SF State News

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News Release

 

SF State announces new university dean for social justice initiatives

Jacob Perea named to new administrative position focusing on access and equity

 

SAN FRANCISCO, October 6, 2008 – San Francisco State University has named Jacob Perea university dean for social justice initiatives, a new administrative position that will oversee efforts to promote access and equity at the University. Perea moves to this position after 12 years as dean of SF State's College of Education.

As university dean for social justice initiatives, Perea will work closely with President Robert Corrigan, administrators, faculty and staff to establish best practices that integrate the values of access and equity into teaching, research and all aspects of campus life.

"While social justice is already extremely important to this University, we still have more to learn," Perea said. "I will be consulting faculty and staff across the board and proposing a model that will institutionalize social justice on campus. The goal is that recognizing differences, and dealing with them without fear, becomes common practice at SF State."

"In our most recent strategic planning process -- a grass-roots effort involving dozens of faculty, staff and students -- social justice and equity emerged as SF State's hallmark. As University Dean, Jake Perea will help us take our signature values forward, rooting them even more deeply in all that we do," President Robert A. Corrigan said. "He was the obvious choice to lead this new office. He is known and respected across campus as a moral leader, a person of deep commitment and unquestioned integrity."

In his long career as a teacher, educator and activist, Perea has increased access to education and worked to foster understanding among diverse groups. As dean of the College of Education since 1996, Perea has increased the diversity of the college's faculty, recruiting more women and people of color. He has also developed global partnerships with universities in China and Hong Kong. He has established a study abroad program and the beginnings of a distance learning teaching credential at Hong Kong University.

Perea joined SF State in 1977 as a professor of administration and interdisciplinary studies in the College of Education. In 1985, he co-founded the Step to College program at SF State, a high school intervention that encourages disadvantaged students to attend and remain in college. Perea earned a bachelor's degree from New Mexico State University, a master's in education from SF State and an educational doctorate from University of California, Berkeley with a focus on higher education policy analysis. His research has focused on Latino, African American and American Indian graduate rates from public schools and access to higher education.

Perea has received a number of awards for his community work, including a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Speaker Nancy Pelosi in recognition of his outstanding and invaluable service to the community. He is a board member of the Friendship House of American Indians, where he has served recovering adults for the past 14 years. Perea is also a Board Trustee of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy where he sits on the Crissy Field Education Committee. He has also served as a member of the Latino Education Advisory Committee, a San Francisco Unified School District taskforce which supports struggling students from the city's Mission district and Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood.

Perea will assume the role of university dean for social justice initiatives in January 2009 and will report directly to the President. A national search for the dean of the College of Education will begin later this month. In the interim, Associate Dean David Hemphill will be acting dean.

SF State is the only master’s-level public university serving the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin. The University enrolls more than 30,000 students each year and graduates about 7,000 annually. With nationally acclaimed programs in a range of fields -- from creative writing, cinema and biology to history, broadcast and electronic communication arts, theatre arts and ethnic studies -- the University’s more than 140,000 graduates have contributed to the economic, cultural and civic fabric of San Francisco and beyond.

 

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