“Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends.”
—Green Day
EDC investors, board members, and partners,
It’s that time of year again. If you happen to be a parent or grandparent of a certain age, live near a college or university, or work with or adjacent to higher education in any way, you know that more than 200,000 students have just made their way back to campuses, classrooms, dorm rooms, and lecture halls across our region. All ages and backgrounds. Residents and commuters. Adult learners and recent high school graduates. Hopeful. Motivated. Excited. All the things a region could and should hope for as it looks to grow and sustain a world-class economy and a world-class workforce.
To know and understand anything about the history of San Diego and our economy is to know and understand the value, strength, and importance of higher education. The critical role that our universities, community colleges, and learning communities have played over the last several decades cannot be overstated. As an economic development community, we must never forget what an important role they have played in growing and diversifying our region.
Yet as classes begin this year, unprecedented challenges continue to mount for San Diego and for our nation’s higher education institutions. Federal funding cuts; legal battles for individual universities, systems, and student populations; escalating costs, and constant threats and heated rhetoric coming from Washington, D.C. are all creating strains, burdens, and pressures that will test the system like never before. Even more so within the State of California. But as we look toward an uncertain future, let us continue to draw inspiration, strength, and resolve from the certainty of the past.
The story of higher education in the San Diego region continues to be one of inspirational growth and resilience against the backdrop of near constant challenge. Over the last century, our colleges and universities have grown from educating a few hundred students a year to hundreds of thousands of students a year. Through world wars, depressions and recessions, the rise and fall of industries, near unthinkable technological and scientific advancement, and an almost unimaginable public health pandemic, they have not only endured—they have thrived. As millions of learners have walked across stages to earn their diplomas, they have walked out into our community to start careers, grow businesses, and power industries. The San Diego economy has grown around them and because of them. And it still does.
A new chapter of history surrounds us. The stakes are certainly high for the education community and for the growth and sustainability of our economy. How we react and respond to this moment will tell future generations a great deal about who we were. And someday, if I should appear anywhere in those historical stories and records, you will most certainly find me standing side by side with our leaders and partners in higher education—right where I hope to find all of you as well.
Wishing you well this September,
Mark
Mark Cafferty
President & CEO