One of my priorities next year as president of College of the Redwoods is to work with the faculty and staff to revise our long-range, comprehensive Education Master Plan. The Education Master Plan is intended to guide program development, decisions about growth and resource allocation at both the District and campus/site levels, and is continually updated to address the academic and workforce needs of our community. I want to use this article to inform the community on where we are in the planning process for this important document that will define our path for the future.

We are at a crossroads in our history. There has never been a greater time or greater need for us to revisit our comprehensive Education Master Plan. The pace of change in our society and workforce necessitates rethinking how a community college delivers value to its constituencies. These are not easy issues to address and will require a willingness to unlearn many of the assumptions that we have held dear about what role we play and how to best serve our community. I believe strongly that we will come out of this process a more effective institution that is better positioned to serve the evolving needs of our students, business partners, and community at large.

It is important to note that the COVID-19 health crisis has only accelerated the need to reexamine which degrees and certificates we offer and how we deliver education and services. For example, it has been suggested that the COVID-19 crisis has amplified the rate of change in technology by up to 10 years. If true, what should CR 2030 look like? What new skills will both our faculty and students need in order to keep up and excel in the new technological landscape? If there is a positive aspect to this new reality, it is that we have a unique opportunity to reimagine CR and create strategies that will help us adapt to an extraordinarily uncertain post-COVID educational environment.   

To not only survive but thrive, we are going to focus a lot of attention next year on answering the following questions: How do we build on our strong academic programs and emerge from the post-COVID situation even stronger? How can we keep pace with technological change and continue to offer the best transfer and career education and training possible? How can we embrace new technologies without losing the tremendously valuable and collaborative campus experience? How can we increase our industry partnerships to better align our offerings with the changing workforce needs of our community? And how do we do all of those things while remaining aligned with the strategic vision established by our Board of Trustees?  We will answer those questions in our revised Education Master Plan. 

The Education Master Plan revision process will begin next month with a conversation amongst a small group of faculty and staff who will set the foundation for discussions with college constituents and the local community. We will then hold a series of broader, facilitated discussions with CR faculty, staff, and students as well as an external group in the fall. The external group will be comprised of representatives from Humboldt State University, community members, and business sector leaders.

I want to thank Professors Gary Sokolow, Erin Wall, Sean Thomas, Jon Pedicino, Derek Glavich, John Johnston, Wendy Riggs, Phillip Mancus, Peter Blakemore, and Levi Gill; Deans Kerry Mayer and Rianne Connor; Director Paul Chown; Instructional Technologist Reno Giovannetti; and Vice President Angelina Hill for agreeing to give up part of their summer break to serve on the internal group.  I also want to thank Professor Chris Gaines for lending his considerable entrepreneurial and facilitation skills to the revision process.  

These are challenging and extraordinary times. I know that CR’s revised Education Master Plan will provide College of the Redwoods with a clear direction to meet the needs of our community for many years to come.