Cougar Connections

Posted by lminor on

Dear TC Community,

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Cougar Connections, a monthly newsletter from the Office of the President designed to inform, inspire, and strengthen the ties that unite our students, staff, faculty, and broader community. Each month, you’ll find:

  • College Updates – Brief messages highlighting our priorities, progress, and vision.
  • Student Spotlights – Celebrating student achievements and activities.
  • Campus Highlights – News from academic programs, events, and initiatives shaping our college.
  • Community Connections – Stories of collaboration and outreach beyond our campus.
  • What’s Ahead – A look at event dates and opportunities coming up at TC.

At Taft College, we believe leadership isn’t just about direction — it’s about connection. This newsletter reflects that belief and our commitment to communication and celebration. Thank you for being part of the journey. I look forward to building this connection with you — one story at a time. Let me know if there are issues or events you would like to see included.

Leslie Minor, Interim Superintendent/President, Taft College

It’s Halloween Season!

Group photo with children and adults dressed in Halloween costumes.

Pint-sized jack-o-lanterns, superheroes, ghosts, goblins, and more will invade campus on October 31 for the annual Children’s Center trick-or-treating event. Please RSVP to Myisha and ASO if you would like to participate: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfql7zBLJ8FVnWowKiM4f-jNxfLOU5UXlm9n6acTOjgb8uadA/viewform

ASO will sponsor Dia de los Muertos events for TC students and staff on October 30th. ASO also sponsored a number of fun, delicious, and well-attended events for Hispanic Heritage month: tamale making, mariachi band, line dancing, and pinata livened up the quad the Student Center.

Link to ASO events calendar for October https://www.taftcollege.edu/student-campus-life/clubs-organizations/calendar/index.php and for November https://www.taftcollege.edu/student-campus-life/clubs-organizations/calendar/index.php

Budget Challenges

The West Kern Community College District, Taft College, created a budget with a deficit going into fiscal year 2025-26 based upon revenue assumptions aligned with the Governor’s 2025-26 budget. Changes to the budget may occur as additional funding information becomes available. Some of the factors creating our current budget issues include slow enrollment growth, state funding deferrals, the student centered funding formula (SCFF), and deficit spending, resulting in a deficit of $803,000. Look for more detailed discussion on the budget in our November newsletter. Expect regular updates from our VPAS, Mike Giacomini, throughout the year.

Enrollment Updates

Enrollments are ticking up from our lowest point in 2022, but we are not fully caught up from the losses during covid. We are up more than 6% in FTES (full time equivalent students) from this time last year and finally broke 1,000 in FTES, for the first time since 2020. We have nearly the same number of sections as we did pre-covid. Let’s keep up the momentum — we’re moving in the right direction!

Priority Registration

Priority registration for Spring 2026 begins on Monday, October 27th, 2025 for the first group. Registration dates and times for each student are automatically assigned by the registration system and are set approximately 2 weeks before registration. Students may enter the registration system any time beginning on or after the assigned registration date and time. Students can log into their online student account via MyTC to check registration status, and assigned registration date and time, by clicking on Students > Registration > Registration Status. If students miss their day and time, they may log into MyTC and register. Link to priority group registration dates here: https://www.taftcollege.edu/admissions/accepted-students/register/priority-registration.php

Taft College Employee of the Month

In case you missed it… the entire Taft College Facilities, Maintenance and Operations team was honored as the September Employee of the Month. Manny Aguire, Keith Stearman, Shawn Tofte, Carlos Sillas, Chris Miller, and Ivan Almanza were recognized for their problem-solving, skill, positive attitude, and collaboration. Congratulations M&O!

Oildorado!

Another Oildorado celebration has wrapped up. This 10-day celebration of Taft’s history and the impact of the oil industry includes dozens of events from a grand parade, concerts, gala, casino, oil field skills competition, civic luncheon, vendor fair, melodrama, and so much more. Our Board of Trustees President, Kathy Orrin, played a “bad guy” in the melodrama performance. Meanwhile, Trustee Billy White was a “good guy” among the roaming sheriff’s posse arresting hooligans to toss in the hoosegow. Three of the 12 Maids of Petroleum are current TC students. Two of the oil field skills competitors are dual enrollment students at TC. Several of our employees met with interested community members at our TC outreach table at the vendor fair. Our own TC baseball team took home parade honors for best community group.

Baseball players from Taft College marching in a parade.

Who’s New at TC

This semester we welcomed two new full-time tenure-track faculty members. Jonathon Over is the new Engineering instructor, and Becki Dodson joins the Dental Hygiene faculty. Welcome to new adjunct instructors Stacie Horton, Sukhraj Mehat, Karin Navarro, Hunter Perry, Katrina Price, Brittany Villagran, Stephanie Webster, and Andy Wu.

Job Fest

The Kern County Job Fest 2025 will be held at Taft College on Thursday, Oct. 23, 9-noon. Connect with local employers and learn about available jobs. Get help with applications and resumes. Admission and parking are free. All are welcome!

ACCJC Workshop — Everyone Welcome

Officials from our accreditors, ACCJC (Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges), will hold a workshop on Thursday, Oct. 30, 9-12, in the Cougar Room, to familiarize us with the new standards we will use to prepare our ISER (Institutional Self-Evaluation Report). All are welcome to attend. The work of continuous quality improvement includes all of us! Watch for a newsletter from IR to keep us up to date on the work that begins now toward renewing our accreditation in 2028. Let’s all be involved!

Presidential Search

The search for a permanent Superintendent/President is underway. Progress updates will be provided by HR, with the search process expected to take the next several months and the position filled July 1.

Happy Haunting!