Gregory Smith lacks a Ph.D., but on Thursday he won a more prestigious title: the next chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, an inside finalist picked by the governing board ahead of two outside candidates.
Smith has been acting chancellor of the three-campus district since the resignation of Carlos Cortez, who succeeded the long-serving Constance Carroll.
Governing board member Maria Nieto Senour made the announcement to applause and cheers at Thursday’s board meeting, which was live-streamed on Facebook.
“The final approval of the appointment and employment contract will be considered by the board at a regular meeting Jan. 25, 2024,” said Nieto Senour. “So if he accepts the contract, he will be our next chancellor.”
A smiling Smith, sitting next to her on the dais, leaned forward and said: “I accept.”
Rancho Penasquitos resident Smith, 46, previously served as vice chancellor of People, Culture and Technology Services at the SDCCD.
He earned a master of public administration from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor of science in political science and a bachelor of arts in English literature from Arizona State University.
According to the job description, a master’s degree is part of minimum qualifications, but a doctorate is “preferred.” The district says he’s not currently pursuing a doctorate.
Before joining the community college system, he worked for over 12 years with the U.S. Department of Labor enforcing equal employment opportunity and affirmative action regulations for federal contractors, developing expertise in analyzing employment data, conducting discrimination investigations, and conciliating discrimination findings.
He started his collegiate education at Cerro Coso Community College in the Kern Community College District.
The other finalists were Daisy A. Gonzales, deputy chancellor of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in Sacramento, and Brian King, chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento.
The finalists were selected as part of a national search by the SDCCD Board of Trustees to replace Cortez, who suddenly resigned in May.
Cortez was a finalist for chancellor in the Bay Area’s Contra Costa Community College District, but lost to Mojdeh Mehdizadeh as the 10th permanent chancellor.
The local college district serves about 100,000 students at San Diego City College, Mesa College and Miramar College. Smith also will lead the seven-campus San Diego College of Continuing Education.
Updated at 5:46 p.m. Dec. 15, 2023
