BREAKING: SDCCD selects Carlos Turner Cortez as new chancellor
The president of Continuing Education replaces Constance Carroll
San Diego College of Continuing Education President Carlos O. Turner Cortez (right) hosts a campus visit with Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Councilmember Monica Montgomery to explain food insecurity programs at SDCCE. SDCCD photo
March 16, 2021
The San Diego Community College District has selected Carlos Turner Cortez to replace Chancellor Constance Carroll, who is retiring after 17 years.
Cortez has served as the president of the San Diego College of Continuing Education for the past six years.
“I come at this work from the lens of an educator,” Cortez said in an interview with City Times in February. “It is important to have academics lead academic institutions because we understand what happens in the classroom.”
As chancellor-designate, Cortez will have to prioritize safely reopening the district’s campuses, partnering with the community and industry to ensure economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for its students, and engaging students to increase enrollment, according to the press release that announced his selection.
“I love working for the best community college district in the United States,” Cortez said earlier. “The opportunity to serve our community in a different, bigger way is exciting and humbling.”
Cortez’s appointment is pending final approval of his employment contract, which will be considered at a future Board of Trustees meeting in a public session.
