I want to boldly engage you in supporting an important part of your community’s future—the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. I have made a commitment to lead SCF to become the region’s higher education investment of choice by demonstrating a strong return on investment for your time and financial support. Whether we are educating your college-age children, continuing the education of your employees or providing professional enrichment for you, SCF is an invaluable resource to the future of your family, your business interests and the growth of our community.

The fourth strategic priority of SCF’s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan is to establish the college’s central role in the educational, cultural and workforce development of our service region. SCF is the community’s college, and our faculty, staff and students are woven into the fabric of Manatee and Sarasota counties.

We are hosting an event on our Bradenton Campus tonight that captures this vision perfectly. The second annual Avenues des Artistes features SCF faculty and staff artists and performers as a catalyst to bring the community together in the center of our campus, laid out to resemble London, Madrid and Florence. The event is an amazing display of what an investment in education can create and the opportunity it can provide to students and our community.

SCF is accessible. SCF is affordable. SCF has a proven track record of providing high quality education, all demonstrative of extraordinary return on investment, but what SCF brings to bear is greater yet. It has been said that innovation consists of looking at what everyone else is looking at but seeing what no one else sees.  Our faculty will help your student see the talent they may not yet have seen in themselves.

By starting at SCF, you can get anywhere from here. Whether your goal is to earn an associate of arts degree to transfer to a university, graduate from a workforce program that leads directly to employment or promotion, or to enrich yourself and your skills, we have the program that can get you there. And not only can we get you there, we can do it affordably.

The secret to our success is not just our history or rich traditions. Our success is due to the faculty and staff who are not only committed to students and higher education – but also uniquely committed to our students, our college and our community. Recruitment, training and retention of the highest quality faculty, staff and administrative leaders are a personal priority to me and a centerpiece of this strategic plan. During the next five years we will increase public demand for our faculty and staff as subject matter experts. We will showcase and highlight the expertise we collectively possess so when our community needs expert advice, SCF will be the first call.

You can get anywhere from here, and at SCF, we are here to get you there.

Dr. Carol Probstfeld is president of State College of Florida Sarasota-Manatee.