Rocky Young

More than 300 senior citizens have been lured back to the classroom in a new program at Pierce College that aims to mix inquisitive sixtysomethings with energetic twentysomethings to create an intellectual bridge across the generational divide. Although it is too early to know if the Encore program, which began this year, will meet its goals, it is already stimulating seniors who have been absent from the college classroom for more than 40 years, and some who were never in it.

State Controller Kathleen Connell on Tuesday named Santa Monica College as a pilot school in a program that attempts to pair high-tech industries with community colleges around the state. Connell announced that Santa Monica would be the first school to participate in the program to train community college students for emerging industries.

Students and administrators at Pierce College kicked off the fall semester Tuesday with a bash to celebrate an increase in enrollment not seen since the 1960s. "We're calling it 'Miracle on Winnetka,' " Pierce spokesman Mike Cornner said. "We're the comeback kids." Fall enrollment increased from 12,992 last year to 14,744, Cornner said. The school's biggest one-year enrollment increase was from 9,400 in fall 1964 to 11,100 in 1965, he added.

Summer enrollment at Pierce College rose 10% over last year, partly because of more classes, new air conditioning and better outreach to high schools, officials said Thursday. As of this week, 6,758 students have enrolled in summer classes, compared to 6,135 last year, said college spokesman Mike Cornner. The figures represent the combined enrollment for Pierce's two summer sessions.

Fall enrollment at Pierce and Valley colleges has jumped 10% over a year ago, while Mission College is up 5%, campus officials said Thursday. With a few days before the start of the fall semester, Pierce's total fall enrollment is 14,256, compared with 12,992 a year ago, Pierce spokesman Mike Cornner said. "We expect 14,500 on opening day [Tuesday] and 15,000 by the end of the first week," Cornner said. "That's huge for us."

Stars from entertainment, business, politics and education sparkled Saturday night at the second annual Valley of the Stars Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony. More than 500 guests attended the black-tie dinner held at the Universal Studios back lot on a hill overlooking the Valley.

Dissident Santa Monica College faculty members failed to deliver a vote of no confidence to the board of trustees for its selection of an out-of-state administrator to head the community college. Faculty members, bitterly divided over the trustees' decision to appoint Massachusetts Secretary of Education Piedad Robertson as college president, split on the vote of no confidence with 183 in favor and 183 opposed. Three voters abstained.

Pierce College's new president, Rocky Young, is rightly proud of the two-year school's record of sending students on to four-year universities. About 6% of Pierce's 13,600 students transferred to the University of California or Cal State systems by the end of the 1997-98 school year. While that may not seem like many, it is a greater percentage than any other community college in Southern California.

The Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees on Wednesday chose Darroch "Rocky" Young, a veteran administrator in the nine-college system, to be the next district chancellor. Young, 57, has been interim senior vice chancellor of the district since 2004 and was previously president at its Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Before that, he was vice president of planning and development at Santa Monica College. "He's a fine individual.

Rocky Young was officially inducted as president of Pierce College on Friday, calling it a place of intellectual energy and ideas, and outlining an ambitious five-year plan for the school. More than 100 people attended the ceremony at the college's Performing Arts building. The event marks the first time in the college's 53-year history that a president has been inaugurated. Young, 52, took office last July but educators wanted the event to symbolize the start of a new era.