CR's January 9, 2026 Times Standard Article: Be the Change You Want to See
Published on Jan 6 2026Happy New Year! I hope your holiday was full of family, friends, reflection, and the reminder of the precious gift of connection.
Just after the new year, I was speaking with some community members about CR, and the stress higher education is facing. There are issues that will continue to test our resolve. However, rather than seeing the future through the lens of discouragement, with each conversation, I felt uplifted with hope by my profound confidence in us as a college community. I have faith in my colleagues, our mission, and who we are becoming.
I believe that Friedrich Nietzsche’s quote “What does not kill me makes me stronger” applies to College of the Redwoods. Doing hard things makes us strong, and after several years as CR’s president, I am certain that we will continue to grow even stronger. It is a remarkable privilege to work at an institution full of possibilities, overflowing with extraordinarily talented faculty, staff, and students, and anchored in several decades of belief in the power of education.
I know that we live in a challenging time as evidenced by wars in Ukraine, the middle east, the conflict with our South American neighbors, the injustices and inequities in too many places in world, and in a divided America ostensibly apathetic to finding common ground.
Still, I am optimistic.
College of the Redwoods has seen a remarkable turnaround in our enrollment since COVID entered our lives. The development of new academic programs, the addition of new athletic programs, and the hiring of faculty and staff in strategically important areas contributed to CR surpassing our enrollment target this year by a little more than 5%. However, it is important to recognize that as our enrollment continues to increase, it is due to all of the wonderful people actively working to make it so. Our administrators and staff are making prudent growth-minded decisions and ensuring that our community is aware of what is happening at the College, giving students and their families trust and faith in us. It is only because of them that we will continue to grow at a rate that is, as data suggests, rather striking in the California community college system.
It is clear to me that, as the pace of change increases, CR must prioritize professional development opportunities central to institutional transformation and revitalization. This semester, we will commit thousands of dollars to support employees who aspire to senior community college leadership positions. CR will sponsor over 25 managers and administrators to participate in Pivot in 60, a collaboration between CR and the Collaborative Brain Trust, a national higher-education consulting firm that works with California community colleges to support strategic planning, leadership development, and institutional effectiveness. We are also supporting five staff members who want to participate in the Eureka Chamber’s innovative Leadership Redwoods Coast program.
In the right words of Barack Obama, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” In today’s polarized political climate, dialogue and communication between people can be difficult to navigate. To demonstrate our commitment to create the change we want to see, last fall semester, we started a conversation on how we can better support dialog on our campuses. Both in the classroom and outside of it.
To continue helping faculty, staff and students facilitate healthy civil conversations, we are going to implement a series of community-wide conversations to promote cohesiveness, understanding, and empathy in a time when everyone seems at odds. “Let’s Talk,” an initiative organized by CR Professors Bernadette Johnson and Wendy Riggs, will offer opportunities to support ongoing engagement and community building. This initiative is designed to help participants develop shared norms for dialogue, identify barriers to equity and learning, and recognize the value of sustained, honest conversations as a way to bridge differences and strengthen our college community.
It is a genuine privilege to work at an institution that is committed to the daily work of being a powerful and meaningful force for good. Through all of the changes on the horizon, we will continue to speak about the timely value of higher education and the work of teaching, learning, thinking, and creating that is central to College of the Redwoods. College of the Redwoods will continue to serve the needs of our times, prepare students for impactful lives and careers, create jobs, fuel economic development, and strengthen our communities. I am proud that every CR employee is inspired to stoke the fire of education for our students.