Jack Scott announces that he will retire in September as chancellor of California's state community college system
Los Angeles Times
March 7, 2012
Jack Scott, a veteran and popular educator who has headed the state's community college system during a period of brutal budget cuts and was often a voice decrying the impact on students, announced Tuesday that he will retire as chancellor overseeing the 112 campuses.
Scott, 78, became chancellor of the nation's largest community college system in January 2009 after a long career as a state legislator and college campus leader, giving him rare insights into both politics and academia. A Democrat, he served in the Legislature for 12 years until 2000, as an assemblyman and senator from the Pasadena area, and previously was president of Pasadena City College and Cypress College.
In an interview Tuesday, Scott said the last few years of budget battles in Sacramento had not been easy but he emphasized that he was not retiring because of discouragement with the funding of higher education in California.
"I figure 58 years of work is enough," he said. "I'd prefer a less demanding life."
After he steps down Sept. 1, he said, he will write, do some part-time education consulting and cope with another challenge: rebuilding his Altadena home, which was destroyed in a Christmas Day electrical fire.
