Schools
SDCCD: ACE Honors SDCCD Chancellor Carlos O. Turner Cortez With Diversity Leadership Award
The award is named in honor of the late Reginald Wilson, who served as senior scholar emeritus at ACE and was founding director of the C ...
March 8, 2022
The American Council on Education (ACE) has recognized San Diego Community College
District chancellor Carlos O. Turner Cortez, as the recipient of the 2022 Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award.
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The award is named in honor of the late Reginald Wilson, who served as senior scholar
emeritus at ACE and was founding director of the Council's Office of Minority Concerns,
and is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions
and demonstrated sustained commitment to diversity in higher education. This award
is sponsored by the University of California San Diego and was presented March 7 at
ACE2022, ACE's annual Meeting in San Diego.
“Throughout his career as a teacher, principal, and higher education administrator,
Carlos Cortez has been committed to equity, inclusion, and social justice,” said ACE
President Ted Mitchell. “Working primarily with underserved, ethnically diverse student
populations from low-income communities, he is a passionate leader and advocate for
urban education reform. As higher education strives to create more equitable and just
outcomes for all students, I can’t think of anyone better to receive this award.”
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Before becoming chancellor of SDCCD in July 2021, Cortez served for six years as president
of the San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE), one of SDCCD’s four colleges.
While there, he helped expand the San Diego Promise, which provides graduating high
school seniors with a two-year college scholarship plus textbooks, to serve adult
learners who complete programs at SDCCE, creating the only Promise program in California
for low-income adult students.
He also helped launch the San Diego Gateway to College and Career learning community
serving students involved with the justice system, homeless students, former foster
youth, and students with disabilities, through paid internships, counseling, grants,
and scholarships.
An important voice in statewide efforts to diversify the faculty and administrators
who serve in the California community college system, Cortez is also regarded as a
national champion for noncredit programming and the lead historian on adult education
in the United States. In this regard, he champions the expansion of higher education
opportunities for immigrants and refugees and other adult learners who lack foundational
skills to continue their education.
He is championing efforts to have the City of San Diego and state officials designate
the SDCCE’s flagship campus, the Educational Cultural Complex, as a civil rights landmark.
Additionally, in support of the LGBTQ+ community, he has hosted a National Coming
Out Day Speaker Series with SDCCE, and proudly continues to support, through San Diego
Pride, scholarships for trans and non-binary youth.
“I am deeply honored to receive the 2022 Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award,”
said Cortez. “My father was a factory worker and union member who moved to Connecticut
from Puerto Rico. My mother was a teacher of special education. Both emphasized the
importance of education and giving back to our community. They instilled in me a deep
commitment to promoting education as a pathway to opportunity.”
Cortez began his career in education as a Teach for America Corps member. His experience
spans the public, private, and charter school sectors in Washington DC, Houston, New
York City, Los Angeles, Berkeley, and San Diego. He received his bachelor's degree
in history and sociology from Georgetown University; a master's degree in race and
gender politics from New York University; and his PhD in education policy and administration
from the University of Southern California. All three degrees focus on African American
feminist political history.
ACE is a membership organization that mobilizes the higher education community to
shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice. As the
major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities, our strength lies
in our diverse membership of more than 1,700 colleges and universities, related associations,
and other organizations in America and abroad. ACE is the only major higher education
association to represent all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting institutions:
two-year and four-year, public and private. For more information, please visit acenet.edu or follow ACE on Twitter @ACEducation.
This press release was produced by San Diego Community College District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
