Yesterday, our Board of Trustees approved a restriction on camping on our college campuses. This restriction was added to an existing section of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC 132F-136), which has been in place since 1984.

This provision addresses issues of safety and security that were raised during the Occupy Seattle encampment last fall when the Thurston County Superior Court upheld an emergency rule prohibiting camping on our campuses. The ruling required the District to act quickly to permanently change this section of the Washington Administration Code to protect the health and safety of our campus communities.

The May 17 Board action followed a long process of review and public comment. Members of our campus community spoke out at public hearings in March and April, when an earlier WAC concerning the use of facilities for First Amendment activities was first proposed. As a result, we pulled both that WAC and its related procedure (# 270), off the table and asked the Board to limit its review to camping restrictions. The Board heard public comments on the revised proposal at its last two board meetings.

We still have work to do. As announced earlier this month, I am convening a task force to address the use of campus facilities for First Amendment activities. The group will examine our procedures to ensure we are meeting our commitment to the First Amendment as well as to the values that are integral to the delivery of education. Task force members were nominated from throughout our district. Their first meeting will be held this spring, and the group will conclude its work by December 2012. Thank you to the following individuals who have agreed to serve from the college community: Don Bissonnette, Ian Elliot, Rodolfo Franco, Kelly Grayson, Cessa Heard-Johnson, Tysen Hillquist, Larry Hopt, Hillery Jorgensen, Kenneth Lawson, Kimberly McRae, Orestes Monterecy, and Greg Morphew; as well as community leaders Al Sugiyama, Joan Weiss and an additional community member to be announced early next week.

The Seattle Community Colleges stand for both safeguarding free speech and providing excellent education. I am confident that the task force will provide us with their best thinking.

This has been a good week for visibility for our colleges. As you may have heard, President Obama released his proposed budget for 2013 at Northern Virginia Community College, calling for “giving community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers” where we teach “skills that businesses are looking for right now,” from aviation to IT and health care. This AACC Bulletin  highlights proposals for “landmark investments in community colleges,” including a College to Career Fund, a $1 billion Race to the Top for higher education and a First in the World fund to help colleges develop and expand strategies for completion.

And on Tuesday morning, the King County Aerospace Alliance selected the South Seattle Community College Aviation Maintenance hangar at Boeing Field to announce an ambitious plan to support a “faster, stronger, better” infrastructure for the region’s aerospace industry. The five-point plan includes developing a pipeline of trained aerospace students into the workforce. As members of the Alliance, we helped to shape this initiative, which includes “workforce navigators” to guide students into well-paying aerospace careers. At Tuesday’s news conference, we heard that the average age of workers at the Boeing Company is close to 50 years old, and that local schools are preparing only half the number of trained workers needed for production every year.

Our colleges already play a major role in supplying workers for this key industry for our region, and we have been developing many more programs and partnerships. As partners in the statewide Air Washington consortium announced last fall, North is receiving $1.1 million to increase the number of students getting into the pipeline by focusing on aviation electronics, and South will receive $1.4 million to increase the capacity and success of students in the Aviation Maintenance program. All of our colleges have strong programs in science, math, engineering and technology (STEM). Seattle Central has a long history of providing opportunities for students to enter the NASA STEM pipeline: Since 2005, the college has partnered with the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium to provide scholarships and Undergraduate Research opportunities for students at Central. Through Washington NASA Space Grant funding, the college has sent two students to work at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, funded 18 Undergraduate Research projects, and provided scholarships for 85 students at Central, in addition to two transfer scholarships to the UW.

Surrounded by our aviation students on Tuesday, King County Executive Dow Constantine called aerospace “an indispensible source of family-wage jobs” in this area. It remains one of the most important industries for the Puget Sound. Did you know that every job at the Boeing Company generates three more in related industries throughout the region? We are in a position to create a significant impact on individuals, families, and our community in the near future and for future generations.

Please keep this week’s news in mind as you speak with business leaders, partners, educators and elected officials about the value and contributions of community colleges and our students.

Last night at the Seattle Town Hall meeting on the Greater Good campaign we heard about the tremendous impact of higher education on individuals and our state. All six of Washington state’s public university presidents spoke out about the risks of continued cuts – our state now ranks 48th in per capita enrollment in public baccalaureate programs. A second panel of leaders from The Boeing Company, Microsoft, and REI reinforced the message that the cuts are hurting job creation and expansion.

It is clear that our future is at risk because of the state’s disinvestment in higher education. By the end of evening, there was no doubt that higher education is absolutely critical to our quality of life and to our state’s economy. And yet, with proposed and actual reductions, state funding for our community colleges has been cut by one-third since 2007.

We are so fortunate to have world-class universities and businesses in our state and to have their flagship operations in our neighborhoods. Their representatives also made the case for the four-year state colleges.

But here’s the rest of the story – 40% of students who get a bachelor’s degree in our state start at a community college. Why? They are placebound, they work, they have families, they have limited resources, they need flexibility, and for many of the first-generation students, community college is a better match. Community and technical colleges across the state are highly diverse, and most of our students live nearby. For those who are born and raised in a community, the community college is a first choice on their way to a degree, or job training and careers.

Another part of the story is that community colleges are the first choice for workforce training, particularly the thousands of people who have been laid off, or need to change careers, or want to move up in their careers. In Seattle last year, we had 17,000 students enrolled in workforce programs, and one-fifth of those held bachelors’ degrees or higher. An example is nursing – where one-third of our students hold a BA degree or higher – and allied health. In this occupational cluster, our colleges awarded more than 1,000 degrees and certificates last year in programs ranging from Certified Nursing Assistant and Medical Assistants to Dental Hygienists and RNs.

We heard from Boeing that 50% of their engineers and production workers will be eligible to retire in less than five years. Our colleges play key roles in educating and training for the aerospace industry. For example, we have Aviation Powerplant (A&P) Mechanic at South Seattle, an FAA Partnership at North Seattle to train workers for air traffic control electronic systems, and STEM (science, math, engineering and technology) programs at all three colleges. More than one-third of the STEM students at our state’s four-year colleges started at community and technical colleges.

Support for four-year and two-year colleges is more important than ever before to the future of our community, our state, and our residents. Last night, WSU president Elson Floyd said to the audience, “We need strong supporters in the community, our alumni and business partners, to be a voice for higher education.” We couldn’t agree more.

We all have our definition of the American Dream, and I believe that community colleges are the key. Are there other stories that you can share? I would like to hear from you.

This week, we learned that Seattle and the Seattle Community Colleges lost a beloved and valued member of our community. George Corcoran, who served as Seattle Community College District president from 1974-77, passed away on Dec. 27, after coping for some time with pulmonary disease. George was a key founder who really built the foundation on which our district stands today. And even after he left our college district, he remained involved in planning, fund raising, and offering advice and guidance to all of our colleges. He established endowments at all three colleges in remembrance of his children, Craig and Carol, and we are hearing from many of his friends who want to contribute to them in his memory.

George set the vision for our Seattle Community Colleges. He embraced the idea of opportunity for all to pursue higher education and encouraged all of us to set and achieve high goals. He told me he was very proud that our colleges had served more than a million students.

I will never forget how George encouraged our hearts. He was always available to offer encouragement, perspective, and support. Our district, our colleges and our city are better because of George Corcoran. We have prepared this news release to mark the passing of this remarkable man.

Starting last Friday and continuing all this week, Occupy Seattle has been cleaning up its campground at Seattle Central Community College. By Thursday morning, all the campers had left the campus and today, on the last day of Fall Quarter, the college is now returning to operating a campus instead of a campground.

The encampment at Seattle Central was one of the very few protest camps in the world to resolve peacefully. We provided a model of cooperative resolution and avoided angry confrontations that would scar the campus and the campers. I appreciate the many representatives of the Occupy group, the college neighborhood and agencies across the city, county and state, who worked together with our colleges and district to reach this goal.

In the college setting, we know that some of the most important learning takes place outside the classroom. The 120 to 150 Occupy Seattle campers presented a number of thoughtful learning experiences for our students, faculty and employees during the course of the last month. The economic issues raised by Occupy Seattle changed the conversation with family and friends at my dinner table and gatherings, and for many others, from what I’ve heard.

These conversations inspired an especially important learning moment for me. I have a renewed appreciation for our colleges and the hope they instill in all who come to our doors for education and training to prepare for jobs, for transfer to a university, and to build better lives for themselves and their families. As we close the year, I invite you to join me in working to keep that pathway open and lighted for a brighter future.