2001-02 Banner Year, 2002-03 Poses Keen Challenges
By Dr. Piedad F. Robertson, Superintendent/President

Welcome to a new school year. This is the time I traditionally reflect on our past year’s many accomplishments – and, indeed, 2001-02 was an historic year – and look ahead briefly at our goals and challenges for the coming year.

2001-02 was a year of exhilarating achievements and keen challenges. The achievements were measured in the classroom, in the confidence expressed by our community through passage of a $160 million bond measure, in new programs and opportunities for students, in progress made to modernize our facilities, and in many other ways. But we shared a national tragedy and we began to face budget difficulties that will be felt this year and likely next year as well.

We had hardly started the 2001-02 school year when the national tragedy of 9/11 struck. At least one of our alumni and the father of one of our students were killed on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center. But SMC demonstrated its unflagging spirit. We held a "Moment of Remembrance" to honor the victims of 9/11. And we held a teach-in so that our students -- and employees -- could learn from the tragedy.

As the year progressed, we forged ahead and -- with an unprecedented level of community support -- accomplished several major achievements that will change the face of Santa Monica College. Clearly, the passage of Measure U in March -- with 70 percent voter approval, the highest margin of any community college bond in the state -- was the high point of the year.

In this context, I am pleased to outline some of our major achievements over the past year. We have done remarkable work, and I believe it is important to remind ourselves how much we accomplished in one year.

Here, then, are some of the highlights of 2001-02:

Measure U: As previously indicated, the passage of Measure U, the $160 million bond measure, was not only a victory for modernization and safety at SMC, it was a ringing endorsement of the college by Santa Monica and Malibu voters. It was heartening to see the hard work of our students, employees, community friends and Board members who volunteered their time and money to ensure passage of the bond. And now, the work is just beginning. As required by law, the Board has appointed a Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee, which held its first meeting in July.

Transfer: For the second year in a row, SMC ranked tops in transfers to the UC and Cal State systems combined, with a total of 1,620 students in 2000-01 (figures were compiled in fall 2001). SMC maintained its traditional No. 1 transfer position to UC with 709 transfers and led in transfers of African American and Chicano/Latino students to the UC system. In addition, the college signed a significant new transfer agreement with Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. – the first such agreement signed with an historically black college.

Distance Education: The college continues to experience rapid growth in its online course offerings, increasing from five sections in fall 1999 to 85 sections in spring 2002. A total of 62 courses in 22 disciplines are being taught online. There are now 64 faculty members teaching online courses, and enrollment has swelled to 3,820 students.

Dual Enrollment: This model program experienced unprecedented growth over the course of 2001-02, with enrollment going up from 1,161 students in fall to 1,540 in spring, from 43 sections to 72, and from 21 to 32 school sites. The dual enrollment program in Los Angeles area high schools allows hundreds of students to take a wide range of college courses at their campuses taught by our professors.

Financial Aid: SMC had its lowest loan default rate ever – 5.3 percent.

Student Retention: SMC created its first ever Presidential Student Retention Task Force, made up of counselors and instructional faculty, which is in the process of developing specific recommendations to increase student retention. Also, based on the college’s award winning research activities, SMC launched the High School Pilot Project to lower the dropout rate by encouraging students to take English and math classes their first semester. Research has shown that first-year students have the highest risk for dropping out of college – and the risk increases for students who delay taking English and math. The new project targets 600 high school students coming in to SMC.

Tutoring: SMC conducted a study designed to improve tutoring and is beginning to implement recommendations to strengthen tutoring. This is another element in the ongoing effort to improve student retention and success.

2002 Dale Ride interns

Internships: The college continues to develop new internship opportunities in the nation’s capital, including, for the first time for SMC, the U.S. Department of Transportation. We also had four Dale Ride interns on Capitol Hill this summer and at the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) in Washington, D.C. SMC also expanded its prestigious internship opportunities outside the nation’s capital by sending four students – for the first time – to The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif.

BAE Property: The college purchased the 10.4-acre BAE property at Santa Monica Airport that will allow the college to establish a new and vital satellite campus and ease the parking crunch on the main campus. The purchase is being financed with Measure U funds. A special committee, made up of representatives from throughout the campus, is in the process of planning the future use of that site.

New Emeritus College Building: The college purchased a brand new office building in downtown Santa Monica as a permanent home for Emeritus College. The purchase is funded with Measure U money. A “groundbreaking” ceremony is scheduled for October 12.

Parking Structure C Extension: The extension of Parking Structure C was begun last summer and was completed in April, two months ahead of schedule. The new garage adds 486 additional parking spaces to campus. In addition, the college began July 1 a six-month project to build an underground entrance to Parking Structure C that will vastly improve the traffic and pedestrian flow in and around the two parking structures (A & C) and the Business Building.

Library Expansion & Modernization: SMC broke ground on its Library Expansion & Modernization project, which, when completed, will nearly double the size of the building, provide more than twice the number of computer stations, and add other features. The opening is scheduled in fall 2003.

Drescher Hall: The Board of Trustees voted to rename the Technology Building Drescher Hall in honor of the late John F. Drescher, a generous donor and friend of the college.

Technology: The college completed most of the 2001-02 Technology Master Plan objectives (some are in various stages of the purchasing cycle), including improvements to the network security, numerous initiatives necessary to maintain various instructional programs, and a system of digitization of the college’s vast collection of student records. The hoped-for replacement of outdated computers in instructional labs was not funded because of state funding cutbacks.

Faculty: The college welcomed 25 new full-time, tenure-track faculty for 2001-02, continuing its concerted effort to bring in new talent.

Faculty Contract Negotiations: SMC reached agreement after cordial talks on a new three-year contract with the Faculty Association that covers August 2001 to August 2004.

Classification & Compensation Study: The Personnel Commission, at the end of the 2001-02 fiscal year, started the process of a comprehensive study of the classification and compensation systems for classified positions at the college. The study will continue in 2002-03.

SMC Foundation: This was a banner year for the SMC Foundation. Annual giving set an all-time high for non-bequest, undesignated gifts – exceeding $100,000 in gifts and pledges, attributable largely to the success of the President’s Circle annual giving support group. Total gifts exceeded $2.5 million, placing the SMC Foundation in third place in the state and in the top 25 in the nation. A total of 4,500 gifts were processed, with the major categories being the Madison Theater Project ($1.4 million), Emeritus College ($80,000), Bequests ($960,000), and Scholarships ($640,000). In addition, the Foundation awarded two new Chairs of Excellence in 2001-02 – the Ilona Jo Katz chair in music and John F. Drescher chair in earth science -- bringing the total number of endowed chairs at SMC to four.

Madison Theater Project: This was also a banner year for the Madison Theater Project. The Foundation closed the former capital campaign and refocused attention on the Madison campaign, with Dustin Hoffman as its honorary chair. Total gifts and pledges to Madison to date is $4.7 million, including a $1 million allocation of undesignated funds from the Foundation in April. The college is moving forward with architectural drawings and has begun a comprehensive – and highly public – environmental review process that will continue well into 2002-03.

Grants: Grants to SMC increased from $4.3 million in 2000-01 to $6.9 million in 2001-02, including the $1.5 million, five-year grant from the state’s Prop. 10 Commission. The Prop. 10 grant, which involved a highly competitive process, will provide professional development opportunities and mentoring for early childhood educators and in-home family day care providers. Another key grant was a $50,000 Los Angeles County Area Agency on Aging award that was used to launch, with WISE Senior Services, a pilot educational program in Santa Monica, Culver City and Gardena designed to help caregivers.

As you can see, the achievements of this college are remarkable. But as we look ahead to the 2002-03 year, we are facing fiscal problems brought on by a huge state budget deficit. We have been forced to make 30 percent reductions in our operating budget – primarily in areas such as consultants, travel and conferences, and other discretionary funds. The college community rallied and came in with $8 million in cuts, including a 3 percent reduction in class offerings; the hiring of just five full-time, tenure-track faculty; and holding hiring of classified employees to a minimum. By doing so, we will be able to bring to our Board of Trustees on Sept. 9 a balanced budget for 2002-03. I am grateful to our community for its careful analysis of how and where to make such reductions.

Although we will have to tighten our belts this year, I am confident that we will continue to push ourselves to do the best we can to reach our major objective – student success.

The strength of SMC is its people -- faculty, staff and managers who are dedicated to creating opportunities and hope for our students.

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