San Diego City College president discusses his job as college presidents across US lose theirs

San Diego City College is a melting pot of first-generation students, former foster youth, single parents and veterans —just to name a few.

"We accept 100% of the people who want to change their lives,” said President Dr. Ricky Shabazz.

He said he sees himself in the student body.

“I grew up low socioeconomic,” he said. “My mom was on welfare. My father was in and out of prison.”

That first-generation college student now leads 17,000 students. It’s a reality he couldn’t have fathomed and wouldn’t trade for anything, but it’s tough work.

One of the biggest challenges is finding resources.

The school doesn’t have student housing. Shabazz revealed more than half of his students are homeless and going hungry. Sophomore Estrella Devora was one of them until recently.

“It was hard just, you know, not having those basic needs that you need to be able to continue your day by day,” Devora said.

Student poverty is only one of many issues on Shabazz’s plate.

He took on the challenge of serving students, faculty and staff and alumni all while working under a microscope. He watches and learns as other presidents around the country lose their jobs.

“The easiest person to get fired here is actually me,” he said. “I'm not afraid of controversy.”

When students were split about masking or vaccines during the pandemic, all the way up until when they protested on both sides of the war in Gaza, he chose to lean into the tension.

“Group dynamics are real,” he said. “I take a lot of people out to lunch. I call a lot of people. I try to connect with people on an individual level.”

As he steps into his seventh year as a community college president, Shabazz advised, someone should get in the field for the right reasons in order to last.

“Being a president at a four-year university, they do make double of what I make. But when you grow up with the resources that I grew up with, I'm living my best life. This notion of generational wealth, breaking the cycle of poverty, like, I'm living proof of that.”

San Diego City College is part of the San Diego Community College District and is the fifth oldest community college in the state.