Faculty Member Retiring
by Juan Ochoa
At the end of this month, Jeff Ross will be retiring from his work here at Taft College.
Jeff Ross has a master’s degree in Special Education from CSUB.
Ross started as an adjunct professor in 1976; he worked with individuals with developmental disabilities. Since 1978, he worked full-time as the Director of Disabled Student Services, Learning Disabilities Specialist, and Developmental Disabilities Specialist.
In 1995 he started the well known Transition to Independent Living Program at Taft College. He has been working with the program for near twenty years and is now retiring.
Ross’s future plans are to help out the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center in Phoenix, Arizona. He plans to help build a residential facility similar to the TIL Program. When all that’s done, he has some land in Auburn, Ca.
He has received the John Ryce Diversity Award from California Community Colleges and the Lanterman Award from CaPED to name a few.
Considering the time he started as an adjunct professor, Jeff Ross has given thirty-eight years of service to the college. His work will always be remembered when we read about the TIL Program or look at the TIL building.