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DeSanctis named chancellor of Colorado Community College System
ColoradoBiz Staff //September 30, 2025//
Dr. Marielena DeSanctis, Chancellor of the Colorado Community College System (CCCS).
Dr. Marielena DeSanctis, Chancellor of the Colorado Community College System (CCCS).
DeSanctis named chancellor of Colorado Community College System
ColoradoBiz Staff //September 30, 2025//
DENVER (Sept. 10, 2025) — The State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education has appointed Dr. Marielena DeSanctis as the next chancellor of the Colorado Community College System, the state’s largest provider of higher education and workforce training.
In Brief:
- Dr. Marielena DeSanctis appointed CCCS chancellor starting Oct. 1
- She is the first Latina to lead the 13-college, 124,000-student system
- Board cites her leadership across K-12, higher education and workforce
- She succeeds interim chancellor Diane Duffy after Joe Garcia’s retirement
DeSanctis, currently president of the Community College of Denver, will assume her new role Oct. 1. She will be the first Latina to lead the 13-college system, which serves more than 124,000 students annually across 35 locations.
Board chair Landon Mascareñaz said DeSanctis’s leadership across K-12, higher education and workforce sectors positions her to guide the system during a critical period. “CCCS intends to lead during this pivotal moment for higher education in Colorado by embracing both innovative and consequential change,” Mascareñaz said. “Her experience, energy and strategic mindset make her the right leader for this time.”
DeSanctis said she is honored to take on the role and emphasized the importance of community colleges in advancing opportunity. “Colorado’s community colleges are essential to the state’s economic vitality and educational promise,” she said. “Together, we will expand access, accelerate economic mobility and position CCCS as the first and best choice for every Coloradan seeking a better life.”
She succeeds interim chancellor Diane Duffy, who stepped in after former chancellor Joe Garcia retired in June. Duffy praised DeSanctis’s “thoughtful and strategic approach to leadership” and said she was confident DeSanctis would guide the system into a “bold new era.”
The system will continue implementing its 2030 Strategic Plan, Transforming Futures, which focuses on expanding access, strengthening workforce alignment and promoting upward mobility for learners across Colorado.
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