High school male juniors and seniors may register for the 2024 Men of Color Summit through their high school counselor. (See 2023 photo gallery at bottom).
SCCCD Summit March 22 ‘demonstrates to our
men of color they belong in higher education’
The 3rd annual State Center Community College District Men of Color Summit will feature Dr. Francisco Rodriguez, chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District, as keynote speaker Friday, March 22, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Fresno City College.
LACCD Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez
The event, which invites high school male juniors and seniors in the service area of SCCCD’s four campuses — Clovis Community College, Fresno City College, Madera Community College and Reedley College (all Central Valley Higher Education Consortium members along with SCCCD) — is designed to empower and motivate the young men to strive for excellence, said Dr. Ángel Reyna, MCC president.
“Students will engage in discussions addressing the needs and issues that specifically men of color face and how those issues intersect with their academic and professional careers,” President Reyna said.
The Men of Color Summit also was created in response to a continual decline of enrollment in higher education, said Dr. Robert Pimentel, FCC president.
“We want to encourage/demonstrate to our men of color that they belong in higher education,” President Pimentel said. “We offer a variety of sessions from financial aid, affinity groups, connections to community and how to navigate higher education. More importantly we have other men of color lead and engage with them throughout the day.”
Last year over 300 students from local high schools attended the summit and now the four colleges of State Center Community College District are actively engaged in bringing students from local high schools and some college students, President Reyna said.
Students may register for the Men of Color Summit through their high school counselor. 
Chancellor Rodriguez, who has 30-plus years of experience as a faculty member and administrator within California public higher education, speaks and writes on a variety of higher education topics including transformational leadership, racial equity and social justice, educational opportunity, transfer, student success, foundations and philanthropy, governance, equity and inclusion, STEM education and workforce development.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Dr. Rodriguez graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a bachelor’s degree in Chicano studies and his master’s degree in community development. He received his Ph.D. in Education from Oregon State University and an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Loyola Marymount University.
The chancellor has dedicated his career to high-quality public education and championing equity and inclusion, diversity, and outreach to under-resourced communities. In particular, he has focused his career on educational policies that expand access to higher education and financial aid, advocacy for undocumented and low-income students and students with disabilities, and a keen focus on the leadership development of Latino and African American males.
Info: https://www.scccd.edu/lp/men-of-color-summit.html
See full bio for Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Madera Community College Student Equity Plan
PHOTO GALLERY – Scenes from the 2023 SCCCD Men of Color Summit held at Fresno City College:
