San Diego Community College District chancellor finalists Daisy Gonzales, left, Brian King, center, and Greg Smith, right, will participate in hybrid-format public forums as a part of the chancellor search process which will select the next SDCCD chancellor on Dec. 14, 2023. Photo credit: SDCCD

Public forum interviews for new SDCCD chancellor underway

Open to the public, forums will be in-person at the district office and virtually Nov. 27-29

Marco Guajardo, Editor-in-Chief

November 27, 2023

The public forums for each of the three finalists in the San Diego Community College District chancellor search are being held Nov. 27-29.

The three forums are accessible in person from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in room 235 at the District’s administrative offices in Mission Valley and by live webcast both on Zoom and the SDCCD Board of Trustees YouTube channel to faculty, administrators, classified professionals, students and the public.

Brian King, current chancellor for the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento, hosted his forum Nov. 27.

“I am inspired every day by the challenges our students overcome,” King said in his first response to a forum question.

“The good news is that … we are committed to doing everything we can to reduce the barriers for the students,” the Del Rios chancellor said.

The district’s Chancellor Search website provides the schedule for all three forums, a bio page for each candidate and a survey link which opens during each forum to capture the public’s responses to each candidate’s forum participation.

The survey responses will go directly to Academic Search, the organization contracted for recruitment for the vacancy.

Academic Search will provide the results to the Board of Trustees for their consideration to select the next chancellor for district, according to the website.

The current search is aimed at filling the SDCCD chancellor vacancy left after former chancellor Carlos Cortez resigned on May 1.

The finalists will tour district campuses through Dec. 1. After a final vetting process, which includes campus visits to the candidates’ home institutions, the Board of Trustees will select the next chancellor of the SDCCD on Dec. 14.

Acting Chancellor of the SDCCD Greg Smith’s forum will be held Nov. 28. The third and final forum with finalist Daisy Gonzales, Deputy Chancellor of California’s Community Colleges, will be Nov. 29.

Donate to City Times

Your donation will support the student journalists of San Diego City College. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment, cover the cost of training and travel to conferences, and fund student scholarships. Credit card donations are not tax deductible. Instead, those donations must be made by check. Please contact adviser Nicole Vargas for more information at [email protected].