a message FROM THE PRESIDENT Diablo Valley College has been the foundation of higher education in our community for just over sixty years. An overwhelming number of people have been touched by the college, either through their own education, the education of their children or grandchildren, or through their professional contributions either teaching or working to support our students at the college. The celebration of this momentous milestone belongs to all of us. When any of us at the college travel outside our immediate service area, or even out of state, it is not unusual to meet someone who has had a personal connection with Diablo Valley College. These people often have great stories to tell us about their experiences. Last year I had the privilege of visiting and speaking with the city councils in all of the communities in DVC’s immediate service area. At each meeting I asked for a show of hands of how many of these community leaders had a personal connection with Diablo Valley College. Everywhere I asked the question, I received a heartwarming response that gave me a reaffirming sense of the great value that we bring to our community through the work we do at the college. Recently many of us at the college, representing a variety of departments, disciplines and student support areas, came together to review our college mission statement. What we came up with is what we call our “pocket mission statement”. We believe it gets right to the heart of what the faculty, staff and administrators of Diablo Valley College stand for: DVC is passionately committed to student learning through the intellectual, scientific, artistic, psychological, and ethical development of its diverse student body. Diablo Valley College prepares students for transfer to four-year universities; provides career and technical education; supports the economic development of the region; offers pre-collegiate programs; and promotes personal growth and lifelong learning. While we have no control over the recent decisions by the California State Legislature concerning our budget, we are continuing to do everything we can to offer the courses and services most needed by students to complete their educational goals. I cannot think of a greater honor or privilege than to lead our dedicated and highly qualified faculty, administrators and professional staff at Diablo Valley College as they work every day with students to change lives, and bring greater opportunity to our community, while improving the economic health of our region.
Sincerely,
Judy E. Walters, Ph.D. President, Diablo Valley College
Diablo Valley College is one of 110 California Community Colleges serving 2,897,531 students, as compared to CSU with 23 colleges serving 316,370 students, and UC with 10 colleges serving 172,774 students
a message FROM THE CHANCELLOR As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Diablo Valley College and the establishment of our District in 1948, I remain in awe of the vision our founders had for the District and its colleges. Thanks to so many people, that vision is continuing to be fulfilled sixty years later. Residents and educational leaders of Contra Costa County first began discussing the formation of a junior college district in the late 1930s. After losing the first countywide vote, residents approved what was then called the Contra Costa Junior College District in 1948. When Contra Costa Junior College-East Campus (now Diablo Valley College) opened its doors in 1950 in the old Martinez Grammar School, it served 350 students. Today, DVC is meeting the higher education needs of more than 34,000 students annually. Our District is proud of its role in helping students continue their education at four-year institutions. Diablo Valley College is the top transfer institution to the University of California, Berkeley, and is a major contributor of students to California State University, East Bay. We also provide the training for critical jobs in our community including firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical technicians, and nurses; and we are now poised to lead California’s economic recovery by educating the emerging clean energy workforce. Despite our successes of the past, the state is now imposing funding reductions that will have an impact on access, programs and services. Although very daunting, these fiscal challenges do not signal the end of higher education in our community. Rather, they provide the opportunity to reevaluate what we have done right in the past, and what we must do differently in the future to continue meeting the needs of our students. On behalf of the Governing Board, faculty, staff and administrators, I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve the Contra Costa County community. Your ongoing support, demonstrated by the passage of bond measures in 2002 and 2006, is a testament of the value higher education contributes to the future success of our community, the economic recovery of our state, and our overall quality of life. We commit to you our continued focus on keeping these educational options available.
Sincerely,
24% of all the community college students nationwide are enrolled in a California community college.
Helen Benjamin, Ph.D.