Long Beach City College (LBCC) Superintendent-President Eloy Oakley and the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees were recognized April 23 as finalists for Exemplary CEO/Board at the 93rd American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Annual Convention in San Francisco.
“During very tough fiscal challenges, Superintendent-President Oakley and the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees have provided admirable leadership,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg. “The innovative practices that they have developed are helping more students complete key college milestones with clear career pathways to certificates, degrees and meaningful careers. In the greater local community, LBCC also plays a vital role by providing a wide array of services to support the growth of small businesse. In the end, the hard work is all about creating a more promising future for students and a more robust economy. Superintendent-President Oakley and the Board clearly deserve this recognition, and I applaud them for all of their work.”
Twenty-four community colleges were named finalists in this new national program designed to recognize innovation and promising practices among two-year colleges. The Award of Excellence, sponsored by AACC, established this program to align with key recommendations of the 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges, a blue-ribbon group that issued its findings last spring.
To underscore the association priorities and bring national visibility to promising practices in community colleges across the nation, AACC awards were presented in Emerging Leadership, Student Success, Exemplary CEO/Board, Advancing Diversity and Outstanding College/Corporate Partnership.
“On behalf of the Long Beach Community College District and the Board of Trustees, we are honored to be chosen as one of five community colleges across the nation for the Exemplary CEO/Board Award,” Oakley said. “We look forward to continuing our innovative practices to support more students in achieving success in higher education, beginning in elementary school and continuing every step of the way through high school, to community college, and on to the university level, for many more years to come.”
Congressman Alan Lowenthal said he could think of no school district or CEO that he’s more proud of than Superintendent-President Oakley and the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees. “They have worked with the State and with me on many innovative projects. They’ve worked closely to link the unified school district to the community college and then on to the university, through College Promise. They are worthy of this exemplary CEO/Board leadership award.”
Source: LBCC
