SBCC Commmunity e-Newsletter
SBCC Commmunity e-Newsletter
SBCC The Bridge

Santa Barbara City College's Community Newsletter

December 2018

SBCC to offer Evening College

Juggling work, school and family prevents many college students from enrolling full time, making it difficult to persist and succeed. In 2017, SBCC was awarded a Federal Title V Grant for $2.7 million to develop a program aimed specifically at serving part-time students, who make up approximately two-thirds of SBCC's population. With Evening College, counseling, tutoring and other support services will be available in the evening, and classes will be scheduled in a defined sequence, helping students stay on track and earn their degree.   Read the article in the SB Independent...
Dr. Pamela Ralston

Dr. Pamela Ralston selected as Executive Vice President of Educational Programs

SBCC is pleased to announce that Dr. Pamela Ralston has been selected as the College's permanent Executive Vice President of Educational Programs.

Dr. Ralston commented that, "Joining Santa Barbara City College as the permanent Executive Vice President is an enormous privilege. I am excited and honored to be working with the dedicated faculty and staff to build on SBCC’s already strong foundation for student success." Read the full press release...

Permaculture Garden creates thriving ecology

On West Campus, where there was once lawn, is now an environment where plants and insects live and work in harmony with one another to create healthy soil and produce food.

SBCC once again named as a Gilman Scholarship Success Institution

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, with the support of the U.S. Congress, makes studying abroad more accessible and inclusive for American students. The scholarship has been instrumental in providing traditionally underrepresented students at SBCC with access to study abroad. Read more...

SBCC Promise: More than 2,000 Santa Barbara County students enrolled in first two years

Since its inception two years ago, the SBCC Promise — which provides free tuition, fees, books, and supplies for full-time students for two years — has created an increase in full-time enrollment. So far, more than 2,000 students have taken advantage of the program. Read the full story in the Santa Barbara Independent...

Photo by Javier Delarosa

School of Extended Learning Vitality Program popular with local seniors

The Vitality Program, launched in 2017, offers more than 60 tuition-free courses to adults living in independent, assisted, and memory-care facilities locally. Fifteen instructors at 18 different facilities across town deliver lessons in art, music, body and mind, traveling and current events. Read more...
Norma (Alexa) Cervantes Gonzalez

Norma (Alexa) Cervantes Gonzalez, receives this year's Peter A. Alevra Scholarship 

When Alexa was a young girl growing up near Guadalajara, Mexico, her American-born grandmother recognized her artistic talent and urged her to one day come to the United States to study. That opportunity finally arose, and in only five years Alexa went from learning English as a second language to becoming a peer advisor, community volunteer and Scholarship awardee. Read more about her journey...
Selah Argent and Michelle Sandstrom

STEM students share their experiences attending international conference for women in computing

On October 19, Selah Argent and Michelle Sandstrom, students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program, gave a presentation to fellow students and faculty relating their experiences at the Grace Hopper Conference: A Celebration of Women in Computing. Read more...

De-Stress Fest helps students keep pre-finals stress at bay 

All-night study sessions. Term papers. Final exams. These are the things that characterize the winding down of a semester. In an effort to combat the stress and anxiety associated with the week before finals, SBCC students were treated to a pancake breakfast, lawn games, yoga, hand massages, snacks, and everyone's favorite: dog therapy.

Independent auditor's report

At the December 13 Board of Trustees meeting, Ryan Milligan, CPA and Manager at the firm of Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co., LLP, gave an audit report of the Santa Barbara Community College District for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. He stated that the opinion regarding the District Financial Report was "the highest level of assurance that an audit firm can give the District or any entity regarding the financial statements being materially correct." The auditors also examined the accuracy of our records in Admissions and Records, Financial Aid, Human Resources, Payroll, and our attendance accounting. A clean audit report represents the hard work and commitment to accurate reporting by employees throughout the college. 

Legislature allocates funds to SBCC for Hunger Free Campus

In the 2017-18 State Budget, the California State Legislature approved $2.5 million of one-time funding for California Community Colleges willing to provide particular services that address the food insecurity of their students. The 2018-19 State Budget allocated $10 million additional funds. Known as Hunger Free Campus funds, the allocation for SBCC was $107,351.

Important dates in December and January

Winter vacation began for students on December 16, 2018, and will run through January 13, 2019. From Monday, December 24, 2018 through Tuesday, January 1, 2019, all three SBCC campuses – Schott campus, Wake campus and Main campus on Cliff Drive – will be closed. The spring semester begins Monday, January 14, 2019. Monday, January 21, 2019, all three SBCC campuses will be closed in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Holiday.
The seven members of the Santa Barbara Community College District Board of Trustees are elected by District voters for four-year terms and represent areas within the District. The election in November resulted in one new member joining the Board: Kate Parker was elected from Area 7 when former Board member Marty Blum retired.
At its organizational meeting on December 13, the Board of Trustees elected Robert Miller as president of the Board for the 2019 calendar year. Dr. Peter Haslund was elected Board vice president. Read the press release...
Veronica Gallardo
(Area 3-Santa Barbara)
Robert K. Miller
(Area 2-Goleta)
Craig Nielsen
(Area 4-Santa Barbara)

Meet our newest Board member

Born in the Philippines, Kate Parker moved to the Santa Barbara area in 1977 and attended schools in Carpinteria before heading to UC Berkeley for her undergraduate degree. After receiving her BA, she returned to Santa Barbara in 1992, where she and her husband, Ian, raised three children. She was elected to the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Education in 2006 and served three terms working on behalf of local children and families. Kate received her master’s degree in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University in 2015 and is the library director at Cate School in Carpinteria. She is dedicated to advancing educational opportunities for learners of all ages, and particularly for first generation college students.

SBCC Board of Trustees Meetings - January 10 and 24

The SBCC Board of Trustees will meet at 4 p.m. in A211 at SBCC on January 10 and 24. The agenda for Board Meetings can be found at least 72 hours prior to the meeting on the Board webpage. SBCC Board meetings are recorded or live-streamed and archived for public viewing. Click here to watch previous or live Board meetings.

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