With the beginning of a new year, outgoing San Jose City College President Michael Burke took some time to reflect on 2009.
He said he was impressed with the Associated Students Board’s leadership, the football team’s success and “the art show was impressive.”
“It was rewarding to have accomplished student growth. Enrollment is up and students appreciate our work to help them,” Burke said.
He was not so happy with financial challenges last year.
“It was challenging to deal with significant cuts to our funding for categorical programs like EOP&S and DSPS.”
His accomplishments included getting the Board of Trustees to proceed with the design for the new arts building, and he said the accreditation process is progressing well “with strong leadership from Celia Cruz and Arturo Reyes.”
There has been a lot of teamwork among the faculty, Burke said, and he is happy to have launched the Achieving Dream Institute and renewing the strategic plan.
One disaster that put the baseball team and its fans in a slump last year was the unfinished baseball field.
“Unfortunate to have stopped the construction of the new baseball field,” Burke said, but he is glad the new multipurpose field will be a plus for the campus.
Burke was happy with the results of new student focus groups. Students made him and the staff aware of some barriers they faced.
“It was an eye-opener for me,” he said.” His goal for 2010 is “hopefully we can remove some of these barriers students face, especially in their first semester.”
This year Burke would like to see students help SJCC by getting involved with more committees and student government. In addition, students can take part in the on-going design of new buildings, he said.