House Plans: Sacramento Community College

Sacramento Community College

Dr. Brice W. Harris was unanimously selected as the 15th chancellor of the California Community Colleges by the system’s Board of Governors in September 2012. He started on Nov. 6, 2012.

Prior to being selected as the leader of the largest system of higher education in the nation, Harris served 16 years as chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District in the Sacramento region, president of Fresno City College and a faculty member and vice chancellor in the Kansas City, Mo., community college system.

Harris has spent much of his career working to improve student success and access at community colleges. While with Los Rios, he was instrumental in leading initiatives that improved student success. He also led the charge to expand access for thousands of students by overseeing the establishment of the district’s fourth college, Folsom Lake, and developing educational centers in Davis, Elk Grove, Natomas, Rancho Cordova and West Sacramento.

Harris understands the important connection between community colleges and the economy. As an active member of the greater Sacramento business community, Harris chaired the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO) and was the first educator to serve as president of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. He also served as chairman of the board of the Northern California World Trade Center.

Harris is also a recognized leader on national education issues and recently completed a term as a board member of the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, D.C. He is past chairman of the board of the California Community College Chief Executive Officers, and a former commissioner of the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges. He currently serves as a member of the ACE National Commission on Student Attainment and also served as a member of the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges and the California Community Colleges Student Success Task Force.

Harris is active in the arts having served on the board of the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, as board president of the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra, and a board member of the Kansas City Museum.

Harris did his post-doctoral study at the Harvard University Institute of Educational Management, received his doctorate in education at Nova Southeastern University, his master's in communication from the University of Arkansas, and his bachelor's in communication from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

He was named “Sacramentan of the Year” for 2010 by the Sacramento Metro Chamber, and was recently honored as the “Humanitarian of the Year” by United Cerebral Palsy of Sacramento.

Harris resides in Fair Oaks with his wife Barbara, who is an elementary educator. The couple has three adult children who live in California.