Council on Innovation, Belonging and Equity
What is CIBE ?
The Council on Innovation, Belonging and Equity (CIBE) is a shared governance body that was established April 6, 2021, through Board Action 5378. The purpose of this body is to permeate completion, equity, inclusion, and belonging throughout Delta College’s activities and culture and to assist in the assurance that the Diversity, Equity, Belonging and Inclusion framework is being fully implemented. An additional purpose of the CIBE is to foster collaboration and creativity to reduce opportunity gaps across the College body.
In Delta College’s model of shared governance, institutional and policy decisions are made from well-informed recommendations, ideally reached through consensus among stakeholders. The CIBE Advisory Board directs relevant institutional issues or concerns to the appropriate group for thorough examination. Committees (standing or ad hoc) may make recommendations to the CIBE Advisory Board for action based upon supporting rationale and data. Throughout the process, open and respectful communication ensures participation by all affected parties.
Advisory board meetings and how people can attend
CIBE advisory board meetings are open meetings; however, there may be certain topics during which the CIBE advisory board will need to meet in closed session.
If interested in attending a CIBE advisory board meeting, please contact Sheryl Jensen for the Zoom link.
Fall 2025 meetings
- Wednesday, September 10, 2pm
- Wednesday, October 8, 2pm
- Wednesday, November 12, 2pm
- Wednesday, December 10, 2pm
CIBE members (voting members)
- CIBE chair
Chris Hausbeck (term ending 12/2027) - ECAPS chair/designee
Eric Merkle/designee (term ending 12/2025) - Administrative/Professional staff at large (2 elected by AP, 1 SES and 1 non-SES)
Monica Hernandez-Alaniz (term ending 12/2027) and Craig Wilson (term ending 12/2028) - Faculty Assembly Board (FAB) chair
Chris Curtis (term ending 12/2028) - Faculty at large (2 elected by the faculty)
Meredith Bladecki (term ending 12/2026) and Amber Sleight (term ending 12/2027) - SSEC chair/designee
Jill Delaney/designee (term ending 12/2025) - Support Staff at large (2 elected by support staff, 1 SES and 1 non-SES)
Loni Benkert (term ending 12/2027) and Traci Morris (term ending 12/2026) - Adjunct Faculty
Christina Szilagyi (annual reaffiirmation) - Public Safety designee
Robert Battinkoff (annual reaffiirmation) - Maintenance designee
Vacant
Ex-officio CIBE members (non-voting members)
- College President (or designee)
Mike Gavin - Belonging, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (BEDI) designee
Chris DeEulis - CIBE Chair Emeritus
Elena Lazzari (term ending 12/2026) - Shared Governance Office Professional
Sheryl Jensen
Standing Committee – Pedagogy
Charge: To foster learning environments characterized by innovation, a sense of BEDI by exploring and encouraging pedagogical best practices that recognize and address differences amongst students.
- Danielle Petersen, co-chair
- Kim Boldt, co-chair
Standing Committee – Policies & Processes
Charge: To identify and review policies and processes that may contain barriers to success both for students and employees from a completion, inclusion, belonging, and equity lens.
- Kim Katzer, Co-chair
- Eric Wiesenauer, Co-chair
Adhoc Committees
Committee 1
Policy name: Disputed Final Grades
Date of charge: January 15, 2025
To: Policies and Processes CIBE subcommittee
Charge: Please perform a thorough review of the Disputed Final Grades policy, looking at this through an equity lens from the student and faculty viewpoints. Consider the reasons that a student would get all the way to the appeal board. Are these reasons adequate? Do they need revision? What is the impact of a student appealing their grade based on academic dishonesty for using artificial intelligence? (The current disputed final grade policy lacks specific language addressing academic dishonesty). Finally, discuss reasons/scenarios in which an academic administrator could re-open a grade appeal after a decision has been made or could alter the timeline in the policy if the student failed to meet the deadline.
Committee 2
Proposal name: Update to Board Policy 10.012 – Academic Graduation/Certification Requirements
Date of charge: April 21, 2025
To: Kim Katzer, Chair of Policies and Processes committee and Elena Lazzari (former co-chair of the P & P committee)
Charge: Please perform a thorough review of the Academic Graduation/Certification Board Policy, looking at this through an equity lens from the student and faculty viewpoints. Part III of the existing policy outlines the procedure for revising general education curricular requirements. Update the language to reflect current titles/roles at Delta College, and discuss the membership of the ad hoc committee in IIIC (is this appropriate?). The Advisory Board is recommending an ad hoc committee be formed with representation from the Policies and Processes committee. We would like the ad hoc committee to discuss/consider separating the procedure from the policy (but still reference the procedure if the committee deems it best to separate these). We are also suggesting a clarifying statement around the AAA, AAS, AFA, and ABS requirements – who determines these degree requirements and how are they changed/revised?
While doing this work, please be in regular communication with the curriculum council ad hoc committee that will begin its work in Fall 2025.
Proposed timeline and rounds: Begin this work in Fall 2025 and make an effort to finish by the end of Winter 2026. Take the proposed changes to Faculty Assembly for input prior to bringing the policy back to CIBE before going to the Board of Trustees.
Committee 3
Policy #: N/A
Proposal name: Student Success Modules
Date of charge: January 15, 2025
To: Casey Armour, ad hoc chair
Charge: As outlined in your request, please proceed with the development and implementation of creating accessible, concise modules for students, ensuring that they meet the needs of students with varying levels of proficiency. Additionally, consider modules on time management, self-discipline, and fostering effective communication in virtual environments.
Proposed Timeline: Please attempt to complete your work by the end of Winter semester 2026; an update will be requested during the Fall 2025 semester to see if this timeline is feasible.
Committee 4
Policy/Request Name: Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills and resources
Date of Charge: September 10, 2025
CHARGE:
1. Compile/develop AI professional development opportunities for faculty and staff. Share these resources with COS and FCTE once finished. Consider focusing on things like using AI for job efficiency for employees and development of active learning strategies/classroom materials for faculty.
2. Compile/develop resources to share with students (traditional and dual-enrolled) on appropriate use of AI as well as ways to use it for studying/learning. Work with the eLearning committee and Faculty Assembly.
RATIONALE: Professional development in AI for faculty and staff will assist Delta College employees with improved job efficiency, innovation in their work, and professional growth. Last year, an ad hoc committee of 4 faculty and 1 admin attended the yearlong AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum. This charge is meant to build on the work of that ad hoc committee. It’s important for Delta employees to develop AI literacy in this rapidly changing workforce. Our students need clear direction on ethical and appropriate ways to utilize AI. We cannot expect them to figure this out on their own. Developing innovative ways of using AI for learning/studying and generation of ideas will potentially help with student success, retention, and completion.
The Co-Chairs of the ad hoc committee will meet with the CIBE Advisory Board in March or April of 2026 to discuss the preparation of a draft document. A brief progress statement from the Ad Hoc Committee Co-Chairs is due to CIBE every 2 months during Fall and Winter semesters.
The Ad Hoc Committee Co-Chairs will then present at the CIBE meeting seeking approval for inclusion on an upcoming CIBE Agenda or asked to return to the committee for further work on the charge. If there are changes, suggestions, etc. from the members of the CIBE they should be recorded by the Ad Hoc Committee Co-Chairs. The Ad Hoc Committee Co-Chairs will then share the suggestions with the committee, and they should discuss them and determine an action.
Committee 5
Title of request: Analysis of interventions for students in academic caution/probation.
Date of Charge: November 12, 2025
To: Student Educational Services (SES); Shelly Raube, Vice President of Student Empowerment and Success
CHARGE:
1. Assess the effectiveness of the current communication, intervention, and follow-up
process for students
on academic caution and/or probation. Recommend consistency guidelines for advisors
(e.g. required
interventions, timing, follow-up). Discuss pros and cons of enforcing academic suspension.
2. Explore and propose new support structures, including targeted interventions,
academic recovery
coaching, faculty engagement, etc. for students on academic caution and/or probation.
RATIONALE: Delta’s current Academic Caution and Academic Probation (AC/AP) process, outlined
here,
has been in place for years. Despite the current structured intervention process,
data indicates limited
improvement in student outcomes for students on academic caution or probation. Academic
suspension
is outlined in the policy but has not been enforced in over five years. This charge
is for an ad hoc
committee to evaluate our Academic Caution and Probation process to ensure students
facing academic
challenges receive meaningful, personalized, and effective support. The outcome of
the committee’s work
should be to recommend targeted supports and interventions for students on Caution
or Probation, and to
recommend consistency guidelines for advisors. Finally, the committee should make
a recommendation
to keep (and enforce) academic suspension, or to remove this from the policy altogether.
The ad hoc committee membership should be finalized by the end of the Fall 2025 semester
and should
begin its work in January 2026.
