February 2009

I am honored to be this year’s Chair of the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees!

As I write this, our country has a promising new President but a badly stumbling economy.  At SMC, we’re worried about the state’s financial situation and how it will impact our ability to serve students. Fortunately, we’ve built up a comfortable reserve fund that will allow us to make thoughtful and strategic, although still difficult, budget decisions.

In these challenging times, Santa Monica College will continue to serve our students and our community. We are here for you.

Looking back, 2008 was an extraordinary year for SMC.  We demonstrated our academic excellence through high transfer numbers and placement of students in viable careers.

We opened the stunning Broad Stage at our Performing Arts Center, establishing a wonderful new venue for students, professional artists, and community members.

SMC’s push for sustainability reached a new high with the "Any Line, Any Time" program, providing free rides on the Big Blue Bus for all SMC students and employees.

November was a month for thanksgiving: Santa Monica and Malibu voters reaffirmed their commitment to our students, our mission, and our future with the passage of Measure AA.

And in December, the new SMC-funded artificial turf field at John Adams Middle School opened and we dedicated our beautiful new quad.

While top notch, well-designed facilities demonstrate our commitment to our students and to our community, facilities are a means, not an end. Our end, SMC’s purpose, is to change lives through excellence in education. And we do!

Please take a moment to read the back of this letter for news about some very special SMC programs and achievements.

Santa Monica College is a wonderful resource for our community and I am privileged to serve as a trustee. Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

Thanks, Cheers, and Onward,
Louise

What's Happening at SMC

We're #1
For the 18th consecutive year, Santa Monica College is the #1 community college in California for transfers to the UC system. We’re also #1 in transferring African-American and Latino students to the UCs, #1 in transfers to the combined UC-Cal States, and #1 in transfers to USC. New this year, SMC has a guaranteed admissions transfer program to Mount St. Mary’s that comes with a $13,000 scholarship for qualified students.

Small Business Development Center – Also #1!
Our Small Business Center received the 2008 Best Overall Center Performance Award, counseling more than 750 clients in business start-up requirements, strategic planning, marketing and sales, financing assistance, web design, legal assistance, international trade, accounting, financial management, and customer and employee relations. If you have, or are thinking of starting up, a small business, SMC can help – for free! Call 310-434-3566.

Training Nurses
More than 70% of California’s nurses are educated in community colleges. Our Nursing Certificate Program is an important part of our Career/Tech offerings. Students go through a rigorous 2-year program that includes clinical training and experience working in local hospitals, clinics, and convalescent homes. Upon completion of our program, students are eligible to take the State Licensing Exam and become certified as Registered Nurses. We have a student pass rate on the State Exam that ranges from 81-94%. All of our 2008 graduates who passed the exam have already been offered employment.

Serving Veterans
SMC serves 300-plus veterans in our transfer and Career/ Tech programs. We have an active Veterans Group on campus and dedicated counseling support for our veteran students. In 2007, working with the Veterans Administration, SMC began a specialized program to help returning soldiers who suffer from hearing loss, communication and memory problems and other traumatic brain injuries. Our Acquired Brain Injury Program allows students to begin their SMC experience with a supportive free course at the West LA VA campus.

Performing Arts
The beautiful new Broad Stage opened in September, providing Santa Monicans with an elegant, state-of-the art, 499- seat local theater. Eli and Edythe Broad have provided a $10 million endowment to support programming and arts education in this new facility. If you haven’t visited yet, please do! The season schedule is posted online at www.thebroadstage.com.

And so much more!
The above highlights are just a few of the many programs and resources SMC provides for our community. For more information or to enroll in classes at SMC, please go to www.smc.edu. Performances, lectures, exhibitions, and other special SMC events are posted online at www.smc.edu/events.