Why mentoring, academic tutoring, and career planning make a difference for first-gen college students

 

POSTED ON Nov 23, 2020

 

According to the latest National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Monthly Update on Higher Education Enrollment, community colleges are showing the steepest decline (-18.9%), almost 19 times the pre-pandemic loss rate, followed by public four-year colleges (-10.5%) and private nonprofit four-year institutions (-8.5%).

Recently, Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor for the California Community Colleges since December 2016, did a podcast with his alma mater, the University of California, Irvine, (UCI), to discuss his first-generation journey, and how he’s working to ensure college access for students across California.

UC Regent & UCI alum Eloy Ortiz Oakley discusses his first-gen journey, & how he’s working to ensure college access for students across California. #FirstGenFriday #FirstGenUCI

More: https://t.co/pOjKAZcF0O@UofCalifornia @EloyOakley @Social_Ecology @UCIrvine_MBA pic.twitter.com/e8x08hrmoN

— UC Irvine (@UCIrvine) October 9, 2020

Click here to listen.

Oakley is one of a growing list of educators who have joined a select group of first-generation students who have become college presidents.

After serving four years in the Army, Oakley enrolled at Golden West College and transferred to UCI, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental analysis and design and a master’s degree in business administration.

In 2007, Oakley was appointed superintendent-president of the Long Beach Community College District, and he became increasingly well-known for providing leadership on improving educational outcomes of historically underrepresented students. In 2015, President Obama launched the America’s College Promise initiative that was modeled in part on the Long Beach Promise.

The James Irvine Foundation, which works to achieve a California where all low-income workers have the power to advance economically,
recognized Oakley with its Leadership Award in 2014. The same year, former Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. appointed Oakley to the University of California Board of Regents. Chancellor Oakley’s term as Regent ends in 2024.