Author: Samantha Douty

Lee Sloan, Del Mar College’s former CFO and VP of operations, will receive a $216,347 severance package. Sloan, who worked for DMC for 24 years, retired effective Nov. 6, according to Claudia Jackson, executive director of strategic communication and government relations. The Board of Regents at a special called meeting on Oct. 30 approved the severance package, which Sloan signed Oct. 29. Contributed photo Lee Sloan’s 2015 review indicated a lack of budget knowledge. Sloan leaves with about $152,000 from his remaining contract, nearly $15,000 in unused vacation time, plus more than $49,000 in unused sick leave, according to a…

Security, once again, was the topic of discussion during the November Board of Regents meeting. Del Mar College President Mark Escamilla emphasized the need for an on-campus police force. Kelly White, director of environmental health, safety and risk management, shared the Clery Act statistics during the Nov. 10 meeting. “The crime numbers are very, very good,” White said. “The report includes everything that happens on campus to the sidewalk across the street. So, if a police officer pulls over a vehicle and they pull onto Del Mar College property then we have to report it in our report.” Escamilla hopes…

During the Oct. 20 Board of Regents meeting, the Regents discussed enrollment status and finances, but security was Del Mar College President Mark Escamilla’s main concern. Escamilla said he is looking to create a new position, chief of security. This position would be in charge of creating an on-campus police force. “Currently, we have four CCPD officers on DMC campus. The only problem is when something happens off campus, the officers have a duty to take care of it,” Escamilla said. “I would like to create the on-campus police force so the campus is never vulnerable if the CCPD officers…

“I was beaten so badly by the San Francisco Police Department that I was nearly dead,” human rights activist Dolores Huerta said. “I was boycotting grapes and protesting George Bush. I broke four ribs, and my spleen had burst.” Huerta shared that story with a full audience Oct. 23 in the Richardson Performance Hall on Del Mar College’s East Campus to kick off the two-day Coastal Bend Social Forum. Several in attendance traveled hours to see Huerta speak about her life and her views on human rights. Huerta has been working as a human rights activist and as a community…

Two experts from Texas A&M University-Kingsville visited Del Mar College for Hispanic Heritage Month to discuss the extent in which South Texas students believe in folk healing practices and the ailments they treat. The presentation, “Ojo, Susto and Curanderos: Knowledge and Attitudes towards Mexican-American Folk Healing in South Texas,” focused on a recent study done at A&M-Kingsville. “The main question we wanted answered from this study was whether younger generations believe in healing the mind, body and spirit all together, and if they have heard of a curandero,” said Christine Reiser Robbins, assistant professor of anthropology at A&M-Kingsville. “We asked…

Del Mar College’s Northwest Center may be suffering from growing pains, Regents heard at the Sept. 8 board meeting. The Northwest Center has seen a nearly 300 percent increase in enrollment from 2010 to 2015, Leonard Rivera, director of off-campus programs, told Regents at the meeting. The center now offers GED, continuing education and dual credit classes. “The Northwest Center is a dynamic center,” Rivera said. “The center has seven classrooms and five offices, but enrollment has increased so much that we are looking for more space.” The college, which has been renting space from a neighboring hospital, hopes for…