Yvette Walker
With KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker. This is IE Latino Voices, where we invite representatives from Latino led and Latino serving organizations to share their stories and their impact in our region. Joining me today is Dr. Diana Rodriguez, Chancellor of the San Bernardino Community College District. Thank you so much for being with us today, Dr. Rodriguez.
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
Well, thank you. It's absolutely my pleasure to be here. Thank you for the invitation.
Yvette Walker
Dr. Rodriguez, you're in your fifth year as Chancellor. What does the San Bernardino Community College District mean for families in the Inland Empire?
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
We serve San Bernardino Valley College, Crafton Hills College KVCR Public Media along with a Economic Development Center. And so today, we serve about 30,000 students across our region from just a vast array of backgrounds. We like to say that we serve the top 100% of the students in the Inland Empire and really beyond, with the reach that we have through our distance education program and also through KVCR where individuals are learning on a daily basis. So I think we have had just a huge impact on the communities here that we serve.
Yvette Walker
Wow, 30,000 students, that's year after year, and you're celebrating 100 years. You grew up in Blythe and are product of the community college system. How did that journey shape your path to becoming Chancellor, and how did your experience inform your focus to provide affordable tuition for all students?
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
You know, I grew up in Blythe, California, a small agricultural town right on the Arizona border. You know, grew up in a very traditional Mexican household, five siblings. I'm number four of five, and my parents, they really didn't understand education, but they knew education was important. So I was fortunate enough to be able to go to school. I started at our local community college because we couldn't afford a four year school. I remember being on a community college campus where it was very comforting for somebody who was very new to higher education. People knew my name. They knew who I was. You know, I felt valued, and I felt like I was cared for, and that's what I try to take into my positions now, especially as Chancellor. You know, I was the first in my family to go to school, and really the only one with an advanced degree. And so when I walk across the campuses both Crafton Hills and San Bernardino Valley College, I kind of see a lot of me in there, because I think the story is the same for a lot of our current students, first in their families, first generation, maybe not quite sure what it is that they want to do or what they want to accomplish. And so we try to create an environment where they feel welcome, where they belong, and where their families belong, and to provide that comfort so that they're more successful. And part of that comfort is making sure that we'll provide an affordable education, because that is so important. One of the things, for example, that we've implemented was a Books+ Program, where we have saved students literally millions of dollars over the course of a number of years so that they can go to school.
Yvette Walker
Those books, they can cost hundreds of dollars, really, truly a decision between paying a utility or rent or actually investing in your education. It's a great program.
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
Absolutely.
Yvette Walker
Since COVID, what progress have you seen in student enrollment and successes over the last three years?
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
We've had a great number of successes over the last three years. In fact, I think the statistics tell me that over the last three years, we've served about 104,000 students across our district. We've delivered over $200 million in financial aid to our students. Now those are dollars directly into the pockets of our students so that they can be successful. Since COVID, we have really just doubled down on how can we make our campuses accessible for students, so that they want to come and join us. But also, how can we make them successful? How can we help them be successful and identify the programs and the majors that they want to do, whether it be to transfer to a four year school or to go immediately into the workforce? So we've been really wrapping our arms around that, not only asking our students, but also asking our community, what is it that they want from us? So we've been listening, and they've been telling us things that they want us to maintain affordability, right? How can we continue to transfer students? How can we continue to prepare them for the job world, right for a career field in nursing, in firefighting, and to be accountants, to be teachers and so on.
Yvette Walker
And that is remarkable, because as a parent of two children that are in college, you want to know that there is a pathway to a sustainable career and future, once you come out of college and come out of school and you're having those conversations. Dr. Rodriguez for Inland Empire families worried about cost and jobs, how is SBCCD keeping college affordable and connected to real careers?
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
The good news is that our students, the majority of our students pay $0 in tuition. We try to go the extra efforts to help them to apply for financial aid, and the majority of our students do qualify. And again, as I mentioned before, we serve the top 100% of the students, and so we want the students to come to us, and this includes all students, whether they're immigrant students or local students, students from other states or students from across the street. We want them all to come to Valley College, to come to Crafton Hills College, and achieve an education that's going to launch them into livable, meaningful wage jobs where they can support their families, right, where they can send their kids to school, and also to stay here in the Inland Empire, right, and help build our foundation for generations to come.
Yvette Walker
And you know, it's not just words, because you feel it when you step onto the campus. It's palpable, that level of intentionality and leadership to provide that supportive, warm environment to uplift all communities. And SBCCD is celebrating 100 years. How can the community help shape the next decade?
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
You know, we're celebrating 100 years, that is just so amazing to wrap my mind around, providing opportunities for students, for this community for that length of time. Over this past year, we've been really listening to our community. What did they like about the past years? What inspired them, and also, what do they want to see from us in the next 10 years, 20 years, as we lay the foundation for the next 100 years, and they're telling us that they care about safety, about health, about having a quality learning environment. They care about affordability, they want to be sure that if their student starts, or if they start, they're going to be able to finish right and so we're listening to those things, and we're hoping that folks feel comfortable enough to continue to provide us feedback, because we would love to hear what's on their mind and what their thoughts are.
Yvette Walker
You and your office have received several recognitions and awards, with the most recent being from the Inland Empire Economic Partnership. What does that tell you about the work you're leading?
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
Ah, yes, IEEP, you know, truly grateful for the work that they're doing under the leadership of Paul Granillo. Just an amazing organization of business leaders who truly care about our industries of education and how we connect our students with business industries. I think what that tells us, or at least my takeaway from it, is that our community and our business leaders believe in what we're doing. They believe that we are training students to be successful, and also, I think it means that they trust us. They trust us to listen to what their needs are, to listen to what is most important to them, and to implement that throughout our campuses. So that organization really does some phenomenal work.
Yvette Walker
Certainly, trust is such a critical component of that catalyst, that symbiotic movement. And before we end our conversation, Dr. Rodriguez, are there programs for donors to support students of underserved communities through scholarships or other means?
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
Absolutely, there's always opportunities. It could be as simple as reaching out to any of our foundations, from San Bernardino Valley College or to Crafton Hills College to make a donation that they're passionate about in an area in which they're passionate about, whether it be athletics or the arts or sciences. We are thrilled to have our donors be engaged with our foundations. There's also opportunities right here at KVCR. You know, learning doesn't only happen in the classroom. It happens outside the classroom as well, and through the programming with KVCR, there's always opportunities to learn new information, and there's also opportunities for our business community who want to help our students with a more hands on approach, to offer internships and apprenticeships for our students, we're always looking for ways in which our students can get that hands on real world experience in organizations. So we welcome those opportunities as well.
Yvette Walker
How can people connect with the foundations you mentioned?
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
You know, the best way to connect with our foundation is to visit our website, which is sbccd.edu/affordablecollege. We look forward to hearing from people.
Yvette Walker
Thank you so much for sharing your insight, your experience, and your vast wisdom with us today, Dr. Rodriguez.
Dr. Diana Rodriguez
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here. It's absolutely my pleasure.
Yvette Walker
Dr. Diana Rodriguez is Chancellor of the San Bernardino Community College District. Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at kvcrnews.org/IELatinoVoices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media and is funded by generous support from the CIELO Fund at IECF, uplifting and investing in the IE's Latino community. For KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker.
