A sad morning this Monday, August 3, 2015-
This weekend longtime transportation faculty member Rudy Serrato passed away. From everything I am told, he leaves a tremendous legacy at Trade Tech, and a huge hole as well. His years here as a student, his later service as a faculty member and then department chair, and his true commitment to this campus and its success were real tributes to the man he was. He was also a proud and active veteran. The few times I spoke with him, he was always thoughtful and an advocate for his students. We can all learn so much from Rudy's demeanor and approach. His presence and his work will be truly missed. We will pass along information about his services once we know and please keep his family in your thoughts.
We are just one month away from the beginning of the Fall semester on August 31st and we are working hard on increasing our enrollment and conducting increasingly effective on-boarding in our Bridges to Success Center. There will be plenty of new students on campus over the next week, looking for Bridges, Financial Aid or an orientation, among other things, so please make it a point to welcome them and help them find their way.
One of the very special days of the year is coming up this week. The Classified Convocation is scheduled for this Thursday, August 6th. We all want to celebrate the contributions of our classified staff, since so many of you are on the front lines when it comes to the relationship with our students or play pivotal roles behind the scenes. This Thursday's convocation will not only be a chance to get together but we will look closely at where we are in our accreditation processes and preparations among the classified units for the March 7th-10th accreditation visit. The Classified Convocation starts at 8am under the South Tent and will conclude with a barbecue prepared by our Culinary students and paid for and served by our campus administrators.
Speaking of changes, thanks to all of you who attended Bill Gasper's going-away gathering. Bill made significant contributions to this campus and was always loyal to the mission of Trade Tech. We wish him the best of luck. And yet another Bill is also leaving campus who is synonymous with Trade Tech, Bill Smith. There's a going-away party scheduled for Tuesday, August 11th, at 11:30 am in the Cafeteria – be sure to RSVP to Jacqueline Bravo: . Bill Smith has been heroic for this campus. His expertise related to facilities and construction has been so very important to me and, I am sure, several of the many presidents that he outlasted. Bill's work has contributed to every major improvement to the campus look and its maintenance. His mark will be forever on this campus. Join us in wishing Bill a great new chapter in his life, at West LA College.
We are hosting the Second Annual Food Truck Entrepreneurship Expo this weekend where those interested can learn about financing opportunities, regulations, business strategies, and costs.
On a side note, Trade Tech hosted a surprisingly large celebration of Medicare's 50th Birthday last Thursday late afternoon. The year 1965 was a turbulent one, with Malcolm X’s assassination, Selma and the Voting Rights Act, the first major demonstration against the Vietnam War, and the Watts Riots, but from this turmoil came the great progress of Medicare and Medicaid, which provides healthcare for 40% of Americans who are often the most in need of coverage, be they elderly, poor, children, or the disabled. Just thirty years earlier in 1935, amidst the turmoil caused by the Great Depression, another Democratic President signed, also in the month of July, two other great pieces of legislation. They are the National Labor Relations Act that helped create the modern Labor Movement and the force behind healthcare as a right, and the Social Security Act that both supported the concept of retirement and created the framework and funding mechanisms for Medicare and Medicaid. It was no surprise that the speakers were from Labor and several Labor-friendly electeds, and the audience was filled with Labor activists from throughout the county. And it is worth noting that the celebration of the creation of the nation’s public health system is maybe only trumped by the creation of a public education system. And it is worth recalling that Trade Tech was founded just ten years before 1935, in 1925, by LA School District Superintendent Susan Dorsey. So, Happy 90th Anniversary again, Trade Tech.
I believe we all want to honor Rudy Serrato's memory and the spirit he helped bring to this college, and we can best do that by truly embracing our students, both new and returning. So, in Rudy’s honor, please do reach out to a student this week and welcome them to Trade Tech.
Larry
Laurence B. Frank
President, LATTC