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Cultivating Potential

In celebration of Black History Month, the CSU's African American university leaders reflect on their journey and inspiration.

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The California State University strives to create a welcoming environment for all members of its campus communities, and this commitment to inclusive excellence is manifested in students who make up one of the most ethnically, economically and academically diverse student populations in the nation. In fact, 52% of CSU students are from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds and the CSU provides more than half of all undergraduate degrees earned by California's Latinx, African American and Native American students combined.

The CSU’s leaders are as diverse as the students they s​erve, and their lived experiences inform their leadership styles and offer them a unique perspective on how to foster student success and lift up historically disadvantaged communities. 

"As the nation's largest and most diverse four-year university system in the nation, the California State University is at the forefront of recruiting and cultivating outstanding university leaders who reflect and connect with our student body," says CSU Chancellor Mildred García. 

"While we are inspired by their exemplary contributions every day, the CSU is proud to take the opportunity of Black History Month to honor our Black presidents for providing invaluable guidance and wisdom from lived experiences and exemplifying all that is possible through the transformative power of higher education. We also want to recognize and extend our deep appreciation to our Black trustees, who contribute their time and talents by serving on the board and helping us lead the CSU to even greater heights."

To mark the occasion of Black History Month, we asked some of the CSU's African American leaders to share their journey, what inspires their work and how they use their platforms to effect change in their communities. Read their thoughts below.

VERNON B. HARPER JR

VERNON B. HARPER JR.
CSU BAKERSFIELD PRESIDENT

Who or what inspired you to continue pursuing new and higher leadership roles, and how were you influenced by the presence or absence of people of color in these positions?  

Though I didn’t know it at the time, the seeds of my desire to serve as a leader in higher education were planted when I was a doctoral student at Howard University. For the first time in my life, I was surrounded by students, professors and university leaders who looked like me. My most powerful memory of my time at Howard was this feeling of being affirmed without a word, without ever knowing that I was seeking affirmation. You are affirmed by your existence. We travel through life as people of color in the United States and we don’t know the void we carry until it is filled. That’s what happened to me at Howard, and it is the same experience I want to provide to students in Bakersfield. 

I also owe an incredible debt of gratitude to my parents—neither of whom graduated from college—for investing their hopes in me and always believing that the America of my future would be a more just and equitable place than the one they knew in the Jim Crow South of their youth. Their refusal to surrender to despair and the internal fortitude and grace they demonstrated in the face of racism has had a profound impact on my life.

In my career in education, I have been fortunate to serve with a number of principled leaders who have seen in me a spark that they took the time to nurture and develop. One of the most influential was Dr. Horace Mitchell, the first African American president of CSUB, who invited me to become part of the team in Bakersfield. It was the best professional decision of my life when I accepted that invitation.

How do you use your platform as a university president to effect change in the African American community?

As the new interim president of CSUB, I’m just getting started in the role. But I have had the honor of serving in Bakersfield since 2016, and in that time, I have championed many initiatives at CSUB aimed at closing equity gaps, increasing graduation rates and retaining students of color, particularly young Black men in that critical period between their freshman and sophomore years. The support systems that we have developed in recent years, particularly as an outgrowth of Graduation Initiative 2025, have provided critical research and data that form the foundation for outreach to students who are struggling to continue their studies. And we are seeing the results of those action plans.

Here in the heart of the Central Valley, friendship and engagement matter. Bakersfield’s small-town values and well-deserved reputation for warmth and hospitality belie our growth into a major California city. CSUB’s most recent presidents—Dr. Horace Mitchell and Dr. Lynnette Zelezny—made tremendous strides in forging a bond between the university and the communities we serve, and there is potential to build even stronger connections and expand our footprint into neighborhoods throughout the region. At a recent NAACP banquet, several community members thanked me for showing up in support, and I was moved and disarmed by their sincerity. The lesson I took away is one that I will carry with me in every interaction with our community, including our Super Sunday outreach, when several CSUB leaders fan out across the city to address African American congregations: Never underestimate the power of showing up.

Thomas Parham

THOMAS PARHAM
CSU DOMINGUEZ HILLS PRESIDENT

Who or what inspired you to continue pursuing new and higher leadership roles, and how were you influenced by the presence or absence of people of color in these positions?  

I come to my role as the chief executive of a campus with a posture as a reluctant leader who, if truth be told, never aspired to be a university president or even a senior executive. On the contrary, I was content being a psychologist of African descent, and an African-centered one at that, whose roles and duties as academician, clinician, scholar and researcher, administrator and consultant were enough for me to manage.

And yet, the invitations to serve in higher levels of the organization hierarchy that I received in my career echoed the voice of my first mentor and mzee [respected elder], the great psychologist and contemporary father of the Black psychology movement Dr. Joseph L. White. He reminded me to consistently produce excellence, and that excellence would bring me opportunities. He was also clear that in the context of one’s trajectory toward career success, the key to mental health, particularly for a young Black man or woman in the field of psychology in America, was to develop and create a broad range of choices and options in one’s endeavors. It also helped to see other people of color and of African descent in these roles. CSU Bakersfield President Emeritus Horace Mitchell, Ph.D., and former University of California, Irvine Chancellor and current UC President Michael Drake, Ph.D., are two examples I can point to who were not only role models but symbols of possibility and potential for me.

How do you use your platform as a university president to effect change in the African American community? 

Throughout my professional life as a psychologist, academician, clinician and senior administrator, I have been blessed with a platform to use my voice, my writing and my behavioral activities to effect change. That posture has been enhanced since becoming a university president. As a president, I speak to my university community with an uncompromising clarity about our campus's ability to transform and move from where we are to where we might be, if only we can close that attitudinal and behavioral gap between aspiration and actualization. Externally, I stay involved in and engaged with the larger African American community, participate in national and community-based organizations and write articles and commentaries on issues that impact various segments of our nation's citizenry for various local and national periodicals like Inside Higher Ed and the Los Angeles Sentinel. 

Ronald Rochon

RONALD S. ROCHON
cAL STATE FULLERTON PRESIDENT

Who or what inspired you to continue pursuing new and higher leadership roles, and how were you influenced by the presence or absence of people of color in these positions?

​I’ve been fortunate to have had phenomenal mentors throughout my career—leaders who guided me, taught me to navigate uncertainty with confidence and purpose and showed me the power of collaboration. My mentors taught me to never overlook the individuals whom you serve. To always—with sincerity—see, hear and learn from the people who make the institution operate with precision.

I am the president of a leading public university today because of them—because of their belief in me and their ability to see my potential. They taught me the power of perseverance in the face of uncertainty and the power of keeping faith in my values, my family and my community.

​Through their example, I learned that leadership isn’t just about strategy and decisions—it’s about presence, clarity and compassion. Just as my mentors paved the way for me, I am committed to doing the same, helping others lead with courage and step into their full potential.

How do you use your platform as a university president to effect change in the African American community?

I think it is extremely important to remember your own story with pride and gratitude for those—both known and unknown—who paved the way. My story took birth in the heart of the African American community on Chicago’s south side. I am forever grateful for the endless examples of Black excellence that were instilled in me during my childhood. Brilliance, creativity, innovation, dignity, resilience, strength, humility, faith, pride and love were just a few of the core values I consumed daily within my community.

While I work to serve Cal State Fullerton, my goal is to bring healthy change, to assist in uplifting those who have entrusted me with the temporary authority to lead this great institution, and to always bring pride to the doorstep of my parents and the memory of my ancestors.

Soraya Coley

BERENECEA JOHNSON EANES
CAL STATE LA PRESIDENT

Who or what inspired you to continue pursuing new and higher leadership roles, and how were you influenced by the presence or absence of people of color in these positions?

When I began my graduate program at Boston University, I realized that none of the faculty looked like me. They didn’t share my background, experiences or culture. Because of that absence, I felt like there was a gap somewhere that I had to figure out for myself. I pursued leadership roles to help fill the void and offer other students what I felt was missing in my experience.

I was also inspired to pursue leadership roles because I wanted to be a part of shaping the conversation about learning and teaching. I wanted to be a faculty member of color, a faculty member who represents students and who is in conversation with students.

How do you use your platform as a university president to effect change in the African American community?

I am a social activist by showing up every day being a president. Nobody intended for me to be a university president. There are not very many African American women presidents. I am already breaking barriers by being here and showing up. My social justice platform is this position and doing my best to be here for the Cal State LA community in this role.

We all have an opportunity to define and grow our impact in all the spaces we occupy. I am grateful to have the experience of this presidency to effect change.

Soraya Coley

SORAYA COLEY
CAL POLY POMONA PRESIDENT

Who or what inspired you to continue pursuing new and higher leadership roles, and how were you influenced by the presence or absence of people of color in these positions?

I grew up in North Carolina at a time when segregation was the law of the land—a time when the color of my skin determined where I could live and go to school. Significant portions of society said to me, "You are not and you cannot." The attitudes and prejudices of others could have defined or deterred me. But it was the sense of self-worth instilled by my mother and my grandmother that gave me the resilience to succeed.

I owe an incalculable debt to my grandmother, who was very active in registering Black Americans, especially the elderly, to vote for the first time after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Her courage still burns within me today.

I owe a gratitude to my mentors and supporters, especially those who saw potential in me that I never imagined. I vividly remember a time earlier in my career when I had just settled into my role as a department chair at Cal State Fullerton. The university president at that time, Dr. Jewel Plummer Cobb—an African American woman and trailblazer in the sciences—said very emphatically that, someday, I was going to be a university president. I summarily dismissed that idea, but her confidence in me and her mentorship proved critical in getting to where I am now.

How do you use your platform as a university president to effect change in the African American community?

I appreciate being part of a public university and system in which we welcome and proactively engage in extending access to achieving the social mobility that is derived from higher education. I work with local and national groups in promoting access, opportunities and education advancement. We are hosting the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE) Leadership and Mentoring Institute summer program. I also served on the faculty of the New Presidents Academy sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) that engages attendees in discussions regarding DEI in higher education. As a campus, we also collaborate with local professional and community-based groups as well as national organizations that provide early education and information about college to young people.

Cal Poly Pomona is the first CSU to launch a Black Thriving Initiative. Through town hall meetings, surveys and listening sessions, we found that we have more to do to fulfill our value of inclusion, particularly for Black students, faculty and staff, and we have welcomed and encouraged our entire campus to participate. The initiative recognizes that our university's future is connected to the success of Black communities both on and off campus.

LUKE WOOD

LUKE WOOD
SACRAMENTO STATE PRESIDENT

Who or what inspired you to continue pursuing new and higher leadership roles, and how were you influenced by the presence or absence of people of color in these positions?

My mother had me and my twin brother while she was in jail—immediately making us wards of the court. I grew up in a diverse foster care home, but that was the only place I saw people who looked like me while growing up in the rural community of McCloud, California. The color of my skin made me a target for teachers and my peers. I was suspended more than 40 times in elementary school, and it wasn’t until the right teacher showed up that I finally experienced the joys of being in an educational environment and the positive impact an educator could have on my life. 

During my undergraduate years at Sacramento State, Dr. Cecil Canton became one of the many mentors who supported me during my college journey. As I navigated the uncertainties in my life, I decided to join student government. It was then I realized I wanted to become president of Sacramento State—not for the title, but for what I could do in the role.

When I became a professor, then vice president for Student Affairs, then chief diversity officer, it showed me more than ever how instrumental it was for Black and African American students to have educators and leaders across their campus who looked like them. It’s a privilege and an honor to return to my alma mater as president to ensure students know they too can achieve any goal they dream of.​

How do you use your platform as a university president to effect change in the African American community?

As a new president, it is critical that I learn from the campus and the community. During my first semester on the job, I held 92 listening sessions attended by more than 1,500 students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. I asked them to share not only what makes Sacramento State distinctive and what we are already doing well, but also where we need to improve and how we can do so without compromising our JEDI values.

Right before I became president, I worked with colleagues across the CSU system on the 2023 CSU Black Student Success Report (BSSR). The findings of that report were clear: Our Black and African American students need more support to get them to graduation and foster a more welcoming environment.

When I arrived at Sacramento State, I learned we serve the largest number of students who identify as Black and African American across all 23 CSUs, and all the UCs, except for one. I take pride in that and decided to take the recommendations from the BSSR and launch the first-ever Black Honors College in the nation. We're creating a model on how to best showcase Black Excellence, create a clear career pathway to graduation and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow.

JACK B. CLARKE JR.

JACK B. CLARKE JR.
CHAIR, CSU BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Who or what inspired you to continue pursuing new and higher leadership roles, and how were you influenced by the presence or absence of people of color in these positions?

My mother and father, Rose Elizabeth Clarke and Jack Clarke Sr., impressed upon me the importance of being involved in the community and they were unbending in their belief that higher education is a ladder that must be climbed. Both were college graduates and both had successful careers. My father, in particular, emphasized that it is important to be a part of systems and to try to be of service, rather than simply a critic of what was happening in the world.

How do you use your platform as a CSU trustee to effect change in the African American community?

All I, or anyone, can do—in my opinion—is to live according to the values that we would like to see in the world. If we want a system that is fair, open and just, then each of us should try to apply those values in our day-to-day dealings. As I make decisions that affect the CSU, I will try to act according to the values I was taught by my family and by the many mentors I have been fortunate to learn from during my lifetime.

The CSU partners with African American communities to increase the college preparation, enrollment and graduation rates of students across the state of California. Learn more about these efforts.

Updated; originally published February 2023

Story: ALISIA Ruble

Photography: Courtesy of CSU CAMPUSES

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2/28/2025