Dear Friends and AlumniThe past 12 months was an exciting time on campusas <strong>Dutchess</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>College</strong> celebrated its50th Anniversary, enrolled the largest class in ourhistory, and had the pleasure to recognize our first $1 millionlifetime donor.The <strong>College</strong> celebrated its 50th anniversary with numerousevents: lectures, seminars, theatrical productions, two festivegalas, a ‘50s Sock Hop, a culminating fireworks display,and much more. A generous grant from the DysonFoundation allowed us to complete a socio-economic impactstudy that highlighted how important to our area<strong>Dutchess</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>College</strong> is now and has been in thepast. The study concluded that the <strong>College</strong> has had a beneficialimpact on <strong>Dutchess</strong> County and New York State,and that public support of <strong>Dutchess</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>College</strong> isan investment rather than a cost.The creation of <strong>Dutchess</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>College</strong> 50 years agowas achieved by the commitment and hard work of manydedicated and visionary residents who saw the need for anaffordable and accessible educational institution in <strong>Dutchess</strong>County. <strong>Community</strong> colleges as a whole were relatively new50 years ago: there were only 40 in the country at that time.Since that day in September 1958 when the <strong>College</strong> welcomedits first incoming class of 674 full- and part-time students,almost 40,000 students have graduated and countlessothers have taken advantage of the <strong>College</strong>'s numerous offerings- from academic programs to one-year vocationalcertificates, and from workforce training to GED classes.I'm sure many of you reading this report today count yourselvesamong that number.The fall 2007 semester sawthe largest incoming class inthe <strong>College</strong>'s history - 8,540students. Selecting DCC asthe starting point for a collegeeducation has become a verypopular choice for the resi-Dr. D. David Conklin<strong>College</strong> President“<strong>Dutchess</strong> <strong>Community</strong><strong>College</strong> is proud of itsmission of providingaffordable, accessible,and excellent educationand service.”dents of <strong>Dutchess</strong> County as people recognize the value ofa DCC education. The <strong>College</strong> has, in fact, become thecollege of choice for County residents. More than one-thirdof all students in the county who go to college attend<strong>Dutchess</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>College</strong>. This figure is an affirmationof the quality of the affordable, accessible education thatwe offer.Another major event of which we are proud and grateful isthat Llelanie Orcutt became our first lifetime $1million donor. We are honored that Mrs. Orcutt has been afriend and supporter of the <strong>College</strong> for many years. Herhusband, Jack, was one of the <strong>College</strong>'s founding facultymembers and the first director of student activities. TheDCC Foundation holds a golf tournament annually in hishonor.<strong>Dutchess</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>College</strong> is proud of its mission of providingaffordable, accessible, and excellent education andservice. As we pause each year to assess our performance,we are reminded of, and grateful for, the support we receivefrom you, our graduates and friends. Without yoursupport, we would not succeed as well as we do in fulfillingour mission.Thank you again for supporting <strong>Dutchess</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>College</strong>and the Foundation. I look forward to seeing you atone of the many special and cultural events held at the<strong>College</strong> throughout the coming year.2008 ANNUAL <strong>REPORT</strong>1 1
education ispurpose“The task of the modern educator is not to cutdown jungles, but to irrigate deserts.”- C.S. Lewis
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