San Diego, CA – Amidst nationwide declines in enrollment, San Diego Mesa College has recently seen an uptick in enrollments and registration in Fall 2022 short-term and late-start classes that are specifically designed to meet student needs. Mesa College offers over 100 courses that are short-terms (less than the traditional 16 weeks) and are also “late-start”, meaning that those classes begin weeks or even months after the traditional August semester start. Short term classes are a great option for working students, and allow student to earn units much more quickly. Many of these courses prepare students for local careers, which will have a direct positive impact on the local economy. California's community colleges such as Mesa College have added $128.2 billion in income to the California economy.

SAN ANTONIO – The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities is pleased to announce the 39 fellows who will be part of the fourth cohort of its Leadership Academy/La Academia de Liderazgo, which includes Dr. Isabel O’Connor, Vice President of Instruction at San Diego Mesa College. The program is designed to increase diverse representation in executive and senior-level positions in higher education. Fellows participate in an array of leadership development activities preparing them for leadership roles in the full spectrum of institutions of higher learning, with an emphasis on Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Emerging HSIs.

At Mesa College in San Diego, Vice President of Student Instruction Isabel O'Connor noticed something this fall that she hasn't seen in years. "As I was driving to campus, there was a lot of traffic," she says. "And I was just so thrilled to see that." Traffic issues aside, community college administrators across San Diego are thrilled to see enrollment numbers rise this year, following nearly five years of annual declines. "It almost feels like we're at a crossroads now and people are ready to re-enroll in college," says Dr. Mark Sanchez, the President and Superintendent of Southwestern Community College.

San Diego, CA. – Today, San Diego Mesa College will hold a reception for The Shape of Color, the Weight of Light, featuring artworks by Kaori Fukuyama, Christian Garcia-Olivo, and Melissa Walter. San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery hosts this exhibition of pictorial and sculptural investigations on color, light and texture, featuring recent artworks by San Diego-based artists Christian Garcia-Olivo, Kaori Fukuyama and Melissa Walter. The exhibition will run August 22 – September 8, 2022. Artist Kaori Fukuyama will hold a Gallery Talk on Friday, August 26 at 2:00 p.m., with Gallery walk-throughs and talks on Wednesday, August 31 at 3:00p p.m. and Wednesday, September 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Best Universities’ latest publication includes new rankings of the top fashion design schools in California, which includes San Diego Mesa College in the top five. Designed for students looking to complete or further their education, the rankings evaluate fashion design programs in California. In order to create the list of the best fashion design schools in California, Best Universities has collected college data sourced from the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics survey.

The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (Aspen) announced today that Dr. Ashanti T. Hands of San Diego Mesa College is one of 26 leaders selected for the 2022-23 class of the Aspen New Presidents Fellowship. This program, made possible with support from JPMorgan Chase, supports community college presidents in the early years of their tenure as they work to achieve higher and more equitable levels of student success.

From the UCLA Samueli Newsroom: The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering is proud to welcome two outstanding scholars to the Bioengineering Department — Mireille Kamariza and Jaimie Marie Stewart — who will join the school next year as assistant professors. Kamariza’s research focuses on low-cost health care diagnostics and Stewart’s research focuses on the development of programmable RNA materials.

San Diego, CA – Each season, Bachelor Nation is introduced to a more dramatic (and attractive) cast than the last. And The Bachelorette 2022 contestants for Gabby and Rachel’s season are no exception – and includes an alumnus of San Diego Mesa College, Jacob Rapini. Jacob is currently a student at San Diego State University, where he’s been enrolled since 2020. He earned an associate’s degree in Business Administration and Management from San Diego Mesa College.