San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) Chancellor, Dr. Constance M. Carroll, also known as, “the People’s Chancellor”, has plans to retire in 2021. Prior to her official retirement date, the Board of Trustees will be recruiting for a new chancellor, who will be expected to take the position by July 2021.
“It has been an honor to serve the San Diego Community College District because of our mission of service to students and the community,” said Carroll. “There will be a time in the future to celebrate our accomplishments together, but I wanted to announce my plans now in order to give our board and our district the necessary time to develop and implement a search process for the next chancellor.”
According to the SDCCD Board President, Maria Nieto Senour, it will be a difficult task to find a fitting replacement. Carroll has been the longest-serving chancellor in the history of the district, as she has served in the position since 2004.
Senour says that “Constance is recognized both locally and nationally for her transformational leadership and during her time as chancellor, the [San Diego Community College District] has established itself as one of the leading community college districts in the nation known for its deep commitment to social justice.”
Carroll oversaw the San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges, and the San Diego Community Education transformation. The California Community Colleges Baccalaureate Pilot Program is also an advocacy campaign that Carroll co-chairs.
She also led the tuition-free promise movement, along with having launched the San Diego Promise Program, that attends to more than 3,000 students a year. The program helps first-time/full-time students, who are recent high school graduates, cover the cost of tuition for the first two years at San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges. It also provides textbook grants of $400 per year to qualifying students.
Senour informs that the Board of Trustees will have a board subcommittee to oversee the process of appointing a new chancellor. This committee will be composed of district governance groups and representatives of the community.
An interview will be set up with the finalists and then a new chancellor will be selected. Although the new chancellor is expected to begin in July of 2021, Carroll will remain in the position until the new chancellor can begin if necessary.
During her retirement, Carroll plans to pursue services in cultural and educational organizations. She will be closing this chapter in her life and will be focusing on her nonprofit organization that is the California Community Colleges Baccalaureate Association (CCBA). The main goal of the CCBA is to help provide assistance and expand the opportunities to the state’s 115 community colleges so that the workforce fields that require bachelor’s degrees can be offered four-year degrees.
