2016 Lifetime Achievement
Robert Gabriner
Co-Director, Leading from the Middle
RP Group
We are proud to have honored the following individuals with Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2016.
Dr. Robert Gabriner has been a faculty member, administrator, and leader in the California community colleges for over 40 years. He has held a variety of leadership positions in the RP Group since 1995, and is currently the co-director of the Leading from the Middle program.
He was a co-founder of the Strengthening Student Success conference in 2005 and the founding director of the Center for Student Success (CSS). Under Dr. Gabriner’s leadership, CSS completed more than 15 research projects over a six-year period for colleges and the Chancellor’s Office, drawing on the expertise of IRP professionals in the community college system.
Dr. Gabriner is also recently retired as professor of educational leadership and director of the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program at San Francisco State University. Previously, he served as Vice Chancellor and Dean of Research, Planning, and Grants at City College of San Francisco for 19 years.
Dr. Gabriner was also a history instructor in the Peralta Community College District for 22 years, and while a faculty member, served as president of the Community College Council of the California Federation of Teachers for eight years. Throughout his career, Dr. Gabriner has been a leader in community college reform initiatives, including AB 1725 (1988), the Community College Accountability Act (2004), and the Student Success Task Force (2011).
Dr. Linda Umbdenstock
Administrative Dean of Planning
Long Beach City College (retired)
Dr. Linda Umbdenstock’s professional career in education spans nearly 40 years, primarily in community college research and planning, as well as teaching and research for K-12 and a postgraduate medical school.
Her association with the RP Group, which she helped institute, began with its predecessor, the Southern California Community College Institutional Research Association (SCCCIRA), where she provided leadership in innovations in classroom assessment research, college effectiveness, and data systems to support research and decision-making.
A past president of the RP Group, Dr. Umbdenstock was a co-initiator of the Planning Guides, the California Assessment Initiative, the Student Learning Outcomes Coordinators network project, and the Strengthening Student Success Conferences.
She also served as the Executive Director of Hewlett Leaders in Student Success. Guided by her values regarding equity, learning, collaboration, and a systems/networks approach including multi-perspectives for decision-making, Dr. Umbdenstock has contributed not only to a variety of state commissions, but also gave over 100 presentations and workshops to community groups and regional, state, national, and international conferences. She was elected an inaugural member of the Alverno College Vanguard Society for her accomplishments and received the Lifetime Achievement POWER Award for outstanding contribution to the field of student learning outcomes assessment.