Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series Event With Eloy Oakley Ortiz

Graduate Division Dean Gillian Hayes is excited to continue her Graduate Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series, with the next lecture featuring Eloy Ortiz Oakley presenting on the topic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in academia and the world. He will talk about the different ways academia can play a role in bringing people together, different tactics for critical thinking and discussion with someone with a different viewpoint, and much more.

In this series, Dean Hayes will host three talks per academic year, each featuring a prominent leader in our community who will speak to one of Graduate Division's three core pillars: Student Success and Wellness, Diversity and Inclusion, and Industry Partnership. The goal of this series is to not only show what UCI Graduate Division prioritizes, but also illustrate why UCI's graduate students are the lifeblood of the university.  

About Eloy Ortiz Oakley
Eloy Ortiz Oakley is a graduate alum of our MBA program and an undergraduate alum of Environmental Analysis and Design. Mr. Ortiz Oakley is currently serving as Senior Advisor in the Biden Administration under the U.S. Secretary of Education. He is on sabbatical from his role as the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges – where he has served in his appointment since 2016. Prior to his appointment as Chancellor, he served as President and Superintendent of Long Beach City College from 2007 to 2016. He joined Long Beach City College in 2002, first as the vice president of administrative services then as the College's executive vice president of administrative services from 2004 to 2006.
 
Mr. Ortiz Oakley was vice president of college services at Oxnard College from 2001 to 2002 and an assistant vice president at Keenan and Associates from 1999 to 2001. He also currently serves on the Board of Regents of the University of California where he was appointed by Governor Brown in 2014. Mr. Ortiz Oakley grew up in the Florence-Firestone area of South Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, the son of a U.S. citizen father who was schooled in Mexico and a mother who was a Mexican immigrant. After serving four years in the Army, he enrolled at Golden West College before transferring to UCI to complete his degrees.
 
It is with these rich educational, life and personal experiences that Mr. Ortiz Oakley has become a deeply knowledgeable and nationally recognized education leader and a champion for equity in higher education. He has a track record of designing and implementing policy reforms that improve outcomes for students of all backgrounds. In addition to his professional path, he has consistently, actively engaged in challenging the status quo.