Welcome to the Office of Instruction

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The Mission of the Office of Instruction is to support and promote quality and integrity in all aspects of academic and instructional programs offered at Taft College. Centered on the student as an individual, our Mission includes promoting teaching and learning excellence, as well as meeting the learning needs of our diverse student body.

The Office of Instruction welcomes and appreciates diversity in students, faculty, and staff. An essential component of our vision includes the firm belief that diversity enriches the twin goals of teaching and learning, and contributes to a more meaningful experience for both the students and the institution as a whole. 

The Office of Instruction oversees all credit and non-credit instructional programs offered through Taft College.

It is responsible for:

• program development
• enrollment management
• the academic calendar
• faculty teaching assignments
• collaboration and consultation on new and developing academic programs.

In addition, the Office of Instruction provides support and resources for Student Learning Outcomes and accreditation.

The Office strives to offer a positive and dynamic work environment for faculty and works in collaboration with faculty to adhere to the District’s guidelines, providing a well-balanced learning environment for students.

The Vice President of Instruction

Dr. Leslie Minor has served Taft College as Vice President of Instruction since 2019. Dr. Minor works closely with faculty, staff, and other administrators on advancing dual enrollment partnerships, creating a strategic enrollment management plan, building new certificate programs and transfer courses, updating processes and procedures, and instituting faculty professional development opportunities. She was instrumental in creating the baccalaureate program in dental hygiene. She is also the regional representative to the Chief Instructional Officer (CIO) Executive Board for the California Community Colleges.

Before entering administration, Dr. Minor taught courses for many years in psychology, sociology, teacher preparation, and business human relations. She has taught in two-year and four-year colleges and universities, small and large, public and private, rural and urban. Dr. Minor previously worked as Dean of Social Sciences, Interim Dean of Math and Science, and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Solano College. Before that, her leadership roles at Long Beach City College included Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Interim Associate Dean of Student Success.

Her service to the community includes a variety of experiences with organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, J Bar J Youth Services, Long Beach Farms, and Three Sisters Wilderness.

Dr. Minor is a two-time Fulbright award recipient, studying international migration and national identities in Germany, and international college administration models in Russia.

Dr. Minor is a first-generation college graduate in her family. She completed a B.A. in Psychology at the University of Washington, Seattle; and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of California, Irvine, School of Social Ecology. She has lived on the west coast (Washington, Oregon, California) most of her life, with two years living overseas and teaching sociology at the National University of Singapore. She is the parent of three grown sons who all attended community college.

Contact Information

• 661-763-7919
• instruction@taftcollege.edu

See specific contact information for the Instructional Leadership and Support Services Teams, below.