Highlighting West's Accomplishments at the Board of Trustees Meeting

I'd like to share with you the comments I made, as the host president, at last night's meeting of the LACCD Board of Trustees.

"President Hoffman, Chancellor Rodriguez, Members of the Board of Trustees, District Administration, and my fellow presidents:  Welcome to West Los Angeles College.

"As we begin our 51st year of service to our community, I want to unabashedly brag about West.

---"Our enrollment has increased by 8.7 % in the last three years, almost 8% since last year, and 37% since 2014-2015.

·    ---"The number of students who earned an ADT rose by 89% since 2016-2017.

·    ---"Total awards earned by students at Commencement 2019, including traditional associate degrees and certificates, were up over 20% since 2018 and have quadrupled since 2014.

·    ---"Our selection of online courses has grown by 22% since last year.  Currently, approximately 33% of our enrollment is attributed to students taking one or more courses online.

·    ---"West continues to host the most successful baccalaureate program at any California community college, with 48 students earning their bachelor’s degrees in Dental Hygiene in June 2019.

·    ---"Noncredit offerings have grown by over 100% from 2017-2018 to 2018-2019.

·    ---"Our $12 million Department of Labor grant will allow West to play a key role in the development of 5,000 apprenticeships across the country over the next four years.

·    ---"Our climate change studies program, the only program of its kind at any community college in the US, has already attracted sixteen majors in its first semester.  In addition, 46 members of the West community have volunteered to participate in campus-wide discussions leading to the establishment of West as a fully sustainable campus.  You’ll note our initial efforts in this regard—no plastic bottles are provided at today's meeting."

I concluded my presentation by giving credit where credit is due:  to you, the educators that comprise the West community.  Without your efforts, your commitment, and your compassion for our students, I would not have had the privilege of reporting our collective accomplishments.

Thank you.