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Dr. Cecilia Cervantes President College of Alameda, CA
In
July of 2002, Cecilia Y. M. Cervantes, Ph.D. began her tenure as the College of
Alameda�s ninth president. During her first semester at CoA, Dr. Cervantes
launched a number of exciting and innovative instructional programs and
initiatives, including a new college wide theme: �Community, Service,
Diversity.� Additionally, Cervantes recently facilitated the first of several
community-based forums that are designed to promote more community connections
with the residents of Alameda. Cervantes was also elected as a board member for
the West Alameda Business Association (WABA), and served as a special volunteer
for the island�s first annual Peanut Butter and Jam Festival in September.
Prior
to joining the College of Alameda, Dr. Cervantes served as the Associate Vice
President of Lifelong Learning for all El Paso Community College (EPCC) District
programs in Continuing Education, where she supervised programs in Health,
Personal Enrichment, Technology, Safety, Senior Adult Education, Literacy, Truck
Driver Training and International Education.
Dr.
Cervantes also served as the Provost for the Transmountain Campus at EPCC, where
she was responsible for the overall instructional development, planning and
operationsof the Transmountain Campus, Northwest Center and Fort Bliss programs.
A
native of El Paso, Texas, Dr. Cervantes is a graduate of Loretto Academy and
received a Bachelors Degree in Spanish from the University of Texas at El Paso
(UTEP). In 1973, she received a Master�s of Education degree in Reading from
UTEP. In 1979, she received a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the
University of Colorado at Boulder.
Dr.
Cervantes joined the faculty of the Reading Department at Metropolitan State
College of Denver in 1973. She received her doctorate from the University of
Colorado in 1979. Between 1980 and 1992, she held various administrative
positions for the Community College of Denver, including: Director of Federal
Projects, Dean of the Division of Arts & Humanities, and the Dean of
Continuing Education. In 1992, Dr. Cervantes became the Vice President for
Academic Affairs at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, New Mexico. As
the academic officer for this regional university, she provided leadership to
the graduate school, occupational/technical programs, and all undergraduate
degree programs for the entire western portion of the state.
Returning
to the community college system in 1994, Dr. Cervantes joined the Dona Ana
Branch campus, where she served as the Associate Campus Director foer
Instruction as well as an Associate Professor of Reading/Study Skills. She led a
college writing team that was successful in securing over two million dollars in
federal funding for the purpose of strengthening the instructional program with
technology and multicultural teaching strategies.
On
December 16, 2002, Dr. Cervantes celebrated her 30th wedding
anniversary with husband, Dr. Hermes T. Cervantes, a school psychologist with
the Socorro Independent School District. They have two children, Rafael and
Ziomara. Rafael recently completed a Master�s of Arts degree from the
University of Iowa, and is now pursuing his Ph. D. Ziomara is a freshman at
Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.