SANTA CLARA, Calif.– Dr. Seher Awan has been named the next president of Mission College in Santa Clara after a nationwide search. Awan has been the president at Los Angeles Southwest College since 2018. A first-generation and community college student herself, she brings 16 years of leadership experience to the campus.
The West Valley-Mission Community College District Board of Trustees will formally ratify her appointment at the June 21 board meeting. She will begin on August 1.
“Dr. Awan’s exceptionally strong combination of academic administrative experience, understanding of strategic planning, and fluency in grant and fundraising development, coupled with her commitment to equity and student success, make her a perfect fit for this new role,” said Chancellor Brad Davis.
“I am truly humbled and honored by this opportunity to join the West Valley-Mission Community College District as Mission College’s next President. Mission College is an incredible place providing life-changing opportunities for the students and community. I am excited to join the Mission College family to support their transformational equity work and build on their successes together,” said Awan.
Awan previously was the vice president of Administrative Services at San Diego City College (2014-18) and was the acting vice president at San Jose City College (2013-14). Previously she was in leadership roles with Valencia College in Florida (2011-13) and with EOPS/CalWORKs and the Small Business Development Center at the College of the Canyons (2008-10).
She established a Family Resource Center with a $1.5M Congressional Earmark, a $1.7M grant to combat declining Black student enrollment and a $2.1M grant to help with student homelessness. She also increased student efficiency from 60 to 90 percent, the highest in the LA Community College District. She established a HireLAX apprenticeship program focusing on under-served populations, partnering with LAX and the City of Los Angeles, among others.
From 2014 to 2018 she served as the vice president of Administrative Services at San Diego City College, a Hispanic serving institute like Mission College. In 2017 the American Association of Women in Community Colleges named her part of its Class of 40 under 40.
She spent a year and a half at San Jose City College (2013-14) as the acting vice president of Administrative Services and as its Business and Campus Technology Supervisor. She was also the public information officer and coordinated the college’s $270M bond campaign.
She has been an adjunct professor at Pepperdine (since 2019) and San Diego City College (2018) in its business and economics programs. The SDCC courses were at the juvenile hall.
She received her doctorate from Pepperdine in 2017 in organizational leadership with an international policy, with her dissertation on “Rebuilding Trust in Community Colleges.” She earned a master’s from CSUN in Business Administration and in Public Administration, both in 2010. She received her bachelor’s from CSUN in 2007 in Business Administration.