The award was given in recognition of the work of SBCC’s Achieving the Vision for Continuing Education Task Force. Under the direction of SBCC Acting Superintendent/President Dr. Jack Friedlander, the group is made up of community members and SBCC students, faculty, staff and administration charged with finding ways to remain responsive to the continuing education needs of the Santa Barbara area community when state and federal funding is being substantially reduced.
Three workgroups, who report to a steering committee, have been formed to examine and develop strategies to sustain and possibly grow programs for specific areas of interest:
- Learning for College Preparation (Adult High School, GED, ESL and Transition to Credit)
- Learning for Career Preparation (Short-term Vocational, Vocational ESL, and Workforce Preparation) and
- Learning for Life (Center for Lifelong Learning – a self-supporting enterprise)
Yolanda Medina-Garcia, Continuing Education faculty member and task force co-chair, said, “Our task force represents a wide range of constituents who are invested in continuing education. Many ideas and feedback are being generated and we are hopeful that our end result will be a model program that other colleges can follow.”
“SBCC’s Continuing Education Division has a long and rich tradition in this community,” said Dr. Jack Friedlander. “I am proud that ACCE has acknowledged the ongoing efforts of our task force in this meaningful way with this statewide award for excellence.”