After nearly six years in this position, California Community College Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley is moving on to a new role at a leading private foundation that increases the share of colored and low-income students completing college.
Oakley will step into his new position at the College Futures Foundation on August 1, where he is expected to serve as a leader on issues related to equality and economic prosperity, as president and CEO.
Oakley has pioneered the state’s community college system—which served 2.1 million students across 116 campuses since 2016—with a focus on equity and student success, among other initiatives.
“We wish Chancellor Oakley the best of luck in his future endeavours,” the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC) said in a statement. “While we haven’t always agreed with the Chancellor on certain policy matters, his legacy of bringing equity to the fore in every community college policy discussion should be celebrated and continued.”
The FACCC said that regardless of who is appointed to the interim or permanent role, it will continue to advocate for faculty, students, and the mission of the California Community College System.
Oakley also served in a short-lived role with President Biden’s administration as an adviser to US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in 2021. He worked on policies that impacted community colleges, including affordability, student success, recovering from coronavirus, and more.
Oakley is perhaps best known in recent years for working with the board of governors on the community college system’s Vision for Success, closing the equity gap, increasing transfer rates, and increasing the number of students earning certificates and degrees. Known for his efforts to usher in a student-centric path to boost the numbers. ,
“We are indebted to Chancellor Oakley for his vision, his unwavering commitment to our colleges and – most importantly – our students,” Board of Governors Chair Pamela Haynes said in a statement. “He has been a catalyst for reform and change in our system and guiding our focus on closing the equity gap, meeting students and designing our institutions with them.”
During Oakley’s tenure in the state role, the 116-college system has made steady and significant gains in student success. According to California Community Colleges, from 2015-2016, the number of students earning college credentials increased by 32% and the number of students earning associate degrees for transfer more than doubled.
The state system began receiving funding during the 2018-19 school year for the California College Promise, which provides free tuition for first-time working students who take full assignments. That program has its roots in the Long Beach College Promise Program, which Oakley helped build during his tenure in the city.
Oakley served as superintendent-president of Long Beach City College from 2007 to 2016. He started in LBCC in 2002 as an Assistant Superintendent. Oakley worked at Oxnard College and Coast Community College before joining LBCC.
The City of Long Beach and education leaders created the College Promise in 2008 to guarantee access to higher education for every student passing through the Long Beach Unified School District. It has been expanded in subsequent years.
Oakley has often said that he has learned a lot from his stay to college success.
He grew up in south central Los Angeles during a time of rising crime and dwindling job opportunities, saying the road to a college seemed impossible for him at the time. But after spending four years as a paratrooper in the US Army, Oakley enrolled at Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach, and then transferred to UC Irvine, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental analysis and design. degree, and with a master’s degree. business Administration.
Oakley has made helping students of color and low-income families a priority during her tenure as an education leader.
In 2018, Oakley told a Southern California newsgroup that his road to graduation was defined by a lot of hard work, a few mistakes, and a little luck.
“I was an exception to someone coming from a community like myself,” he said at the time. “Those children (students of color and youth from low-income families) should be no exception. They should be ideal. ,
