Dr. John Weispfenning bids farewell to the Coast District in his last message as chancellor. The video was recorded last week. Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Transcript: As I approach my retirement next week, I wanted to take one last opportunity to let all of you know how important you are to the work being done here at the Coast District.

When I started as Chancellor, I said "no new initiatives." Not because we didn't have good ideas to move forward, but because all of us were just trying to catch up with implementing the many ideas that had already been assigned to us. We made real and meaningful progress on those efforts: we have implemented Banner 9, we have automated many of our processes, we completed the classification and compensation project, we adapted our offerings to fit AB 705, and too many more to mention. Of course, there was also a global pandemic to endure as best we could.

I've been asked if I will miss working. It's not the job I'll miss, it's the people. The strength of the Coast Community College District is its people, all of you. Whether your job has you working in the middle of the night, the middle of the day, weekends, evenings, or remotely, you are the reason this District is successful. You make it all work. I will miss being a part of that, but it's time for me to retire.

I know you will join me in welcoming Chancellor Whitney Yamamura to Coast. Chancellor Yamamura is an experienced educator and administrator, and he brings strengths that will continue the successes of Coast. I wish all of you the best of luck as you continue to meet the needs of our students. Take care and be well.