Presidential Sponsor
Dr. Soraya M Coley
Soraya M. Coley, Ph.D., is the Presidential Sponsor of the American Council on Education Women’s Network Southern California. She is the sixth president of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and the first woman and first African American to be named president at the institution. She leads an institution with nearly 30,000 students and 2,700 faculty and staff. Under her leadership, Cal Poly Pomona has continued to grow its legacy as the most diverse polytechnic university in the country and as a national leader in promoting social and economic mobility. Prior to Cal Poly Pomona, Dr. Coley held senior leadership positions at the CSU campuses in Bakersfield and Fullerton. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and master’s and doctoral degrees in social planning and social research from Bryn Mawr College.
Greetings ACE Women’s Network of Southern California.
We are in an extraordinary time for higher education. The national reckoning over systemic racism combined with the massive social and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are bringing into stark relief the impact of inequality and injustice in our nation and around the world. This moment not only underscores the importance of our work as educators and scholars, but also the significance of the Network and our shared goals and experiences. More than ever, thank you for building and strengthening the bonds that support women across our institutions.
I am pleased to let you know that after a very successful tenure under the leadership of my friend and colleague Dr. Karen Haynes, presidential sponsorship of the ACE Women’s Network of Southern California has moved to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). I have appointed Dr. Shanthi Srinivas, presidential fellow for leadership excellence and institutional development at Cal Poly Pomona, as the chair for the Southern California region. Dr. Haynes recently retired as president of California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM), and we hope to build on the wonderful programming offered by our partners at CSUSM.
We had two “lunch and learn” sessions offered on September 20, 2019, and October 25, 2019, at Cal Poly Pomona. If you have not had a chance to read our newsletter, please do take a look to learn more about the takeaways from these “lunch and learns” as well as updates from the Network.
We hope you were able to join us for the first of our Connect and Learn series on the topic of coping, thriving and sustaining during these challenging times. If you missed it, be sure to check out the recording of that session on our website. Do look out for future announcements of our Connect and Learn sessions during spring semester.
Please stay connected with ACE Women's Network of Southern California and join our mailing list to learn details of our upcoming events: https://www.cpp.edu/acesocal/mailing-list.shtml
Warm regards,
Soraya M. Coley, Ph.D.
President