As the chancellor of the nation’s largest system of higher education, Dr. Scott has led the 112 colleges through some sweeping reforms. His legacy will include his work on the California Community Colleges Student Success Task Force and the Associate Degree for Transfer program.  The California Community College Student Success Task Force recently completed a list of 22 recommendations aimed at improving the educational outcomes of students. The  reform package was adopted by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors in January 2012 without a dissenting vote.

 

In the Senate Scott represented California’s 21st Senatorial District. During his senatorial tenure from 2000 to 2008, he served as chair of the Senate Committee on Education, which considers all legislative measures dealing with K-12 education and the state’s colleges and universities.  Scott also was vice chair of the State Allocation Board for Education.  Scott was elected to the California State Assembly in 1996 before moving on to the Senate.  Senate Bill 361, a landmark community college financing measure, was authored by Scott and signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.  He worked with Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005 to pass Senate Bill 70, a measure that strengthens career technical education programs between K-12, community colleges and the business sector.

Prior to being elected to the state Legislature, Scott was President of Pasadena City College (1987-95). Scott was a teacher and administrator at Pepperdine University for 10 years before he became the Dean of Instruction at Orange Coast College in 1973. Five years later he became the President of Cypress College and served for nine years in this position (1978-87).

Dr. Scott has received numerous awards and honors. He was named Legislator of the Year by many organizations, including the California Federation of Teachers, Association of California Community College Administrators, and California State University. He was named the Alumnus of the Year at Claremont Graduate University in 2000 and at Abilene Christian University in 2003.