It comes as no surprise that California’s community college system is not only the largest in the country, but was one of the first. One hundred years ago, the first California Community College opened its doors with the mission of providing educational opportunities to prepare students for transfer or the workforce, a mission that still rings true today.

As we celebrate a century of community colleges in California, and all that they provide to the people of this state, we are also faced with tremendous challenges. As this issue of Affinity goes to print, the 2010-11 state budget still has not been passed and our state’s community colleges are being forced to dip into reserves or borrow funds to remain operational. Never before has it been more apparent how important community colleges are to the economic recovery of our state, nor has it ever been more clear that our colleges must proactively seek to diversify their forms of support to sustain programs and services they provide. Public funding will never be enough to meet the demands our colleges are experiencing from a population hungry for the opportunities they provide.

A little over two years ago, as the first issue of Affinity was being developed, the California Community Colleges were on the receiving end of a historic $50 million commitment to fund student scholarships at community colleges. As a part of its commitment, The Bernard Osher Foundation challenged the system to raise an additional $50 million by June 30, 2011, which would create a $100 million statewide scholarship endowment. Thousands of students, represented on every campus in the state, have already benefited from the California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment, and efforts are underway throughout the system to meet the fundraising goal.

Like the Osher Foundation, the Kresge Foundation sees California’s situation as an opportunity to set an example for community colleges everywhere. This year Kresge partnered with the Foundation for California Community Colleges to assess the system’s capacity to raise revenue, identify new opportunities, and showcase successful college efforts. It is only through innovative and entrepreneurial efforts that our colleges can hope to meet the increased demands they face in a time of shrinking state budget allocations.

In this issue we get a chance to talk with two alumni from very different walks of life. Golden West College alumna Stephanie Pollaro’s nonprofit International Sanctuary teaches former victims of human trafficking new skills to help them become economically independent. Jon Miller, current ESPN and San Francisco Giants broadcaster and recent Hall of Fame inductee, discusses how attending a California Community College helped him find his passion and gave him the skills to succeed in his craft.

We also hope to cover topics relevant to our colleges and the millions who attend them each year. One of our most important rights as citizens is the right to vote, on national, state, local, and even campus issues. In this issue we hear what this year’s gubernatorial candidates have to say about community colleges and take a look at how students throughout the state are representing their fellow classmates in statewide decisions.

As always, we welcome your feedback, so please don’t hesitate to write.

Warm regards,

Paul Lanning

Editor-in-Chief