Fresno bred: State Center trustees wisely pick a local educator for next chancellor

There were three good candidates competing to become the next chancellor of the State Center Community College District. Fortunately, the trustees made the right choice Monday in selecting Carole Goldsmith.

Goldsmith, currently the president of Fresno City College, is a respected and trusted leader known in the central San Joaquin Valley not just in the education community, but more broadly as well.

Besides understanding local issues and sensibilities, Goldsmith is a passionate voice for helping students, particularly at the community college level. In a op-ed published in The Bee last July, Goldsmith wrote that “The concept of a community college is uniquely American. The first word in our vocation is ‘community’ and should not be taken lightly.

“For me, leading California’s first community college (Fresno City) is laden with the responsibility to serve the public and to continually ask myself how we serve during these uncertain times.”

Besides Goldsmith, the trustees considered Beatriz Espinoza, a consultant at Laredo Community College in Texas, and Omid Pourzanjani, the superintendent/president at San Joaquin Delta Community College District in Stockton.

Annalisa Perea, president of the State Center board, expressed delight in hiring Goldsmith after a year-long search.

“Her passion for serving the community is unmatched, and her commitment to student success is second to none,” Perea said.

Economically challenged students

Goldsmith has been president of Fresno City College since August 2016. Before that, she was president of West Hills College in Coalinga for nearly four years. Her early career featured times as a teacher at a rural K-12 school and then as administrator for an adult school.

Her specialty is workforce development, a useful perspective for her new role, given the Valley’s continual need to place graduates in well-paying careers.

Goldsmith will oversee Fresno City, Clovis Community, Reedley College and Madera Community College, plus its branch program in Oakhurst.

More than 70% of State Center’s students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Sixty-percent of the 65,000-student enrollment is Hispanic.

Goldsmith has also shown courage in her public willingness to share her gay sexual orientation, and led efforts to create a Pride Flag event at Fresno City College.

Her first assignment? Help the trustees find her successor at Fresno City. Perea said a search firm will be hired to land an interim president, who will likely serve a year before a permanent hire is made.

Goldsmith will also oversee ongoing construction, and then the opening, of the district’s West Fresno campus, which represents a major educational opportunity for that part of the city.

Congratulations to Goldsmith. Here’s best wishes for strong leadership in the years ahead. The Valley’s young people, and adult re-entry students, are depending on you to help create the educational opportunities they need to succeed.