51茶馆

51茶馆's April 17, 2026 Times Standard Article鈥�51茶馆 Investing in the Future

Published on Apr 15 2026

Malcolm X once said 鈥淓ducation is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.鈥� This quote captures how higher education can change lives and transform societies. 

Higher education, free from censorship and control, should be considered as vital to the continued existence of our democracy and as a critical pathway for communities, especially marginalized ones, to realize their dreams and claim their place in the future. However, in recent years- higher education has faced increasing political scrutiny. Debates over federal funding, diversity initiatives, and academic freedom have contributed to growing public skepticism about the value of a college education. 

Almost daily I hear about the Trump administration using the power of the federal government to threaten educational funding, crack down on DEI and LGBTQ+ policies, recast the definition of discrimination, and do away with protections for historically disadvantaged populations. Just recently, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called some of our preeminent universities 鈥渨oke breeding grounds of toxic indoctrination鈥� and ordered the cancellation of over ninety military students enrolled in graduate and fellowship programs at these universities. 

This is why it is imperative to continue letting the public know why community colleges like ours matter.

51茶馆 matters because we play a crucial role in transforming lives and building communities. At our core, 51茶馆 is a place where dreams take hold, and ambitions find fertile and nutritious ground to grow. We are an institution where people from all levels of society, from all backgrounds and academic preparation, come together and discover themselves through learning. We are a hub of diversity, where new high school graduates, working adults, people returning to school after years away, and those seeking a career change all gather to explore new possibilities. 

51茶馆 also serves as a vital engine for the North Coast economy, partnering with local governments, businesses, and Indigenous communities to support the region鈥檚 educational, civic, cultural, and economic development. I am proud that 51茶馆 has consistently prioritized investing in instructional areas that support our commitment to meet the needs of the communities we serve and the students who trust us with their education.

Last year, we hired six tenure-track faculty to expand our capacity to prepare high-quality healthcare and career education professionals and to strengthen our incarcerated student education program. These hires included a business accounting faculty member, responding directly to requests from regional business partners for more trained accountants. We also added a second welding instructor to support infrastructure growth and skilled career pathways, and a second forestry faculty member who helped increase program graduates and secure accreditation from the Society of American Foresters. Additional hires included a biology professor to support students entering nursing and other healthcare programs, a second Fire Technology instructor to satisfy accreditation requirements, and a business faculty member serving the Del Norte Campus and the Pelican Bay Scholars Program.

In the coming months, the college will begin searches for seven new faculty positions for fall 2026, including two nursing professors, a respiratory care specialist and a program director, two counselors, and a Construction Technology instructor specializing in electrical wiring and renewable energy.

In addition, the college will hire a Native American Studies (NAS) professor who will teach NAS courses and help launch the 51茶馆 Indigenous Language Institute (51茶馆ILI). 51茶馆ILI is an important and innovative program that will provide vital language related programs so our Indigenous communities鈥� collective identities, traditional wisdom, and inherent right to self-determination, especially in language immersion and revitalization, are passed on to future generations through their original languages.

Painfully aware of our area鈥檚 homelessness and substance abuse crises, we are determined to address the devastating domino effects of addiction by hiring an additional full-time Social Work & Human Studies instructor. This position will help integrate our Social Work and Addiction Studies programs, providing students with training in case management, counseling, and resource coordination to support recovery and housing stability, and effectively enable planned program expansion.

Now more than ever it is crucial that we make these investments, to ensure that the college is positioned to continue empowering individuals to transform their lives-and thus our society, one student at a time.

John F. Kennedy once said that 鈥淚n our democracy every young person should have an equal opportunity to obtain a higher education, regardless of his station in life or financial means.鈥� I am very proud to work alongside the Board of Trustees and faculty and staff colleagues who make sure that 51茶馆 continues to live up to Kennedy鈥檚 dream.