Mt. SAC Board of Trustees
Dr. Manuel Baca, President
Dr. Manuel Baca was elected to the Mt. SAC Board of Trustees in 1999 and reelected in 2003, 2007, and 2011. His professional experience includes positions within the state university and community college systems. Trustee Baca currently teaches political science at Rio Hondo College where he has served as a member of the Academic Senate Executive Committee. In addition, he has held community college administrative positions, including that of Interim President at Rio Hondo.
On the state level, Baca is President of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, which sets policy, establishes regulations, and provides guidance for the 72 districts and 112 colleges that comprise the system. In addition to other appointed positions, he served on the California Community Colleges System Strategic Plan Steering Committee (2005) and the Student Success Task Force (2011), which, among other things, contributed to the formulation and passage of the Student Success Act of 2012 (SB1456, Lowenthal).
Trustee Baca earned his bachelor and master degrees at California State University, Fullerton and a Ph.D. at the University of Southern California (USC). He also completed post-graduate work at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Long active in civic, educational and business entities within the Greater San Gabriel Valley, Baca is a member and Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Walnut Valley and served as a mentor with the El Monte Union High School District (Graphic Arts & Communications Academy). He has also been a member of the 32nd Congressional District's U.S. Military Academies Advisory Committee. Baca is a past member and continues to contribute to the Rio Hondo Symphony Association (Whittier). He is also a past member of the Los Angeles and the Rio Hondo (Bell Gardens) Boys & Girls Club Executive Committees.