Former Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia will take over as president of the Colorado Community College System, the state’s largest system of higher education.
The State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education made the announcement Wednesday. Garcia will take over for the retiring Nancy McCallin in overseeing 13 colleges and 39 campuses across Colorado that serve over 137,000 students.
Garcia is currently president of The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, an interstate compact created to provide access to, and improve the quality of, higher education opportunities for residents of the western United States.
From 2011-16, Garcia served as lieutenant governor and as executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Garcia also served as president of Pikes Peak Community College and Colorado State University-Pueblo.
Previously, he was a member of the cabinet for Gov. Roy Romer and was a White House appointee under President Bill Clinton.
Russell Meyer, chair of the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education, said Garcia is the ideal person to lead the state’s community college system.
“Joe Garcia has demonstrated throughout his distinguished career the type of strong, effective and transformational leadership that will ensure CCCS has a worthy successor to Nancy McCallin,” Meyer said.
Garcia said he hopes to use his position to help students with limited resources reach their academic goals. “With dedicated faculty and staff, we can help them reach their goals, support their families, and give back to their communities,” Garcia said. “I am excited to play a role in that process.”
Garcia is scheduled to start his new job in July.
