Annual Faculty

Report
2019-2020
 The Original 2019-2020 Annual Faculty Report
Reflective Statement of Teaching
Upon starting this academic year I had several reflective questions in mind; what do I hope to
accomplish, how do I inspire those I encounter and interact with, and how can I be collaborative.
With these questions at the forefront of my mind I was ready to embrace change, build
connection, and begin the process of developing a sense of community, university wide and
across the three campuses (Ontario (OT), Riverside (RI), and Victorville (VV)) I served. What I
did not expect was an experience of collective trauma and grief, systemic racism, interpersonal
and intrapersonal fight for social justices and a desire to be heard and accepted as a human being.
In addition, I found myself needing to consistently build trust, responding to the pressing need
for advocacy during the unexpected pandemic and social injustices, and experience a level of
intrapersonal disconnect while having to connect with individuals virtually. As surprising as
these traumatic events have been for all of us, as a woman of color and a courageous leader I
adapted and braced myself to effectively find solutions that would best benefit our students. This
required for me to constantly find my inner strength and continuously remind myself of my
internal vision of what it means to be a Black female professor. In addition, my colleagues and I
had to quickly adapt to a different form of functioning in our capacity and teaching styles.
During the year I carried a course load of 4 OL asynchronous classes. These four course loads
equaled 101 students, with an average class size of 25.25. Based on my student opinion surveys,
my overall weighted average was 4.41. In addition, I taught two course overloads in Summer I
with a total of 62 students. As well as throughout the year I was asked to teach 3 synchronous
overload courses due to having the expert level knowledge in the field; accumulatively those
courses had approximately 10 students. In addition to teaching, the courses mentioned above, I
was course manager for six courses (PSYU 336, 455, 582, 586, 603, & 652). Additionally, I fully
revised the courses PSYU 455 and 582. In order to prepare for each of the courses I taught, time
was spent processing innovative ways to lecture online both synchronously and asynchronously.
Also, I prepared for weekly lectures by developing and revising lecture notes, PowerPoints, and
experiential activities that were relevant to the students learning styles and the conceptualization
of information for each class.
During a very challenging time as a nation and a steep uphill road throughout the academic year,
I learned that in times of great adversity we need to embrace each other, co-exist, practice
resilience, and hold on to a glimpse of hope. Throughout the year, I found myself needing to
stretch to great length of flexibility in order to help students articulate their current lived
experiences and provide a safe space virtually. In a community where human connection is the
most important way of being, I had to provide each student with a safe space to feel a level of
connection and inclusion as we lived through a disproportionate amount of economic damage
and loss of life during the pandemic. In addition, the experiences of social injustices, (i.e.
multiple murders, racism, etc) that occurred in the country left many of us including our students
in psychosocial and emotional distress. The impact of such injustices is experienced on a
systemic level and it effected the ways in which students functioned and focused. As I struggled
with finding balance between being a clinician and a professor, I took personal responsibility to
be the voice for those who are unable to articulate their lived experiences and conceptualize the
current state of the country. While interacting with students, I provided the safe space for them to
express all their concerns without having to justify their feelings and experiences. During these
times, I provided guidance on how to cope with presenting stressors while embracing the humor
and the tears, the wins and the losses, the rage and the peace, the love and the fight, and the fear
and the hope. Most importantly we discussed what it means to live an authentic life and I
explored and explained how we as a university can help students in understanding how to
navigate the world beyond Brandman (See Artifact, 1, the unprecedented times).
Teaching online has its challenges. With this stated the key is to be able to connect and build
trust with students in a capacity that gives them the opportunity to know that beyond the screen
there is another human being to be present with them and hear their concerns. It has been
rewarding and powerful to connect beyond the traditional classroom setting. This was reflected
through the SOS or stated through interactions I had with students through emails, phone, or
Zoom (See Artifact, 2, connecting and building). Many students were surprised that a professor
would go beyond grading assignments and schedule meetings to further give a listening ear,
discuss instructions, or review grades. Towards the end of the year my professional obligation
and my personal commitment called me to respond proactively to the social issues at hand, while
simultaneously processing and experiencing the crisis at a personal level. As a consequence the
routine task I was accustom to fulling as a professor naturally took second priority and students
received later than usual feedback. I knew that my decision to invest time in responding to the
crisis in other areas across the university and program would have a greater impact in the long
term. Not having the balance of being in the different spaces and roles was reflected in my
summer I SOS (See Artifact, 3 teaching and balancing). As a result I learned that sometimes
sacrifices are needed in order for frameworks and processes to be built to improve and serve
student needs beyond the current state. Upon reflection I recognized I am doing the best that I
can while still being determined, focused, disciplined, and ambitious. I learned some students
will appreciate and recognize the hard work, while others will not; I also recognize that there are
matters beyond my control. Overall, I received great feedback from students throughout the year.
In order to stay current in my field this past year, I attended numerous conferences and
workshops as a guest, in order to learn the most relevant form of interventions for the community
of mental health and issues related to social injustices. I presented in more than 10 different
webinars. In addition, I was one of the guest speakers for the SOE EDD Fall Immersion and
guest panelist for the Summer SOE EDD Immersion. I published in Wiley’s Family Relation
journal with colleagues outside of Brandman (See Artifact, 4, teaching, Wiley’s publication). I
collaborated with my instructional designer and media team to fully revise 2 courses; one at the
undergraduate level and the second at the graduate level. In order to keep students engaged, I
included a variation of innovate ways to provide information through the use of video interviews
and different innovative and engaging tools to share course information and material (See
Artifact, 5, teaching, course development). Throughout the year, I was able to receive positive
feedback from both instructors and students for some of the courses I developed. As a course
developer, it is great to hear how the updates are applicable and that students feel connected to
the information they are learning as they have the opportunity to apply theory and concepts
beyond the classroom setting.
If there is a word to articulate this year, it would be endurance as it was a challenging year for
many. The lived experiences of adversities, illnesses, and anticipatory and ambiguous losses
although heartbreaking, it still reflected pure resilience. I had the privilege to connect with many
students and hear their narratives, affirm their lived experiences, and be invited into their
moments of celebrations and triumphs. Being able to share these moments with students is the
most rewarding part of this journey. As a professor, I will continue to find ways in which I can
connect and strengthen student’s experiences while helping to create diverse and empowering
spaces.
EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT REFLECTIVE STATEMENT

The Dean, Associate Dean and FPC members may consider knowledge of faculty activities not
mentioned in annual report if specifically noted in writing by the evaluator. Furthermore, the Dean
may deduct discretionary points for failure to include appropriate artifacts.

Artifacts should be added as documents into the Artifact folder located in SharePoint and should also
be listed below. Please name your files in a distinguishing way and identify them by listing them below.
Any artifacts must be numbered and loaded into your personal artifacts folder in SharePoint.

Please list 1 to 5 documents/artifacts which support your performance in this area.

1. Teaching, the unprecedented times, Artifact 1

2. Teaching, connecting, and building, Artifact 2
3. Teaching and balancing, Artifact 3
4. Teaching, Wiley’s publication, Artifact 4
5. Teaching, course development, Artifact 5

Reflective Statement on Mentoring

This year I found myself seeking mentorship more than I have in the past, as I tried to navigate
what it means to be a Black immigrant woman in our current society. The concept of safety and
trust were the two fundamental themes to my growth process as at times there were violations of
these two concepts in an unprofessional manner. Along with safety and trust came the
exploration of how to maintain my authentic self. I had to utilize resources from my community
to maintain being grounded and emotionally healthy in order to provide mentorship to those that
were seeking guidance either as a faculty member, a student, staff member, or at the campus or
administrative level. It is my goal to create and foster an environment that is welcoming for all to
share concerns, frustrations, questions, feedback and solutions, and moments of victory.
Mentorship is a significant value to me because of the relationships I have had in the past with
my mentors that helped shape me into the professional that I am today. In addition, it allows me
to give back to the community by providing optimism, guidance, validation, and encouragement
to those around me. Through my interactions, I have been able to enter into discussions openly,
honestly, and with the full intention to create a functional and operational resolution. This
manifested through the utilization of office hours, emailing, phone discussions, and Zoom
meetings.
Faculty to Student Mentorship
Working with non-traditional students is unique and comes with various levels of challenge.
However, each time I meet with a student I see it as a privilege to be part of their process.
Beyond the natural challenges that come with being a non-traditional student, the pandemic and
the public discourse around racism, adversely impacted and challenged our students in different
ways. Students attempted to find balance between managing their educational priorities, while
trying to function in the workplace, home, and society. As I lived through the collective
experiences with students it was my role in those moments to be a motivator, facilitator, and an
advocate. Although I utilized the aforementioned skills, I have learned that as faculty we cannot
address each compounding issues that students encounter, yet, we attempt to do our very best.
There were many students I wished I could have assisted through this year financially as they
faced losses of a spouse, jobs, finances, homes, and separation of families for various reasons.
One student experience that captured me was a VV student who returned during the Fall term to
complete the program they started 6 years ago and had to stop due to finances in 2016. I was
proud of their tenacity and for not giving up on their dream they started in 2014. The student
worked hard to complete what they started and made it to the end only to face an interlocking
problem; they had to choose between paying their rent or tuition to confer their degree. The
student knew that paying their rent was a priority and reached out to me to explore solutions. I
immediately went into my advocacy role and explored at the administrative level how we can
assist this student (See Artifact 1, finances). As a university we could not provide assistance,
however, I empowered the student to utilize other resources in their community. It was a learning
experience that although one attempts to advocate for students there are limitations. However, I
have found solace that you can find balance in helping students navigate challenges by
counteracting them with their success stories (See Artifact 2, student success).
Faculty to Faculty Mentorship
As a faculty mentor my goal is to collaborate with the adjunct population to construct an
environment both inside and outside of the classroom that is conducive to their success as
professors reflecting on student’s success. In order to reach this goal, I met with adjuncts
individually to discuss and brainstorm the delivery of curriculum, provided additional materials
and ideas to enhance the learning of the students, discussed ways to engage the students inside
the classroom, and how to elicit discussions on Blackboard. In addition, I encouraged adjuncts to
utilize their creativity as they continued to uphold the rigorous academic standards of Brandman
University. While encouraging academic rigor, I also stress the need for adjuncts to practice
Brandman’s value of flexibility during this unprecedented time. I reflect back on an incident that
occurred in Summer I when I engaged with an online adjunct through her lack of willingness to
make adjustments to her course shell due to the changes as a result of the pandemic. Through this
incident I needed the support of two AD’s to further develop a constructive way to engage with
the adjunct. After reaching out to the adjunct and offering her my support, she declined the
assistance and therefore the responsibility was placed on me to make changes to her shell.
Although, this was a difficult task for me to take on (due to it being an unfair distribution of
duties) I was able to move forward through the process prioritizing students learning outcome.
In addition, it was also pleasant to receive support from other adjuncts that willingly made the
necessary changes. (See Artifact 3, adapting to changes). As FTF we have to remember that
although we may ask for adjuncts to follow Brandman’s values, at times we may have to model
those values for better outcomes. One incident I assisted with was being a liaison between an
adjunct who is a woman of color and a Black students who believed they were being treated
unfairly by the professor due to their race. This incident resulted in a negative triangulation
between Brandman officials and the student.
In order to resolve the conflict for the student I met with them and created a space for them to
share their experience and helped them to understand and interpret what the professor attempted
to convey in their message and feedback in their assignment. Although solution were placed in
order to assist the student in resolve this conflict, they were not responsive to the solution. This
was a teaching experience for me personally to know that regardless of how hard I try at times to
bring a solution to an issue at the forefront a student may not be receptive to it. This does not
take away from the collaboration spirit between myself and the adjunct that I mentored, it help
strengthen our relationship. (See Artifact 4, unprofessional behavior).
Campus Mentorship
In addition to spending majority of the year working from home there was still a need to support
our campus staff and administrators. My goal this year for the campuses were to create an
environment of collaboration and partnership. As our program began to undergo major changes,
I collaborated with the campuses to assist them in understanding the new processes and the
changes at hand. Although it was difficult to work virtually with campuses, we created ways in
which I was able to stay connected with AA’s through scheduling meetings as needed via Zoom.
(See Artifact 5, AA Zoom Meetings).
 EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT REFLECTIVE STATEMENT

The Dean, Associate Dean and FPC members may consider knowledge of faculty activities not mentioned
in annual report if specifically noted in writing by the evaluator. Furthermore, the Dean may deduct
discretionary points for failure to include appropriate artifacts.

Artifacts should be added as documents into the Artifact folder located in SharePoint and should also be
listed below. Please name your files in a distinguishing way and identify them by listing them below. Any
artifacts must be numbered and loaded into your personal artifacts folder in SharePoint.

Please list 1 to 5 documents/artifacts which support your performance in this area.

1. Mentoring, finances, Artifact 1

2. Mentoring, student success, Artifact 2
3. Mentoring, adapting to changes, Artifact 3
4. Mentoring, unprofessional behavior, Artifact 4
5. Mentoring, AA Zoom Meetings, Artifact 5

Reflective Statement on Service

This year I found myself supporting others, relying on others, and giving back more to the
Brandman community than I have done in the past. Through these experiences, I witnessed the
power of collaborative work. By working collaboratively with individuals within the Psych
program and different entities across the university I was able to develop innovative solutions,
assist building processes and frameworks to create a more inclusive and diverse educational
system that would foster community.
Internal Service
During this last year, I fully participated as a member of the psychology curriculum team (CT); I
attended all CT meetings and discussions, contributed to developing solutions to foster a
program that allows for each of our students to be successful. Between the three campuses I
served, I completed approximately 840 hours of both, in office and virtual office from Fall I to
Summer I term. These hours were spent meeting with students individually to provide guidance
all things related to advancement and practicum. This included but is not limited to, addressing
any questions or challenges in regards to the Psychology program. In addition, I spent a
significant amount of time advocating on an administrative level and empowering students to
find their inner strength. I took on a personal responsibility to teach and model professionalism
to each student. I also approved RTAs and met with advisors or campus directors to address
relevant questions or concerns.
Many structural and process changes occurred as a result of moving towards the process of
applying for COAMFTE accreditation. In the Summer I term, I was appointed the Field Director
for the MA Psych program. My role began as a member of the search committee for the hiring of
two Assistant Field Directors in Summer II. During the summer II term, I was slated to work 5
hours a week to complete the following tasks; implement IPT intern placement software for
students; create associated documents and protocols, create new protocols for Advancements,
create new protocols for field placement process, coordinate with IT in developing the practicum
field information page, and train the new FTF field faculty members on all field policies and
procedures. These requirements surpassed the 5 hours a week limit that was expected, to
approximately 30 hours per week in order to develop a fully functioning field program to launch
in Fall I.
I have served as a member of the planning committee for the Inland Empire campuses
(Riverside, Menifee, Ontario, and Victorville) PDD. This year, our focus was conducting one
virtual PDD, which allowed for high levels of group interactions. I was honored to be invited as
one of the keynote speakers at the SOE EDD Fall Immersion to give an experiential presentation
on power and privilege. The opportunity allowed students to engage in experiential exercises and
open discussions about how they can use their own power and privilege in their personal life and
influence individuals in their work space (See Artifact 1, Fall EDD Immersion). I was also
invited back to participate as a panel member in the Summer virtual immersion session to discuss
issues around diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition, I was invited to be a presenter or panel
member for many university led webinars around the topic of diversity and inclusivity and
coping with the pandemic (See Artifact 2, Pandemic Webinar).
I served as the chair for the Governance and Appeal Committee (GAC). As a result, I led
monthly meetings, conducted appeal hearings, and began the process of revising the academic
integrity policy. In addition, outside of our weekly schedule meetings we met with different
individuals from across the university to ensure the policy adheres to Brandman’s standards.
I had the opportunity to be a member of FEC and the secretary of the committee. Over the year, I
attended weekly team meetings, as well as schedule workload planning meetings with the
provost and other administrative personnel. I also assisted with the faculty award process,
coordinated with IT to set up an electronic election system, helped in developing and conducting
4 town halls, and assisted with the virtual faculty award ceremony. (See Artifact 3, FEC
Contributions).
I participated as a member of Brandman DEIC steering committee for 2 years on a biweekly and
at times weekly basis. Upon its establishment, I facilitated discussions in regards to our purpose
and hopes to bring forth changes in the university around DEI. As a sitting member I knew that
in order for change to occur we needed to look at the system in which we are operating to
understand how DEI related issues are addressed. In addition, I knew this would require a
holistic approach and I attempted to move towards that process recognizing that change would
not occur over night. Throughout this academic year the same questions presented itself in
different ways and I again began to explore finding ways that would help us as a university to
become more proactive rather than reactive. At times I was discouraged as I saw a slow
progression, however, I utilized different resources to maintain a sense of self and authentically
advocate for those around me. When the countless murders of Blacks began, I knew that we
collaboratively as a university needed to move beyond talk and start moving towards action.
Therefore, I personally took it upon myself to advocate and utilize resources to stretch
boundaries, and discuss how we truly reflect DEI values systemically as a university. As a
university I knew we had to step up and hold ourselves accountable to bring forth change, as this
required extensive systemic effort which included the need for the development of an office of
equity and inclusion. Five of my colleagues and I took the initiative of developing an action plan
to be delivered to the chancellor of the University. In less than 72 hours we developed a 27 page
action plan with a 20 page appendices of students narratives. These narratives focused on
highlighting discrimination, racism, inequality, etc. In the days prior to writing this action plan
the song of “we shall overcome” played on repeat in my mind. I knew the journey ahead would
not be easy for us and that some would not see the importance of this office but as the great RGB
stated “fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join
you.” Therefore, we began the fight and were ready to tackle any challenges that came our way.
As I write this, I myself, experience the flashbacks to sleepless nights due to the racial injustices
that were taken place in our country; But I am glad I did not give up on DEIC. We overcame and
others joined us in the fight! I am happy for the implementation of the new OEI office in the
2020/2021 academic year! (See artifact 4, OEI Action Plan). This is an important milestone in
the effort to create a more unified, equitable and diverse University culture.
External Service
In addition to working at the campuses, I continuously worked on developing relationships in the
community by meeting different practicum agencies. These relationships benefit our students in
searching for their practicum needs. These connections and collaboration took hours of phone
contacts, meetings, and driving pre pandemic to ensure that the agencies will provide students
with the best quality of training they need to be future successful clinicians. In visiting these
sites, my goal was to be a liaison between the university and agency. Beyond continuing to build
and rebuild professional relationship with the agencies my role consisted of advocating,
supporting, and approving the agencies
My other external services included serving as a volunteer board member for a non-profit foster
agency. In my role, I have attended quarterly meetings in person and virtually. In addition, I
continue to serve the homeless population in the Riverside and San Bernardino County with
various agencies in the community. Due to the pandemic I was a speaker for many webinars on
coping as a family during the pandemic (See Artifact 5, Faith Pandemic Webinar).
 EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT REFLECTIVE STATEMENT

The Dean, Associate Dean and FPC members may consider knowledge of faculty activities not
mentioned in annual report if specifically noted in writing by the evaluator. Furthermore, the Dean may
deduct discretionary points for failure to include appropriate artifacts.

Artifacts should be added as documents into the Artifact folder located in SharePoint and should also be
listed below. Please name your files in a distinguishing way and identify them by listing them below. Any
artifacts must be numbered and loaded into your personal artifacts folder in SharePoint.

Please list 1 to 5 documents/artifacts which support your performance in this area.

1. Internal Service, Fall EDD Immersion, Artifact 1

2. Internal Service, Pandemic Webinar, Artifact 2
3. Internal Service, FEC Contributions, Artifact 3
4. Internal Service, OEI Action Plan, Artifact 4
5. External Service, Faith Pandemic Webinar, Artifact 5