Gilroy
– After electing its officers for the coming year, the Gavilan
College Board of Trustees is ready to begin tackling its goals for
the upcoming year.
Gilroy – After electing its officers for the coming year, the Gavilan College Board of Trustees is ready to begin tackling its goals for the upcoming year.
Tom Breen will serve as board president, Deb Smith of Gilroy will serve as board vice president and Mark Dover of Gilroy will serve as board clerk. The officers’ terms are for one year and are elected annually among board members.
Smith said one of the board’s main goals for this year is to continue expanding and improving Gavilan’s campuses using $108 million in bond money from Measure E, approved by voters in March. Part of the money is promised toward a university center, which will offer on-site programs for specific bachelors’ degrees.
“We have to do some analysis of where the best location is for the university center,” Smith said. “The talk mostly has revolved around the Gilroy site, but there’s nothing concrete right now.”
Another primary goal of the board, Smith said, is to improve the college’s outreach efforts to local students, as a large percentage of students in South County tend to enroll in colleges outside the area.
“We need to find out why they’re going to other colleges and let them know that Gavilan is a great choice for a community college. We have to do a better job of letting them know what we offer,” she said. “It’s a great slogan, but it has to mean something to us and the community that Gavilan can be the college of choice.”
Another issue the board will continuing reviewing closely this year is the possible change from a 18-week to 16-week academic calendar.
“That might be more attractive for our community members,” said Gonzales. “It would be more in line with other community colleges, and it helps in the transfer program.”
Meanwhile, Breen, a long-time Hollister resident, has ambitious plans for the expansion of the college in San Benito County. Breen said Gavilan is working with California State University, Monterey Bay to increase class selection for locals who want to learn but don’t necessarily want to drive long distances for it.
“We want people to think Gavilan is a good place to go,” said the 69-year-old retired Superior Court Judge who grew up in Hollister and still lives there.
The Gavilan College Board of Trustees meets at 7pm on the second Tuesday of every month. All regular meetings are open to the public.
