The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Mildred García to serve as the 11th chancellor of the California State University. Dr. Mildred García assumed the presidency of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASC). As AASCU’s president, Dr. García is an advocate for public higher education at the national level, working to influence federal policy and regulations on behalf of nearly 400 member colleges and universities; serving as a resource to presidents and chancellors as they address state policy and emerging campus issues; developing collaborative partnerships and initiatives that advance public higher education; directing a strategic agenda that focuses on public college and university leadership for the 21st century; and providing professional development opportunities for presidents, chancellors, and their spouses. She is the first Latina to lead one of the six presidentially based higher education associations in Washington, D.C. She was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.García was one of 19 individuals from the education, business, nonprofit, philanthropic and high-tech sectors nationwide appointed to the commission, which advised the president and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on issues related to improving educational opportunities and outcomes for Hispanics
Prior to joining AASCU, Dr. García served as the president of two Minority Serving Institutions: California State University (CSU), Fullerton—a nationally ranked university for its full range of academic offerings and research, the largest university in the CSU, and the third-largest university in the state—and at CSU Dominguez Hills, where she was the first Latina president in the largest system of public higher education in the country. Before her arrival in the CSU, Dr. García served as the CEO of Berkeley College, where she was the first system-wide president for all six campuses. She has held both academic and senior-level positions at Arizona State University; Montclair State University; Pennsylvania State University; Teachers College, Columbia University; and the Hostos, LaGuardia, and City Colleges of the City University of New York. A first-generation college student, Dr. García earned a Doctor of Education and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University; an M.A. in Business Education/Higher Education from New York University; a B.S. in Business Education from Baruch College, City University of New York; and an A.A.S. from New York City Community College.