LTCC Honors Founding President Dr. James Duke

March 13, 2026

Lake Tahoe Community College recently gathered in the Duke Theatre to celebrate the man whose leadership made the college possible. Dr. Duke was preparing to move on to his next chapter outside the Tahoe Basin.

The evening event, "Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. James Duke," brought together approximately 50 members of the college community for a program hosted by Superintendent/President Jeff DeFranco. DeFranco led attendees through key moments in the college's founding, tracing Dr. Duke's career and the early years of an institution that started with little more than a key to a post office box.

From a Motel to a 164-Acre Campus

Dr. James "Jim" Duke served as LTCC's founding president from 1974 to 1990. He was hired by the Board of Trustees shortly after South Lake Tahoe voters approved the formation of the college district in March 1974, and he began his first day on Sept. 3, 1974, with no office, no staff, and no building to speak of.

Before coming to LTCC, Duke had built a career in higher education and public service. He served 28 years in the U.S. Marine Corps on active duty and in the reserves. He worked as a building coordinator at Long Beach State, then oversaw new construction across the California State University system at campuses in Sonoma, Los Angeles, Chico, San Francisco, and Hayward. He founded Ohlone College in Fremont in the mid-1960s and later served as vice president of the College of San Mateo.

When he arrived in South Lake Tahoe, he got to work.

Duke established LTCC's first campus at Gerken's Lodge, a motel on Highway 50. He negotiated the lease by telephone while the property owner was working in the Australian Outback. Motel rooms became classrooms. The old swimming pool was filled in. A dirt-floored ice rink became the library. The college operated out of that converted lodge for 14 years.

Throughout that time, Duke kept his eye on something permanent. He identified the land on Al Tahoe Blvd, earmarked funds to purchase it, and pushed the project forward when others doubted it could be done. The first permanent building opened in 1988.

He retired June 30, 1990.

A Name on the Building

In 2005, LTCC renamed its performing arts facility the Duke Theatre in his honor. That is where the college gathered recently to remember what he built.

The college he founded now occupies a 164-acre campus and serves more than 10,000 students each year.