Selmer “Sam” Wake, a longtime Santa Barbara City College administrator and benefactor, died Wednesday at age 93.
Wake was the director/administrative dean emeritus of SBCC’s Continuing Education Division and a former executive director of the Santa Barbara City College Foundation. He was employed by the college for 25 years until his retirement in 1972, and remained devoted to SBCC for another 36 years until his death.
“Sam’s loss will be deeply felt by Santa Barbara City College,” SBCC President John Romo said. “He was a good friend to me and to everyone at SBCC. Under his stewardship, our Adult Ed program developed into one that is recognized as a model for continuing education programs. It is considered one of the most creative and innovative in the nation.” He added, “Sam’s contributions to Santa Barbara City College have truly been monumental, and his impact on the continuing education program and SBCC in general will always be remembered.”
In his honor, SBCC will fly the college flag at half-staff through next week.
Wake’s affiliation with SBCC extended back to 1946, when the community college was re-established under the Santa Barbara High School District. At that time, an organization called The Community Institute was created and Wake was its assistant director. The institute was charged with overseeing the junior college class offerings, as well as those of the other two programs in the community serving young and older adults — the well-established and growing Adult Education program and the University Extension. Wake helped coordinate and unify the services of all three organizations at one location.
One year later, on July 1, 1947, Wake was appointed director of Adult Education and principal of the Evening High School program. He also continued as assistant director of the Community Institute.
In the late 1950s, as the college worked toward becoming a separate junior college district as mandated by the Master Plan for Higher Education, the Adult Education Center became part of the junior college — designated the Adult Education Division — and Wake continued as its director/administrative dean until his retirement. Continuing education was his true passion, and he said he loved the opportunity to plan and develop Adult Ed courses.
Wake’s involvement at SBCC extended beyond Adult Education. In 1973, one year after his retirement, he resigned as part-time consultant for the superintendent-president to coordinate the successful $3.8 million bond campaign to purchase the 34-acre West Campus to meet critical growth needs. Although bond issues all over the state failed that year, this one was successful, which he said he found satisfying.
Soon after, the need for expanded Continuing Education facilities became acute. Since building funds were not available to Adult Ed, Wake helped organize the SBCC Foundation, which could accept private funds to service those needs. He recruited its first Board of Directors and served as the executive director for seven years. In 1978, Wake, with former trustee Eli Luria, played key roles in helping negotiate the purchase of the Cathedral Oaks Elementary School in Goleta for a Continuing Education Center. In 1984, the facility was renamed the Selmer O. Wake Continuing Education Center in honor of his many contributions to SBCC.
In 1981, Wake helped negotiate a trade of the downtown Adult Education Center on Santa Barbara Street for Garfield School on West Padre Street, thereafter named for Alice F. Schott.
During his retirement, Wake wrote two histories of the college. These works, A History of the Santa Barbara Community College District: Personal Experiences and Observations (1992) and The Joy of Learning: Seventy-Five Years of Adult Education in Santa Barbara (1993), have been called “invaluable histories of Santa Barbara City College and Continuing Education.”
In his retirement, Wake remained active with Adult Ed, chairing three committees and taking a variety of courses. He also was chairman of both the 50th and 75th anniversaries of the Adult Ed program.
Wake’s wife, Bee, died in 2005. He is survived by his son, Donald, of Summerland.
Joan Galvan is SBCC‘s public information officer.