President's Update

President's Office | Contact Me

Welcome to the fall 2026 semester!

To kick things off, we’ll review the ongoing efforts to address the findings from the 2024 campus climate survey. Many of you have asked me for an update on this topic, and I’m happy to share with you the progress we have made to reshape our campus culture.

In spring 2024, the college worked with the RP Group to administer a climate survey among all employees, and the results identified several areas for improvement. Our own Institutional Research office conducted a follow-up survey that asked employees to prioritize the areas in which we should begin our work, and five areas of focus emerged:

Over the last two years, we have made significant progress in each of these areas, and it is a privilege for me to share the highlights with you.

1. Ability for employees to report concerns or provide critical feedback about the college without fear of retaliation.

• Groups of employees have met with Human Resources and the President to share their feedback and concerns. Human Resources has opened investigations into the allegations brought forward and we have met with all parties concerned. Once the investigations are completed, we have a written response to those that have brought the allegations forward. We work together to ensure there is no retaliation and if there is a suspicion of retaliation, Human Resources will investigate that allegation as well.
  
  
• To ensure employees can bring information forward without fear of retaliation, Human Resources receives concerns and complaints with the utmost confidentiality. They work diligently to ensure every complaint is heard, thoroughly evaluated, and resolved. Those bringing complaints may not agree with the resolution, but they can be certain that everything was fully vetted.
  
  
• The President’s Office created a form for people to anonymously provide feedback and notify the president of concerns. It was made available online in spring 2026 at https://intranet.canyons.edu/departments/president/
  
  
• Ongoing conversations with union leadership help resolve emerging issues before they rise to the level of formal grievance. By being proactive, and working together in good faith, we can get ahead of problems and find solutions that satisfy those involved.
  
  
• We have established the Shared Governance Council and Project Advancement Teams that have representation from all constituent groups across campus who can be part of the participatory governance process. This process gives voice to all participants on all governance related issues. To find more information on our Shared Governance process, please visit canyons.edu/sharedgovernance. The information for meetings can be found on this website or the intranet.

2. Trust and confidence in the District Executive Leadership

• Our negotiating teams implemented Interest Based Bargaining. Teams work collaboratively to share end goals, improving dialog and growing understanding.
  
  
• The non-executive cabinet managers started a management group, Management Leadership Associates (MLA), to share their perspectives. New management workgroups enable administrators to discuss and review their priorities and share feedback with Executive Cabinet.
  
  
• Part of building trust and confidence is ensuring the hiring process of the executive team is clearly defined, includes representatives from all constituent groups, and is conducted in a fair manner. We are presenting the new Administrative Procedure 7120E – Vice Presidents to College Policy Council. This will outline the hiring process for our vice presidents.
  
  
• The way we administer searches for interim positions is the same every time. We want to ensure everyone understands the way we hire positions, the timelines for those positions, and how the committees are formed.
  
  
• All District administrators are participating in professional development, through trainings, retreats, and classes. Professional development is an important step in ensuring our growth as a college.
  
  
• Dr. Daylene Meuschke, along with our partners from Gensler, provided a presentation to the Board on December 17, 2025, and May 13, 2026.
  • December 17 is available here to watch at minute 22:19.
  • May 13 is available here to watch at minute 37:53.
    
    
• Vice President Erin Tague and I presented to the Board of Trustees on January 21 information related to facilities, particularly capital projects. That presentation is available here at minute 19:00.

3. Employee feeling that complaints & concerns will be taken seriously and addressed promptly

• In addition to the items addressed in item number 1 above, the District has also taken steps to formalize the process of hearing complaints and concerns, and ensuring they are addressed.
  
  
• Human Resources continues to take in all complaints, complete a thorough investigation, and reach a determination on the founded complaints. The District is committed to ensuring all complaints are taken seriously and a solution is found.

4. Perception that District Executive Leadership is open and transparent about the decision-making processes

• The new Shared Governance Model was developed in fall 2024 by David Andrus, Lisa Hooper, Michael Monsour, Wendy Trujillo, and Daylene Meuschke, along with input from the former College Planning Team, Institutional Effectiveness & Inclusive Excellence committee and many other stakeholders. The 2024/25 academic year was spent redesigning the governance model, with implementation commencing in fall 2025. We refined the process in 2025/26 to ensure it works as intended, and in 2026/27, we will expand our scope and continue our refinement.
  
  
• A video produced by Wendy Trujillo and our PIO team provides an overview of the new process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH4tq0TgIV4
  
  
• We partnered with Dr. Al Solano to help us implement Student Equity and Achievement (SEA) plans. We held the first session in fall 2025 and we will continue to engage in that work over the next semester to ensure activities align with our goals to reduce disproportionate impact in access, persistence, completion of math and English in the first year, degree/certificate completion, and transfer.
  
  
• As the CEO, I will also send information regularly to the campus community and to the Board of Trustees to ensure the decision-making process is transparent.
  We are developing our five-year roadmaps designed to align with our 10-year Canyons Compass Plan. The roadmaps will guide us in the direction needed to see Canyons Compass come to fruition.
  
  
• We are formalizing a new Shared Governance Handbook that will replace the former Decision Making Guide. The handbook will outline the processes included in Shared Governance, how and when decisions are made, and who is part of the process.

5. Promotion of employee well-being

• In fall 2025 and spring 2026, consultant Brandy Thomas led three sessions for the Equity-Minded Practitioners group on healing, joy, and listening. We will continue working with her in the upcoming year, hosting more sessions for the campus community aimed at reshaping our campus culture.
  
  
• Professional Development, Student Health and Wellness Center, and other departments on campus are hosting a variety of activities, from hiking to pickle ball, and you are invited to join your fellow employees in having fun.
  
  
• During Classified Appreciation week and in the closing email of the year, I acknowledged the psychological harm our colleagues have faced over the years and I am committed to continuing to work together to establish a new culture – one that is supportive and student-centered.
  
  
• We established a Campus Culture Advisory Team that will help ensure we continue making progress on addressing the Climate Survey results and sharing our progress with the college.
  
  
• In spring 2026, we worked with a Professional Resource Team related to the areas of Shared Governance, Strategic Planning, and Campus Culture. The Institutional Effectiveness Plan that was developed by the writing team addresses multiple objectives to be met in these three areas. We will continue to monitor and make strides towards a healthy work environment for everyone to thrive.

As we begin this semester, I want to thank you for your openness, your patience, and your willingness to stay engaged in this effort. This is the hard work we must do together. It will take time and consistency to rebuild trust. I acknowledge that and will continue to work to make College of the Canyons a great place to work and for students to learn. It will not always be perfect, but we will continue to strive to be better, and I know we can do it together.