Dr. Angélica Garcia, Superintendent/President Santa Rosa Junior College
Our speaker for May 23, 2024, was Dr. Angélica Garcia, President/Superintendent of Santa Rosa Junior College. Dr. Garcia was introduced by Jay Molineaux, the Executive Director of the SRJC Foundation. Angelica is only the 6th President of SRJC in its 105 year history! She’s also the 1st female president! She has a PhD in Educational Leadership and a master’s degree in social work from San Diego State University. She was most recently the president of the City College of Berkeley. She’s the first PhD in her family. Dr. Garcia became President/Superintendent in July 2023.
Dr. Garcia introduced her topic by providing a brief summary of the efforts to make public education a place for all students, regardless of their racial or ethnic background. She noted that the historic Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision which held that school segregation is unconstitutional, was presaged by decisions from California, which had previously held ruled that the segregation of Hispanic children into separate Mexican Schools was illegal. She pointed out that these decisions were driven by parents’ efforts to ensure that their children would be given the same educational benefits as the children of majority group families. Families matter! SRJC was founded in 1917. The 14 “founding mothers” were the key drivers of the effort to create the school. The 1st student body president was female. The first graduating class was in 1920. SRJC has 2 campuses: Santa Rosa and Petaluma, and 3 sites (Shone Farm, Roseland, and the Public Safety Training Center). One of the important principles of community colleges is equitable access to education; a place for everyone. 22,000 students in almost 56,000 courses were enrolled at SRJC in the Spring of 2024. Latino students comprise the majority at SRJC. SRJC is getting close to its pre-pandemic enrollment. Latino students have a lower course completion rate than white students.
SRJC is actively working to improve its campuses, attract students, and provide a quality education and student experience. Some of the most notable recent developments include: $3.9 million in Doyle Scholarships, the completion of new residential housing (Polly O’Meara Doyle Hall), the renovation of Tauzer Gym, a new construction center at the Petaluma campus, the modernization of SRJC Roseland, and ongoing efforts to create dual enrollment programs with local high schools. SRJC has also received very significant grants and other funding from federal, state, and local sources for a variety of uses, including grants for: the U.S. DOE for Hispanic Serving Institutions, fire prevention programs, U.S. Economic Development Admin for the Petaluma Construction Training Center, mental health services, a PG&E settlement for wildfire resilience fire technology training, a new fire tower, stipends for formerly incarcerated student, the “hire-up” program, child care access, rising scholars, native American student support, and best practices for developing and implementing cultivating an ecosystem of belonging.
Many thanks to Dr. Garcia for the great presentation of historical and recent developments at SRJC. We are lucky to have you bring your amazing energy to Sonoma County!
Click HERE to link to a limited-time recording of Dr. Garcia's presentation.
