The newly renovated Burbank Auditorium nearly filled to capacity on Thursday afternoon as Santa Rosa Junior College trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni gathered for SRJC President and Superintendent Dr. Angélica Garcia’s inaugural address.
SRJC community members, past and present, were joined by guests including California’s 4th District Rep. Mike Thompson, Santa Rosa Mayor Natalie Rogers and Rohnert Park Mayor Susan Adams, among other state and local government officials.
The event was also streamed to a watch party in Polly O’Meara Doyle Hall, where Dr. Garcia personally greeted students before the afternoon’s proceedings.
SRJC chorist Rahda Romero set the mood for the event with a rendition of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked. Then, SRJC Foundation Executive Director J. Molyneaux introduced former SRJC President Frank Chong, Garcia’s predecessor and recipient of the President’s Medallion for his 11 years of service to the school and its community.
After Garcia hung the award around his neck and he posed for the obligatory “medal bite” photo, Chong was presented with his portrait, painted by San Francisco artist Sean Cheatham, which will be displayed in the Doyle library alongside the portraits of his four predecessors.
Chong gave a humor-laced “thank you” speech which the audience responded to with laughter, followed by Congressman Thompson presenting him with a flag flown in his honor over the U.S. Capitol.
With respects paid to the past, Garcia took the stage and presented her vision for SRJC’s future, in continuation of her personal mission to disrupt generational poverty. As a child of first-generation immigrants under conditions of financial insecurity, she understands firsthand the life-changing impact of education.
Speaking on the theme of disrupting generational poverty, Garcia said, “I’m so happy that I got to start at Polly Hall. I look out into that crowd and see the students that were there, and I’m like, ‘Okay, this is why we do it.’ It’s my life’s work.”
Garcia described how SRJC improves educational access and outcomes, using slides to illustrate the school’s positive impact on education and income levels across Sonoma County, with 2,160 certificates and 2,083 associates degrees awarded in 2024, and acceptance rates of transfers to University of California schools nearing 80%. Building on this success, Garcia laid out the biggest challenges, opportunities and priorities for the future.
According to Garcia, the rising cost of living in Sonoma County is causing demographic changes and population decline.
“Every year there’s over 20,000 people that leave our county and over 20,000 people that come into our county, but the ‘who’s leaving’ and ‘who’s coming’ look different, and it’s often around ‘were folks able to afford to stay in this community?’” Garcia said. She added that ensuring that student representation at the college reflects the county’s changing demographics will be a priority for her.
After reviewing recent facility investments and financials, including the repayment of a combined $660 million in tax-funded endowments from Measures A and H by 2029 and 2041 respectively, Garcia introduced a well-produced video showcasing the revamped SRJC mascot, Rosco.
As the day’s heatwave temperatures declined in the early evening, attendees gathered in the quad for a reception.
Reflecting on his award, Chong said, “It’s been a great, great experience, and just the honor of my life.”
In praise of his successor, he said, “I couldn’t have passed it to a better person.”
