College’s first queer-identified and Latino president brings passion for equity and student success.

Following a national search, San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) Chancellor Melissa Moreno has announced that she will recommend Dr. Manuel Alejandro Pérez to the Board of Trustees as the next president of College of San Mateo (CSM). The Board of Trustees will take formal action on Dr. Pérez’s appointment at their meeting on May 22, 2024. 

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Pérez to College of San Mateo,” said Chancellor Moreno. “He is a passionate leader who has demonstrated a deep commitment to underserved student communities with innovative programs to provide equitable and inclusive student experiences that engender their success. We are confident that he will lead CSM to new heights of excellence and innovation using an uncompromised collaborative and collegial approach.” 

Dr. Pérez brings 20 years of professional experience in higher education, from his doctoral work in education to his teaching work in social justice, international and multicultural studies, and the performing arts, to developing a career in the community college system, and now currently serving as the Vice President of Student Services at Cañada College. 

“I am honored and humbled to serve as the next president of College of San Mateo,” said Dr. Pérez. “I look forward to working collaboratively with the faculty, staff, students, and community partners to advance the mission and vision of this transformative institution. I am committed to fostering a culture of care, belonging, and excellence that supports the success and well-being of all our students, especially our historically marginalized and underserved communities.” 

Before joining SMCCCD, Dr. Pérez served as Interim Assistant Vice President for Equity & Community Inclusion at San Francisco State University. Before that, he served as the Dean of Student Development and Dean of Equity Programs & Pathways for American River College (ARC). 

Dr. Pérez holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies with a minor in ethnic studies from Santa Clara University, a master’s degree in communication studies from San Diego State University, and a doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco, where he also teaches courses as part-time faculty. 

Dr. Pérez will start his new position on July 1, 2024. His selection is subject to approval of a written contract, whose terms will be available for public review before the May 22 board meeting. 

Second woman to serve as permanent chancellor in the District’s century-plus history after Dr. Lois Callahan, who retired in 1997.

Following a national search, the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) Board of Trustees announced their unanimous decision to select Melissa Moreno, J.D., as the next permanent Chancellor of SMCCCD, with an anticipated start date of April 25, 2024. 

“Chancellor Moreno is an innovative, dynamic, and collaborative leader who brings a strong vision for the future grounded by a demonstrated record of achievements,” said Board President John Pimentel. “Chancellor Moreno is an effective advocate for free community college for all San Mateo County residents. She’ll work closely with the board to prioritize improving student access, extend recent enrollment gains, and engage proactively with existing community organizations to reach communities who can improve their economic and career prospects through SMCCCD.”

Moreno has served as the District’s Interim Chancellor since April 2023. She has extensive executive-level experience with more than 18 years of progressive leadership roles in the community college system, beginning with the Santa Barbara Community College District. While there, she was the founding director of the national award-winning Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Dean of the Business Division, and Vice President of the School of Extended Learning. 

She joined San Mateo County Community College District in 2020 as President of Skyline College and provided steady leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I am honored to have been selected to lead the San Mateo County Community College District and am grateful to the Board of Trustees for their trust and confidence,” said Moreno. “As a former California community college student, I deeply respect the transformational power that community colleges hold to change lives. I am committed to a vision that centers the needs of our students and ensures educational opportunities for families and their children in our communities that are historically marginalized and least likely to go to college.”

Moreno’s visionary track record will ensure the District continues to grow student enrollment, maintain fiscal health, build student housing, and meet local workforce needs with a focus on closing equity gaps within the region. 

Moreno holds a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from UC Santa Barbara and a Juris Doctorate from Santa Barbara College of Law. 

Chancellor Moreno’s appointment is pending the final ratification of her employment contract, which will be considered at the Board of Trustees meeting on April 24, 2024. 

The San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) has selected four finalists for its chancellor position. This announcement comes after a national search that fielded a highly qualified and diverse pool of candidates.  

A screening committee comprised of faculty, staff, students, administrators, a board member, and a community representative has recommended the following candidates to the Board of Trustees for consideration:  

• Rudy Besikof, Ed.D., President of Laney College in Oakland 
• Carlos Cortez, Ph.D., former Chancellor of the San Diego Community College District 
• Melissa Moreno, J.D., Interim Chancellor of the San Mateo County Community College District 
• Thuy Thi Nguyen, J.D., Partner at Garcia, Hernández, Sawhney LLP 

Dr. Besikof previously served as Vice President of Laney College in Oakland. He earned his doctorate as a 2010 graduate of UCLA’s Educational Leadership Program. 

Dr. Cortez previously served as President of San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE) He earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, a master’s degree from New York University, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Southern California. 

Ms. Moreno previously served as the President of Skyline College in San Bruno. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Juris Doctorate from Santa Barbara College of Law. 

Ms. Nguyen previously served as the President of Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Yale University and a Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law. 

Finalists will participate in prerecorded moderated forums that will be posted to the SMCCCD website by the end of the day on Friday, March 15.  These forums will allow the finalists to introduce themselves, share their vision and priorities, and respond to questions gathered from the campus community, including Academic Senate, Classified Senate, and Associated Students. Faculty, classified staff, administrators, students, and the public are invited to watch the forums and provide feedback on the finalists during the week of March 18. Forum recordings and feedback forms will be available until 11:59 pm on Friday, March 22. 

The SMCCCD Chancellor is responsible for all operations in a district with a nearly $500 million annual budget. The Chancellor oversees Cañada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College; assures that the District is administered in accordance with policies adopted by the Board of Trustees and state and federal regulations; and maintains a close working relationship with the community, K-12 and local higher-education systems, as well as local, state and federal officials. 

View finalist bios and more information about the search process at the Chancellor Search website. 

San Mateo, Calif., (February 23, 2023) – Last night, the San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees unanimously selected Dr. Melissa Moreno to serve as the District’s Interim Chancellor.

With over 25 years of higher education experience, Dr. Moreno most recently served as the President of Skyline College, a position she has held since August 2020.

“In Dr. Moreno, we have selected a higher education leader that is truly focused on the overall well- being of our students, and our valued team members,” said Dr. Lisa Petrides, President, San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees. “On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank Dr. Moreno for her partnership, and for her steadfast commitment to our mission of making access to higher education a right for all in San Mateo County.”

Prior to serving as President of Skyline College, Dr. Moreno has held a myriad of positions within higher education that have led her from serving as adjunct faculty to Vice President. While serving at Santa Barbara City College, Dr. Moreno was the founding director of the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, one of the leading institutes for entrepreneurship in California, and as the founding Vice President of the School of Extended Learning.

“Having devoted the majority of my career to higher education, I am humbled by the trust bestowed upon me by the Board of Trustees,” said Dr. Melissa Moreno, Interim Chancellor, San Mateo County Community College District. “As the District’s newest caretaker, I will work with our stakeholders and community to ensure that our nationally recognized college district sets the example in our State for progressive and equitable educational opportunities for our most disproportionately impacted student populations that works to remove barriers to their success.”

Dr. Moreno holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and Juris Doctorate from Santa Barbara College of Law. She is also licensed to practice law in the state of California.

She will begin as Interim Chancellor on April 1, 2023.

San Mateo, CA (January 13, 2023) – On December 13, 2022, Governing board member Goodman vacated his seat on the San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees creating a Board Vacancy for Trustee Area 3. At a Special Board Meeting on December 20, 2022, the San Mateo County Community College District Board took action to fill this vacancy by making a provisional appointment. The appointee will hold office until the next governing board member election, which occurs at the Statewide General Election in November 2024.

The Board approved a timeline and process at a Special Board Meeting on January 10, 2023. According to California Education Code 72103: Any person, regardless of sex, who is 18 years of age or older, a citizen of the state, a resident of the community college, a registered voter, and who is not disqualified by the Constitution or laws of the state from holding a civil office, is eligible to be elected or appointed a member of a governing board of a community college district without further qualifications.

Applications are now being accepted from any eligible person interested in filling this vacancy. Applications are available at: https://smccd.edu/boardoftrustees/board-vacancy.php and must be submitted by Saturday, February 4, 2023. No late applications will be accepted.

All applicants who are eligible will be interviewed at a public Special Board Meeting on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. Following the interviews, the Board will appoint the provisional Board Member, and administer the Oath of Office.

About San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD): The SMCCCD is a three-college district located between San Francisco and San Jose in the Silicon Valley. Our colleges serve more than 20,000 students each year and offer the first two years of instruction in a wide variety of degree and transfer programs, as well as vocational-technical programs.

For more information: https://smccd.edu/

San Mateo, CA (11/23/22) – The San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD), announced today the finalists for the District’s chancellor position.  This announcement comes after a national search that fielded a highly qualified and diverse pool of candidates.

A screening committee, comprised of faculty, staff, students, administrators, board members and community representatives held initial interviews with candidates and has recommended the following candidates to the Board of Trustees for consideration:

• Santanu Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D. – currently president at Modesto Junior College in the Yosemite Community College District 
• Bradley Davis, J.D. – currently the Chancellor at West Valley-Mission Community College District 
• Rowena M. Tomaneng, Ed.D. – currently president at San José City College in the San José Evergreen Community College District 

SMCCCD will host three virtual forums to introduce candidates Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay, Bradley Davis, and Dr. Rowena M. Tomaneng to the public. 

The SMCCCD virtual forums will be held on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. Community members are welcome to attend and learn about the candidates. The forums will take place during the following times: 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM, 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM, and 4 PM – 5 PM via zoom. For more information visit: https://smccd.edu/chancellor-search/SMCCCD%20Chancellor%20Finalist%20Forums.php

Santanu Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D.

Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay has had leadership roles in three community colleges: Cypress, Columbia and Modesto Junior College. He currently serves as the President of Modesto Junior College. He previously served as the President of Columbia College within the same District beginning in July 2018. As the Executive Vice President at Cypress College from July 2013 to July 2018, Dr. Bandyopadhyay was responsible for both instructional programs and student services and was involved in leading national initiatives such as “Achieving the Dream” and “Survey of Entering Student Engagement” 

A first-generation immigrant, Dr. Bandyopadhyay earned his MBA and Ph.D. at Ohio University after a successful career in teaching and market research in India. He taught Computer Science at the National Institute of Information Technology.

Bradley Davis, J.D.

Bradley Davis has more than two decades of senior administrative experience in public higher education in California. He is currently in his fourth year as the chancellor of the West Valley-Mission Community College District in Santa Clara County. As chancellor, he oversees a multi-college district that encompasses both West Valley College in Saratoga and Mission College in Santa Clara. Under his leadership, the district has taken steps to waive parking, health services, and childcare costs for students at the two colleges, and recently passed a resolution to waive all tuition and enrollment fees for residents.

Prior to being selected as chancellor, Davis held the position of president at West Valley College for seven years. Mr. Davis holds a juris doctorate from Syracuse University’s College of Law and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Gannon University where he lettered in two NCAA Division II sports, baseball, and basketball.

Dr. Rowena M. Tomaneng, Ed.D.

Dr. Rowena M. Tomaneng has over 27 years of administrative and teaching experience in higher education and currently serves as the President of San José City College (SJCC) in the San José Evergreen Community College District (SJECCD). She has worked to develop innovative partnerships that provide academic and career education pathways for the diverse student populations of SJCC and SJCC’s Milpitas Extension. 

Prior to SJCC, Dr. Tomaneng served as President of Berkeley City College (BCC) in the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) and served in multiple administrative roles at De Anza College in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. She also served as a faculty director and was a 12-year faculty member of English, Intercultural Studies, and Women’s Studies. 

Dr. Tomaneng earned her Ed.D. in International and Multicultural Education, Human Rights Concentration from the University of San Francisco, M.A. in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and B.A. in English from the University of California, Irvine.  

About San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD): The SMCCCD is a three-college district located between San Francisco and San Jose in the Silicon Valley. Our colleges serve more than 20,000 students each year and offer the first two years of instruction in a wide variety of degree and transfer programs, as well as vocational-technical programs. 

For more information: https://smccd.edu/