San Diego Community College District NewsCenter

SEPTEMBER 3, 2025

San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar Colleges and College of Continuing Education welcomed students and faculty to their campuses last week for the start of fall classes.

FIRST WEEK: WATCH THE VIDEO

CITY COLLEGE FIRST WEEK PHOTOS

MIRARMAR COLLEGE FIRST WEEK PHOTOS

MESA COLLEGE FIRST WEEK PHOTOS

COLLEGE OF CONTINUING ED. FIRST WEEK PHOTOS

Area leaders and students with green and orange signs supporting HSI's at the news conference

Community colleges, legislators, and business leaders unite to defend Hispanic-Serving Institution funding

The San Diego & Imperial Counties Community College Association (SDICCCA) — representing six community college districts and more than 200,000 students joined with state legislators, business leaders, and students to call for the protection of Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) funding in the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision not to defend the program against a federal lawsuit.

At a press conference hosted at Southwestern College on August 28, leaders stressed that HSIs are not preferential programs, but essential workforce infrastructure that power California’s economy.

Approximately $15 million is received by SDICCCA member colleges and if these funds were disrupted, critical student support services, such as tutoring, advising, STEM labs, and first and second-year experience programs, would be at risk. These are programs that directly impact persistence, transfer, and graduation. Without continued federal support, it would be extremely difficult to sustain them at their current scale.

The fire technology and EMT building on Miramar campus

Miramar launches first-ever bachelor's degree in Public Safety Management

San Diego Miramar College started its new Public Safety Management Bachelor's Degree Program with an event showcasing technology that will help students understand how certain areas can be at risk for fire or flood and how to plan evacuation routes.

WATCH THE PUBLIC SAFETY MANAGEMENT VIDEO

Chancellor Gregory Smith holding a district branded umbrella that was handed out at convocations.

Five people have lunch under tents at Miramar's convocation.

Eleven people around a table in the Mesa gymnasium during convocation.

Five people seated at a table for College of Continuing Education's lunch following convocation.

2025 CONVOCATIONS

San Diego City, Mesa and Miramar colleges welcomed back faculty, classified professionals, and administrators at their annual convocations. Employees at the district office also celebrated the start of the fall semester with lunch and games. See the photos below.

DISTRICT FALL KICK OFF

CITY COLLEGE CONVOCATION

MIRAMAR COLLEGE CONVOCATION

MESA COLLEGE CONVOCATION

COLLEGE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION CONVOCATION

Mesa's Associated Student Government president helps peers feel at home

For Jeremiah Palomino, leadership is not about titles but about creating belonging. Now serving as Associated Student Government president at San Diego Mesa College and as a student trustee for the San Diego Community College District, he uses this personal philosophy and a heart for people to serve his community.

“For everyone that is going to be attending Mesa College this upcoming year, I just hope that you feel at home,” he said. “I’ve had past experiences where I did not feel welcomed and did not get the support that I needed. When you feel at home here, I think that's the best feeling you can ever have.”

READ MORE ABOUT JEREMIAH PALMINO

Miramar Fire Academy joins annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb

A group photo of about 50 Miramar Fire Academy cadets and instructors in fire helmets under an American flag

Three Miramar instructors each hold up a picture of the fallen fighters their walking for in the stair climb.

San Diego Miramar Fire Academy cadets and instructors participated in the annual San Diego Memorial Stair Climb on August 30, 2025 to honor the 403 emergency responders who died responding to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Each person wore a landyard with a photo the fallen firefighter they were walking for. According to the San Diego Stair Climb website, 676 people were registered to climb in the event. Participants walked up the stairs of the Hilton Bayfront Hotel three times to mark the 110 flights of stairs of the World Trade Center Twin Towers. The walls showed photos of fallen emergency responders and statistics related to the attack.

The Miramar Academy was the top group in fundraising with $20,137 raised. Funds raised will benefit FirefighterAid, a San Diego based nonprofit that provides charitable assistance to firefighters and families in crisis, and promotes awareness of firefighter health and safety issues and the impacts they have upon families and communities.

SEE PHOTOS FROM THE MEMORIAL STAIR CLIMB

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CLOTHES STORY ON EXHIBT AT MESA GALLERY

San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery is proud to present the exhibit Clothes Story, envisioned and curated by Atlanta based designer Kenneth Green. Clothes Story celebrates the lives and contributions of African American women by carefully replicating over thirty garments and fashion accessories that represent what women wore in historical periods ranging from 1890 to 1963. The exhibit runs through Thursday, October 16. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

CHANCELLOR'S FORUMS

San Diego Community College District Chancellor Gregory Smith will host a series of forums in September to address district priorities and answer questions from faculty, classified professionals and administrators. All employees are welcome and encouraged to participate in their campus forum.

The forums will be held on these dates.

Miramar College - 9/15; City College - 9/16; College of Continuing Education - 9/22; District Office - 9/29; Mesa College - 9/30.

FORUM DETAILS

EVENTS

SEPTEMBER 11

The Board of Trustees meeting will be held at 4 p.m. at the District Office, 3375 Camino del Rio South, San Diego. BOARD MEETING DETAILS