With deep sadness, VCCCDRA has learned of the passing of Carlos B. Ramirez on August 19, 2020, of pancreatic cancer. Carlos earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from San Francisco State University in 1968, Master of Arts from the University of New Mexico in 1969, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1979.
Carlos first served Ventura County students as a political science professor at Moorpark College. While at Moorpark, Carlos wrote and was awarded a grant that established the Fillmore/Piru Bilingual Bicultural Vocational Center that later (after Carlos had left the VCCCD) became the Bilingual Vocational Education Program at Ventura College campus and Santa Paula Center.
He served as the first Director of this Center that was located in Fillmore, first under the administration of Moorpark College, then after Proposition 13 was voted in, the program was transferred to Ventura College. Carlos next served county students as the Dean of Vocational Education at Oxnard College.
In 1983, he became the first Latino President of San Francisco City College (and to date the only Latino to have held that position). His tenure as president at SFCC, 1983-1989, was challenging as this was a time of brutal community college budget cuts and it was also during this time that California first levied tuition to community college students. After his tenure at SFCC, Carlos returned to his native New Mexico.
A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.
To read his obituary published in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, please use this link.
Retired (February 2015); Dean, Career and Technical Education, Oxnard College (2008-2015); Professor, Business, Oxnard College (1992-2008); Adjunct Professor, Business, Business Information Systems, Moorpark and Ventura Colleges (1976-1992); Intermediate Steno Secretary, Moorpark and Ventura Colleges (1970-1974).
