First Latina in the nation to lead a four-year public university system.
Story and photo by CSU Chancellor's Office | OCT. 1, 2023
Dr. Mildred García has begun her tenure as the California State University (CSU) chancellor, making history as the first Latina in the nation to lead a four-year public university system. Chancellor García succeeds Chancellor Emerita Jolene Koester, who led the university in an interim role since May 2022.
Chancellor García is past president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) where she advocated for public higher education at the national level, working to influence federal policy and regulations on behalf of 350 member colleges and universities.
García served as president of Cal State Fullerton from 2012 to 2018 and led the university to record improvements in graduation rates and nearly tripled new philanthropic gift commitments. As president of CSU Dominguez Hills from 2007 to 2012, she increased retention rates for freshman and transfer students and eliminated a structural deficit of $2.8 million—and became the CSU's first Latina president.
Before her CSU roles, García served as the CEO of Berkeley College, where she was the first systemwide president for all six campuses in New York and New Jersey. She has held both academic and senior-level positions at Arizona State University; Montclair State University; Pennsylvania State University; Teachers College, Columbia University; and the Hostos, LaGuardia, and City Colleges of the City University of New York.
A recipient of myriad awards, García was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on several advisory boards, including the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, and by the U.S. Secretary of Education to serve on the Committee on Measures of Student Success.
García was raised in New York City by her parents who moved from Puerto Rico. A first-generation student and the first in her family to earn a degree, she received her associate degree from New York City Community College, a bachelor's in business education from Bernard M. Baruch College and a master's in business education from New York University. At Teachers College, Columbia University, she earned a master's and a doctorate in higher education administration.
