Full Name
Millie García
Job Title
President
Institution
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
Speaker Bio
Dr. Mildred García assumed the presidency of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) on January 22, 2018.
As AASCU's president, Dr. García is an advocate for public higher education at the national level, working to influence federal policy and regulations on behalf of nearly 400 member colleges and universities; serving as a resource to presidents and chancellors as they address state policy and emerging campus issues; developing collaborative partnerships and initiatives that advance public higher education; directing a strategic agenda that focuses on public college and university leadership for the 21st century; and providing professional development opportunities for presidents, chancellors, and their spouses. She is the first Latina to lead one of the six presidentially based higher education associations in Washington, D.C.
Prior to joining AASCU, Dr. García served as the president of California State University, Fullerton, the fourth largest university in the state, serving nearly 39,000 students and with an operating budget of almost half a billion dollars. During her tenure as president, the University improved its six-year graduation rate by 20% and significantly dropped its achievement gap between underrepresented students and their campus peers. Under her leadership, the institution was number one in California and fifth in the nation in awarding bachelor’s degrees to Hispanics, as well as fifth in the nation in graduating students of color.
In addition, Dr. García previously served as president of CSU Dominguez Hills where upon her
appointment she became the first Latina president in the largest system of public higher education in the country. She eliminated a structural deficit of $2.8 million; increased media
placement by 192%; received the highest reaccreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges; exceeded enrollment targets not met for eight years; increased donor
giving by 140%; and increased retention rates for first-time full-time freshmen by 10%.
Prior to her arrival in the CSU, President García served as the CEO of Berkeley College, a for-profit institution, where she was the first system-wide president for all six campuses. In her six-year tenure, she increased enrollment by 25%; established professional advisory boards for academic programs; implemented the institution’s first system-wide strategic planning process; and purchased property and opened a new campus in Newark, New Jersey, as well as a residence hall in White Plains, New York.
She has held both academic and senior-level positions at Arizona State University; Montclair
State University; Pennsylvania State University; Teachers College, Columbia University; and the Hostos, LaGuardia, and City Colleges of the City University of New York. Dr. García is also a much sought-after speaker at national and international conferences and has published extensively in academic journals and contributed to multiple books related to student success, leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Her most recent publications are featured in Latinx/a/os in Higher Education: Exploring Identity, Pathways, and Success (NASPA, 2018) and Leading Colleges and Universities (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018).
A recipient of myriad honors and awards—from Hispanic Business Magazine’s 100 Most
Influential Hispanics in 2007 to The Washingtonian’s Most Influential People in Washington in
2021—Dr. García was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s
Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, the U.S. Secretary of Defense to serve on Air University’s Board of Visitors, and the U.S. Secretary of Education to serve on the Committee on Measures of Student Success. She presently sits on the boards of ETS, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), and American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI). In addition, she served as the co-chair for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Value Commission.
A first-generation college student, Dr. García earned a Doctor of Education and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University; an M.A. in Business Education/Higher Education from New York University; a B.S. in Business Education from Baruch College, City University of New York; and an A.A.S. from New York City Community College.
As AASCU's president, Dr. García is an advocate for public higher education at the national level, working to influence federal policy and regulations on behalf of nearly 400 member colleges and universities; serving as a resource to presidents and chancellors as they address state policy and emerging campus issues; developing collaborative partnerships and initiatives that advance public higher education; directing a strategic agenda that focuses on public college and university leadership for the 21st century; and providing professional development opportunities for presidents, chancellors, and their spouses. She is the first Latina to lead one of the six presidentially based higher education associations in Washington, D.C.
Prior to joining AASCU, Dr. García served as the president of California State University, Fullerton, the fourth largest university in the state, serving nearly 39,000 students and with an operating budget of almost half a billion dollars. During her tenure as president, the University improved its six-year graduation rate by 20% and significantly dropped its achievement gap between underrepresented students and their campus peers. Under her leadership, the institution was number one in California and fifth in the nation in awarding bachelor’s degrees to Hispanics, as well as fifth in the nation in graduating students of color.
In addition, Dr. García previously served as president of CSU Dominguez Hills where upon her
appointment she became the first Latina president in the largest system of public higher education in the country. She eliminated a structural deficit of $2.8 million; increased media
placement by 192%; received the highest reaccreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges; exceeded enrollment targets not met for eight years; increased donor
giving by 140%; and increased retention rates for first-time full-time freshmen by 10%.
Prior to her arrival in the CSU, President García served as the CEO of Berkeley College, a for-profit institution, where she was the first system-wide president for all six campuses. In her six-year tenure, she increased enrollment by 25%; established professional advisory boards for academic programs; implemented the institution’s first system-wide strategic planning process; and purchased property and opened a new campus in Newark, New Jersey, as well as a residence hall in White Plains, New York.
She has held both academic and senior-level positions at Arizona State University; Montclair
State University; Pennsylvania State University; Teachers College, Columbia University; and the Hostos, LaGuardia, and City Colleges of the City University of New York. Dr. García is also a much sought-after speaker at national and international conferences and has published extensively in academic journals and contributed to multiple books related to student success, leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Her most recent publications are featured in Latinx/a/os in Higher Education: Exploring Identity, Pathways, and Success (NASPA, 2018) and Leading Colleges and Universities (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018).
A recipient of myriad honors and awards—from Hispanic Business Magazine’s 100 Most
Influential Hispanics in 2007 to The Washingtonian’s Most Influential People in Washington in
2021—Dr. García was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s
Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, the U.S. Secretary of Defense to serve on Air University’s Board of Visitors, and the U.S. Secretary of Education to serve on the Committee on Measures of Student Success. She presently sits on the boards of ETS, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), and American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI). In addition, she served as the co-chair for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Value Commission.
A first-generation college student, Dr. García earned a Doctor of Education and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University; an M.A. in Business Education/Higher Education from New York University; a B.S. in Business Education from Baruch College, City University of New York; and an A.A.S. from New York City Community College.
Speaking At
