Orange County College Leaders and Mascots Take to the Capitol Steps

--(Business Wire)--
Rancho Santiago Community College District:

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WHAT:
Why are a rustler sporting a ten-gallon hat, a bottlenose dolphin, a
red-headed hawk, a six-foot elephant, and an anteater with a two-foot
long nose converging in Sacramento on May 8? Mascots from the
publicly funded higher education institutions in Orange County will
accompany their chancellors and presidents in an unprecedented
gathering at the State Capitol Building to meet with lawmakers about
their colleges' and universities' contributions to the state's
economy.

The Orange County higher education leaders and mascots will
communicate the collective value of higher education to workforce
preparation and the economic well-being of Orange County and the
state.

WHEN/WHERE:
11:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
California State Capitol Building, South Steps

WHO:
Rudy Hanley, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union CEO
Michael V. Drake, M.D., UC Irvine Chancellor
Milton A. Gordon, Ph.D., CSUF President
Edward Hernandez, Jr., Ed.D., Rancho Santiago CCD Chancellor
Ken Yglesias, Ed.D., Coast CCD Chancellor
Raghu Mathur, Ed.D., South Orange County CCD Chancellor

WHY:
A robust higher education system is fundamental to the state's
economic recovery and its future. All three systems provide unique
coursework, academic degrees, workforce training and economic
development, which drive the economic engine of California.

For every dollar the state invests in a student's higher education,
the state's economy receives a $3 net return.

In less than three years, California has slipped from being the fifth
largest economic power in the world to the eighth largest. To regain
our competitive edge, we must continue to invest in higher education.

If two percent more Californians had associate degrees and another one
percent more earned bachelor's degrees, the state's economy would
grow by $20 billion; state and local tax revenues would increase by
$1.2 billion a year, and 174,000 new jobs would be created.

VISUALS:
Chancellors and presidents flanked by students in mascot costumes. For
this event, UCI's mascot Peter the Anteater and CSUF's mascot Tuffy
the Titan have agreed upon a truce in their intra-county rivalry and
will stand side by side urging state leaders to support higher
education. Santiago Canyon College's hawk, Golden West College's
rustler, and Coastline Community College's dolphin will bear witness.
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RSCCD
Judy Iannaccone, 714-480-7503
Cell: 714-222-4777
Iannaccone_judy@rsccd.org
or
UC Irvine
Allan Taing, 949-824-7687
Cell: 949-285-0615
tainga@uci.edu

Copyright Business Wire 2008