October 14, 2026
Dear SRJC Community, 

I am pleased to share with you the District updates that were provided to the Board of Trustees at the October meeting. You will receive these updates from me following the monthly Board of Trustees meeting to share more about the excellent programs, services, initiatives, events, and work we undertake in support of SRJC students. You can read the full President’s Report online each month.

President’s Report 

Since the last board meeting, there have been several college events and community engagements that keep SRJC an active member to the Sonoma County community. From the Second Chance Club Car Show to athletic events, to Latine Heritage month events, to presentations at our local high schools, SRJC continues to ensure that we have strong and committed relationships with our community partners. We are a vibrant teaching and learning institution with exceptional faculty, classified professionals, and administrators providing educational experiences to students via certificate, associate degree, transfer, and lifelong learning programs, as well as through comprehensive student services programs. And our commitment to building an inclusive community informs our daily work.  

On September 25th, we recognized a district holiday for the CA Native American Day.  In 1998, Native American Day was designated (passage of AB 1953) as an official state holiday.  Years later in 2022, CA Assemblyman James Ramos- the first California Native American State Assemblyman and member of the Yuhaaviatam of San Miguel Nation championed legislative updates to designate it a judicial holiday. I would like to thank Paul Stewart, President of the Native American Faculty and Staff Association, for his leadership and contributions to educating our SRJC community on this historical significance of California Native American Day. To read more about this holiday, please go to https://nafsa.santarosa.edu/event/california-native-american-day    

Written Updates  

Each month, the Board of Trustees receives written updates on various programs and departments. Below are the reports from October. 

• Institutional Effectiveness Report: Persistence 
• Learning Communities: APASS, PUENTE, UMOJA  

Board Policies and Procedures 

At its October meeting, the Board of Trustees adopted the following board policies. The related administrative procedures, adopted by the Superintendent/President, and several former policies proposed for elimination were also presented to the Board. Employees are encouraged to review the policies and familiarize themselves with these changes: 

Board Policies Adopted: 

• BP 4240 Academic Renewal  
• BP 4250 Notice, Pause and Restart 
   

Administrative Procedures (presented to the Board as information): 

• AP 4240 Academic Renewal  
• AP 4250 Notice, Pause and Restart            
• AP 4255 Pause and Restart  
   

Former Policies Presented for Elimination: 

• 7.1 Communication with the Public (Public Information Policy) 
• 7.2 News Media Coverage of Board Meetings 
• 7.5 Relations with Local Government Agencies 
• 7.7 The Superintendent/President's Ad Hoc Citizen's Committees  

College and Community Engagement

• Attended several athletic events.
• Attended the Agrella Gallery Opening Reception for Tom Chown: 46 Years Behind the Lens. The show represented Tom’s work over the decades, including artistic posters he donated to fundraise for student scholarships.
• Provided remarks at the Second Chance Car Show.  
• Attended the SSU President’s Advisory Council Meeting. President Spagna provided an update on the work SSU is doing to re-establish athletics, augment nursing facilities, and outreach to recruit students from Southern California. 
• Hosted the Pop Up with the President @ Public Safety Training Center Welcome Day. 
• Provided welcome remarks at the Piner High School Early College Magnet Program Parent Night. 
• In collaboration with the Classified Senate and Academic Senate presidents, Co-hosted the September Coffee Café - “Clock Out, Coffee In.” 
• Served as a panelist at the 13th State of the Latino Community Address. 
• Attended SRJC’s La Carpa Talent Show.  
• Collaborated for the City of Santa Rosa’s Southeast Greenway Project. Your input is welcome on the Community Input Survey located on their website.  I encourage all SRJC students and colleagues to share your thoughts.   
• Delivered the SRJC President’s Address to the Community. Thank you to the SRJC Foundation Board and Foundation team for designing a community-building event, which included honoring the Welfare League with the President’s Medallion for 70 years of supporting student scholarships.  

Strategic Plan Highlight

• Responsiveness to Our Community: Ensure that SRJC is supporting the diverse educational, social, and economic needs of our community.  Human Resources and the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Planning has completed training on the how to leverage population data to provide insight into strategies for increasing the diversity of SRJC’s employee applicant pools by 10%. Resources and recommendations will be shared with the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee as SRJC works to accomplish action steps in the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan and the strategies outlined in the Equal Employment Opportunity Plan. 

• Institutional Effectiveness: SRJC at a Glance. Part of an environmental scan is reviewing data that allows SRJC to be Responsive to Our Community. The SRJC at a Glance dashboard provides an interactive snapshot of SRJC students and enrollments by term. The dashboard includes student demographics, enrollment characteristics, education goals, student groups, course enrollments, and course completion. Users can filter by term, campus, Trustee Area, and student characteristics to explore and compare populations across the district. You can view the dashboard at https://datahub.santarosa.edu/publicdata-current.

 Celebrations, Recognition, and Institutional Pride  

• CCAP Convening: On Friday, October 2, 2026, a College and Career Access Pathway (CCAP) Convening was held at the Santa Rosa Campus in partnership with the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE).  Representatives from various local high school districts attended the half-day session, reviewing information about prior years of CCAP programming, assessing successful implementation strategies, and looking ahead to planning and coordination of possible CCAP course offerings in upcoming semesters. This included structured conversations with educational administrators, student service professionals, and others SRJC employees, who support Early College Credit opportunities through Santa Rosa Junior College for high school students throughout the District’s service area. 

• SRJC Roseland Enrollment Growth: Since July 1, the Student Services Office and Welcome & Connect Center have supported 626 students, while overall enrollment has reached 1,028 students—69 more than Fall 2025. Enrollment continues to grow, with additional increases anticipated as mid-semester classes begin October 14.

• SRJC Athletics’ SCORE program (Student-athletes Creating Opportunities Results & Empowerment) launched in Fall 2025 to support the academic success of SRJC's more than 330 intercollegiate studentathletes. Of the 15 participating teams, 11 saw significant GPA improvement, with the largest gains in Women's Soccer (2.8 to 3.7), Men's Soccer (2.7 to 3.5), and Volleyball (2.9 to 3.5). On the end-ofsemester survey, 94% of the 197 respondents said SCORE had a positive impact on their academics, and 99% said it gave them tools to succeed academically.  

• Work Experience Education (WEE) pairs students with a faculty mentor and a real job, volunteer, or internship site while they earn college credit for work they're already doing. This term, WEE 97, WEE 99I, and dual enrollment produced 492 student placements at more than 300 employers, nearly 90% of them in Sonoma County; WEE 97 and WEE 99I alone accounted for about 1,200 of the units earned, which count toward the AA/AS and transfer to any CSU. Dual enrollment reached 155 high school students through partnerships with Analy, Cloverdale, Casa Grande, and Sonoma Valley.  

• SRJC Roseland Welcome Day: On Saturday, September 19, SRJC Roseland welcomed 272 attendees— including 164 students and 108 family members—to campus for a fun-filled day of connection, community, and discovering all that SRJC Roseland has to offer.  

• La Carpa Community Talent Show: SRJC’s Latinx Faculty and Staff Association and Casita Latinx/e Center co-hosted La Carpa, a vibrant community talent show celebrating creativity, culture, and community. The event featured 14 performances, including a dance from Nepal, a yo-yo performance, original songs created and performed by SRJC students, and a special appearance by Rosco in a mariachi suit. La Carpa is part of HERENCIA, a series of events celebrating Latine and Indigenous cultures from the Americas at SRJC. The evening brought students, faculty, staff, and community members together for a joyful celebration of talent, culture, and connection.  

• 2026 Sustainable Campus Index Recognition: SRJC’s long-term work in making SRJC affordable and improving access for its students has helped earn the College a Top Performer Recognition in the 2026 Sustainable Campus Index rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) through its Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).  SRJC has earned recognition as a top performer in the impact areas of Representation & Access and ranked 5th in Overall Performance for Associate & Short Cycle Institutions. Representation & Access measures how well an institution creates an inclusive and supportive environment while ensuring students from all backgrounds can access and succeed in higher education. It considers racial and ethnic representation, gender equity, campus climate, affordability, access to educational opportunities, and student success

Closing Message

As the Superintendent/President, I am aware of the privilege and responsibility that comes with this role and am honored to be invited to join community and college events. I strive to be present in as many college events as possible because I believe that it is important to be in community with students and colleagues. I aim to learn from every interaction and experience that I have, and the Second Chance Club Car Show grounded me in the power of public higher education. Students from every walk of life and lived experience shared how having access to SRJC, to the classes and programs that we offer, provided them with the space to learn and grow. Alumni came back to talk about how they felt prepared and ready to transfer to CSUs and UCs because SRJC faculty and staff believed in them. At the La Carpa Community Talent Show, I saw how students and community members shared their talents as an expression of culture, art, and social justice. We truly have some talented folx throughout our community. 

The President's Address provided me with the opportunity to share a snapshot of the historical journey and evolution of SRJC. I was humbled to share how SRJC is a resilient change agent that has responded to the changing needs of the community throughout wars, civil unrest, financial crises, fires, and a global pandemic.  The Welfare League received the President's Medallion for their philanthropic support of SRJC student scholarships since 1950; and it was beautiful to learn their story and how similar they are to SRJC's founding mothers.  One of the highlights was having the SRJC Chamber Singers open the event, led by faculty member, Darita Seth. Darita closed the event with a solo performance of "I'm Here," from The Color Purple. It is always meaningful to highlight students and the faculty that support their learning.  I am grateful to all of the classified professionals throughout Media Services, Facilities & Grounds, Marketing & Communications, all volunteers, and the SRJC Foundation team for their work in hosting such a successful event.  

In Community,

Dr. Garcia