Sonya Christian

Dr. Sonya Christian has been chancellor of the California Community Colleges since June 2023, and is the first woman to serve in the permanent role. She previously led the Kern Community College District as its sixth chancellor. Throughout her career, she has championed distributed leadership and collaborative learning communities, while advancing equity in student access, success, and economic mobility. She began her career in 1991 as a mathematics professor at Bakersfield College, part of the Kern district, later serving as division chair and dean. In 2003, she joined Lane Community College in Oregon as associate vice president, then vice president and chief academic officer, before returning to Bakersfield College in 2013 as president. From 2015 to 2022, she served on the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, including as chair. She also serves on the Public Policy Institute of California Higher Education Center Advisory Council, the Campaign for College Opportunity, and she chairs the California Community Colleges Women’s Caucus. She earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Kerala, Master of Science in applied mathematics from the University of Southern California, and Ph.D. from UCLA.