Lake Tahoe Community College celebrates their first leader's 90th birthday

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe Community College held a 90th birthday celebration this week for their first president, Dr. James Duke.

Dozens of past and current leaders, staff, students and community members enjoyed the party for Dr. Duke who started with the college on September, 1974 when a key to a post office box was all there was.

He came to South Lake Tahoe to perform job duties similar to what he had done in Fremont, California with Ohlone College in 1966. A major aspect of Dr. Duke’s work there involved leading a two-year search for a permanent campus site and planning for a bond measure to fund the construction. He established their first campus inside the old Junipero Serra, St. Mary of the Palms School for Girls in the Mission San Jose area of Fremont. He did the recruiting and hiring of administrators and faculty, set up the schedule of classes, developing an athletics program, and registering students. That first year there were 1,706 student which far exceeded expectation.

When he came to South Lake Tahoe in 1974 he had to find a location for the new college and toured warehouses and empty buildings and then heard that a motel might be available. He found the owner of the Gerkin Motel at his sheep ranch in Australia, so in order to work out the deal, Dr. Duke had to speak to him on a party line at odd hours. Once a deal was struck, the motel was turned into classrooms and offices. "We were the only college with restrooms in all staff offices and fireplaces in all classrooms," recalled Duke.

Dr. Duke took the college from a dream and the post office box to classrooms and offices in that motel within one year. In September of 1975, 14 full time teachers were hired and they were ready for classes.

He retired from Lake Tahoe Community College in 1990, after 16 years of service.

Dr. Duke earned his B.S. and Master’s degrees from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge and doctorate in educational administration from the University of Southern California. After a tour with the Marines during the Korean War and graduate school, besides Ohlone he worked for Santa Ana College, Long Beach State, California State College Chancellor’s Office, College of Marin and Canada College.