Dr. Kanter will speak on her goals for the district, many of which she's been pursuing since informally taking the office on July 1. That was three days after seeing off De Anza's largest graduating class in the college's 36 years of existence.

"Cupertino is my place," she says. "De Anza was part of me for a decade, and I'm just a part of it." Those ten years in the president's office at De Anza were spent weathering many ups and downs, but Dr. Kanter says the experience has helped her get her bearings in the district offices.

She counts the passage of Measure E in 1999 as one of her greatest accomplishments. The $248 million bond measure earmarked for rehabilitating facilities in the Foothill­De Anza district passed with 71.9 percent of the vote. This kind of public support means a lot to Dr. Kanter, especially in this time of decreased state funding for higher education. For instance, she says that Proposition 98, which established a minimum funding level for community colleges in 1988, is providing the district with $23 million less than it should. Because the funds are not constitutionally mandated, there's little she can do.

"We're at a time in California when funding for education has decreased and more students want to be educated," she says. "In my 30 years in the system, I've never seen a community college turn a student away, and I've seen it this year." Dr. Kanter says she's working to continue raising funds for education other than K­12 by promoting a legislative agenda and soliciting local philanthropists for donations. "Education has always been expected in California," she says.

The students she met during her time at De Anza also clarified her goals as chancellor. "We have so many students who need support, and we need to measure any success by how this group is affected," Dr. Kanter says. She pinpoints a statistic that identifies De Anza as consistently among the top two community colleges in California that transfers its students to the UC/CSU systems, and their success at hiring and keeping quality instructors. "We have such pride in retaining the best faculty," she says. "They are the heart and soul of who we are. Being president is a great job, but the greatest is to be a faculty member."

However, Dr. Kanter also sees areas for improvement. The opening of the Child Development Center on the De Anza campus has helped young mothers secure child care while pursuing their degrees, but she wants to see additional cost-effective solutions. There are also more than 3,000 students in the district with disabilities who need assistance. She says reaching these goals fits in with the tradition of excellence in the district, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2007. "I've been given a gift, and I've had former trustees and others come up to me and tell me there's a name to carry on here," she says. "I have this legacy to carry forward."

Dr. Kanter will discuss this tradition in her inaugural remarks, in a speech titled "Advancing Foothill­De Anza's Legacy of Excellence and Opportunity."

"That phrasing was the hallmark of the district's mission statement," she says. The program will also feature a keynote address from Dr. Manuel Pastor, a professor at UC­Santa Cruz and Dr. Kanter's self-described mentor. Former state senator Rebecca Morgan and De Anza interim president Judy Miner will also speak, and musical groups from both De Anza and Foothill will provide the entertainment.

The reception will provide Dr. Kanter with more opportunities to meet the community her district serves. Having been so steeped in Cupertino for ten years, she's been reaching out to the other cities that, along with Cupertino, constitute the district. "I've known De Anza much better," she says. "But I've been working with the new board of trustees and listening and learning from the community. All new leaders have to do this."

The inauguration of Dr. Martha Kanter as the fifth chancellor of the Foothill­De Anza Community College District is Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. in Foothill College's Robert C. Smithwick Theater. The event is open to the public, and no district funds were used for the celebration.