The College’s success in the establishment and growth of the Endowed Chairs Program illustrates, but does not begin to fully describe, just how successful the Valencia Foundation has become. The Foundation began fund raising in 1974 under the leadership of Edmund Gross and those efforts were expanded during Ken Woodberry’s tenure as its President. By 1989, the Valencia Foundation ranked fourth in the nation among community colleges in fund raising, behind Miami Dade, Dallas County Community College in Texas, and Riverside in California. The Foundation’s success and stature was based on business and industry relationships with Central Florida through which Valencia provided needed training with solid results, and in turn, Central Florida’s businesses and industries responded to help meet Valencia’s needs. The work of the Valencia Foundation has been and remains central to supporting the College’s learning mission. In 2006, under the leadership of Foundation President Geraldine Gallagher, who assumed her leadership position in 2001, the Foundation’s endowment hit the $50 million mark.
The Valencia Foundation began fund raising in 1974. In 2006, the Foundation’s endowment hit the $50 million mark.
valencia community college alumni association Community college alumni associations face particular challenges and difficulties precisely because graduates tend to feel more emotionally connected to the universities from which they graduate. Also, community colleges in Florida were and are “commuter schools,” in which students are compared to university students. Distance, the argument went, led to detachment. As with the College’s Foundation, the Valencia Alumni Association also was more successful than most others in Florida and in the Nation. There were, and indeed are, two main reasons for its special success. First, unlike many other similar groups, Valencia never placed on its Alumni Association the burden of fundraising; that belonged to the Foundation. What Valencia did value in its Alumni Association was its members’ interest in remaining connected to the College. Alumni serve as volunteers for the College’s programs and student support services, and assist with major Valencia functions. The second reason for the Alumni Association’s success was its deep commitment to the learning goals of the College. During the late 1990s, the Alumni Association expanded its influence, supported by Tom Adams and Heather
Valencia Alumni Association volunteers entertained kids at the 2007 5K Run, Walk, Stroll held on the West Campus.
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