Cyndi Pardee, Association of Community and Continuing Education ’s Community Education Person of the Year
Courtesy of Jan Roecks, San Mateo Community College District
February 27, 2007
Cyndi Pardee of Riverside Community College is for many of us throughout the state “das wunderkind” of the Community Education world. She exemplifies everything that one could wish for in a coworker, supervisor, employee, colleague and, for many of us, friend. Her unflagging energy, perennial optimism and willingness to share her brilliant ideas, lend a hand, answer a question or just listen to us combine to make Cyndi the ideal candidate for the Community Education Person of the Year award.
Cyndi manages both a highly successful Community Education program that annually serves over 15,000 students and generates revenues in excess of a million dollars. In addition to this program, she also manages the “Young at Heart” Continuing Education program for more than 4,000 older adults. Cyndi’s programs are housed on three different campuses and over 20 off-site locations. And she does this with assistance of only three staff members.
Dr. Robert Bramucci, Cyndi’s Dean, describes Cyndi as:
“An extraordinarily hard worker. She does whatever is necessary for Community Education to succeed, often working nights and weekends. She is responsible for an entrepreneurial business that grosses a million dollars per year.
She is also good-humored and optimistic, so working with her is a pleasant experience. She is an extraordinarily thoughtful person, which makes her a fine colleague.”
Of note in Dr. Bramucci’s assessment is the fact that RCCD has recognized Cyndi’s Community Education program as an entrepreneurial business and a profitable one at that. We should all be that lucky.
Among Cyndi’s many accomplishments are the following:
Cyndi is also an enthusiastic and creative risk taker. She experiments with innovative advertising methods. As with any cutting edge thinkers, some ideas work while others haven’t. But Cyndi continues to generate new ideas and innovations. For example, one of her latest projects is to build a loyalty program for her best customers.
Cyndi’s extraordinary work ethic, creativity and dedication are also illustrated by the fact that Cyndi brought her Community Education program into the black for the first time in its long history. Dr. Bramucci attributes the program’s self sufficiency and surplus generating capacity directly to Cyndi’s efforts.
But visionary leadership and her fine business acumen are just the tip of the iceberg for Cyndi. In addition to managing two highly complex and successful programs, Cyndi is also has been instrumental in developing nontraditional delivery methods for programs to complement and support credit offerings such as, American Management Association classes, mini-football camp, volleyball and basketball recruiting camps, Emergency Management Technician program, Dental program, Spanish for Allied Health students and many others.
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