Although it’s too late to participate in the Eagles of Excellence event, Woodland Community College officials are still urging people to support two college foundations that benefit students.
The Yuba Community College District Foundation raises funds for the entire district, including Woodland College, and recently sent out an update on what money raised by the Foundation is used for. The Woodland Community College Fund Committee supports students and programs locally.
The districtwide solicitation comes after Woodland College President Dr. Lizette Navarette reported that new statistics are showcasing a “significant leap in student degree competition rates across the district.”
“The collective efforts of faculty and staff culminated in an impressive 24% increase in the number of associate degrees awarded, escalating from 851 degree completers in 2017 to an astounding 1,601 in 2021,” Navarette reported. “The substantial growth in degree completions is a testament to the targeted efforts to enhance degree auditing processes and support systems.”
Additionally, she stated that Woodland Community College witnessed a “dramatic surge, boasting a 48% increase from 229 degree completers to 340.
“These statistics underscore successful implementation of strategies aimed at improving student retention and graduation rates,” Navarette noted. “Moving forward, the focus remains on building upon these successes to ensure that even more students can realize their educational goals in the coming years. The increase in degree completions not only benefits the individual students, achieving their academic and professional aspirations, but also positively affects the local community and workforce.”
Navarette made her comments about two weeks after the Eagles of Excellence Awards recognized the achievements of five community individuals were honored in the college’s new 450-seat theater of the $43 million Performing Arts Center and Culinary Institute.
Recognized were classified employee Ray Sandoval, who is in charge of the grounds crew; Elyse Doyle Martinez, a mural artist and college alumni; alumni Christina Thomas, who has supported a variety of campus programs, including the Foster Kinship Care Education Program; and retired faculty members Paul Dilley and Jim Schulte, who have taught English Speakers of Other Languages; and agriculture respectively.
Hosted by the Woodland College Fund Committee, the Eagles of Excellence event raised around $27,000, according to initial estimates. They money will go toward assisting students in financial need.
Meanwhile, the Yuba College District Foundation urged people to support scholarships, noting it provides more than 200 privately funded scholarships each year “that help students to become nurses, firefighters, police officers, ranchers, farmers, teachers and business owners,” stated Foundation director Jay Lowden.
In its report to district residents, the Foundation board stated that during the 2022-23 academic year, there were 434 scholarship applications, 175 scholarships granted, $145000 of scholarships awarded, 36 emergency grants given, and 400 or more students who were served through its Basic Need Centers with food, personal items and school supplies.
It was also reported there were 405 donors and that in all $336,000 in total program support went for academic, athletic and student support programs. Some of that money went toward Woodland College’s soccer team in 2023, which benefited from that year’s Eagles of Excellence Award participants.
People interested in contributing to the Yuba Community College District Foundation can go to yccdfoundation.org for further information, while those interested in supporting the Woodland Community College Fund can go to https://wcc.yccd.edu/about/foundation/.
