(upbeat music) - Under Chancellor Brian King, Los Rios Community College district has grown to serve more than 75,000 students and plays a pivotal role in workforce training for the Sacramento region.

Today, chancellor King joins us to discuss the district's achievements, its impact on students and the local economy.

Welcome Chancellor King.

- Good morning, Scott.

Thanks so much for having me here today.

- How, what is it that you believe is the role that Los Rios plays in educating and preparing our workforce?

- It is almost impossible to overstate how important the role of our community colleges are for the Sacramento region and for the economy overall.

The amount of students we serve and prepare for the workforce is just so crucial to the success of our economy and to provide the tremendous education we do at a very low cost for students is incredibly important.

And something I'm so excited to have a chance to talk about today.

- So the mantra is, we wanna send our kids to college.

And when most people talk about college, okay, in our popular media and culture, they're talking about four year universities.

And many times, the community college system and all of the services and training it provides is left out of the conversation.

What do you think is behind that?

- I think that perceptions sometimes outlive the reality.

And I actually think the tide is turning in, in a significant way, in an understanding that some of the criticisms of colleges and universities today, the real answer to some of those criticisms is community colleges where people are worried about high costs.

Community colleges are incredibly affordable.

People have a perception that colleges less connected to the world of work and preparing students for life after college.

That's what community colleges excel at doing.

So, there's never been a better time for a student to enroll in a community college.

There's never been a more exciting time to lead a community college, district like Los Rios.

- So think of us all having this conversation with you as parents, and we're trying to figure out what's the direction that our young person takes, or maybe we're in a place where it is that we want more and need to change careers, give us the value proposition as to how we make the decision to choose community college path rather than looking at a four year university.

And this isn't to down our four year universities.

- Absolutely not.

- But it's merely about making more of an informed decision.

- And part of the reality is that the ecosystem of our colleges and universities is a very robust collaborative process.

So we work very closely with Sacramento State and UC Davis and the Los Rios colleges are the largest transfer institution.

So if you wanna walk through the whole process, the value proposition for community colleges, it starts in high school.

That dual enrollment is an opportunity for high school students during college credit while they're still in high school.

And over the last five years, dual enrollment has soared in the Sacramento region.

So now the goal is for every high school student in Sacramento, in the capital region to graduate with at least 15 college units from Los Rios.

So whatever, yes.

- Really?

- Whatever the path is after high school graduation, hopefully the engagement with Los Rios has sped the time to completion.

And for parents, that should be an appealing proposition that the less time that they're writing checks for tuition for their son or daughter, the better.

And so it starts in high school now with dual enrollment.

Then once students graduate, if their goal is to transfer to Sacramento State or UC Davis or any college or university, that our community colleges are focused entirely on teaching.

And we have tremendous faculty who research is really important, but the focus that community college is on teaching and learning.

So you will get as good an education at American River College, Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College, or Sacramento City College, as you will at any college or university in the state or the nation.

So, and then the other population that you talked about is men and women who have completed high school, maybe they started college and didn't complete.

And the community college is, again, the most affordable way for them to complete additional education that may allow them to get that promotion or complete their degree.

And one of the biggest changes for community colleges in the last five years that was really catalyzed during the pandemic is that remote education is a much more significant option now that for students who have commitments to adults, to adult parents they're taking care of or young children or their job.

Now, the Los Rios colleges have a very robust array of courses that you can take online.

It's not for everyone, but for students who can't come in person, our community colleges are the best way for adults to complete the courses they need or to complete their degrees.

- You've mentioned affordability twice in your comments.

- Yes.

- Give us a sense of that affordability differential between coming to Los Rios, whether you're still in high school or out or returning and going to a four year.

- The reality is that most of our students are, are not paying fees at all through Promise grants for high school graduations.

The goal for California is to make the first two years of community college fee free.

And overwhelmingly, our students who are enrolling full time are not paying fees because of the support of California, and also in many instances, the support of local donors who make scholarships possible for our students.

- That's great to hear.

That's kind of back to the future because when I graduated from high school, Los Rios was free.

- Yes.

- And so ancient times, but I'm glad some things can come back.

- Well, that's right.

And it's worth noting that the impact of community colleges, you are a huge success story for the Los Rios colleges starting at Cosumnes River College, and then several years ago, were honored as the alumni of the year for statewide community colleges.

So, many success stories like yours.

- You hear that folks, everybody can make it in community colleges.

- But you're a great example that it was an affordable option for you and you had other options and you chose a community college and then transferred and completed your baccalaureate degree.

So it's a path that many have followed.

And I think your point is a good one that the state of California has made that a commitment to keep that pathway as accessible to as many as possible.

- Well, it relates to another subject and that's on workforce training.

And one of the things that's been a hallmark and signature of your time leading Los Rios has really been tying your offerings, at least in part, to partnerships with the private sector in order to position and prepare students for the job opportunities in the emerging industries of the region.

Tell us a little bit more about that.

- Well, I think the partnerships that we have with industry are essential that we want to ensure that that education we're providing to our students leads to an improvement in their quality of life, both economically and personally, and being in touch with the employer base and with the businesses in the region.

Healthcare is just one of many examples that we provide nursing training at American River College and at Sacramento City College is one example.

And the partnership we have with all of the healthcare providers in the region is essential.

And the healthcare providers have been great in providing grant funds when we need equipment and the placement opportunities for students for internships and placements.

Again, using healthcare, just as one of many examples, we could talk about welding partnerships that we have had with Siemens that allow students to very quickly get the credential they need to have a paying job.

That just completely alters the arc of their life and their family's life.

- And one of the things that I think that not enough people necessarily recognize is that the positions and the trainings that community college at Los Rios provides, these are not minimum wage jobs, these are career related jobs.

- Right.

- There is sometimes a misperception that the only way to get into a satisfying and well paying career is through the four year portal.

Give us an example, you know, you talked about Siemens, but give us another example of the type of career opportunity that you all are providing in partnership that frankly, not enough of us are paying attention to right now.

- The broader point is a good one.

That college for all is an admirable goal that I think as our conversation is indicated, we need to broaden the definition about what a successful college education is.

That I think for too many parents and maybe sometimes at the high school level, we set up an realistic expectation.

There are only so many students who are going to go to Berkeley or Stanford or the elite, highly selective universities.

And the reality is, many students who will go and get a four year degree are not prepared economically the way they would be if they went to American River College.

We're in the welding program and as opposed to spending four years and have an unclear path to work, the partnerships we have with industry provide a very straight path because of the programs we build, the welding partnership with Siemens, as an example, a current partnership we have with Sutter to expand healthcare opportunities where the employer helps provide equipment and in some cases even instructors, and develop a curriculum to make sure that when students in curriculum is one of those education words, that's just the courses that go into the program.

And I think those partnerships allow our students in a much shorter period of time to have very effective careers.

So the broader goal is to expand the definition of about what a college education means, and a baccalaureate degree is the necessary path for some students.

- Sure.

- But most jobs require some education beyond high school, but not a baccalaureate degree.

And that's why community colleges are more important than they've ever been today.

- And I would also say that they're part of the conversation that's going on because there's a cost value debate going on in the United States right now.

About the pursuit of higher education.

And I don't know if you might know the numbers for what is the typical cost of someone going through community college, but I have to assume it's far less than a four year path at a private university.

- It is.

And one of the most important numbers is the debt that students have at the end of their education.

So if you have a education that's very expensive and choose a profession that doesn't have a high salary, that debt can follow you many years after graduation.

So I think one of the best metrics for community colleges is very few of our students have have student loan debt when they graduate.

So partly a factor of fees being affordable or free and time to completion is really important that if you're spending a year or two years to get the credential that allows you to have a high paying job, that's a win for everyone and a win for the economy.

And I think other partnerships we have in the region, whenever there's an effort to bring new businesses in, we are always at the table because business is coming in have educational needs that often involve short term job training.

And that's where community colleges thrive.

And in retaining businesses that are thinking about leaving our pipeline for the people who need less than a baccalaureate degree, but also the pipeline to the four year completion through transfer, has positioned the Sacramento region incredibly well in bringing new businesses in and keeping businesses who think about leaving.

- I want to talk a little bit more about that.

So tell us how it is that typically Los Rios and you and your team play a role in doing business attraction to the region or business retention?

Give us kind of a sense of where you fit in that sort of chain of value that we're trying to sell as we continue to build this region.

- Absolutely and it reflects the collaboration, in the Sacramento region a across the different sectors of higher education.

So if there's a large company that's considering Sacramento, it's very common for me and President Luke Wood at Sacramento State and Chancellor Gary May to be directly involved in meeting with site selectors and companies.

And we've had good feedback more than once that in some of these meetings, they go into a community and they realize the educational leaders are meeting for the first time.

And that's not the case in Sacramento at all.

That we have regular conversations together.

And I think a very clear understanding about how the collaboration among our community colleges and our colleges and universities is good for the region and good for our students.

So that's a real strength of Sacramento.

And in my 13 years, that's been something that I think we're very proud of Los Rios role in building that partnership to help economic development in the region.

- Tell us, let's look at another side of Los Rios.

As much time is spent talking about and acting on the economic development and workforce goals of the region, you also have a role in the cultural and artistic fabric of the region.

You have things like the Harris Center.

- Yes.

- Named after a predecessor of viewers.

- That's right, Bryce Harris.

- Out out at Folsom Lake College.

And other types of contributions to cultural amenities.

Which ones are the ones that you're most proud of?

- Well, we have four colleges and four great programs.

Who is your favorite child?

It's hard to to choose any one endeavor, but I try to go to events at all four colleges and a recency.

There was an event at Folsom Lake College where the jazz band, under the direction of a faculty member played music, swing music from the World War II era in honor of the faculty member's, uncle Bud.

So it was a wonderful concert where students were playing music from another era and it was honoring veterans.

So bringing people together in environments like that is really important.

And all of our colleges have wonderful programs and some world class programs in music.

And when you think about the arts, we've had some incredible faculty members, including Wayne Thiebaud, started at Sacramento City College.

- I didn't know that.

- His first faculty job was at Sacramento City College.

So there's a wonderful video that he has an exhibit in San Francisco at the Museum of Modern Art that really details how he started as a teacher and hearkens back to his roots at Sacramento City College and how all through his career it was about teaching and learning for him.

So we're really proud of having faculty members who are committed to teaching and learning as well as producing some really high quality art.

- You know, talking about faculty members that, like any chief executive, there have been high points and low points, and there have been from time to time, over the time of your leadership times where there's been faculty, we'll say turbulence, that sort of thing.

- Right, some concerns about decisions we made, for sure.

- Sure, sure.

What have you learned from those experiences in terms of your own leadership journey and presiding over something that frankly is like a large municipality in terms of size and complexity?

- Right and I do think the learning comes during the hard times when the waters are smooth, there's not a lot of learning going on.

So I think the difficulties we've had in times were based on external factors that you can't control as a leader.

The pandemic was a very hard time to lead, and higher education has had a lot of disruptive influences.

- What was so difficult about leading during that time during the pandemic?

- I think you and I have talked about this, that there were more 50:50 decisions, I think during the pandemic, where a lot of times there's a clear answer to a question, but during the pandemic, things were coming so fast.

Do we close all of our colleges and schools?

When do we reopen?

What's our policy on vaccination and masks?

There were really hard questions that we had to answer quickly that were not necessarily, I wasn't trained as an epidemiologist, but was having to be involved in decisions that involved healthcare issues.

So we tried to rely on public health officials, but that guidance was shifting at times.

So the 50:50 decisions were, I think, the hardest thing about during the pandemic, that on one decision, half of the people in the organization thought you made a wrong decision.

The next decision, the other 50%.

So pretty soon a 100% of the people think you've made a bad decision.

And I have understanding and empathy for the anger and frustration.

And I think the lessons learned are that humility is really important, that you have to acknowledge that when you're making some decisions, not every decision is going to be perfect.

And try to emphasize the trust and goodwill and the commitment to students in making the decisions and never losing your sense of humor that I take the job really seriously, but try really hard not to take myself too seriously.

- The role of chancellor is an interesting one because- - Yes.

- You have these many nation states in terms of the different colleges, and I'm not gonna name them all 'cause if I miss one.

- American River, Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake, and Sac City.

- And Sac City, yeah.

- And all the Saddles.

- In alphabetical order, not an order of preference.

- Okay, there you go.

What is the role of chancellor in dealing with those campuses who have their own presidents and leadership teams and all, where is that centralizing role, and how does that manifest itself on a day-to-day basis?

- Great question.

Even the titles can be a little confusing.

So Gary May, who is the CEO for UC Davis, his title is Chancellor, then Luke Wood's title is president, and the Chancellor is in Long Beach in the statewide organization.

In California Community Colleges, the chancellors are the CEOs of multi-college districts.

There are 23 multi-college districts.

And Los Rios is one of those, we're the second largest community college district in the state.

So as you said, large organization, a billion dollar budget.

But I think at the end of the day, the role of a chancellor is the role of a CEO in any organization.

You have to build a great team.

And you mentioned the college president.

So I have a great team of college presidents that I've been able to hire, and the leadership team that works with me have really been through the crucible of leadership in the last five years.

And nothing is more important than building a good team, hiring the right people, supporting them, and getting out of the way and letting them do their job.

And we talked about the role of faculty that teaching and learning is what our organization is all about.

So a lot of different stakeholders, as you said, in a large organization like this.

So it's never a boring job because we also have a seven person elected board of trustees.

So an important part of any CEO's role is supporting the elected board.

So my seven board members have been incredibly supportive.

I'm very lucky to have a good board and then a good team.

So building a good team, supporting the team, and then trying to provide a clear vision in a very chaotic world and always keep the focus on students and understand that the way we do things may change, but our commitment to serving students is unwavering.

- Which goes back to the whole thing about how you've been able to morph, for instance, with online learning.

- Yes.

- What percentage of the curriculum now is offered either online or in some sort of hybrid form?

- So you go back to 2017 where we were just realizing the importance of online education.

And that was a hard shift and some very justifiable concerns about providing courses online.

Then the pandemic happened just like that, that we went from almost all of our courses on ground to almost all of our courses remotely.

So in between '20 and '25, we went from less than 10% of online course inventory to almost a 100%.

And now it's hard to predict what we will be in five years, but now about 50:50 where a substantial part of our courses are now offered remotely.

And I think a decision that our board of trustees supported our leadership team making was responding to student demand, where some districts decided after the pandemic to try to push on ground enrollment.

And we've reacted to student demand, so I don't know what the future will hold, but we're a very significant provider of remote education.

And I'm excited about that because students who can't come on ground now have access to remote education, and we're always committed to quality education.

We have great faculty who are continually trying to improve the remote experience.

And it's not for everyone, but that's one of the really dramatic changes that's happened over the last five years.

- If you were to name one accomplishment during your tenure that you're most proud of, just in brief, what would it be?

- Wow, 13 years is a long time, Scott.

- I know.

- So I think the stability and commitment to students, the stability of our organization, that going through the pandemic a lot of organizations had, were not able to come together the way we were.

So leading through that period of time and having the organization on the other end in a really great place is, is something that I'm proud of.

But when I say I'm proud of, that's obviously such a team effort.

- Of course.

- And the staff that I've been able to pull together, I'm so pleased to have really talented people who work hard and are really good at telling me one an idea that I have might not be the best one.

- The most important resource for a good CEO, right?

- Absolutely, you have to have truth tellers because CEOs have a lot of ideas.

And not every idea that the CEO has is the right idea at the right time.

- Good advice for all of us.

Thank you so much, chancellor, and best wishes to you as you continue to move forward on your journey.

- Thanks so much for the conversation, Scott.

- All right, and that's our show.

Thanks to our guest and thanks to you for watching "Studio Sacramento."

I'm Scott Syphax, see you next time right here on KVIE.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] All episodes of Studio Sacramento, along with other KVIE programs are available to watch online at kvie.org/video.