In what came as a surprise to many people, Santa Barbara City College President Lori Gaskin announced Monday she would step down at the end of the school year after close to four years on the job.
Gaskin, who is 59 and has worked as a community college administrator for 35 years, said she made her decision to retire after the recent accreditation found SBCC is in “extraordinary” shape. The preliminary findings noted the college had 11 commendations and four recommendations after a three-day visit. “Had we received poor outcomes, I would have thought twice,” she said.
Where critics complained Gaskin failed to address on their concerns head on, others lauded her for being a solid administrator. In conversation, she is thoughtful and eloquent, and she charmed the Santa Barbara educational community upon her arrival. She took the helm in 2012, when the college was on warning for a number of institutional issues. “I was able to navigate through that,” Gaskin said. In 2013, the college received the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.