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Part 1 of a 3 Part Series

Written on January 28th, 2026 by Mila Yoch

Cathleen Kennedy, Ph.D.—known to many as Cathy—has spent her life wiring people to possibility. Long before she met President Clinton in the White House, helped build the Bay Area’s first hands-on networking labs, or was honored as the nationally recognized 1998 U.S. Community College Professor of the Year, she had already witnessed what access to education can do—not in theory, but in the faces of students who walked into her classroom hesitant and left with skills that changed their futures and, by extension, the health of the entire community. 

That’s why she gives: she knows what making a difference looks like up close. 

Kennedy came to College of San Mateo from the tech industry, starting as a part-time instructor and becoming a full-time professor. She brought with her a practical understanding of what employers needed and what students deserved. She watched parents return to school and become role models for their children. She saw first‑generation students discover confidence. She saw people who had been told, “College isn’t for you,” realize that, actually, it was. 

“Attending college brings hope,” she says. “It helps people imagine new opportunities.”  

For her, giving to the District is simply investing in that hope. 

She has also needed that same hope and grit—with a dash of creativity—to advance several new initiatives at CSM. In 1995, she launched the college’s Networking Technology Lab in an empty building filled with old kitchen equipment, transforming it into a hands‑on training center with more than $100,000 in donated technology. During NetDay 1996, she led students into under‑resourced schools, wiring classrooms so children could connect to the world. 

She even created CSM’s first fully online course back in the dial‑up era, anticipating the future of online learning that, since the COVID-19 pandemic, has become a norm across education. 

“I find online communication to be very personal, and that personal interaction is a critical part of any educational system,” she said. 

Her students didn’t just learn how to network computers; they learned the impact of using their skills to serve others. 

Kennedy’s initiatives didn’t stop at the classroom when she created the Cathleen Kennedy, Computer Science Scholarship Fund in 1998 for CSM computer and information science students who reside in San Mateo County. Through her endowed scholarship, she continues to give knowing how the impact ripples outward—from households to neighborhoods to entire professions.  

She gives because: 

• Education lifts families, not just individuals.
 

• Academic communities broaden horizons across cultures and generations.
 

• Students build resilience and responsibility simply by persisting.
 

• Community colleges prepare people for the next step, whether transfer or career advancement.
 

• CSM trains the region’s first responders, strengthening the community in tangible ways. 

“It’s one way I can contribute to the health of my community,” she says. “Providing access to education helps people feel hopeful, connected, and prepared for what comes next.” 

Kennedy gives because she has lived the mission of community colleges: as a teacher, a network engineer, a mentor, and a believer in opportunity. She knows that when you support a community college, you’re not just funding education. You’re fueling possibility.