Robert Agrella honored during SRJC President’s Address

It’s been a good year for more than just the Golden State Warriors, Santa Rosa Junior College president Frank Chong said Thursday during the ?24th annual President’s Address to the Community. The college held its ?97th annual commencement Saturday, awarding more than 2,200 degrees to 1,600 students.

“That’s the largest in the history of Santa Rosa Junior College, a 10 percent increase from the previous year,” he said to the hundreds of donors, faculty, staff, students and community members in the crowd.

“The SRJC is having nearly as good a season as Steph Curry,” added Chong, who at the event honored former college President Robert Agrella with the President’s Medallion for his 22 years of service.

When it comes to the number of transfer students accepted at University of California campuses, Chong, who is the fifth president in the college’s history, boasted that SRJC ranks No. 1 among large community colleges. Chong said 75 percent of their students who apply to UC campuses are accepted, compared to a statewide average of 45 percent.

SRJC also ranks No. 1 in transfers to Sonoma State University, he added. About 600 students transfer to the Rohnert Park university each year, said Chong, who at the event highlighted the accomplishments of several students, including Claudia Ochoa of Santa Rosa.

Ochoa was just a teen when she arrived in the United States, unable to speak any English. She was forced to put her education on hold after finishing high school to juggle three jobs.

“I didn’t think school was for me. Financially, it was not an option,” she said before the event.

Thanks to a former high school teacher, Pat Fitzpatrick, who connected her to resources at the junior college, Ochoa was able to return to school at the age of 26, she said. After taking English-language classes and completing prerequisite courses, she was accepted into the nursing program at the college. She graduated on Saturday.

Ochoa still needs to take the state registered nurse licensing exam. She said she already has a job lined up with Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

“It changed my world,” Ochoa, 33, said about the junior college. “I don’t know what Santa Rosa would be without the SRJC.”

Hal Sanford, a communications studies professor at SRJC, said it’s vital to provide those educational opportunities to residents, particularly to those who can’t afford it.

“Dr. Chong is about advancing educational opportunities to all,” said Sanford, who was recognized Thursday by Chong for his leadership as the director of the speech and debate team, which won this spring the state championship in parliamentary debate.

Chong said the school doesn’t just benefit students, but also the community at large. With more than 3,000 faculty and staff and an annual payroll of $161 billion, it’s the second largest employer in Sonoma County, he said. He said a recent economic impact study that SRJC commissioned found that the community received ?$5.80 for every tax dollar it invested in the college. “That makes SRJC a very unusual public institution, one that generates more revenue than it takes in,” he said.

The college also was named a great college to work for the fourth consecutive year by the Chronicle of Higher Education, he said. “One thing is certain. Successful organizations like the Golden State Warriors and SRJC have always had steady leadership at the top,” he said. “Here, this leadership begins with the Santa Rosa Junior College Board of Trustees.”

“We are a cohesive team,” Chong added.

He also credited Agrella for helping build that strong and stable leadership. Chong said Agrella set the bar high but provided him with much support since his arrival four years ago. He called Agrella a “friend and a mentor.”

“Thank you for returning all my calls and emails whenever I needed your wise counsel,” Chong said. “And, most of all, thank you for being a role model that continues to care deeply about SRJC. You are a great leader and a wonderful confidant.”

Terry Lindley, a longtime board trustee, unveiled a portrait of Agrella, painted by Penngrove artist Virgil Elliot, who attended the ceremony. The portrait will be on display on the second floor of the Frank P. Doyle Library, Lindley said during the event, where Chong and other college officials asked for a renewed commitment to the college.

As the college approaches its 100th anniversary, the SRJC Foundation has launched a campaign to raise $15 million within the next two years. On Thursday, campaign chairs Al Maggini and Pam Chanter announced Exchange Bank, American AgCredit, Codding Foundation and Clover Stornetta Farms each donated $100,000 to the campaign. So did Darius Anderson and his wife, Sarah. Anderson is the managing member of Sonoma Media Investments, which owns The Press Democrat.

“SRJC is the college it is today because of people like you, members of the community it serves. The college has received and continues to receive amazing community support,” Agrella said during his speech.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.