SDCCD : Carlos O. Turner Cortez Ushers In New Era As Chancellor Of SDCCD

Press release from San Diego Community College District:

July 1, 2021

Chancellor Carlos O. Turner Cortez, Ph.D., takes over today as chief executive officer
of the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), the district’s first new chancellor
in 17 years.

Having most recently served as president of the San Diego College of Continuing Education
(SDCCE), the largest noncredit adult education institution in the nation, Dr. Cortez
brings both continuity and fresh perspectives to a district that is well established
in the region as an engine of economic opportunity and social change.

The SDCCD Board of Trustees announced the selection of Chancellor Cortez in March,
following a national search. He succeeds former SDCCD Chancellor Constance M. Carroll,
Ph.D., who retired June 30. Including Continuing Education, the SDCCD serves 100,000
students annually at San Diego City College, Mesa College, and Miramar College, making
it San Diego’s largest institution of higher education.

“Chancellor Carroll has established the SDCCD as national leader in student equity
and outcomes. I am committed to working with our student leaders, faculty, classified
professionals, and administrators to move the district to the next level of success,” Chancellor
Cortez said.

Chancellor Cortez will now oversee the region’s largest provider of workforce training
and higher education with a $4.1 billion annual economic impact across eight campuses
and a district office. He will lean heavily on his experience as a faculty member
and administrator as the SDCCD transitions toward normalcy — or what passes for normal
— in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. After operating remotely for nearly 18 months,
the SDCCD is expanding its in-person class offerings this fall in anticipation of
a full reopening in January 2022. Other immediate priorities include boosting student
enrollment, addressing college affordability, and expanding equity and access in a
district where a growing number of students are fighting hunger and battling housing
insecurities.

During his six years leading SDCCE, Chancellor Cortez established an ongoing partnership
with the San Diego Rescue Mission, transitioning homeless adults into the workforce
and out of poverty, and led the way in implementing the San Diego Gateway to College
and Career program that offers paid internships, accelerated instruction, and a clear
pathway to good-paying jobs for teens and young adults who are neither in school nor
working. He also launched the Interactive Competency-based Online Microcredentialing
(ICOM) Academy, an online curriculum providing adult learners with job training in
11 career education options that can take just five to 10 months to complete.

Before arriving at the SDCCE in 2015, Chancellor Cortez served as acting vice president
of Instruction and dean of Academic Pathways, Workforce Development, and Student Success
at Berkeley City College; director of Education Extension at UCLA; and as a teacher
and administrator in public schools in New York and Los Angeles. He also serves as
an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University, New York University, and the
University of California, Berkeley.

Chancellor Cortez has a bachelor’s degree in history and sociology from Georgetown
University, a master’s degree in race and gender politics from New York University,
and a Ph.D. in education policy and administration from the University of Southern
California.

“Chancellor Cortez is an innovative, entrepreneurial, energetic, and proven leader
who is committed to participatory governance,” said SDCCD Board of Trustees President
Maria Nieto Senour. “He clearly understands the dynamics of a large, multi-college
district as well as the dynamics of the community the SDCCD serves.”

This press release was produced by San Diego Community College District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.