ASGCC President Dan Wengert received high praise at the Sept. 17 College Board of Trustees meeting for orchestrating a remembrance ceremony on campus Sept. 14.
The trustees meeting started with a moment of silence for those lost in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, then went on to commend GCC for the remembrance ceremony and for the surprisingly well-adjusted campus. According to board member Mary Hamilton, even with a largely populated, diverse campus, there have been no reports of crimes related to the disaster. Wengert attributed this to the unified campus and community.
“With the ceremony, I just wanted to be able to communicate with the students and show that we need to acknowledge what happened,” said Wengert. “I was surprised so many people were there, but that just goes to show that unity does come with tragedy and our community is one of the best.”
The ceremony, which included a speech by Wengert, sent out messages of reconciliation and peace, said board member Robert Holmes, who also commended Wengert’s message.
“I want to extend thanks to Mr. Wengert and all of the GCC family members who conducted themselves so well on that day of crisis,” said board member Dr. Armine Hacopian. “During the ceremony I looked at the audience and thought, how unified. I was really choked up.”
At the meeting, trustees also approved several grant proposals for campus programs, including $2,000 from the Glendale Community Foundation for a project entitled “Eye-Speak: Building a Bridge Between Artists of Latino and African-American Descent.”
With the grant money the Art Gallery will mount an exhibit of Latino and African American artists in cooperation with L.A. Southwest College.
The board also announced a $391,475 grant from the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism for the continuation of the Tell Me a Story Program. The funds will go to 60 , who through the Tell me a Story program provide literacy tutoring services to kindergarten through third-graders in Glendale and Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools.