Dr. Jack Scott was named statewide chancellor of the California Community College system in May 2008 and assumed the post in January after completing his Senate term. He now finds himself at the forefront of California’s diverse Community Colleges at a time when they are facing severe budget cuts and drastic enrollment growth. Despite the challenges, or perhaps because of them, Scott relishes the opportunity.

“The fact that I had experience—as a teacher and a community college president, and in the legislature … naturally it just appealed to me,” Scott said on a recent summer morning at his downtown Sacramento office.

	Photo by Affinity

“I’ve always had a deep sense of service,” Scott said. He credits those around him for this philosophy. “My values were instilled by my parents and the church,” he said. “And I was always inspired by the way … college gives young people opportunities, how it changes lives.”

Scott received a bachelor’s degree in religion at Abilene Christian College before attending Yale, where he received a master’s degree in divinity. Later, he attended Claremont College where he earned a doctorate in history. While at Yale, Scott led a small church in New Haven, Connecticut. It was there that he decided to pursue teaching. His first classroom job was teaching history at Pepperdine University in 1962.

Nearly a decade later, Scott, impressed by California’s diverse network of Community Colleges, decided to move from teaching into administration. “I grew up in Texas where community colleges weren’t as big as they are here in California,” he said. “I got to looking around and was really excited about what [the Community Colleges] were doing, so I applied to be dean of Instruction at Orange Coast College.” The idea of working in administration appealed to him because it was another way to foster academic success.

In 1978, Scott was named president of Cypress College, and in 1987 he became president of Pasadena City College. Then, in 1995, Scott was approached about running for the California assembly. “My first reaction was to be hesitant, but the more I thought about it, the more I saw it as another opportunity,” he said. “It involved education, which I care deeply about, and I already had experience working with the legislature in my role as [Community College] president, so I thought, here is a great opportunity to
do even more.”

Scott was elected to the California State Assembly in 1996 and to the State Senate in 2000. During his tenure, he authored 146 bills that were signed into law, and served as chair of the Senate Committee on Education. His time in the legislature, Scott said, expanded his scope on education. “I dealt with K-12 as well as higher education issues, and learned a lot about public education and policy,” he said. “All those things gave me a very wide perspective.”

Scott’s time in the legislature naturally brought him into close proximity to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and it was the governor, Scott said, who strongly counseled him to take the chancellor position. Now, Scott realizes that his time at the California state capitol puts him at an advantage in his current job. “I know so many of the legislators, so I can pick up the phone and talk to them in a way that someone who hasn’t been in the legislature can’t,” he said. “I know how the system works—and it’s not that I have any illusions about being able to get my way, but at least I can make the case.”

These days, Scott spends time shuttling between Sacramento and Pasadena where he and his wife, Lacreta, own homes. The couple visit Southern California at least once a month to see family—a brood that includes four children (their fifth child died at age 27) and 10 grandchildren. There’s not a lot of time for play, Scott admits—his current gig keeps him working long hours.

Scott’s goals as chancellor focus on both the immediate and the distant future as the system faces ongoing cuts amid a stubborn recession. At the top of his to-do list: improve transfer rates for community college students seeking to continue their education at a four-year college.

“We’ve created a transfer task force to reduce the number of classes that students take. If students take 5 percent fewer classes, then perhaps we can educate 5 percent more students.” And that’s always the goal. “Community Colleges serve 2.9 million students—we serve everybody from recent immigrants to high school graduates to returning adults who need to continue their education,” he said. “They offer a terrific and inexpensive way to go to college and that’s why I’m so passionate about them."