From the President
Welcome to Fall Quarter!
September 22, 2026
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to fall 2026! I am glad to be starting this year with all of you.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Opening Day. Starting the year in the same
room and hearing from one another matters more than any memo I could send. I am grateful
for the time and attention you gave it.
Thank you as well to everyone who made Welcome Day possible for our students. Nearly 2,200 students and families checked in for the day — record numbers we haven’t seen in years! The energy on campus
was palpable, and that did not happen by accident. Meeting classmates, getting to
know faculty and talking with our student services professionals eases the transition
into what is, for many, an exciting new chapter.
I also want to thank everyone involved in the big task of preparing for both events.
That work spanned our district staff, including police, custodial services, grounds,
facilities and IT, and our teams here at De Anza: executive and administrative assistants,
College Operations, Instruction, the Villages, Institutional Research, Student Services,
College Life and Communications and External Relations.
Opening Day was both a celebration and a chance to be thoughtful about the year ahead.
For those who could not join us, view the full presentation and other videos on our website.
As we begin this academic year, a few things from Thursday morning are worth repeating:
- Transfer and completion are what we do best. More students transfer from De Anza than from any other community college in Northern California. We have the highest graduation rate in the Bay Area, and students now succeed at the same rate whether they take classes online, hybrid or in person.
- We keep building for our students. Last year we welcomed The Hub and Roary's Market, our first affordable student housing, a new Career Center, new partnerships with Tesla and San José State, and much more that we will celebrate this year and in our forthcoming annual report.
- We have a persistence problem we have not solved. Our first-time students return from fall to winter at a rate of 77 percent, but only 60 percent are still with us a year later. I am asking for your ideas on this, and I mean it.
- Our funding model has changed. The district is now community supported, also called basic aid, which means our revenue comes largely from local property taxes rather than from the state paying us per student. As I emphasized at Opening Day, being “community supported” describes the source of our funding, and nothing more. This will be a benefit to the district in the long term. Our mission is unwavering.
- Our budget is tighter this year.One-time augmentations to instructional funds are sunsetting, so each college's instructional load is funded about 3.5 percent below last year, with a similar reduction expected the year after. We will close most of that gap through strategic enrollment management rather than sharp cuts.
The presidential search launches in October. Shared governance groups will be asked
to identify search committee members, and we expect a new president to be named in
March 2027.
These conversations will continue through town halls this quarter and throughout the
year. Our first town hall is on Oct. 9, and calendar invitations will be coming soon.
Likewise, a district town hall will be scheduled.
And one note as we begin the quarter. Our first day of instruction falls on Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days in the
Jewish faith. Chancellor Lambert wrote to the district about this in June, and those
commitments stand. Students will not be dropped from classes for non-attendance on
the first day due to religious observance. Employees who wish to observe may use appropriate
leave and should arrange coverage with their supervisors. To everyone observing, I
wish you a meaningful fast.
This college has been through several years of change, and change carries a cost that
never shows up on a budget line. I closed Opening Day with three small asks:
- One honest conversation with a colleague you have been avoiding or one you disagree with. Not to win it, just to have it.
- One benefit of the doubt. The next time someone's message lands wrong, choose the more generous reading before you respond. Ask, clarify, and talk to each other.
- One student who stays.If you notice a student slipping, reach out.
These three small things, if done by all of us, will do more for this college than
any special initiative we could launch.
Here’s to a strong quarter. We are in this together!
Yours in service,
Chris
Dr. Christopher F. Dela Rosa
Interim President