I’m grateful for this opportunity to represent the community in expressing our gratitude and excitement for the hard work and investment it has taken to offer Bachelor’s Degrees at Eastern Arizona College.

Our community has wanted home grown Bachelor’s Degrees for a long time. To offer these degrees, many long hours of preparation and paperwork had to be accomplished. Think of your most difficult class project or final paper and multiply it by a thousand. Let’s give a huge round of applause for the people that did this homework: President Haynie, Vice President Wood and their teams.

20 years ago I visited Phoenix with my Dad, who was the College President at the time. The Arizona State Legislature was debating the idea of 4 year degrees at Eastern Arizona College. 20 years ago was when the Original Mean Girls movie was released. Can you imagine working on a homework assignment for 20 years.  It was a very important trip for my development and understanding. At 13 years old I learned that ordinary people, if they put themselves in the right room, could change the rules of our society. I want all of you students, faculty, and community members alike to understand that you, and the community you build can act to change things for the better. In celebrating today, I’ve witnessed an idea become reality. Individual and self improvement take time.

These degrees have been a dream for much longer than my lifetime. Each generation of Gila Monsters has contributed to this colossal group project.

President Haynie and Vice President Wood are a part of a long-standing tradition of visionary leadership, making Eastern Arizona College the Smart Higher Education Destination Since 1888.

I’d like to thank all of the volunteers, faculty, staff, Governing Board Members, Business owners, elected officials, church leaders, and anyone who wrote a letter of support or excitedly shared their passion and vision for this project.

Higher Education unlocks critical thinking, reading, and writing skills, mastery of vocabulary, and exceptional technical skill. It enlivens the soul and enlarges our capabilities. And now, it’s not only available somewhere else, it is available here – for everybody. Students from first generation, low income, and under-represented homes now have this opportunity.

What is good for the individual is exponentially good for the community. Eastern Arizona College has an annual economic impact 250 Million Dollars.

This is a historic moment for our community. At the Chamber of Commerce our mission is to advance the quality of life for everyone in the Gila Valley. With higher education and these degreesour quality of life is advancing like never before. Thank you again to those who supported this cause and to Eastern Arizona College for not giving up the dream. 

Now for some more information on the new Bachelor’s Degrees, let’s welcome Vice President Susan Wood.