One outstanding educator spent 37 years at Southwestern College, the other spent only one, but both are about to become recipients of the institution’s highest honor.
Former Superintendent Denise Whittaker and legendary SWC baseball coach Jerry Bartow will receive honorary degrees at commencement May 18 for their service, dedication and positive impact on the campus and community.
After the malfeasance of former Superintendent Raj K. Chopra and his administration, the college was on its final leg when Whittaker was brought in to help and reverse the college’s threatened accreditation status. In less than a year Whittaker led the college back to full accreditation, began an internal investigation that has brought to light corruption in construction contracting, restored the credibility of the SWC Foundation, and restored shared governance and trust on campus.“Even though it was highly demanding and I worked more hours than I care to admit, it was one of the highlights of my career,” said Whittaker. “It is difficult to explain how the college came together to successfully address serious challenges. Through those experiences lives were changed, including my own.”
Whittaker’s year at Southwestern College was epic, said Governing Board Vice President Humberto Peraza.
“Denise had an enormous impact on the school for the short period she was here,” he said. “If it wasn’t for her it is safe to say we wouldn’t have accreditation back. If it wasn’t for her I don’t think the campus climate would have changed so quickly. She had an immediate impact on fixing a lot of the problems that were left from the previous administration. She deserves a lot of credit.”
Whittaker and a new governing board majority tackled the most serious crises SWC had ever experienced and brought the college back to functionality. She was awarded the degree for her impact on the college and community subsequent to faculty voting “no confidence” on the prior leadership.
“I was shocked, stunned, amazed and totally honored by the awarding of the degree,” she said. “This is a very big deal and to think that the Academic Senate, college community, current president and governing board believe I am worthy of such an honor is very humbling. I have never been honored in any comparable way and it mirrors how I feel about the college and my experiences there.” Whittaker is now interim superintendent at Palo Verde College in Blythe.
Jerry Bartow has been head coach of the Jags baseball team since 1976. In 2007 he was inducted into the Southwestern College Athletic Hall of Fame, one of three halls of fame in which he has been enshrined in two states. He is nationally known and respected for his coaching talent and dedication to his student-athletes. This spring he was named Pacific Coast Conference Co-Coach of the year.
“Coach Bartow has had so much of a great history, not only with the baseball club, but also as a mentor to students and players,” said Peraza.
Bartow has led the Jaguars to 11 conference championships and has seen 90 percent of his students transfer to universities across the nation on scholarships.
“It means a lot because I’ve spent a lot of years here,” said Bartow. I’ve had a lot of kids come through this program and they’ve all been doing very well. Southwestern has been pretty good to me all of those years and that’s why I have stayed here. I have a lot of friends here. I’ve known a lot of teachers, some of them retired and some of them still here. It is a great school and it will get even better.”
Bartow and Whittaker are now a permanent part of SWC history as Honorary Degree recipients. Whittaker said SWC is now a permanent part of her.
“The members of the college community at Southwestern College will forever be imprinted on my heart.
