SAN FRANCISCO -- Dr. Robert Agrella, retired president of Santa Rosa Junior College, will assume new powers in an effort to rescue the 85,000-student City College of San Francisco from losing its accreditation, according to an announcement from the California Community College's Chancellor's Office.
Dr. Agrella received a special appointment to the community college's board of trustees last October, a move spearheaded by the California Board of Governors. His appointment, which followed a decades-long career leading the Santa Rosa Junior College District, was among the efforts to address 14 areas that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges said required rapid turnaround to retain accreditation.
The college only addressed two of those 14 concerns, according to the commission, spurring the decision to end its accreditation on July 14 of next year.
Yet that action is not yet final, with the college still having the opportunity to request additional review and appeal a subsequent decision. The chancellor announced that Dr. Agrella will have new powers to control operations at the college, with the hope of correcting those issues before July of next year.
"As chancellor of the largest system of higher education in the nation, I cannot sit by and allow this institution, which serves 85,000 students, to close. After consulting with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, I have determined that the best course of action to try to rescue City College is to appoint a special trustee with extraordinary powers to help right the institution and position it for long term success," said Chancellor Brice Harris, in an announcement.
