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It's now my great pleasure to introduce the president ever Academic Senate
tenements in in this professor child development
who also serves as the president academic senate she's worked here Long
Beach City College with children families
since 1985 has been meant been a member the full time faculty since 2001
please welcome professor in sending to the stage Bryson marks and
up some remarks come after a faculty I'm proud to be here representing the
faculty at Long Beach City College
as academic senate President I have the pleasure of working with talented
faculty
staff managers and administrators who keep students at the center at their
efforts
every day this school year began for many faculty with feelings and
trepidation
because the discontinuance a program's in Los a faculty the previous year
and all those feelings of loss are still with us
many faculty are beginning to feel cautiously hopeful about the direction
programs and initiatives this year
this year faculty leaders have dedicated themselves to focus on communication
in planning and reflection as we work to prepare for accreditation saw study
we are excited about welcoming forty new full-time faculty next Monday
and look forward to the hard but joyous work hmm
inside and
and were conflicting a large group but more new full-time faculty for next fall
as I look ahead to the semester ahead of me
I know that I can expect some hard work some success
some failure and always support and inspiration from my colleagues instance
I can't wait as the elected leader the Academic Senate
it's my pleasure to introduce superintendent president Eli Ortiz
Oakley
president oakley is an advocate for the success of community college students
he knows firsthand how important communicant a communicant education ins
because he got that's how he got his start after serving in the US Army
president lee began his
higher education and unless college he transferred to UC I where he earned his
bachelor's and master's degrees
president Oakley and the faculty are continuing the California tradition
providing access to all students so they can achieve their hopes and dreams
please welcome president Oakley to the podium for the state the college address
tone I have a wonderful academic senate president is she terrific
welcome everyone
thank you for being here to the members the Board of Trustees
the faculty staff administrators students
an honored guest thank you for being here today
for supporting Long Beach City College I especially want to thank the members at
the platinum circle
the Long Beach City College Foundation whose generosity made this event
possible
I know there were think they re earlier but they deserve another round of
applause so please join me in thanking them once again
you know as I prepared
to deliver my seven stay to the college you know I had to pause
because first of all I had to remind myself that this is my seventh
and so that made me reflect on their the additional grey hairs that I've earned
about the changes that I've been through I am
the changes at this college has been through and you know after
sixty the college's you have to start wondering how many more am I gonna be
able to do
before they chase me out of here but seriously
to key themes kept coming back to me
again and again my immense
immense pride and what this college is accomplished
in these recent years and my profound awareness
the adversity at this college has had to overcome
I have never been more proud
nor felt more confident about the direction
at the college is going than I do today LBCC has emerged as a leader
in california in our nation for our efforts to improve outcomes for students
and to advance our local economy are key partnerships and programs are models
for many other institutions and they want to emulate
what is remarkable truly remarkable
is that we've established ourselves as leaders in the Mets
the deboers recession since the Great Depression
the fact that we've been able to accomplish so much
in the face of these challenges speaks to the character of this institution
Helen Keller who became the first blind and deaf person to earn a college degree
and was one of the 20th century's centuries leaders
leading humanitarian was clearly familiar with challenges
but she did not let them prevent her for making a huge impact on this world
she observed character cannot be developed in ease and quiet
only through experience of trial and suffering
can the soul be strengthened ambition inspired
and success achieved there's no doubt
but the last few years have been some of the most challenging in this college is
history
and certainly in my professional life the culmination of years a budget cuts
that were caused by the Great Recession post concrete challenges to this college
in the face those challenges we listen to Winston Churchill's advice
when he said if you're going through hell
just keep going and we kept going
instead of bemoaning the difficulties that we faced we seize the opportunity
and took bold actions to address these challenges
while still developing programs to serve our students
in our community are bored in our colleges leadership
make difficult decisions there's no doubt about that
their reallocated precious resources and focus them on mission-critical
services well difficult these decisions were
necessary not only for the fiscal health at this college
but to focus the remaining resources on programs that serve the majority of our
students needs
in the prof that promote the needs of our regional economy
and by taking these actions we positioned as college to benefit
as california begins to emerge from recession
ensure that its foundation is strong as we approach
our 90th anniversary I wanna thank
our current and former academic senate President Dane events and in an April
Qantas
the members of the Academic Senate Executive Committee
along with the leaders are our employees group Thomas Hamilton
Karen Roberts and Lynn shop for their dedication and working through the
challenges the recent years
they have helped this college never get its way through difficult times
and I sincerely appreciate their efforts please join me giving them a round of
applause
I also need to thank every single employee at this college
PG you had been a backflow either directly
or indirectly by California's fiscal crisis
I appreciate all that you have done to keep this college going
and to support our students to this very very difficult period
today I can honestly say at this college is stronger than ever
and that the worst of California's fiscal crisis is now behind us
the years have cutting are over we can now set about rebuilding this college
to ensure that it serves our students and our community better
we are also beginning to finally discuss how we can invest in our employees
and in and in positions that are essential to our mission in the coming
years
we must invest wisely though to ensure that
every precious resource is leveraged in support
of improving the success of our students in a bar community
the governor's recent budget proposal for next year is proof
that are fun is beginning to rebound finally
California is reinvesting in public education
and it is about time one of the most promising proposals
in the governor's budget is the elimination up the wall
of debt for several years the state is balance its budget
on the back of schools and colleges by deferring state funding in the future
budget years
this is added hundreds of thousands have cost dollars in cost
by making us borrow to ensure that we remain solvent
and it makes it very very difficult to manage our budget from year to year
getting out of debt also sets the stage for more predictable
and stable funding moving forward the governor's budget
also provides additional funds that will allow Long Beach City College to serve
more students
and the potential for additional funding for key student services
overall this is good news but we are also still a long way away from
pre-recession funny levels
in there are very few discretionary dollars in this budget
in addition the state still faces many many challenges
including things such as pension in prison reform
still a second year for additional revenue begins to solidify our finances
and hopefully create a foundation that we can build upon
in fact are rebuilding is already underway
next week as Dana mention we will welcome
40 new faculty members from a wide range of disciplines
and they'll be teaching in our classrooms at one of our campuses
many of them are here today I would invite our new faculty members
and members of the faculty professional development committee
who are serving is our mentors to please stand and be recognized please join me
in a round of applause for these
tremendous individuals
we are so delighted that you have chosen to teach at Long Beach City College and
we know that each have you will have a positive impact
on our students and this college you were joined in an institution with a
long and distinguished history
and I know that you will carry this tradition affects lintz forward
thank you for choosing Long Beach City College
and this is just the start we expect to hire many more additional faculty
for the coming fall and we are looking forward to that
LPCC will also welcome a new dean of career and technical education this
spring
who along with associate vice president mean a single
will expand the program offerings that are Pacific Coast campus
to better serve our students and to connect with the needs of employers
LBCC remains committed to career technical and workforce education
and we still maintain were the largest CT e programs in the state
we will continue to invest and grow our programs to meet our region's economic
and 21st century workforce needs to help advance these efforts
LBCC one to Department of Labor grants totaling 4.5 million dollars
that will help us create new programs and strengthen employer partnerships
including
creating alternative pathways to engineering education
to support local employers like Boeing in Oceaneering Inc
also we will create new programs and supply chain management
based on industry standards from the council supply
chain management professionals in addition
LBCC is working closely with our partners at Long Beach Unified
to develop an application for career pathways trust funding
to enhance our career programs to look to Long Beach across our curriculum
and to ensure that all over local students can identify career pathways
and get to those career pathways as quickly as possible
Long Beach is already a leader in this area senate President
Darrell Steinberg champion this fun to expand these efforts
across our state improving how we serve students
and linking our programs a career is critical
because our work and the work of colleges everywhere
has never been more important than it is today
job forecast predicts that seven out of every 10
new jobs will require some sort of college credential
between now and 2025 forecast also show
that the United States is still not educating other bits people
to meet this demand our future prosperity depends upon us
helping more people complete college so that they can fully participate
in the new knowledge-based economy President Obama
both in his State of the Union address in a reason education summit
stressed the need to increase degree attainment
among diverse students such as the ones that we serve
to meet the nation's workforce needs the governor
and the legislature are increasing pressure
on our system to be more accountable to increase the successful completion serve
our students
and to link those completions to real jobs
Brown's budget proposal builds upon statewide policy changes that were
enacted by the legislature
to send a bill 14:56 the student success and support act
which was authored by our very own former state senator now congressman
Alan Lowenthal ensures that students receive the guidance they need to be
successful
the required orientation and education plans
and in return students are held more accountable
for maintaining satisfactory academic performance in order to be eligible
for enrollment priority and fee waivers
these are truly significant changes for our system
their profound changes the governor's budget makes importance
important investments instant success these programs are the key
to the success of our students improving the way that was
provide support to our students as they enter our system
will help more students complete a certificate or degree
and to do so in much less time
Long Beach City College has been at the forefront a providing leadership for
these reforms
and will continue to push we will continue to push
every day for additional resources so that our students
can attain their goals unfortunately though
even though progress has been made California still
is unable to allocate sufficient resources to meet our students needs
thousands of our students have been able to access courses
because the loss of capacity that our colleges experience
but we did not sit idly by we found other ways to provide the students
opportunities
and as we sit here today over seventeen hundred students
are rolled in our first-ever winter session
after years of preparation and planning Long Beach City College shifted from a
traditional academic calendar
to a compressed calendar which allowed us to offer winter courses
and allows us to offer courses year-round this provides our students
one more opportunity to make progress toward their goals
most to the students are taking intercession courses
funded in the traditional model but last year
the legislature and the governor provided a new tool
for Long Beach City College so that more our students can access courses
the Community College intercession and Extension Act
which was authored by Assemblymember das Williams allows
LBCC to provide high demand courses this winter
over and above what the state already funds
yes this idea generator just a little bitter controversy in the state
but the fact remains their 120 students gain the opportunity to complete courses
they needed
that were unable to do so before because the cuts that we experience over the
last five years
the strong demand that we've experience for these courses shows
that students want additional opportunities and want to complete their
goals
this will also create more room for students in the coming in spring
semester
these facts explain why the los angeles times
the press-telegram in the long beach Register have
all editorialize in support of this innovative effort
access to extension courses is even made more affordable
because the work at the Long Beach City College Foundation which is providing
scholarship to support
to every student eligible for aid I want to thank the Foundation Board
its poor chair Gary Cooper and executive director Virginia Baxter
for all their efforts in support of our students please join me in a round of
applause for them
and while getting critical support from the changes in state policy is important
our own local efforts have the most promise to help students
by far the Long Beach
college promise partnership that we have built here locally with Long Beach
Unified
and Cal State Long Beach celebrated its fifth anniversary last year
together our local institutions have helped improve preparation
have helped prepare a improve access
and most critically success for our local students
here just a few statistics that show what we've accomplished over the last
five years
26,000 fourth-graders have visited Long Beach City College
26,000 fifth-graders have visited Cal State Long Beach
more than 57,000 middle school students and their parents
have completed and signed Long Beach college promise pledges
and we've seen a forty three-percent increase forty-three percent
increase in the number of Long Beach Unified students
going to Cal State Long Beach
go beach
and now another great statistic thanks to Long Beach City College Foundation
more than 5700 the students have attended Long Beach City College
with three first semester thanks again to Long Beach City College Foundation
I want to thank once again our partners at Long Beach Unified
in Cal State Long Beach for their support and for their dedication to our
students
now we have a special guest here today a special 49 er
is a current president of Cal State Long Beach mister dont borrow
so please join me in a round of applause in recognition of his decades of service
to this community to that fine university
he is announced his retirement at the end of this year and Don
you will be greatly missed thank you for your service
and as we celebrate dont retirement we also celebrate
and look forward to welcoming Jane close connelly
who was announced earlier this week as a new president
of Cal State Long Beach we expect a breaker in soon
ensure that she fully understands long which college promise and I know that
you all will join me and helping her understand Long Beach college promise
which I'm sure she does already I'm confident that we can continue to
strengthen our partnership
to create even more opportunities for our students in the coming years
you know I have to say a side note the other day I had the great opportunity
to sit word on par 0 in front the CSU trustees
and talk about the Long Beach college promise and the powerful on which
college promise
the trustees wanted to hear about it because the great work that you all do
in the promise isn't just about the three institutions it's about
everyone in this room so thank you all for making the long beach called promise
so successful
give yourselves a round of applause
you know our accomplishments haven't gone unnoticed
last year thirty members of California Senate
including President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg spend a few days here Long
Beach
they parked themselves are two institutions Long Beach Unified cap and
and Long Beach City
to learn about the college promise and to explore ways to foster
similar types of partnerships throughout California
and at the end of this year the little Hoover Commission
lauded our partnership its blueprint for improving higher education saying
regional partnerships such as the Long Beach college promise
not only not only get students thinking about going to college
but also help prepare them so that they are better able to succeed
once they get there while the recognition is certainly appreciated
the real reward is in the difference our partnership makes for each and every one
of our students
and nowhere is that impact more clear
then throughout our signature initiative here Long Beach City College
the promise pathways launched in the fall of 2012
the promised pathway initiative pioneered several new innovations
including alternative placement and prescriptive scheduling
to the user for Semester education plans and enhance syndrome a priority
participating students are placing the English in math
based on their high school achievement rather than the traditional method which
I'm sure you all heard about
standardized assessment test and why wouldn't we place them in these classes
based on their high school grades
we have outstanding Long Beach Unified high school teachers in our district
that deserve the recognition
that their students give them when they come in a row here at Long Beach City
College please join me
in a round of applause for all of our teachers in Long Beach Unified
pathway students are also required to enroll full-time
and ICT complete key foundational courses beginning in their first
semester of college
our first pathways cohort of nearly a thousand Long Beach Unified graduates
may tremendous year to year gains
in the completion of key educational goals
successful completion and transfer level English nearly quadrupled
and successful completion and transfer level math
tripled the success rates exceeded the completion rates typically achieved by
students and six years
in addition access to an entry into
transfer level courses increased for all the demographic groups
without significantly affecting core success rates
the most significant gains were made by or Latino and african-american students
our efforts are increasing the successive every demographic group
even though we must continue to work every day to ensure that we close the
remaining achievement gaps
they continue to persist the goal of this program
is to develop scaleable interventions that will serve all over incoming
students
and we have begun to make that a reality by expanding this opportunity to the
graduates a pair Mark
and Downey Unified School District's and I am also proud
to announce that the graduates have ABC Unified
los elementos unified and Saint Joseph's high school
will participate in this program in the coming year
our second promise pathway cohort more than thirteen hundred students
arrived on campus last fall they also showed impressive gains
and in placement and completion have key college milestones
in coming years we will continue to
offer this program to all over incoming students
our efforts are gaining significant recognition
LBCC recently received the Pacific region equity award
from the American Community College trustees Association and most
importantly
other colleges are realizing the potential up this approach
and are considering adopting a similar model in their own colleges
our own chancellor's office is developing tools to support and
encourage the use
a great space placement across California
based on the success of our efforts
this shift is happening because of the efforts of olive you
this college had the courage to act on the data from the research conducted by
our
institutional effectiveness operation
showing a high school grades are much better predictors a student's likelihood
to succeed in college
by acting on this information
and changing how we play students not only are we
helping more for local students succeed but we have the potential
impact literally hundreds of thousands of students throughout California and
throughout this nation
I want to applaud the English and math department for being in the vanguard the
promise pathways
and specifically think department chairs Rodney Rodriguez
and rich Weber for their leadership I also want to thank all the faculty staff
and administrators
and especially our faculty coach here the fabulous Shana Hagaman
who is helping to lead the efforts the promise pathway coordinating team
initiative group
and everyone working to make this program a reality for students please
join me in giving them all
a round of applause
while increasing college completion is the best long-term strategy for economic
growth
Long Beach City College is also having a direct an immediate impact
to its economic development programs
few colleges in the nation can match the brat
and the depth the programs we offer to support our local business
in our economic development efforts most recently
LBCC and announce an exciting new initiative
we launched Innovation Fund So Cal becoming one of only three community
colleges nationally
working with Innovation Fund America and the Ewing Kauffman Foundation
to invest in mentor and support
high-growth entrepreneurs applications for this program will open in February
in the first round of funding will be is expected to begin in May
this will be a major boon to our regional economy
and I'm delighted that our college is bringing these resources
to this community Innovation Fund So Cal
builds on the leadership the long-established leadership
at this college provides to the region as a host the Los Angeles Small Business
Development Center network
as well as local service center for the greater Long Beach region
the LA SBDC network just finished its best
year ever it helped start 300
and 55 new businesses created twenty three hundred new jobs
increase client sales by more than a hundred and ninety five million dollars
and helped its clients access over a hundred million dollars in new capital
our own Long Beach SBDC is number one in California
and in the Top 10 nationally LBCC also continues to bring the benefits at the
Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses initiative to our local economy
more than 300 business owners in the greater los angeles-area
have access a dynamic combination of course work
business advising in peer mentoring to help them grow their companies
47 percent of the scholars have added employees
sixty-three percent have increased sales are growing their businesses
as a result of this program our tenth cohort
of scholars begins today and no we have one or scholars in this room he's a
supporter now of this day to the college
he has a tremendous story I Roscoe II you here
stand up if you need your car
maintain you need to see this Gellman he's done a tremendous job opening up a
number of new facilities
as a result to this program thank you for being here
we continue to seek well-qualified business over
owners for this program and encourage all view to spread the word
and if you're interested please apply in addition to programs to support business
LBCC also provide short term training programs
to help prepare students for local jobs one example is a harbor truck driver
training program
operated in partnership with the harbour Trucking Association
this grant funded program offers training and job placement
for veterans and two other displaced workers
help them get employed as truck drivers in one of our many companies which serve
our poor complexes
LBC sees leadership in these economic development efforts
is continuing to gain national recognition
earlier board president kellogg
mention our measure ripon program which continues to transform our campuses and
provide needed boost to the local economy
by keeping our construction programs moving ahead I want to personally thank
our citizens Oversight Committee and their board chair Phil bon
for their efforts to ensure there are bond program meets the intended goals
that the voters that supported for Measure E
I also want to thank the Cordova corporation
who manages the construction program in our facility staff
for keeping this bond program moving our students will benefit from this legacy
for many generations to come please join me in a round of applause for these
individuals
and while all this is important
this institution exists for one reason to help students develop the skills they
need
to succeed in life despite all the cuts that I mention
this collagen rolled more than 31,000 students
in courses at one of our campuses as last year we awarded 843 associate
degrees
and an additional 1397
certificates that means that more than
2,240 individuals earn credentials that will enable them
to compete our students transfer rates the University of California and the
California State University
remain strong despite significant reductions in transfer capacity
system-wide at both institutions our partnerships with Cal State Long Beach
in Cal State Dominguez Hills
help preserve transfer pathways during the most difficult transfer years
in recent memory and will hopefully continue to provide even greater
opportunity
moving forward several of our students
have gain important recognitions and awards here just a few examples
our valedictorian Ricky brown graduated from our electrical technology program
with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and transfer to Cal State Long Beach
to continue working toward his electrical engineering degree
Balci in another one of our recent graduates
was only one of 10 transfer students accepted
into UCLA's nursing program in the fall he distinguished himself as a member of
California's all-academic team
and plans to continue his education an earned a doctorate so that he can
educate future nurses LBCC also celebrated
its ninth state championship in men's water polo
with an impressive overtime victory over my alma mater Golden West college
coach Chris owning who is
now part up the olympic coaching team was named coach of the year
and freshman goalie those R and Rick received several Egan state honors
for his outstanding play I'm delighted
that many of our elected student leaders are here with us today
what will the members are the ASP cabinet and the student council
please stand to be recognized for your services college
these are leaders of the future
thanks for being here today these are only a few examples
the hundreds hundreds of success stories
that could be highlighted today what are the greatest pleasures I have is being
president Long Beach City College
is mean students like these and talking about their stories
another great pleasure is celebrating the achievement a bar outstanding alumni
in November we inducted for our distinguished alumni
into the LBCC Hall of Fame Lord out
auditor for the city of Long Beach Major General Peter gravid California
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Connie Mitchell head of the Office of Health equity for the California
Department of Health
and steve has meant founder and owner the surfer's journal
they join an impressive group of more than a hundred fifty five previous
inductees please join me in giving them a round of applause
I know laurence here they
the successive our students and alumni all come from the very same source
the superlative faculty staff and administrators here
LBCC several faculty and staff members received important
re recognition rena paying was one of four employees in the state to receive
the Employee of the Year Award from California's community colleges
sky Angola was named Educator the year by the camera singers have long beach
and allied outro was recognized by the independent filmmakers project emerging
storytellers program
for his new film faith we expect the Academy Awards recognize that soon
please join me in a in a round of applause for these individuals
again these are just a few examples what I believe the finance faculty staff and
administration have any community college
in california 90 these achievements that I talk about today
that we celebrate today would be possible without all of their efforts
now before closing I want offer
another few words of thanks again
I want to thank every single employee Long Beach City College
for all they do to make this the best community college in California
thank you for your perseverance throughout these difficult years
and thank you for continuing to put are students first
I also want to take a moment to recognize my administrative team
each of them has made significant contributions to the success of this
college
and deserves our appreciation for the efforts and hard work
for all members have my executive team please stand
for a moment of recognition thank you for your service Long Beach City College
I also have to thank for very good reasons
our Board of Trustees we are very lucky
and I don't mean that I flippantly we're very lucky
to have such a dedicated group of individuals who continue to put our
students first
and who are the governing board for this college
trustee kellogg already mentioned Tom Clark and what can you say about Tom
Clark he has served this community for nearly 50 years that we have been so
very lucky
I have been so very lucky as president visits tution
def have him not only as a boss but as a mentor
thank you tom for your service to this college thank you for being such a great
bike
you will be missed I also
wanna thank board member a mark Boeing who is
trustee kellogg mention will not run for reelection
I also want to thank him for his service to this college
and finally I want to thank everyone who has helped make this event possible
again this event would not happen without
a lot of hard work in particular I want to thank the state to the college
planning committee
the communications in college advancement team IITs the facility's
staff in the horticulture
floral department for helping us make this a wonderful event
I also wanna play special recognition to ship peers you
chair Frank magic I'll ship anywhere in in our culinary arts students are
fabulous culinary arts students
will help prepare the meal that you all enjoy today please give them a wonderful
round of applause
and finally I wanna thank each and every one have you
thank you for continue to support this college we have served this community
for 86 years
and we are strong because %uh view your help this college reach its goals
and help this cause continue to be successful and you have always supported
our students
thank you on behalf of all of us for your wonderful support
now I hope you have a wonderful afternoon hope you enjoy your time here
Long Beach City College
have a wonderful 2014 and go Vikings thanks for coming out today
when