosper and grow.

In 1971, a new, modern branch of the store opened south of Santa Rosa. Five years later, the original East Washington Street store had become dilapidated and stock, headquarters and staff moved to the newer store. Harry, quoted in “The Friedman’s Way,” said, “It was a tough decision. I cried when we left Petaluma, recalling all the good times, hard work and wonderful friends and customers.” They painted a sign and left it in the front window. “Moved to Santa Rosa,” it read, “BUT WE WILL BE BACK.”

It took 38 years, but in 2014, the new Petaluma branch, now the headquarters, opened in the Deer Creek Village shopping center on North McDowell Boulevard. In the intervening years, two more branches opened – in Ukiah and the city of Sonoma.

It remains a family business, with 43-year-old Barry Friedman, Benny’s grandson, now heading the firm. “I feel honored,” Barry said, “to steward this organization into the future.”

Barry said community connection has always been an integral part of the firm.

“The way my grandfather and his brothers approached business was to treat people fairly, see what the community needs and do what meets those needs, and then give back to the community,” he said.

Asked what has kept Friedman’s so strong for so long, Barry stressed the company values: lead, connect, grow, serve and care.

“Those are part of our daily work,” he said.

All new employees spend their first day in a company orientation, learning about the firm’s history and ethos.

“I greet them, ask about them and ask why they chose Friedman’s.” He emphasizes to them the importance of people: “how you treat your fellow team members and customers.”

We see it as “the three circles,” he said: the team, the customers and the community. And the team is “the people who’ve committed themselves to Friedman’s.” Even those who’ve been there for a shorter period, “they want to be part of something, and they get to be because nothing happens without them. You’re not doing it because you’re being asked to, but because you want to.”

He began working in the store when he was 8, “pushing carts and bagging for the cashiers.” After college though, he wanted to make sure the firm was the right fit for him. For a while he investigated being a cowboy in Montana and worked with an auto racing team in North Carolina.

“But I was drawn to this business and in 2004, came back and started from the beginning, as a cashier.” He worked his way up, he explained, to “keep grounded. I knew I’d have opportunities, but I wanted to learn the business, understand the parts and pieces.”

In 2013, he became president and CEO. “I love it: what we do, who we do it for, and I love our place within the community. There’s a lot of pride to know we’re a local business, providing great jobs and careers.”

One of Friedman’s trademarks is the knowledgeable, helpful staff. In “The Friedman’s Way,” longtime general manager Ron Adams spoke about the time he showed Friedman’s to an executive of a big box store. “I walked around … with him,” Adams said. “When we got to the cast iron stoves, he said to me, ‘We sell them too.’ I replied, ‘No, you have them. We sell them.’ That’s how I felt about Friedman’s… We trained our employees to have a deep knowledge of our product lines and a real focus on customer needs.”

Many locals are familiar with the company’s original slogan, “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.” That, Barry said, was bestowed by a regular customer in the early years. The man came down from Willits as the firm had become well known as a place to locate hard-to-find items. One day he remarked, “If you guys don’t have it, I don’t need it.”

He later gave permission for the brothers to use the slogan. Now, Barry said, it’s a relic of a time when things were hard to find. “It’s a nice thing,” he added, to hear longtime county residents reminisce about driving by that sign as a kid.

What about the future? “We’re trying to create a stronger foundation for future growth,” Barry said. “Even though we’ve been around a long time, our company has grown. Some of our processes needed to be strengthened and, in the last few years, we’ve focused on solidifying that foundation. We will only grow if we can ensure that we can keep the culture and the service that we expect – and that connection to our community.

“So a paced, thoughtful growth,” he concluded. “We want to make sure we keep our uniqueness, not just grow for the sake of growth.”

https://www.petaluma360.com/article/news/friedmans-a-petaluma-landmark-celebrates-75-years/

Report: Marin among Bay Area leaders in pandemic exodus

Marin was among the Bay Area counties with the largest outward migration after the start of the pandemic, according to a new report.

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, the number of people who have left California has decreased by 38%. Not so in the Bay Area, which remained one of the few regions that has seen an uptick in residents relocating, according to the California Policy Lab, a research institute based at the University of California.

Marin ranked No. 4 in the region for an overall 24% change in exits since the first quarter of 2020, and a 22% total exit rate increase from that period until the third quarter of 2021 — outpacing Contra Costa and Sonoma counties at 22.2 % and 20.9%, respectively. San Francisco tops the list of the most exited counties, at an increase in exits by 37.9%

Marin residents also moved at a 5.2% higher rate than they did pre-pandemic, compared to Contra Costa County at 1% and Alameda County at 6%.

The Bay Area had been one of the top four destination regions in the state, attracting new residents between 2016 and just before the pandemic, according to the report, which was released Dec. 15. Tens of thousands of people flocked to the area for high-paying tech jobs despite high housing costs.

Analysts say the report corresponds with a recent trend of population loss. Marin lost 1% of residents in 2020, or 2,614 people, according to the California Department of Finance. The highest losses were in unincorporated areas, at 2.6%, or 1,809 people, and in San Rafael at 0.6%, or 369 residents.

Mike Blakeley, chief executive of the Marin Economic Forum, said the reason for the defections is unclear.

“It’s really hard to know why it occurred,” he said “The flow of people in and out of Marin is really an individual choice.”

Blakeley said relocation might have been prompted by an ability to work remotely or for quality of life and affordability.

Cynthia Murray, chief executive of the North Bay Leadership Council, said the report’s significant finding is in “the steep drop in people choosing to locate to Marin, which exacerbates the residents choosing to move out of Marin.”

Those factors combined may have a significant impact on the availability of Marin’s workforce and economic vitality, she said.

Caroline Peattie, executive director of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California, said she thinks the high exit rate seems connected to concerns about affordability and racial disparity.

Marin home values continued to soar, reaching an average of $1.5 million for a single-family home, a 15.8% increase over last year, according to the real estate data firm Zillow. Rental prices rebounded to more than 6% higher than before the pandemic — with the average apartment priced at $2,683, according to real estate data provider CoStar Group.

”My major concern from a fair housing perspective is that the lack of affordable housing means we will continue to become a less diverse county,” Peattie said.

“Particularly given the recent Race Counts Marin report, this is something Marin County should be focusing on,” she said, referring to a study of inequity. “We need to do more to affirmatively further fair housing.”

Steve Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Lab for Continuing Study of the California Economy, said the Bay Area’s cost of living is a key factor.

“We continue to be very expensive,” Levy said. “Except for very high-income people, it’s not surprising that the number of people dropped.”

But Levy thinks the trend could reverse, noting that the Bay Area has had an increase in the number of residences for low- and medium-income people.

Marin cities and towns continue to struggle to meet state mandates to increase housing stock.

“The main factor in both exits and entrances is the high cost of living in Marin, especially due to the high cost of housing,” Murray said. “It has been a growing trend that the pandemic accelerated that those whose work allowed them to work remotely or are able to find other employment have been relocating to areas of higher affordability and lower cost of living.”

“As long as Marin doesn’t build more workforce housing, we can expect growing families to move to where housing meets their financial needs and for outsiders to avoid the inflated housing prices in Marin,” she said.

North Bay Children’s Center’s Fitch Mountain Preschool Unveils New Outdoor Classroom, Play Space

Preschool children helped Healdsburg Unified School District (HUSD) Chris Vanden Heuvel cut a white ribbon for the unveiling of the newly renovated outdoor classroom and play area at the North Bay Children’s Center (NBCC) Fitch Mountain Preschool on Dec. 15.

The outdoor classroom is part of NBCC’s Garden of Eatin’ program, which incorporates edible education and garden nutrition into the daily lives of preschool aged children through hands-on curriculum aimed at setting the course “for a lifetime of healthy choices while building a connection to the natural world.”

The program uses evidence-based strategies with measurable outcomes which were studied by the University of California, San Francisco in 2015 and later published in the American Journal for Public Health.

“There is something fundamentally healthy about outdoor play and learning for young children. NBCC has created a special place where children’s imagination can reach their full expression. This is a real treasure for Healdsburg families, exceeding everyone’s expectations. All the elements of the program are very creative and provides an enriched learning experience for the children,” Vanden Heuvel said in a NBCC press release.

“Our vision for a nature-based outdoor classroom and play space began four years earlier when NBCC was brought in to manage the HUSD state-funded preschool program,” said NBCC President and CEO Susan Gilmore. “We took a blacktop playground area adjacent to the preschool classrooms and transformed it into a magical learning environment for early childhood discovery that includes a natural play space with robust edible gardens woven throughout.”

While Gilmore couldn’t attend the ribbon cutting, NBCC Vice President of Programs Kristina Sisseck attended and on behalf of Gilmore, thanked the many individuals who were involved in helping bring the project to fruition.

“I would like to acknowledge some extraordinary individuals. Healdsburg Unified board members along with Superintendent Chris Vanden Heuvel and his administration team for embracing our vision. They approved the construction plans and agreed to replace the existing playground structure with more innovative options. We also want to recognize the Healdsburg Facilities Department for working with us on construction plans and managing endless landscaping deliveries,” Sisseck said.

Gilmore’s statement, which was read by Sisseck, also thanked Sisseck for her work on the project and the playscape design team — Jay Beckwith and NBCC’s Garden of Eatin’ Director Teresa Fogolini and her team for designing and managing the implementation of the project — as well as Fitch Mountain Preschool Site Supervisor Nicole Porter.

Lastly, the senior facilities/maintenance technician Brian was honored and thanked for his “innovative engineering, resourcing and construction.”     

 The new outdoor space features design elements using all natural and recycled materials. The space includes a living “willow hut” where kids can play in and gather, an outdoor classroom area, fruit trees and garden beds, a mud kitchen and a sand area. There’s also a slide and a climbing space and a trike track for riding tricycles.

Vanden Heveul called the new outdoor classroom and play structure a work of art.

“It’s just beautiful so I couldn’t be more pleased,” he said.

Vanden Hevel lauded the organization for being one of the first to open early in the pandemic in the Spring of 2020 and for bringing kids together at an early age.

“They (NBCC) partnered with us to do preschool and we chose them because of their strong commitment to make preschool accessible to all in Healdsburg and to bring our community together. We all have barriers in Healdsburg that are between us and the vision was to have a preschool that would be accessible to all and really break down those barriers, whether they are ethnic or socioeconomic, and bring kids together at the earliest of age and they’ve done an amazing job,” he said.

The NBCC operates 14 locations throughout the North Bay and the Fitch Mountain Preschool offers full year and half-day programs.

https://soconews.org/scn_healdsburg/news/fitch-mountain-preschool-unveils-new-outdoor-classroom-play-space/article_2572761a-5f53-11ec-8670-d333c9a5a285.html

College of Marin Construction Career Opportunities

 

College of Marin Trades Program Prepares More Grads

Eighteen students will graduate next week from a construction trades program at College of Marin, joining nearly 100 others to pass through the curriculum since it started in 2018.

The program — a partnership among College of Marin, Canal Alliance in San Rafael and the Marin Builders Association — has had 115 students reach graduation, including the 18 students in the current group, said Axel Flores, workforce development manager at Canal Alliance.

“We only have three out of all 115 of our students who are unemployed,” Flores said Friday.

The current course began Oct. 11. The graduation event is scheduled for noon Dec. 11 at the college’s Indian Valley Campus in Novato.

The course took place at the Novato campus to give students access to construction equipment needed for the class, Flores said.

“The benefit of taking this class is learning to develop new skills to work in the field of construction and to further my career and make more money,” said Armando Huinac, one of the current students.

According to Flores, Canal Alliance provides a full suite of support services to each student in the program, including job interview training, resume services and job placement assistance. The nonprofit also keeps a spreadsheet of local employers to help graduates find work.

“Our mission has been to connect Latino residents with higher paying jobs in the construction industry,” Flores said. The target pay level when the program started was at least $21 per hour, he said.

“The significance of the class training is to add to the students’ existing experience,” said Tom Eller, the instructor for the course, which is tuition-free.  “More training to improve their value as an employee and increase their confidence in construction.”

Eller, a contractor in Woodacre, added that “knowledgeable employees are a direct asset to the employer and to the community.”

Kevin Quispe, a student, said the program has helped in other areas of his life beyond construction skills.

“I have gained more confidence by taking this class,” Quispe said. “It has helped me overcome my fears and to see a brighter future.”

“I know I have options in other career paths,” he added. “I now can help friends who need help in construction.”

https://www.marinbuilders.com/news/details/marin-builders-association-in-the-news-college-of-marin-trades-program-prepares-more-grads