DESPITE DIFFICULTIES, SMC’S ACHIEVEMENTS ARE MANY
Goodwill & Mutual Respect Needed for Year Ahead
By Dr. Piedad F. Robertson, President

As we start a new school year, I want to welcome each of you and express my hope that, as a college community, we can make a new start and work together as we face the keen challenges of the year ahead. Clearly, we experienced one of the worst budget crises in the college’s history in 2002-03 and will continue to deal with the financial emergency this school year as well.

We have a choice. We can dwell in the past and continue tensions that will affect this institution or we can move forward cooperatively – even with differences of opinion. The SMC Summit held June 30 – with representatives from all constituency groups on campus as well as a community member – was a good example of an effort to work cooperatively. I trust that we can continue to build on that in a spirit of goodwill and mutual respect.

At Opening Day Friday, I will provide a budget update. For now, it’s sufficient to report that last month the state Legislature finally adopted and on Aug. 2 Gov. Gray Davis signed a state budget after what was arguably the most tumultuous and rancorous political battle in recent California history.

Although the budget cuts are not as severe as the governor had proposed in mid-May, funding for community colleges has not been restored to its initial 2002-03 level. And it permits the governor to make cuts unilaterally in the middle of the coming year, leaving great uncertainty about our true financial picture for 2003-04. It is also important to note that the state’s fiscal situation remains precarious at best – the state borrowed heavily to pass its spending plan.

Nevertheless, we will do our best to continue to deal with the budget situation in ways that serve our students best.

We are still in the process of analyzing what the state budget means specifically to SMC. The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office will hold a budget workshop Sept. 3 that will give us actual figures. Consequently, we have scheduled adoption of SMC’s 2003-04 budget for a special Sept. 15 Board of Trustees meeting.

Despite the severe challenges we faced last year, SMC continues to demonstrate why it is considered among the best community colleges in the nation. Our accomplishments should make us proud, and our evolution continues on a path that raises the bar on our own measurements of success.

Here, then, are some of the highlights of the past year:

SMC’s annual College Fair, one of the largest in the state, contributes to SMC’s high transfer figures

Transfer: SMC increased its transfer of students to the prestigious University of California system by a huge margin – 32 percent – in 2001-02, compared to the previous year. (Transfer figures were compiled in fall 2002). SMC held on to its traditional No. 1 UC transfer position and also led the state in transfers of African American and Chicano/Latino students to UC. In addition, SMC was No. 1 in combined transfers to the UC and California State University system.

Student Success Project: The Student Success Project – designed to encourage students to complete their coursework, improve their grades and stay in school – won a national award in 2002-03 for its work.

Student Retention: The Presidential Student Retention Task Force submitted 12 recommendations at the end of the fall semester and has implemented three so far. They are mandatory math, English and ESL assessments for incoming freshmen; examination of the Financial Aid process; and the SCORE program, which is a collaboration of counselors and English and math professors who meet regularly to devise strategies to improve student retention. Within budget constraints, the college will work on the remaining recommendations in 2003-04.

Financial Aid: SMC had its lowest loan default rate ever – 4.1 percent. That compares to last year’s 5.3 percent which, at the time, was the lowest ever.

Distance Education: The Distance Education Program continues to experience growth in student demand for online courses and faculty participation in teaching online. Since the fall of 1999, a total of 67 courses from 23 disciplines have been developed and offered online. The number of online faculty has grown from seven full-time during fall of 1999 to 40 full-time and 30 part-time.

Teacher Training Programs: SMC is fast emerging as an important training institution for our future teachers. Aside from our highly successful Teacher & Reading Development Partnership Program, the college launched two new education training programs in 2002-03.

Responding to an enormous need for pre-school teachers and paraprofessionals with specialized skills in working with children with disabilities, SMC graduated in June its first class of students from a new program that provides such specialization. SMC is just one of six community colleges statewide to offer this training.

In addition, SMC established a program designed to dramatically improve the training of early childhood educators. Together with the city of Santa Monica, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, Connections for Children and other local child care groups, SMC set up the Professional Development Institute of Early Childhood Educators. The institute – funded with a $1.6 million Prop. 10 grant to the college and partner agencies – offers early childhood educators special training through workshops, seminars and more.

Office of Workforce & Economic Development: The Office of Workforce and Economic Development raised the bar in 2002-03, bringing in more than $1.4 million in employment and training contracts. That compares to $268,000 in contracts the previous year.

Chairs of Excellence: The SMC Foundation named chemistry professor Dr. Jamey Anderson the recipient of the second Marvin Elkin/Northrop Grumman Chair of Excellence in Physical Science. This is the first of four Chairs of Excellence that has gone through a three-year cycle. Each endowed chair provides recipients $5,000 a year for three years for research projects of their choice.

Sexual Harassment: The Human Resources Office worked with the Academic Senate to adopt a revised administrative regulation on sexual harassment. In tandem with that, Human Resources conducted extensive training of employees and students in sexual harassment and continued to deal in a sensitive manner with sexual harassment complaints from students and employees.

2003 Dale Ride Interns served in Congress.

Internships: A record 20 SMC students were placed this summer in prestigious federal government and university internship programs throughout the nation. The interns worked at a wide variety of organizations, sometimes on very sophisticated projects that include the Human Genome Project, laser technology, energy-efficient lighting, and building and fire research.

Audit: The college completed a successful audit, receiving its first-ever “unqualified opinion,” which means the auditing firm found nothing that would substantially affect the financial standing of SMC. The “unqualified opinion” was attributed to substantial strides made in the inventory and inventory control areas.

Technology: Among the most notable achievements in this area was the completion last year of the online degree audit system, which is dramatically improving the way the college counsels students.

Madison Theater Project: In an historic move, the SMC Board of Trustees voted unanimously earlier this month to certify the final environmental impact report for the Madison Theater Project and to approve the project. This clears the way for the college to proceed with getting the required state architectural approvals with groundbreaking expected in spring or summer of 2004. Total gifts and pledges to Madison in 2002-03 exceeded $3 million, bringing the total raised to nearly $8 million toward the $15.7 million capital campaign.

Measure U Implementation: SMC made major progress in 2002-03 to implement Measure U, the $160 million bond approved by Santa Monica-Malibu voters in March 2002. And work on implementing the bond over the next year will continue as part of a 12-year process that will modernize and beautify the college to give students a top education. It is ironic that the college has major bond funding for modernization and facilities projects – which by state law can be used only for these projects and not for operating expenses – at a time we are grappling with a budget crisis. It would be irresponsible, however, not to proceed. When the college emerges from the dire fiscal straits we are currently experiencing, we will have made important progress on these projects – to the benefit of our students.

Measure U projects – which are reviewed by the independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee – in major stages of development include:

Liberal Arts Building: Although only a small amount of Measure U money is being used to replace the earthquake-damaged Liberal Arts Building, the college received a major boost in July when the Santa Monica City Council authorized $10.2 million in earthquake redevelopment funds towards the project. More information on this building will be provided in future issues of this publication.

Main Stage: Work on an $8.1 million major overhaul of the 1950s-era Main Stage is expected to begin in December and be completed in mid-2005. The renovation project – a cutting-edge, 300-seat facility – will include high-tech sound and light booth, fly space, studios, prop shops, showers and dressing rooms. Until the project is completed, the SMC theatre arts department will stage its productions at SMC’s Airport campus.

New Emeritus College Building: Contractors have almost completed the four-story, contemporary glass building on Second Street in downtown Santa Monica that will be the beautiful new home of Emeritus College.

New Athletics and Kinesiology-Dance Offices: Construction has just begun on a new office facility for Athletics and Kinesiology-Dance above the dance studios of the Gym, where the old east bleachers were located. When completed, the departments will move their offices from the PE Annex, which was originally meant to be temporary.

Library Expansion & Modernization: At Opening Day on Friday, you will get a firsthand look at the “new old” Library, a highly impressive $23.6 million expansion and modernization project completed in time for the beginning of this school year. This state-of-the-art project – the final project to receive funding from SMC’s 1992 Measure T bond – nearly doubles the size of the building, provides more than twice the number of seats and computer stations, adds group study rooms, and includes many other cutting-edge features. An opening ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 14, and more information will be forthcoming in this publication.

Accreditation: The college has begun preparing for the accreditation team visit March 23-25, 2004. The accreditation steering committee and various subcommittees are engaged in completing the first draft of the self-study. The process for reaffirmation of accreditation – which occurs every six years – requires a close examination of virtually everything we do at this college. It’s an exhaustive – and sometimes exhausting – process that involves representatives from throughout the campus. The chair of the accreditation team will share major commendations and recommendations at the exit interview March 25, with a final report coming out in June 2004.

Community Relations & Partnerships: The college continues to forge strong ties to the community and generate goodwill through a series of events, cultural offerings, partnerships and special events, such as co-sponsoring and hosting the annual “Relay for Life” in Santa Monica, which raised $80,000 in July for the American Cancer Society.

As we enter 2003-04, we continue to face challenges that will test our mettle. But crises present new opportunities. I am certain we will pull through these difficulties and emerge stronger and ever more committed to the unique and invaluable contributions made by community colleges – and SMC, in particular.

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