Author: Layla Fonseca

Del Mar College Board of Regents voted to not raise tuition fees for the 2026-‘27 academic year at a meeting held Feb. 3. This move overrode the college’s policy of an automatic $1 increase, in alignment with Gov. Greg Abbott’s statewide directive to freeze tuition in the previous academic year. The decision came after a proposal for possible action regarding a tuition rate change presented by Vice President and CFO Raul Garcia to the Board of Regents. “We remain focused on keeping college affordable,” said Garcia. The agenda covered factors impacting a balanced budget, student affordability indicators, and historical student…

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Lenora Keas celebrated her retirement along with faculty, staff and friends at the Del Mar College Oso Creek campus Friday, Jan. 23. After more than 40 years with Del Mar College, Keas moved into administration 17 years ago where she implemented her vision for Del Mar working alongside Del Mar President Mark Escamilla, faculty and administration.   “You’ve changed the very community that you live in”, said Escamilla during a speech at the retirement party. Throughout her career Keas has served the college through various roles including professor, chair of the department of…

William McKinney draws ceramic inspiration from man’s manipulation of its environment. McKinney spoke at an artist talk held in Del Mar College’s Richardson Performance Hall on Thursday, Oct. 2. Growing up in West Virginia, McKinney was surrounded by elements that would later inspire his creative process in the future. His home state is known for its clay and he spent his childhood navigating the woods, finding rocks that had been impacted by the glass industry. While attending West Virginia University, where he graduated from in 2013 with his bachelors degree, he took a trip to Jingdezhen, China. Known as the…

Del Mar College Choirs accompanied by the music department will perform a “Celebration of Rosephany Powell” Nov. 6 and 13. The Nov. 6 performance begins at 7 p.m. in Wolfe Recital Hall on the DMC Heritage Campus while the Nov. 13 concert begins at 7 p.m. at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 5300 S. Alameda St. Both performances are free and open to the public. Powell, a professor of voice at Auburn University in Alabama, is an acclaimed composer, vocalist, conductor, and scholar whose works have made a significant impact on the modern choral repertoire. “I chose to feature her…

Dia De Los Muertos is a day to honor loved ones who have passed and commemorate with an altar, typically celebrated on Nov. 2. Del Mar College’s Heritage Campus will host a morning program and community ofrenda, or altar, on Thursday, Oct. 3, in the White Library, Room 218 from 10 a.m. to noon.   This event has taken place every year since 2004, with ofrendas placed at every campus, but the main morning program will take place in the White Library.   The White Library hasn’t always hosted the ofrendas. They have also been hosted in Spanish classrooms, the…

Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, will discuss the U.S. Constitution and the impact it continues to have on our country and government during a Constitution Day 2025 lecture on Del Mar’s Heritage Campus. Serving as the structure of the United States, the Constitution outlines the principles of the federal government, and the rights reserved for citizens, which are still standing today.  To pay tribute to the signing of this document, and its lasting effect, Constitution Day was pronounced a federal observance by Congress in 2004. The…