California's Higher Education Boards Lack Diversity: Study

CALIFORNIA -- When it comes to California's higher education leaders, there's a major lack in diversity, according to a study released this week. The study, conducted by the nonprofit Campaign for College Opportunity, came to its conclusion after examining the governing boards of the University of California, California State University, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors and the California Student Aid Commission.

Researchers found:

• Five of the 13 current appointed UC Regents are women
• There is only one person who identifies himself/herself as Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and only one person who identifies himself/herself as an African-American on both the UC Board of Regents and the CSU Board of Trustees
• There is only one person who identifies himself/herself as Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander on the California Community Colleges Board of Governors
• There are four people who identify themselves as Latinos on the CSU Board of Trustees, while two board members identify themselves as Latinos on the community college board

However, researchers also found that half of the 16 appointed CSU Trustees are women and six of the 10 current Community College Governors are women.

The UC Board of Regents has 26 members, while the CSU Board of Trustees have 25 members. The California Community Colleges Board of Governors has 17 members. A majority of the members on the three governing boards are appointed positions by the governor

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