When Dr. Darroch “Rocky” Young arrived at Pierce College in 1999, the college had lost its confidence. Enrollment had fallen sharply, finances were strained, the campus needed investment, and years of conflict had left employees and community members wondering whether Pierce could recover.
The Los Angeles Times later called the turnaround “the miracle on Winnetka.” Between 1999 and 2004, Pierce rebuilt its sense of direction and strengthened its place as one of California’s respected community colleges. Young’s account makes clear that the change did not come from one person acting alone. It came from faculty, staff, students, trustees, community leaders, and partners working toward a shared vision.
A college ready to believe in itself again
Young began with a listening tour. He met with campus groups, walked the college, and spoke with employees where they worked. Those conversations revealed both the depth of the problems and something just as important: people still cared deeply about Pierce. They remembered its strongest years and wanted the college to become a source of pride again.
That listening produced a common vision: make Pierce the most successful college in the Los Angeles Community College District, then build it into one of the preeminent community colleges in California. The work would require better enrollment, financial stability, a stronger campus, renewed community relationships, and a resolution to the farm-and-golf conflict that had divided the college and its neighbors.
Leadership through trust and shared purpose
The turnaround centered on trust. Young worked to create a leadership group that brought together administrators, faculty leaders, classified staff, and other representatives of the college community. The group could speak candidly, solve problems together, and connect decisions to the larger mission of student success.
The approach was practical as well as personal. Pierce needed to address 22 significant challenges, including declining enrollment, financial deficits, deferred maintenance, weak outreach to local high schools, damaged community relationships, and the fear that the college had lost its academic standing. The college tackled those issues while preserving the academic quality that faculty had protected through the difficult years.
Turning obstacles into momentum
The farm-and-golf conflict became an early test. Instead of forcing a winner and a loser, Pierce paused the proposal and created a transparent planning process. Faculty, staff, students, community members, and outside experts helped shape a master plan that preserved the agriculture program while identifying new opportunities for the college. The process replaced division with a plan people could support.
Other changes built momentum: a student-demand-driven class schedule, a redesigned academic calendar, stronger high school partnerships, a focused marketing effort, renewed media and community relations, improved facilities, and new university partnerships. Pierce promoted what its data showed clearly, including the strong transfer performance of its students.
A legacy built by many people
Rocky Young’s story is important to Pierce College because it records more than a successful presidency. It preserves a lesson about institutional renewal. A college can recover when its people regain a shared purpose, when leaders listen before acting, and when problems are met with honesty, creativity, and persistence.
The “miracle on Winnetka” was not magic, and it was not the work of one person. It was a collective achievement that helped restore Pierce College’s future and left a lasting mark on the San Fernando Valley.