• Grossmont College Named "Best Of" San Diego Colleges

• General Campus Forum Kicks off 41st Year

• Keynote Speaker Thrills Faculty and Staff

• Enrollment Continues to be Strong

• Corrections Academy Huge Success

• Pat Murray Elected Classified Senate Vice President

• Tune in to KUSI-TV Early September 18, 2002

• September 11 Remembrance

• Save the Date for Homecoming, October 5, 2002

As a result of a recent reader poll, Grossmont College has just been named to the San Diego Union-Tribune's list of "Best of Colleges in San Diego County." We are honored to be included in this highly-publicized list which was published August 9. What a great way to begin the 41st year at Grossmont College!

Our 41st year of service to Grossmont College students began with a General Campus Forum as part of Professional Development Week. The Professional Development Committee selected this year's theme: Building a Collegial Campus. Toward that end, we invited the classified staff to join us for the event and to hear Dr. Luke Barber, the keynote speaker. I would like to thank Board President Alexander, Trustees Cutting and Caruthers, and Karol Schoen, GC Foundation President for joining us for what was, by all accounts, an enthusiastic start to a very promising year.

If you were not able to attend the General Campus Forum, held on August 19, and would like copies of the documents distributed at that time, you will find booklets titled” Organizational & Governance Structures 2002-2003” and “2001-2002 Strategic Plan Report” available in the campus mail room.

Dr. Luke Barber helped to kick-off Grossmont College professional development week August 19. The title of his most recent book, Work Like Your Dog: Fifty Ways to Work Less, Plan More and Earn More was his topic. He entertained and encouraged us to enjoy our work as we serve our students and each other. "Bottom line," said Dr. Barber, "We are all in this together."

A professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Richland College in Dallas, Texas, for nearly thirty years, (can one be a philosopher from TEXAS asked Dr. Barber?) Barber is an author, lecturer and consultant who writes and speaks on a variety of topics to audiences everywhere. After hearing one of his lectures, Anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "I never liked philosophers all that much until I met Luke."

The participants enjoyed Dr. Barber's entertaining style, his thought (and laughter-provoking) images as well as the opportunity to sing and dance their way to the start of the 41st year at Grossmont College.

We are looking for yet another enrollment record for fall semester. Today's report shows that we are at 16,952, up 6.3% percent over last fall, and up 6.6% in units over last fall. It is astounding when we recall that Grossmont College was built to accommodate 4,800 students.

The following is a comparative analysis of Fall 2002 enrollment as of August 26, 2002, to the same enrollment dates for Fall 2001:

More than 50 participants enrolled in the first Grossmont College Corrections Academy this past summer. In one month, students completed 9.5 semester units and earned certification from the California State Board of Corrections. This certification is accepted by most corrections agencies as the minimum level of training for employment in corrections and probation careers. Twenty of the GC Academy graduates are candidates for employment at the Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, an area corrections facility, with a starting wage at nearly $20 per hour. We have been asked to run a second corrections academy next year.