Colleges’ chancellor to step down

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, the chancellor of the California Community Colleges system, will step down after nearly six years at the helm to lead the College Futures Foundation, officials said Thursday.

Oakley will leave the system — which serves more than 1.8 million students across 116 colleges in California — on Aug. 1, officials said. He was appointed as the chancellor of the system in 2016, has served as a University of California regent since 2014 and served in a temporary five-month role as a special adviser for Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in the Biden administration in 2021.

“Serving as chancellor of the community college system that gave me the opportunity to succeed in higher education has been the most rewarding experience of my life,” Oakley said, adding that he is proud of what he and his colleagues accomplished during his tenure, as well as the students earning degrees in the college system.

Board of Governors President Pamela Haynes said Oakley has been instrumental in working to close equity gaps among students in the college system. Oakley and the Board of Governors spearheaded the college system’s Vision for Success, a road map for students that aims to close equity gaps, help students quickly transfer from community colleges to four-year universities, and increase the number of students who earn degrees and certificates, officials said.

In Oakley’s new role at College Futures Foundation — an equity-focused higher-education foundation — officials said he is set to help higher-education leaders reach goals set by California Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of the governor’s “comprehensive multi-year framework that seeks to close equity gaps, reduce cost of attendance, improve transfer and time-to-degree for students.”

Newsom said Oakley has been “an incredible leader and champion for higher education, setting California’s community colleges on a course for transformational change.

“As we execute on the vision for a more equitable, affordable, and student-centered system of higher education, I look forward to continuing to work with Chancellor Oakley in his new role, along with the strong leadership in the Chancellor’s Office and at campuses throughout the state,” Newsom said.

The Board of Governors will to appoint an interim chancellor in July and launch a search for a permanent chancellor, officials said.