I have been president of Cerritos College for six months. During that time I have spent time with all of the college constituents – the students, the support staff, the administrators, the faculty, the trustees, and the communities we serve. All of my contacts have proven true of my first impression of Cerritos College – that this is a place where excellence and creativity go hand in hand as the college works hard to meet the needs of the students and community. I would like to describe some recent activities to you as a way of demonstrating the results of this hard work, this focus on excellence and quality that I have found at Cerritos College.

During this past week I attended two graduation celebrations. The first was the Ford Asset Recognition Dinner. Twenty-two students were being honored for completing both their Automotive Certificate, which required half-time work at a Ford dealership as well as an intense schedule of classes over a two-year time span. Students not only ended their studies with this certificate, but they also ended with an AA degree and a guaranteed full-time job with the Ford dealer who has sponsored them. The room on Wednesday night was filled not only with relieved students and proud families and friends, but also with Ford executives and dealers, and the Cerritos College Automotive Technology instructors. In speaking with the Ford representatives I learned that Cerritos had the reputation of turning out the best graduates and that they had great respect for the instructors and the quality of both the technical and academic education at the college. They said that their dealerships were filled with successful graduates of the Cerritos College Asset program and that they wanted every graduate they could get.

The second event was the pinning ceremony for the December 2001 Cerritos College Nursing Program graduates. Again the Student Center was filled to capacity with family and friends and a festive, moving ceremony brought to a close this stage of the nursing student’s careers. They had just completed one of the most academically and physically demanding programs offered at any college and they are going into a job market that welcomes them because of the reputation of Cerritos College. As the head of the Nursing Department at Downey Medical Center said during my recent visit, she would be happy if every nurse came to them as well prepared as those from Cerritos College.

Two other events also stand out in my mind – one an all Faculty and Staff Meeting where the presenter, Dr. Randall Bass, a tenured professor at Georgetown University and the Director of the New Media Classroom Project, informed me before his presentation that Cerritos College is probably the only college he would have traveled to at this particular time. But he said he had the highest regard for the Cerritos College faculty and what he had seen of their work and so when they called, he came. I also met recently with President Maxson of California State University – Long Beach, who informed me that “We like to partner with Cerritos College because you can always count on them to get things done.” Cerritos College follows through and they follow through with high quality, creative solutions that meet the needs of the learners they serve. That has always been my personal/professional goal – to serve well the learners and so I am proud to represent a community of professionals who are committed to that same ideal.

The events I have described are representative of dozens like them that capture the spirit of Cerritos College and its commitment to creativity and excellence and its focus on students and student success.