After 40 years of working in higher education and library services, acting Dean of Academic Success Carl Bengston, retired from work at age 67.

A retirement party was held in the Library Administrations office for Bengston where both his friends and colleagues were able to spend time with him and reminisce old memories working with Cerritos College.

Being Dean of Academic Success, Bengston’s job was to lead operations in the library and Learning Resources Center.

“It’s been a great job for me, one of the best places I’ve ever worked,” Bengston said.

“I have really enjoyed working at the community college system, it’s a great district.”

Before taking on the endeavor of Cerritos College, Bengston was Dean of Library at CSU Stanislaus in Turlock, Calif.

He also worked at UC Berkley, a small private college and Cerritos College was the first community college he worked at.

“I have loved all the students I’ve worked with here at Cerritos College,” Bengston said.

Bengston decided he had been working too long and his time to leave the work force had come.

“I’ve been here at Cerritos for six years, but I’ve had a career in higher education for 40 years,” he said.

President Linda Lacy was also present at the retirement party.

“Carl has been an absolute delight to work with,” Lacy said. “He’s a guy that, everything we’ve asked him to do he’d do it. He was a trooper.”

Whether it was the expanding of the library and its services, or the way certain things in LRC work, Bengston had been at the forefront, according to Lacy.

With Bengston leaving, Shawna Baskette has been selected to fill in his place.

“Officially, the title I will be filling is Dean of Academic Success,” Baskette said.

She has had nine years of experience at the community college level and four years of experience at private schools.

“No more work for me,” Bengston said. “I have many projects to do at home.

My home is up in Turlock, I’ve been away for six years working down here, I have family up there I would like to reconnect with.”