Community colleges play a pivotal role in the U.S. education system and workforce by offering accessible and affordable education to diverse populations. California’s community colleges are at the forefront in combating income inequality and are trailblazers in supporting social and economic mobility, providing hundreds of thousands of students each year with the career education and training needed to secure good-paying jobs.
Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is the second oldest community college in California that has served the educational needs of the local community for over 115 years. State funding challenges, regulatory constraints, local demographic changes, economic conditions, and housing shortages, have raised the question: does the long-term value of higher education justify the rising costs. While solutions to these complex issues may seem obvious and simple, the reality is quite different. Dr. Erika Endrijonas, President and Superintendent of SBCC, will explore this conundrum in the context of South Santa Barbara County and what the educational landscape might look like for SBCC going forward.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Erika Endrijonas has served as Superintendent/President of Santa Barbara City College since August 2023. She previously served as Superintendent/President of Pasadena City College and President of Los Angeles Valley College in the Los Angeles Community College
District. Prior to that, she served as Executive Vice President of Oxnard College in the Ventura County Community College District for five years. Her community college experience in California also includes nine years as the Career and Technical Dean at Santa Barbara City College.
Dr. Endrijonas holds a bachelor’s degree in history from California State University, Northridge, and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in American and Women’s History from the University of Southern California.
Leave a Response