Among a day of discussions about education, innovation and economic development, UC Santa Barbara’s new chancellor, Dennis Assanis, shared his vision for how the university can become more integrated in Santa Barbara. 

Assanis spoke at UCSB on Thursday for the annual REACH Ideas and Action Summit to discuss regional economic growth and opportunities.

Local leaders in education shared their visions for improving the workforce, becoming a bigger part of local communities, and working with industries to prepare the next generation of workers.

“I’m all about innovation and entrepreneurship, basically bringing new things to life, but also bringing new life to old things,” Assanis said. “I really do think that this community here is powerful in terms of its creativity and imagination, everything else. So you combine all those with obviously our location, and undeniably, we’re the No. 1 university in the world.”

Assanis said he’s excited about a number of opportunities for the region and Santa Barbara, at the top being an investment in downtown.

“It’s about time for UC Santa Barbara to be present in Santa Barbara,” Assanis said.

He shared how he hopes for the university’s new building at 410 State St. to become a place for engagement, performances, cultural conversations, ongoing learning and more. 

He also expressed excitement over how many existing opportunities there are for students, from media studies students involved in the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, working with Cottage Health on engineering health-driven initiatives, and collaboration between the business school and the hospitality industry.

Assanis also emphasized that the university is open for business and it’s ready to increase community relationships and partnerships.

“What we want from you is to sort of change your perspective and trust us and believe in us,” Assanis said. “We’re open for business. That’s the message, so approach us and we want to work with you.”

Connecting Students to Job Opportunities

The summit also included a panel discussion about educational opportunity pipelines with Santa Barbara City College President Erika Endrijonas; Christine Robertson, executive director of the San Luis Coastal Education Foundation; and Karen Tillman, associate vice president of industry and economic development at Cal Poly.  

Together, they discussed how to take the more than 60% of socioeconomically disadvantaged students on the Central Coast and give them an opportunity to become a part of local industries.

Robertson discussed the importance of exposing kids to local job opportunities and giving them a chance to see what industries they may want to go into.

“If kids don’t know what jobs exist, they’re not going to pursue them,” Robertson said. “So, we have to talk to kids about the industries that are growing here on the Central Coast, the jobs that are going to be available to them here in their own community, and then give them the opportunity to try it.”

Endrijonas discussed SBCC’s partnership with UCSB, the City of Santa Barbara and the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara known as Ocean Collective, which focuses on developing work in fisheries, aquaculture programs, captain license preparation and other ocean-related jobs.

“It’s really, taking a look at that big blue thing that sits right across the street from Santa Barbara City College, the ocean, and trying to figure out what are the next industry needs,” Endrijonas said. “And more importantly, how can we develop the curriculum, and how can we train the people who live here on the Central Coast and want to stay here.”

She also discussed the importance of engaging with employers to figure out how many employees they need and whether the college curriculum fits their needs, as well as providing new trainings for existing employees. 

“I wish more people looked at community colleges as the destination and not the consolation prize,” Endrijonas said. “The fact is that 50% of the mission of the California Community Colleges is economic and workforce development. We’re here. We’re partnering, and it is possible now, and it will continue to expand the possibility for people to live on the Central Coast, go to school on the Central Coast, and stay here and get jobs.”