In celebration of its 85th Anniversary, Long Beach City College is asking all Viking alumni to name their favorite LBCC faculty or staff member for a donation of $85, symbolic of the College’s 85th Anniversary. Honorees will be recognized in the 85th Anniversary commemorative book and at the Gala.

“As we celebrate 85 years of LBCC providing educational opportunities to the community, we are now asking alumni to be pay tribute to faculty and staff who have made a real difference in their lives,” said LBCC Superintendent-President Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “This is also a great opportunity for alumni to give back to their alma mater by donating $85 to the Long Beach College Promise Scholarships, which pays the first semester for incoming LBCC students who attended Long Beach area high schools.”

LBCC is asking all Viking alumni, from all walks of life, to take a few minutes to pay tribute to their favorite faculty or staff member while they were students at LBCC. One of LBCC’s most famous alumni, Former Mayor Dr. Beverly O’Neill, is giving back to her alma mater, by naming two exceptional LBCC leaders who made a difference in her life as a student.

“It’s difficult to pay tribute to only one faculty or staff member at Long Beach City College, so I am paying tribute to two amazing Vikings to be recognized for their leadership at the 85th Anniversary Gala: Mrs. Ella Lewis and Dean Orian Landreth,” O’Neill said. “Mrs. Lewis, who was the Associate Student Body Advisor and Speech Professor at LBCC while I was a student, had a significant influence in my life as a student at LBCC, and beyond. She encouraged me to run for student body office and to be engaged on campus. Mrs. Lewis believed that I was leader.

“Dean Orian Landreth, former Dean of Student Affairs at LBCC, was a role model to me as well. I loved being around him. He inspired me to stay in school, and to be involved in all the activities that LBCC had to offer,” O’Neill said. “It was as if both Mrs. Lewis and Dean Landreth knew that if they planted the seed in me to be active in school and run for office on campus, that I would one day give back to my community.”

LBCC recently closed nominations for its other major 85th recognition, the Viking of the Decade Award. Within the next week, officials will announce two to three members for each decade, between the 1930s and now, who have demonstrated LBCC spirit, career accomplishments, community service and dedication to LBCC and the community.

Honorees from both categories will be recognized during the 85th Anniversary Gala from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Thursday, May 30, at the LBCC Hall of Champions.
To nominate a faculty or staff member through April 30, 2013, please click here.