[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5626-5627]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING DR. ROBERT AGRELLA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 25, 2012

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleague, Rep. Mike 
Thompson, to honor the career of Dr. Robert Agrella, who formally 
retires from his position as president of Santa Rosa Junior College 
(SRJC) on May 5, 2012, after 22 years. Just the fourth president in the 
94-year history of SRJC, Dr. Agrella has overseen a period of 
substantial change in an institution now recognized as a national 
leader in community college education. His management and foresight 
have benefitted us all by bringing higher learning closer to the people 
of the North Bay.
  Serving over 36,000 students each semester, and drawing on the 
expertise of some 3500 faculty and staff, Santa Rosa Junior College is 
amongst the oldest and most widely recognized two-year colleges in 
California. It is also a large and growing institution, with two main 
campuses and a number of career-specific facilities dedicated to public 
safety, agriculture, technology, culinary arts, and more.
  It is a proud part of Dr. Agrella's legacy that many of the SRJC 
facilities have been built, expanded, or refurbished during his tenure. 
In the 1990s, classes first began at the Petaluma campus, and SRJC 
moved into several new buildings in Santa Rosa. In the past decade, 
during a time of increasing budgetary difficulty, the new Frank P. 
Doyle Library, a new student services center, and vast new improvements 
at the Petaluma Campus and elsewhere have all been completed or 
undertaken. These are the products of Dr. Agrella's tireless work to 
unite SRJC staff and a Sonoma County community committed to the funding 
and planning necessary for continued growth. SRJC has also become a 
model for environmental consciousness, supporting green construction 
and a thoughtful, collaborative approach to development.
  As the North Bay has grown and diversified, so too has the training 
and education SRJC offers to meet the needs of our community. While 
opening new facilities in agriculture and public safety--areas of 
historic strength in Sonoma County--Dr. Agrella has also overseen an 
expansion into new areas that will strengthen our economic base and 
serve the needs of a modern workforce. High technology, green energy 
and green building, tourism and hospitality, and performing arts 
offerings have all been upgraded. At the same time, scholarships have 
been greatly expanded to serve a diverse and inclusive College 
community.
  Dr. Agrella's role in realizing these changes has been widely 
recognized in Sonoma County. He has been named Santa Rosa Citizen of 
the Year, and he is the recipient of the Spirit of Sonoma County Award. 
In appreciation of his longstanding service to SRJC and Sonoma County, 
Dr. Agrella has also been named the College's first president emeritus.
  Mr. Speaker, we ask you to join us in thanking Dr. Agrella for his 
contributions to Santa Rosa Junior College, and in wishing him all the 
best in his retirement. Dr. Agrella leaves SRJC with a remarkable 
legacy of service, and with a firm footing for a strong, progressive 
future.

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