Debi Gaitan, vice president of student success at Northwest Vista, discusses the statistics of the HOPE survey with Executive Faculty Council Feb. 10 at Killen. The survey found that out of 1,600 students, 25 percent have severe food insecurity. Photo by Noah Acevedo
EFC meeting involved student statistics and the opening for the role of faculty fellow.
By Michelle Delgado
mdelgado200@student.alamo.edu
Executive Faculty Senate discussed the results of student food and housing insecurity and the opening of the position for a faculty fellow Feb. 10 at Killen Center.
Faculty Fellow and social work coordinator Lisa Black is the co-founder of the Student Advocacy Center at this college.
She and her students conducted a survey last semester for statistics on student housing and food situations.
The survey found that out of 1,600 students at this college, 44 percent are food insecure, 25 percent have severe food insecurity, 41 percent are housing insecure and 10 percent are homeless.
“That would be able to be national reportable data. It’s enough participants to be able to say this is rock solid data,” Debi Gaitan, vice president of student success at Northwest Vista said.
Roughly 20,000 students attend this college, indicating that these results apply to at least 12.5 percent of the overall student population.
“I do think it’s important,” Black said of the survey data. “That idea of insecurity, both in food and housing, really expands that understanding of that 25 percent number. You are talking about students who are going hungry 1-3 days a month.”
The council tied these data results to faculty development to see what faculty can do to help these statistics.
The Student Advocacy Center accepts donations and provides students with free food, clothing and hygiene products.
The center is open 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. the first Saturday of every month in Room 323 of Chance Academic Center.
Black also announced that she would be stepping down from the position of Faculty Fellow at this college.
The faculty fellow position is a liaison for the faculty decision-making model which includes scheduling, taking meeting minutes and forming agendas.
Black said she is stepping down from the position because she loves her college and it’s time for another to fill the spot.
Black suggested the position be eased on to the next faculty fellow.
“I think we should make it more like, ‘How can I make this good for you?” she said, referring to the next faculty fellow.
“We have a lot of important things but this position is important to the structure of this district and we’ve got to do better with that,” she said.
Black took up the faculty fellow position last semester in October.
“I love what I do and I gave it a good run,” Black said.
Senate elections will be in April to fill nine positions.
