Retirement announcements
Francisco C. Rodriguez, the second-longest-serving chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), will retire on November 2. He has led the nation’s largest community college district — which serves about 210,000 students annually at its nine colleges — since 2014 and has served in California public education for nearly four decades.
As chancellor, Rodriguez has focused on equity and expanded access to higher education, raising the system’s profile and effectiveness through strategic and long-range academic planning, fiscal stewardship, facilities and capital outlay, and enrollment management, according to the district. Under his leadership, LACCD also increased bachelor’s degree programs, dual-enrollment opportunities and the LA College Promise Program. Rodriguez is also noted for his efforts on student-centered supports to improve student retention, increase degree, certificate and transfer completion rates, which more than doubled the number of degrees, credit and noncredit certificates awarded over the last 10 years.
During Rodriguez’s tenture, LACCD has implemented innovative programs to serve students, with a focus on assisting underrepresented students. For example, in 2023 the district’s college began teaching select basic education classes in Spanish during its winter session to see if it encourages city residents who struggle with English to enroll and continue with their education. The classes in the pilot covered topics around computer basics, healthcare, child development, nutrition, English as a second language, GED preparation and workplace success.
“Our nation’s strength, economic health and prosperity, and promise of democracy depend on the inclusion and success of all its participants. So, to serve in the most egalitarian system of higher education is a true privilege,” Rodriguez said in his retirement announcement.
Community college advocates lauded Rodriguez — a first-generation college student from an immigrant family of factory workers — for his career accomplishments, especially as chancellor.
“His passion and commitment to extend hope and prosperity to underrepresented students have been ceaseless,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian.
Prior to LACCD, Rodriguez was superintendent/president at the MiraCosta Community College District from 2009 to 2014, president at Cosumnes River College from 2003 to 2009, and executive dean at Woodland Community College from 1999 to 2003. He arrived at Woodland in 1997 as associate dean of instruction and student services. He began his professional career in student affairs at the University of California, Davis.
Rodriguez has served on several national panels, including the board of directors for the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee for the Directorate of Education and Human Resources and the National Endowment for Financial Education.
In 2021, Rodriguez was named one of the “LA500” most influential people of 2021 by the Los Angeles Business Journal. In 2018, he received the Ohtli Award — or “Reconocimiento Ohtli” — from the government of Mexico, one of the highest civilian honors it bestows, in recognition of his advocacy of higher education to aid, empower or positively change the lives of tens of thousands of Mexican descendants or nationals in the United States. In 2020, Rodriguez joined Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research at the University of California, Davis, (his alma mater) as its first Chancellor in Residence.
James M. Shaeffer, president of Eastern Shore Community College (ESCC) in Virginia, has announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year, effective June 30, 2025.
Shaeffer was noted for his strong background in workforce development training with multi-state experience when he become president of ESCC in 2019. In those five years, the college established a new culture of “YES! Your Eastern Shore” that used hospitality, transparency, accountability and inclusion to convey the college’s mission, vision and values.
“With the hard work of our team and the support of the community, enrollments in transfer and workforce programs are as high as they have been in years.” Shaeffer said of the effort and other endeavors. “We have created policies and procedures that help to assure our students’ success. The programs we now have in place such as Contact to Career, Achieving the Dream and a recent $900,000 grant from the Ratcliffe Foundation, positions ESCC extremely well into the next 50 years.”
Shaeffer previously served for five years as the founding dean of the College of Continuing Education and Professional Development at Old Dominion University. Prior to that, he was associate vice provost and an associate professor at James Madison University, and he also worked at the University of North Dakota, rising from an associate dean to an associate vice president. In addition, Shaeffer held various positions at the University of Wyoming from 1984 to 1992.
Appointments
Luis G. Pedraja, president of Quinsigamond Community College in Massachusetts, was recently appointed as a delegate to the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) by Gov. Maura Healey. The board is a congressionally authorized organization that promotes equitable higher education opportunities and services for New England residents. NEBHE works across the six New England states to engage and assist leaders in the assessment, development and implementation of sound education practices and policies.
