Letter to the Editor: Commend Dr. Toda

The first thing that Dr. Toda brought was vision. We had a tiny, struggling community college, but in Dr. Toda’s mind, it didn’t have to stay that way. He had a vision for what CGCC could become.

Helen Keller, the famous blind author, said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” Dr. Toda brought a powerful vision of turning CGCC into a respected and viable choice for higher education in our region.

Dr. Toda was instrumental in securing more than $45 million in local, state and federal funds. The college has used that money to establish a high quality nursing program, and a renewable energy program and a computer science program. With his guidance the college has built a beautiful new building at The Dalles campus; updated all the older buildings; established a campus in Hood River; built a new nursing training facility; built a new readiness and workforce training center and a 1,000-seat conference center in partnership with the National Guard; built a lab space; upgraded college safety and security and equipped classrooms with the latest smart technology.

Enrollment has doubled since his arrival, and it seems CGCC is now “on the map” as a stepping stone for students working toward the achievement of their personal dreams.

During his tenure as president of CGCC he also served on The Dalles Community Outreach Team, which has brought approximately $20 million in federal funding to The Dalles and Wasco County. His influence, abilities and passion for excellence have been noticed at a national level.

He was the only college president from Oregon to be invited to the first-ever White House summit on community colleges.

As a former neighbor, I have personally witnessed the enormous personal sacrifice and investment Dr. Toda made to develop the college what it is today — 12-hour days, countless evenings and weekends spent making connections in Salem and Washington, D.C. Forty-five million didn’t just drop on the college’s doorstep. It was obtained by hard work and vision.

During his 16 years as college president he had other job offers at bigger colleges for more money. But he stayed because of his passion for CGCC and our community. Thank you, Dr. Toda, for investing yourself in our community and college, and making it a place where dreams can truly be realized.

David Clear

The Dalles