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Foothill College graduates will need to be "shape shifters" to thrive in the global economy of the 21st century, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told the graduates Friday.

Invoking the Greek sea god Proteus, who could change shape and foretell the future, Duncan told graduates in a colorful ceremony that to succeed in today's world they will need to have Protean qualities of flexibility, versatility and adaptability.

Duncan spoke to 497 graduates in Foothill's 50th annual commencement ceremony.

Seated in the first row were seven out of the 37 members of the college's original graduating class of 1960.

Also honored in Friday's ceremony was founding Foothill trustee Robert Smithwick.

Smithwick was a young dentist in Los Altos in 1956 when he attended the original planning meeting for Foothill College, convened by then-Palo Alto School Superintendent Henry M. Gunn.

Leaders at the time expected Foothill enrollment would top out at 6,000. Today's enrollment at Foothill and its sister institution, De Anza College, is about 44,000.

This fall, 47 graduating seniors from Gunn High School and 19 graduating seniors from Palo Alto High School plan to attend Foothill, according to the Palo Alto Unified School District. Foothill officials said that number may be even higher.

Duncan said community colleges are "central to building a vibrant economy and resilient workforce, and are critical to meeting President Obama's goal of America once again having the highest percentage of college graduates in the world by 2020."

A sea of hands went up when he asked graduates to indicate whether they were the first in their families to graduate from college, or had come to the United States from another country or had worked or raised a family while in school.

"The Foothill Class of 2010 has had to climb steps and overcome obstacles that younger students at four-year residential colleges typically don't face.

"Your tremendous commitment to your own education inspires us all," Duncan said.

Foothill President Judy Miner presented Associate in Arts degrees to 279 candidates in areas ranging from business administration to child development to travel careers. In addition, she presented 218 Associate in Science degrees in areas including biological sciences, dental hygiene, respiratory therapy and veterinary technology.

More than 600 Foothill students this year will transfer to four-year institutions, Miner said, including nearly all of the University of California and California State University campuses, as well as many private institutions. Students do not need an associate's degree to transfer to a four-year college, though must meet other prerequisites.

Other Foothill students will go directly into the workforce in areas that include computer science, allied health fields and environmental horticulture.

In addition to the associate degrees, Foothill confers hundreds of certificates in a wide variety of subjects each year.

Faculty speaker Glenn Violett, an instructor in business and social studies, said the class of 2010 must know how to adapt to rapid change.

"I encourage each and every one of you to have the mantra: 'I am the entrepreneur of me,'" Violett advised graduates.

"Dress up, show up and participate.

"Market yourself well; be on time; look your best. Network yourself without apology. Listen to the advice of people you respect, and find a personal and professional mentor to meet with monthly, if not weekly.

"Avoid losers. Losers have the toxic ability to bring you down, and never go there."

Prior to the ceremony, as graduates lined up to march into the quad, four protesters from a teachers' union held signs protesting Foothill's selection of Duncan as the graduation speaker.

Teachers from the United Public Workers for Action, including Richmond third-grade teacher Mary Flanagan and Skyline Community College history instructor George Wright, said they were protesting Duncan's "union-busting and privatization" of public education.

Calling Duncan "a certified enemy of public education," the teachers said they objected to policies encouraging charter schools embedded in the administration's Race to the Top incentive program for federal education funds.

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