Dr. Bob Gabriner

What Did We Learn in the Last Ten Years? Where Are We Going in the Next Ten? Reflections from Three Community College Practitioners

This plenary will be a conversation about the evolution of the community colleges during the last ten years. Three community college “old timers” will share their reflections, discuss, argue, debate, and then ask the audience to join in. Four major questions will animate this conversation:

What are the most significant developments for the community colleges in the last ten years?

How have these developments affected our students, our faculty and staff, our leaders, and our organizations?

Have we made progress? Where’s the evidence?

Where are the community colleges going, and how will we get there?

Dr. Robert Gabriner has been a faculty member, administrator, and leader in the California community colleges for over 40 years. He has held a variety of leadership positions in the RP Group since 1995, and is currently the co-director of the Leading from the Middle program. Dr. Gabriner is also a professor of educational leadership and director of the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program at San Francisco State University. Previously, he served as Vice Chancellor and Dean of Research, Planning, and Grants at City College of San Francisco for 19 years. Dr. Gabriner was also a history instructor in the Peralta Community College District for 22 years, and while a faculty member, served as president of the Community College Council of the California Federation of Teachers. He has been a leader in community college reform initiatives since 1985, including AB 1725 (1988), the Community College Accountability Act (2004), and the Student Success Task Force (2011).

With Linda Collins and Dr. Deborah L. Harrington