Dr. Daniel LaVista became Chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District on August 1, 2010.

Dr. LaVista, 66, was selected in April by the LACCD Board of Trustees to lead the nation’s largest community college district.

Dr. LaVista previously served as Executive Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia from August, 2004, until June, 2010. In that position, he provided day-to-day management of an agency that coordinated efforts among the 23 community colleges of the Virginia Community College System, along with the state’s 16 public and two- and four-year colleges and universities, as well as private and out-of-state institutions.

Among his other responsibilities, Dr. LaVista chaired regular meetings of the presidents of Virginia's higher education institutions, and directed system-wide strategic planning and policy development. He also provided reports and recommendations about education policy issues to Virginia’s Governor and General Assembly.

Before taking the Virginia position, Dr. LaVista had been the Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. He also was president of two Illinois community colleges, McHenry County College and the College of Lake County, and was Chancellor for the Community Colleges of Baltimore County in Maryland.

Dr. LaVista, a native of upstate New York, earned a bachelor’s degree from Siena College in New York. He went on to receive a master’s degree from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in Speech and Dramatic Art from Syracuse University. He also earned a certificate for participation in Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management.

Dr. LaVista and his wife, Rosemary, have two grown children.

August 2010