A proposal by 9th District Councilmember Rex Richardson to explore the feasibility of establishing a higher education center in North Long Beach was unanimously passed by the city council on November 13.

Richardson requested the city manager to work with Long Beach City College (LBCC), the Long Beach Economic Development Department, Pacific Gateway and Long Beach higher education experts on the study…

…Richardson anticipates that both LBCC and the city can form a task force to evaluate short- and long-term educational opportunities for North Long Beach.

“It has really been a community that has been clamoring for education,” Uduak-Joe Ntuk, LBCC District Trustee for Area 1, said at a November 13 board of trustees meeting. LBCC Vice President of Business Services Marlene Dunn made a presentation on the potential for a satellite campus expansion, which coincided with the feasibility study proposed by Richardson.

Although Ntuk thinks LBCC should be looking to service other parts of the city as well, such as the Westside, he stressed that the community in North Long Beach “has long had a sense of being left behind.” He also noted that it takes a two-hour bus ride round trip to LBCC from North Long Beach.

Ntuk also referred to what the community in North Long Beach calls the “Uptown Renaissance,” referring to the amount of recent improvements to the community, such as the opening of the Michelle Obama Public Library and the new community center at Houghton Park.

Source:
Long Beach Business Journal