Pam Deegan began her career at California State University, Los Angeles, where she taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in structural kinesiology and exercise physiology. She then moved to the California Community College system as a faculty member.
Pam served for over 29 years in the California Community College system and over 36 years in higher education. Seventeen of those years were as a faculty member, while 19 were as an administrator. This later category included service as Dean of Instruction at Irvine Valley College and Santiago Canyon College; and Vice President of Instruction or Chief Instructional Officer (CIO) at Miramar College, Mt. San Jacinto College, and MiraCosta College.
Pam served as President of the Chief Instructional Officer for California. Perhaps her most notable contribution during her tenure as president was to work with the presidents of both the state Academic Senate for Community Colleges and the Chief Student Services Officers to develop the idea and plan for the Basic Skills Initiative for all of the students in the community college system.
Pam’s commitment to leadership was rewarded with the 2007 Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA) Award for Administrative Excellence, an honor that culminated from nominations throughout the state. She also received the 2009 Carter Doran Award—the award that is granted to one CIO in California each year for leadership and vision.
Although retired, Pam continues to serve the community college system. Pam believes that effective leaders share their expertise with their colleagues.
She taught instruction and enrollment management at Claremont Graduate University and conducts the University’s 4-day Enrollment Management Academy for community college teams. She has also taught enrollment management at Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA) 101.
For over 15 years, Pam, with two other former CIOs, conducted bi-annual training for new CIOs and instructional deans. Her major contributions to the training are in the realm of enrollment management and scheduling best practices.
Pam also served as the lead administrative author for the Chancellor’s Office “Basic Skills Completion: The Key to Student Success in California Community Colleges”.