Working-Class Heroine

Community Comments

By Marion Anthonisen

     When Kay Albiani’s children were attending middle school in Elk Grove some 30 years ago, the district’s board of education was proposing minimum education standards that fell short of UC and CSU admission requirements. Albiani and other parents were not happy with the prospect. “We wanted students to be able to go to any (college or university) they chose,” Albiani explains. Her convictions led Albiani to take a seat on the school board, where she helped lead the system away from looming mediocrity. Many now-standard statewide graduation requirements were pioneered in Elk Grove, in large measure due to Albiani’s influence.
    Her influence has increased substantially. Now 66, Albiani is the newly appointed president of the board of governors of California’s community college system, assuming leadership for all 109 schools in the system. She is also president of the Los Rios Community College District, a Sacramento-area consortium comprising American River, Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake and Sacramento City colleges, and was an instrumental figure in the creation of the California Community Colleges’ progressive strategic plan.
    Co-owner of a successful family-run livestock business, Albiani understands the value of skilled workers. “Vocational education makes our community run,” she says. Along with maintaining high standards in those programs, Albiani hopes to attract more students to specific training programs offered by the California community colleges. It’s a common misconception, she says, that community colleges offer only general education. Most courses of study are quite specialized. For example, Sacramento City College offers associate degrees in railroad operations, electric vehicle technology and aeronautics. The community colleges must remain cutting-edge, Albiani says, and the focus must be on staying “in synch with businesses. We can’t be stagnant.”

Launching Pad
Professional education is just as important to the community colleges as vocational education, and a community college can serve as a more cost-effective start for a professional-degree hopeful. The Los Rios District has recently implemented partnerships with Sutter Health, Mercy General Hospital, Kaiser Permanente and UC Davis, in which future nurses, doctors and other healthcare specialists work with professionals to receive in-depth training in their field.
    The colleges also maintain a strong connection with Aerojet, and aspiring engineering and business majors are often able to train on Aerojet’s state-of-the art facilities. This lowers college costs and allows students to learn about the industry equipment in a way they’d otherwise only read about, giving students a leg up when they enter professional degree programs.
    These partnership programs are win-win, and both hospitals and businesses are excited about the prospects. “They want us to train nurses, to train computer (specialists),” Albiani says. “These folks need trained people to work.”
    Working professionals can’t always leave their jobs and travel long distances to complete degree requirements. “People will attend a community college if it’s five miles from where they live,” Albiani says, and for this reason, Los Rios has established a number of college-extension centers. Each center is linked with one of the four main community colleges, and general education requirements from the centers transfer easily to the parent campus. Community colleges are increasingly considered viable — often preferable — alternatives to the first two years of attendance at a four-year school. One-third of UC students and two-thirds of CSU students transfer from the California community college system.

Mission Critical
So why don’t more forward-thinking Sacramento residents utilize this system? “It’s been a tough road for community colleges,” says Albiani. “We’ve had to prove our value.” Awareness of that value is increasing. She cites recent polls indicating that higher-education opportunities in the Sacramento area have improved residents’ perceptions of local quality of life.
    Albiani is adamant about maintaining this growing positive feedback. With 80,000 active students — nearly twice as many as the combined populations of CSUS and UC Davis — the Los Rios colleges have a unique responsibility in the region. “We have to keep looking forward, to set our goals. Let’s reach them. It’s important that the Legislature understands our mission, and that the business community understands,” she says. “If we’re going to turn around all of California, we’re going to have to work together.” The Board of Governors’ Strategic Plan, she hopes, will help guide the colleges through this turnaround.
    “I feel passionate and excited when I think about (my work),” Albiani says. “We’re right there on the front burner.” 

Read the rest of Prosper's special education package, including:

Transform Yourself, Madam, Esq., Dr. New School, MPAs and MPPAs Going Public, MBA Programs Dare to Improve 

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