As we welcome 2026, we leave behind a year of challenge and hopefully move into calmer waters, although “waters” of any sort are still slightly churning at the Department of Education. Reflecting on our woes and triumphs over the past 12 months, I feel more hopeful this year than I did last year at this time. For all of the sturm und drang that raced through 2025, our community colleges pivoted and adjusted to meet new expectations. We were nimble in responding to a changing world and took the opportunity to double down on our community-centric missions. In a year of uncertain times, we demonstrated our strength by keeping our heads above the fray, continuing to serve the students who depend upon us for life-changing opportunities.
These uncertain times have raised a high bar for the financial needs of our students. A federal government shutdown, replete with a SNAP benefit freeze, reductions in Pell eligibility, and increased demands for program enrollment accountability, all played a role in a year of high drama. Our college responded, as have others, with Tuition-Free incentives that enabled 87% of our 55,000 students to attend CCBC Tuition-Free, in whole or in part. We expanded food pantries, held clothing fairs, worked hard to continue to reduce the cost of textbooks and supplies, and when SNAP benefits were suddenly frozen for 6,700 of our students, we put $50, or 25% of the paused benefits, on each student’s OneCard.
In hard times, this is what community colleges do; we take care of the many left behind when the world grows turbulent. In the face of uncertainty, we quietly and efficiently demonstrate strength, resilience, and skill. We show up for our students, faculty and staff, and for the corporate partners who rely on us to train their workforce. In a year filled with loud and frenzied distractions, we stay focused on our mission. Given the students we serve, we have found that you do not need to say “the forbidden words” to live our mission.
I would like to recommend that we greet this New Year with optimism and gratitude. It is, after all, the 250th anniversary of the birth of our country. And we who so ably serve the “common people,” the ordinary men and women who are America’s greatest strength, should be duly proud of both country and mission. We will say adieu to 2025, for despite its frenzied nature, it was also a year of accomplishments. Facing the coming year, we are stronger and more self-assured; we enter 2026 seasoned and experienced, knowing better how to both parry and protect. Our eyes are wide open to the challenges, but our hearts sing with a kind of joy that comes from facing and rising above obstacles for the betterment of the communities we serve. We stand tall, silent, committed and focused on a mission that few beyond us really know and understand. In truth, however, over the past 20 years, the pendulum has now swung in our favor. We know who we are; we know whom to serve; and we know what we must do. Finally … the world has caught up with us.
Happy New Year!