Southwestern College President Mark Sanchez, who is widely credited with turning the once deeply troubled Chula Vista campus into a vibrant, innovative school that’s forming partnerships with top universities, will retire next summer, ending seven years of service.
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Sanchez announced his plans in an interview with the Union-Tribune, during which he also revealed that Southwestern is exploring the possibility of building a 23-story residential tower for students and staff, and maybe members of the Navy, at a satellite campus in National City.
If the tower is built, Southwestern, a community college, would tie with UC San Diego for having the tallest dormitory in Southern California.
The 55-year-old Sanchez, who attended Southwestern in the 1990s, won’t linger to see if such a thing comes to pass. He plans to retire on June 30.
“I’ve been at this for almost 30 years now and want to retire from the 60-, 70-hour work weeks and have the flexibility to do other things where I’m going to still continue to make an impact,” Sanchez said, who has spent his career in higher education.
He came to Southwestern from San Luis Obispo, where he was an executive at Cuesta College. Earlier, he was dean of student affairs at Hartnell College in Salinas and dean of student services at Fresno City College.
Southwestern was reeling from daunting problems when he took charge in early 2021.
The school had seven different presidents over the previous 13 years — instability that almost cost Southwestern its regional accreditation. The college also suffered multi-million-dollar financial shortfalls, some tied to the misuse of bond money and state funds.
Many students and some faculty accused the college of suppressing free speech, notably during an incident in 2009 when four teachers were placed on paid leave for participating in a march to the president’s office.
And a 2018 study by the University of Southern California said Black and Hispanic people at Southwestern were subject to some of the most toxic racism that its researchers had ever seen.
Sanchez, a San Diego native who was raised in Barrio Logan, promised to change the school’s culture, focus and appearance. He did so, in part, by presiding over a construction boom that has produced a performing arts center, a student union, a botanical garden and a tennis center. A student gateway building, or “front door” to the campus, is now in development.
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And Sanchez helped convince voters two years ago to approve an $800 million bond to repair, renovate and construct new buildings.
He also better aligned the school’s curriculum with the needs of the business community and began to heavily recruit students from Tijuana, which he regards as inseparable from South County. He is currently planning to build a STEM education center in San Ysidro at another satellite campus.
Southwestern had about 16,700 students when he arrived, a figure that neared 21,000 last fall. More than 40% of students are 25 years old or older, and about 65% are Hispanic.
His various initiatives have struck a positive tone at Southwestern, the only public institution of higher education based in South County, home to 500,000 people.
So have Sanchez’s efforts to help persuade at least one major university to open a large branch campus in Chula Vista, something South County residents have been seeking for more than 30 years.
Last fall, Southwestern opened University Center, a spot where universities can offer upper-division courses. This has led to partnerships with UC San Diego, San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos, who are collectively putting together nine courses. It’s a proof-of-concept incubator.
Sanchez did this with heavy political and financial support from Assemblymember David Alvarez, who is leading the main effort to convince a group of universities to collectively open branch campuses on city land not far from Southwestern.
“Dr. Sanchez has been an exceptional leader whose vision and commitment to students have transformed Southwestern College and strengthened opportunities for the entire South Bay,” Alvarez said.
There also was praise from UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, who said that Sanchez’s “inspirational legacy is measured by the countless lives he has lifted up, leaving our region a better place to live, learn and work.”
Sanchez downplays some of that praise, but not all of it.
“No one person changes a culture, right?” he said. “Nobody leads it. But somebody had to come in and be the spark. I was that spark.”
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