The Yosemite Community College District board of trustees has named Lena Tran as the next president of Columbia College in Sonora, California. Dr. Tran will take office on March 7.
Columbia College enrolls just over 2,100 students, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 58 percent of the student body.
“I am honored and humbled to accept this wonderful appointment, and I’m excited to begin working together with Columbia College and the Sonora community,” Dr. Tran said. “During my service in higher education, I’ve realized that community colleges are accomplishing something extraordinary in America through their positive impact on the lives of the people we serve. The opportunity to work with multicultural groups of college students over the last decade has given me a profound appreciation and respect for the benefits that community colleges are bringing to our society.”
Dr. Tran comes to Columbia College from San Jose City College, where she has served as vice president of strategic partnerships and workforce innovation for more than four years. Previously, at Evergreen College in San Jose, she was dean of business and workforce development, as well as interim dean of social science, humanities, arts, and physical education. She is the author of Compassionate Vietnamese American CEOs: How Six High-Tech Entrepreneurs Achieve Bottom-Line Success by Leading with Their Hearts (2013).
Dr. Tran is a graduate of Montclair State University in New Jersey, where she majored in international business and marketing. She earned an MBA in entrepreneurship and marking from Seton Hall University in New Jersey and a doctorate in organizational and leadership development from the University of San Francisco.