Robert Agrella's surprise announcement this month that he will step down as president of Santa Rosa Junior College at the end of June comes as a blow to the community in multiple ways.
As president of the college, Agrella, 67, has been a source of stability for the institution and for the community as a whole — and his absence will be felt.
During 20 years of leadership, he has guided the college through multiple changes and challenges — in curriculum, in enrollment, in the creation of new degrees and, most of all, in growth.
The JC has long had a deep reservoir of goodwill and trust in the community. Eight years ago, Agrella helped the junior college tap into that reservoir through Measure A, a $251 million bond measure for a variety of much-needed campus improvements.
The success of this measure ushered in an unprecedented era of expansion that included construction of the $46 million, 145,000-square-foot Doyle Library, which opened in 2006, the $31 million, 1,110-space parking garage along Mendocino Avenue, which opened in 2007, and the $10 million Plover Hall renovation, which was completed in 2008.
Other projects included the $60 million expansion of the Petaluma campus, which was largely finished in 2008, and the $40 million Lawrence A. Bertolini Student Center, which opened at the beginning of this year.
The final piece of this puzzle — part of Agrella's legacy — is the $25 million culinary arts center that is under construction across Mendocino Avenue from the main SRJC campus.
During this construction has also come budgetary uncertainty for the junior college as the state has been locked in what seems like a perpetual funding crisis. This has resulted in painful cutbacks in staff and class offerings. Never were the challenges greater than two years ago when the Doyle scholarships were suspended due to the failing financial health of Exchange Bank. Up to that point, the bank had funded the scholarships through its dividend for 59 years. Under Agrella's leadership, the junior college responded by creating a makeshift scholarship program dubbed Bridging the Doyle. Although modest in size, it still provided $250,000 for students last year and also helped students find other sources of financial assistance.
Let's be clear. We did not always agree with Agrella. He was known for keeping a tight rein on the institution — sometimes too tight in our eyes. Nevertheless, one could never question his tireless work ethic, his high standards or his love and commitment for the institution he has overseen for two decades.
Despite the budgetary challenges of recent days, Agrella will leave SRJC a better and bigger place than he found it. He also will leave big shoes to fill.
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