Cultura Ambassador, Jorge Escobar, named President of SJCC!

During its meeting on June 12, the San Jose Evergreen Community College District (SJECCD) Board of Trustees appointed San Jose City College (SJCC) Vice President of Administrative Services Jorge Escobar as acting president of the College.

Escobar will serve as acting president while SJCC President Dr. Byron D. Clift Breland serves as SJECCD's interim chancellor replacing Chancellor Dr. Deborah Budd, who is retiring.

"As I transition into the interim chancellor role for SJECCD, Jorge will continue to provide leadership and direction for SJCC. Over the past four years, Jorge has shown an unwavering commitment to the College as well as to our values of social justice, equity, and student success," Breland said. "I’ve known Jorge as a strategic thought leader, who can easily apply principles, deliver value, and solve complex problems. He has consistently been instrumental in technical implementations, planning, and execution of improvements and continuous operational growth and innovation."

Escobar is a forward-looking administrator with a proven record of progressive experience in the development and oversight of programs and initiatives across diverse industries including his work at Merrill Lynch, Princeton University, Laureate International Universities and the National Hispanic University.

“I feel blessed and grateful for yet another opportunity to serve the community with my on-going commitment to influence social change and social justice. As a Latino educator, I continue to bring my bi-cultural experiences and my bilingualism as additional assets in my toolkit,” Escobar said.

Over the past 25 years, Escobar has had extraordinary opportunities to build his knowledge in online education, strategic planning, fiscal management, business development, technology implementation, and oversight of new construction and renovation projects. His extensive history in developing and administering multimillion-dollar budgets within highly matrixed shared services organizations and managing large CAPEX budgets have shown to be unique assets to SJCC.

The campus is perhaps in the best shape in decades, and his leadership in construction and improvements are recognized by students, staff, faculty, and community members.

Escobar's educational background includes a Master of Science in Education, from Walden University, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Finance from Rider University, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Management from Thomas Edison State College, an Associate degree of Applied Science in Business Administration & Accounting from County College of Morris. In addition to his education in Business Administration from the Army’s Polytechnic School of Business in Quito, Ecuador, Escobar has also earned Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from the Six Sigma Academy in Scottsdale, AZ.