A panel of  statewide leaders from each level of higher education—community colleges, California State Universities and the University of California systems—will be speakers on a panel discussing “Is California Higher Education Working?” sponsored by the Claremont Area League of Women Voters at their “Food for Thought” public meeting.

Geraldine Perri, PhD, has served as superintendent/president of Citrus Community College since 2008. Her experience includes 20 years as an administrator in several Southern California community colleges. She holds a doctorate in human and organizational development from the Fielding Graduate University of Santa Barbara.

Representing state universities on the panel is Shanthi Srinivas, PhD, associate vice president for academic planning, policy and faculty affairs at Cal Poly Pomona. She leads the university’s eLearning team responsible for technological advances in teaching and learning. She has served in shared governance on the Faculty Senate. Her PhD from Pennsylvania State University is in business administration.

Paul D’Anieri, PhD., provost and executive vice chancellor of the University of California, Riverside will discuss the UC college system. At UCR, he is responsible for implementation of the campus strategic plan, “UCR 2020: The Path to Preeminence.” He came to UCR from the University of Florida as dean of the college of liberal arts. He is also the author of the textbook, International Politics: Power and Politics in International Affairs. He was also a Fullbright Scholar as a visiting scholar at Lviv University, Ukraine. His doctorate is in government from Cornell University.

This public “Food for Thought” panel discussion is offered in conjunction with the League of Women Voters Statewide Study of Public Higher Education. Sue Keith, president of the Citrus College Board of Trustees, and leader of the local League study will moderate the discussion.     

The meeting will be held on Saturday, February 27 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Padua Room at the Hughes Community Center, 1700 Danbury Rd. Light refreshments will be served. Admission is $20. To confirm attendance and pay, visit eventbrite.com/lwvclaremont or simply pay at the door.

This meeting will be followed by further study sessions on March 17 and April 14 when LWV members will respond to consensus questions to work toward the development of a state LWV position on higher education.