April 28, 2026

RAPP Meeting Minutes 

Hybrid Mtg. 10 a.m.-11:20 a.m. 

Tuesday April 28, 2026 

Summary

The RAPP tri-chairs opened the meeting with a review and an approval of the previous week's minutes followed by a review of charges and norms. RAPP tri-chairs welcomed the newest member of the committee, DAPA representative and Faculty Director and Coordinator of the Pride Center, Jaime Pelusi. Vice President Ram Subramaniam shared a presentation that outlined governance and operational definitions and processes. Faculty tri-chair Veronica Avila then reviewed the latest draft of the Faculty Prioritization Committee (FPC) proposal and a discussion ensued.

Governance and Operational Functions

Ram delivered a presentation distinguishing differences, similarities, and overlaps between governance and operational functions within the College with a specific focal point on the current RAPP committee structure. He stated separating governance from operations reduces confusion about the committee's role, builds legitimacy and accountability through shared/participatory governance, promotes transparency and trust, and provides campus leaders with clarity to implement governance recommendations. He then explained key differences between why and when to use a governance structure and an operational one. Ram provided examples of the College’s governance structure to illustrate how governance and operational functions work both independently and interdependently often with overlap. The proposed FPC would involve both functions as it would serve under the oversight of the RAPP committee, yet it will perform operational faculty hiring functions.

Proposed Subcommittees

Veronica began the large group discussion by stating RAPP's original charge, noting that RAPP was designed as a living document with a required one-year evaluation. The current subcommittee revisions are consistent with that founding intent. She then noted that this academic year, 2025-26, the subcommittee proposals have been reviewed and discussed with the Academic Senate, DASG, Classified Senate (for a partial review), and the deans. She presented a thorough review of the FPC and the overview was followed by committee questions, points of clarification, and suggestions. Committee members’ notes and suggestions can be found in the RAPP_FPC_PSC_DRAFT document shared with committee members during the meeting.

Program Sustainability Committee

Veronica noted the PSC was also reviewed with Academic Senate, DASG, Classified Senate (a partial review), and the deans. However, due to RAPP committee meeting time constraints the discussion of this subcommittee would begin the following week. ​

Attendees: Ram Subramaniam, Veronica Acevedo Avila, Lisa Ly, Felisa Vilaubi, Glynn Wallis, Agustin Espino Diaz, Christina Wright, Michele LeBleu Burns, Sam Bliss, Cecilia Hui, Zander Blackman, Gabriela Nocito, Mehrdad Khosravi, Manisha Karia, Debbie Lee, Farhad Sabit, Eric Mendoza, Aisyah Faisal, Jayme Brown, Anita Muthyala-Kandula, Hieu Nguyen, Jaime Pelusi

Absent: Patricia del Rio, Michelle Hernandez, Blen Ashebr, James Nguyen, Salvador Pedroza, Garret King

RAPP Voting Members: Ram Subramaniam, Lisa Ly, Veronica Acevedo Avila, Farhad Sabit, Michele LeBleu Burns, Sam Bliss, Agustin Espino Diaz, Jayme Brown, Patricia Del Rio, Erick Aragon, Eric Mendoza, Michelle Hernandez, Felisa Vilaubi, Christina Wright, Cecilia Hui, Glynn Wallis, James Nguyen, Zander Blackman, Aisyah Faisal, Alicia Mullens, Blen Ashebr, Salvador Pedroza, Jaime Pelusi, Garret King,

Non-voting Advisory: Martin Varela, Randy Bryant, Shagun Kaur (for Erik Woodbury)