Long Beach City College leaders, faculty and staffers recently gathered to celebrate some of the school’s key achievements — including record-high enrollment in the most recent academic year — during its 2026 State of the College event.
The State of the College event took place on Thursday, Jan. 29, at LBCC’s Ellis Auditorium, featuring remarks from Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz and Board of Trustees President Uduak-Joe Ntuk. The event also included a performance by students in LBCC’s new mariachi program, among other highlights.
Muñoz began the evening by addressing the challenges the LBCC community has faced over the past year, including funding impacts from the Trump administration, ongoing federal immigration actions in the region and more.
Students and their families, he said, grappled with additional economic and housing uncertainty, fear that the economic supports they rely on would fall through as a result of the federal government’s cuts to many social service programs, and concern about their safety in general.
Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz speaks during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Student Trustee Pise Leiataua jokes with the audience during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Mariachi Los Vikingos de LBCC and members of Folklorico Revolución perform during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
District Board of Trustees President Uduak-Joe Ntuk speaks during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Mariachi Los Vikingos de LBCC and members of Folklorico Revolución perform during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz speaks during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz speaks during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz speaks during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz speaks during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz speaks during LBCC’s 18th Annual State of the College address in Long Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
“That reality shaped our work this past year,” Muñoz said, “and it strengthened our resolve to show up for students in every way we could.”
In response, LBCC leadership made efforts to quell the concerns of the student body. Officials secured more than $450,000 in emergency grants to help more than 3,000 students pay for their basic needs through one-time California lottery funds, Muñoz said, and launched a resource website to keep the community informed about federal immigration activity.
The college also created “red cards,” which contain information about how to handle interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or other federal immigration agents, and rolled out “limited zone” spaces that aren’t legally accessible to federal agents in an effort to further protect students, Muñoz said.
“At LBCC, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to maintaining a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment for every member of our community — especially our undocumented students and families with mixed immigration status,” Muñoz said. “Our message to students is simple: You belong here, and we will continue to safeguard your rights to the best of our ability.”
Besides acknowledging 2025’s challenges, however, Muñoz also hailed LBCC’s wins over the past year, including its record-high enrollment rate.
There were 39,925 students enrolled at LBCC during the 2024-25 academic year, Muñoz said, marking the largest class in the college’s nearly century-long history. That number, he added, also represented a 3% increase in the student population from the previous academic year — and a 15% increase over the past two years.
It’s a significant achievement, especially since many other academic institutions throughout California — across primary, secondary and higher education — are grappling with historically low enrollment rates.
“At a time when many colleges across the state and locally are struggling with enrollment, more students are choosing LBCC than ever,” Muñoz said. “That speaks to the trust, the relevance, and the results we deliver.”
Over the past five years, LBCC has also expanded its dual enrollment program, which allows high schoolers to earn college credits before they graduate. Enrollment in that program has more than doubled, from 1,486 students in 2021 to 3,222 in 2025, Muñoz said.
“They are accelerating their journey to achieving their degree and reducing the cost of college,” the superintendent-president said. “Dual enrollment helps students start early.”
The college’s graduation rates are also keeping pace with increasing enrollment, Muñoz said. LBCC awarded 2,648 degrees during the previous academic year, a 6.2% increase from the previous year.
“That means more students completing college. More families benefiting from education. And more qualified talent entering our regional workforce,” Muñoz said. “These honors reflect a college that delivers results and demonstrates what can happen when we address achievement gaps with genuine care and concern.”
Degree completion, he added, increased by 17% for Black and African American students last year. LBCC has been formally recognized as a California Black-Serving Institution, making it one of just 31 other educational institutions across the state to receive the designation.
Muñoz also celebrated LBCC’s steps toward upgrading and building out its facilities throughout 2025. The college, for example, broke ground on its Building E College Center and is working on a future student housing complex on the Liberal Arts Campus, which will bring 431 beds to the college.
“Some of our students are couch surfing,” Muñoz said. “Others are struggling to stay enrolled simply because they don’t have a stable place to live.
“Student housing at LBCC is not about changing the character of our neighborhoods,” he added. “It’s about responding responsibly to the realities our students face, and we are not doing this work alone.”
Cal State Long Beach’s University Housing and Residential Life division, in fact, will sign on to serve as the operator of the future student housing facility on LBCC’s campus, Muñoz said.
“CSULB brings decades of experience. We are in the process of establishing an agreement that will allow us to draw on that expertise as our housing comes online,” Muñoz said. “This is another example of how our partnership with CSULB continues to thrive — it is grounded in shared values, trust and a commitment to student success from start to finish.”
And with 2025 all wrapped up, LBCC is now looking to the future.
LBCC will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2027.
“And as we prepare for that milestone, it feels especially meaningful to stand here today together with you, the people — the ones we do it for, the ones we do it with,” Muñoz said. “As I reflect on my fifth State of the College, I can say this with confidence: LBCC is strong. LBCC is trusted. And LBCC is ready for the next century.”