UC SANTA CRUZ ALUMNI AWARDS
Keith Curry (Oakes ’99, American studies)
Dr. Keith Curry (Oakes ’99) earned his degree in American studies at UC Santa Cruz. He is the President of the Compton College and CEO of the Compton Community College District. Dr. Curry is responsible for overseeing all departments and functions of Compton College and the District and serves as secretary for the CCCD Board of Trustees.
Dr. Curry is an active member of the Foundation for Compton Community College District, the Statewide Association of Community Colleges, and the President’s Roundtable. He has participated in the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges Visiting Teams, serving as Accreditation Team Chair four times since the fall of 2017.
Dr. Curry co-founded and chairs Black Student Success Week. He currently serves as chair of both the National Panel on Black Student Enrollment and the Black Student Enrollment Expert Advisory Committee.
His recent honors include: the 2024 Diverse Issues in Higher Education—Diverse Champion Award, 2023 California Conference for Equality and Justice Humanitarian Award, 2022 California Community Colleges Chief Instructional Officers Equity Champion Award, and 2022 California Legislative Black Caucus Unsung Hero Recognition (35th California Senate District).
In June 2020, Dr. Curry served on the California Higher Education Recovery with Equity Task Force. At the 2019 Community College League of California Annual Conference, the Campaign for College Opportunity and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund honored Dr. Curry as one of three 2019 Champions of Equity.
In 2018, Dr. Curry received the Harry Buttimer Distinguished Administrator Award. The Association of California Community College Administrators bestows the award to administrators who demonstrate integrity, principle, compassion, and strength in leadership and who have made significant contributions to the college district and community.
Dr. Curry earned his doctorate in educational leadership from UC Irvine.