Mildred García (‘74) knows firsthand how education can change lives.
The daughter of Puerto Rican migrants, García experienced the impact of public education at a young age. As a student at PS8 in Brooklyn, García attended plays and went to museums that her factory worker parents would not have been able to afford.
However, it was her time at Baruch College that would change the trajectory of her life and her family’s lives forever. She studied business education, hoping to teach while holding a work-study position in the dean’s office, which gave her a first glimpse into higher education as a career.
Fast forward to today, and García now serves as chancellor of the California State University system—the first Latina to lead a public university system. As chancellor, García manages 23 university presidents and works closely with the CSU board.
García cites Baruch’s diversity and welcoming atmosphere as two important factors that helped her, as a first-generation college student, fall in love with academia.
“No one in my family had gone to college, and there I was, not knowing,” García says of her time at Baruch. “My life has been dedicated to helping others reach what I have reached because I understand. My education changed the trajectory of my entire family.”
After graduating from Baruch, García briefly taught before landing a full-time staff position at LaGuardia Community College. From there, her higher education career soared, eventually serving as the first systemwide president for all six campuses of Berkeley College in New York and New Jersey.
Although she had extensive experience as a university president, including at CSU Dominguez Hills from 2007–2012 and Cal State Fullerton from 2012–2018, the scope of her new chancellor role is a different challenge.
“It doesn’t matter which job you have—you are always struggling with work-life balance,” García says.
More than anything, the values that García learned from her parents have been a guiding light.
“My parents always told us that the only inheritance a poor family could leave you is a good education.”
Like CUNY and Baruch College, CSU aims to provide a high-quality education for as many people as possible. García’s goal as chancellor is to open the doors for other students—just as Baruch did for her.
“I want to give opportunities to excel for every student, regardless of their background and regardless of their socioeconomic status.”
— Molly Turner