COLLEGE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES GOALS AT INAUGURATION : CEREMONY HELD AT A.V. CAMPUS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

Inaugurated Monday as Antelope Valley College's sixth president, Linda Spink called Monday for bringing technology into the classroom as one of the elements needed to serve students and the community going into the 21st century.

Spink also said the college must work to establish partnerships with business, government and schools and other colleges.

``One of the challenges facing us is to equip those classrooms with the technology that the faculty and students need to meet the demands of our high-tech world,'' Spink said. ``In order to do that, we must first put in place the needed infrastructure so that we can meet the demands as we implement classroom changes.''

During the outdoor ceremony in the fine arts quad, Spink was presented with a medallion with the college's seal, her name and the names of all the institution's past presidents.

``It is an honor for me to accept the college medallion and all that it signifies,'' Spink said. ``This is a special time for me and an important one in the history of the college.''

Presiding over the inauguration was Donald Ross, president of the college's board of trustees. The ceremony included performances by bands from Littlerock and Palmdale high schools and the combined choirs of the college, the Antelope Valley Master Chorale, and Palmdale, Littlerock and Antelope Valley high schools.

``It makes it official,'' Spink said after the ceremony. She actually began work at the college in late August.

Partnerships will be another college focus under Spink's leadership. Spink said collaborative efforts with the business community and other schools must be expanded.

``Together we must create new strategies for similar partnerships with business, industry and government in our area,'' Spink said. ``These partnerships can provide economic development as well as provide work force training and retraining for our business partners. It is important that we, as a faculty, take a close look at how and what instructional programs we are offering to assure our strategic place in this new environment.''

As president, Spink presides over a college with an enrollment of about 9,000 drawn from a region of 1,945 square miles.

In line with her call for bringing technology into education, Antelope Valley College has received $100,000 to link its library by computer with California State University, Northridge; California State University, Dominguez Hills; College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita; and the Los Angeles County library system.

The computer system would allow a student at one campus to access information at another college.

Spink, 50, selected from 53 applicants in a nationwide search, had been vice president since 1990 of Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, N.Y.

Before that, she was associate dean for health science and technology at Massachusetts Bay Community College in Wellesley Hills, Mass., where she had worked since 1984.

Prior to becoming a college administrator, Spink worked as a nurse and was an instructor for 13 years.

Spink has a doctorate in administration from Boston College, a master's degree in psychiatric nursing from Boston University and a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Linda Spink

Business partnerships a priority

(2) A.V. College President Linda Spink receives a medallion from Donald Ross of the board of trustees.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News