Dean of Mission Campus announces retirement

Dean Bell on March 11, 2019. Photo by Andy Damian-Correa/The Guardsman

By Andy Damián–Correa

acorrea@theguardsman.com  

 

Dean of the Mission Campus Administration Office Jorge Bell, 64, announced his retirement from City College after 10 years of leadership and service. He will leave the dean position effective June 30, 2019.

 

Bell joined City College in 1979 and has led the Mission Campus through transformation by offering a robust set of fully-accredited academic programs.

 

In the trajectory of his career at City College Mission Campus, he was a student, classified employee, academic counselor, Vice Chancellor of Campuses and Student Services, and Associate Dean of Financial Aid.

He championed for equity, diversity and inclusion, enhanced the recruitment of Latino faculty members, and advocated for the advancement of inclusive excellence campus-wide.

Dean Bell on March 11, 2019. Photo by Andy Damian-Correa/The Guardsman

“City College has to be more creative in how to make programs, we have to be careful with schedules. We have to meet the needs of our students […] Attracting students will be a challenge,” Bell said.

Dean Bell was instrumental in expanding the school’s experiential and co-curricular programs and has been a dedicated champion of student success.

 

An advocate for more transitional studies and non-credit business classes for the Mission Campus community, Bell cited the growth of collaborations with the Puente Program and Working Adult Degree Program.

 

Bell is known as an experienced and innovative leader in the local community. He is recognized by the Latino Services Network, Friends of the Mission Campus and Latino Educational Association.

 

He was instrumental in bringing the Mayan Calendar to the facade of the Mission Campus, which is the largest version of the Aztec Calendar in the world.

 

Under his leadership, the Mission Campus grew to become the second largest enrollment campus of City College. He has mentored and influenced more than 12,000 alumni, and hundreds of faculty, staff and administrators over his ten-year career.

 

In retirement, Bell and his wife, Alla, plan to “embark on several adventures that we have postponed for a while in Guatemala and a possible book of his experiences in life.”

 

It is uncertain whether administration will appoint an interim dean or if a successor is in place due to budgetary cuts at City College.