This August marks a victorious milestone for San Diego College of Continuing Education, California’s largest and leading noncredit institution for workforce education, — its 110th anniversary. 

On Wednesday, August 28, 2024 from 9 a.m. to noon, the “110 Years of Greatness” fall convocation will be held at the Educational Cultural Complex (4343 Ocean View Blvd, 92113) to honor the college’s unwavering commitment to transform the lives of adult learners who hail from every corner of the globe.

This year’s fall convocation ceremony will include remarks from the office of Councilmember Henry L. Foster III (District 4), a keynote address by Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., California Secretary of State, and a performance by African American ancestral storyteller Alyce Smith-Cooper.

Tina M. King, Ed.D. who is leading the College of Continuing Education into its next century as President looks forward to the celebratory engagement. “It is my honor to carry the baton at San Diego College of Continuing Education on the heels of our ancestors who paved the way before us. We are undoubtedly the people’s college, we have radically changed lives for more than a hundred years, and we are just getting started,” she said. Dr. King will welcome former President, Dr. Anthony Beebe, on August 28th to highlight the college’s beginning imprint on workforce education.

The College of Continuing Education has been serving adult students in San Diego since 1914. The legacy of the organization's first century of teaching is deeply rooted in serving immigrant populations with basic skills such as learning English as a Second Language (ESL), achieving American citizenship, and to earn a high school diploma/equivalency at no-cost.

The College of Continuing Education was named one of the first community college continuing education institutions in the state to meet the standards for independent accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

In the 1970s, the institution became part of the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), joining City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges. Today, the College of Continuing Education awards more certificates of completion annually than any other noncredit adult educational institution in California and remains the largest feeder school in transitioning students to the district’s for-credit campuses.

Since then the national profile of the College of Continuing Education has grown tremendously, providing a foundation for its second century of serving adults, with a continued focus on transition to college and career. The institution serves approximately 30,000 students annually at seven campuses spanning from the Miramar community in the north to Barrio Logan in the south. Students are among the most diverse populations in the country, ethnically, financially, and educationally.

Graduates of the college’s career education programs alone are contributing close to a quarter-billion dollars to the regional economy each year. Students are frontline healthcare workers, cybersecurity professionals for the U.S. Department of Defense, and are curating at michelin restaurants.

Among the College of Continuing Education’s seven campuses is the historic Educational Cultural Complex, which was built as an answer to Southeastern San Diego’s community call for education and arts fifty years ago and is now a landmark for well-known civil rights leaders. The August 28th anniversary will be the final event housed at the Educational Cultural Complex Theatre before undergoing a $35 million state renovation grant.

The 110 Years of Greatness celebration serves as the kick-off to recognize the remarkable legacy the College of Continuing Education has contributed to change the face of noncredit education beyond San Diego.