Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is proud to announce the “2024 Best of SBCC,” reflecting on a year marked by significant achievements, innovation, and community engagement. As a cornerstone of this celebration, SBCC is thrilled to highlight the passing of the Measure P Bond extension, ensuring the continued excellence and modernization of our facilities and programs.
Measure P Bond Extension: Building the Future
The Measure P Bond extension represents a historic investment in SBCC’s mission to provide exceptional education and resources. This extension secures funding for critical infrastructure upgrades, campus sustainability projects, and expanded access to state-of-the-art learning environments. This achievement underscores the community’s unwavering support for SBCC and its role as a leading educational institution.
Select 2024 Highlights and Accomplishments
Academic Excellence and Recognition
SBCC celebrated 100% NCLEX-RN test pass rates for its Nursing Program graduates.
SBCC is thrilled to announce that the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) has granted provisional approval for SBCC’s proposed Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management (HIM). This marks a pivotal step in offering an innovative, industry-driven baccalaureate program that prepares students for leadership roles in healthcare.
Faculty excellence was honored when Dr. Melissa Menendez received the Hayward Award for “Excellence in Education” and the Latino Legacy “South County Leader of the Year” award.
Nathan Krietzer was honored as SBCC Faculty Lecture of the Year for the 2023-24 Academic Year.
The Writing Center at SBCC is recognized as an Example of ¡Excelencia! finalist. Founded in 2004, ¡Excelencia! in Education is a national organization that accelerates Latino student success in higher education to address the U.S. economy’s need for a highly educated workforce and for civic leadership.
Athletics and Student Achievements
Women’s Volleyball player Tara Long was named State Player of the week, while the football, golf, and soccer teams celebrated remarkable seasons.
SBCC received a $3 million Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant to support Hispanic/Latine students, particularly in online learning environments.New technical support facilities were launched, including the Wake Campus Repair Shop, enhancing IT services for students and staff.
Art, Culture, and Community Engagement
SBCC hosted a Basic Needs and Wellness Fair to provide students access to community agencies and wellness support. The event featured 13 community agencies and 19 SBCC departments/programs and had more than 400 attendees. In addition, from 2023-24 the Basic Needs Centers on SBCC’s Cliff, Schott and Wake campuses hosted more than 32,000 visitors and provided more than 154,000 pounds of food to students, staff and faculty.
The Atkinson Gallery showcased cutting-edge exhibits such as “Land, Sea or Sky,” while SBCC’s Theatre Group celebrated its 79th season with the productions including “Legally Blonde: The Musical” in July, and Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers” in October. The Theatre group won the Santa Barbara Independent’s “Best of” Runner-Up Award in the Theatre category.
SBCC’s Beth Rizo was honored as one of the Independent’s Local Heroes for her work in educating and supporting childcare for the community.
Events like the inaugural Vaquero 5K “Stampede,” the annual Science Discovery Day and Trunk or Treat event brought the Santa Barbara community together on SBCC’s Cliff campus.
The first-ever Family Engagement Resource Fairs provided free family-focused events filled with delicious food, activities, and resources for families in greater Santa Barbara. As a preventative measure led by County of Santa Barbara (COSB) Probation, these events took place county-wide at Allan Hancock campuses as well as Santa Barbara City College. Community partners included the COSB, COSB Probation Department, COSB Social Services, COSB Public Health, COSB Behavioral Wellness, Allan Hancock College, SBCC and many others.
Historic Milestones
SBCC and the Chumash Signage Project committee unveiled the Chumash Signage Project, a new installation added to the West Cliff Campus bluffs. The series of educational signs cover a wide range of topics from history, language, and art as well as more recent history of colonization and the ways Chumash people continue to resist and thrive.
SBCC marked its 75th Commencement Ceremony and inducted new members into the SBCC Athletics Hall of Fame.
Celebrating inclusivity, SBCC flew the Progress Pride Flag for the first time during “Gaypril” and enhanced cultural representation through programs like ¡Raíces: First Year and Beyond!, celebrating Hispanic Heritage Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day; the Center of Equity and Social Justice providing cultural celebrations like Undocumented People’s Month; and the Umoja Program hosting the second annual South Santa Barbara County Black Grad celebration.
In summer, SBCC hosted over 560 South Santa Barbara County high-school Seniors for the first-ever SBCC Promise Registration Rally. The event provided the visiting high school students the resources needed to enroll at SBCC for the Fall semester as SBCC Promise students. The Seniors were bused in from Dos Pueblos, Santa Barbara, San Marcos, Carpinteria, Bishop Diego, La Cuesta and Alta Vista High Schools.
Looking Ahead
With the passage of the Measure P Bond extension and a year filled with academic, cultural, and athletic triumphs, SBCC is poised for a bright future. We extend heartfelt thanks to our faculty, staff, students, and community partners for their commitment to excellence and innovation.
About SBCC
Established in 1909, Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is one of the oldest community colleges in California. The district consists of SBCC’s main campus on Santa Barbara’s beachfront coast, two separate campuses for its School of Extended Learning programs, as well as a Cosmetology school. The college offers a range of associate degree, certificate and transfer programs and is recognized by the Department of Education as an official Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI)