John S. Nixon, Ph. D.

President/CEO of Mt. San Antonio College 

John S. Nixon is the eighth President/CEO of Mt. San Antonio College, appointed by the Board of Trustees in 2007.  As an Achieving the Dream Coach, Nixon consults with Los Angeles Pierce College and Los Angeles Harbor College in California.

Prior to his role with Achieving the Dream, Dr. Nixon has had both policy and management oversight responsibility for California’s largest single-campus community college district. Dr. Nixon started his tenure at Mt. San Antonio College in 2004 as Vice President of Instruction.  He oversaw all instructional programs and services, including seven academic divisions with 2,270 full- and part-time faculty members.  He later served as Interim President in July 2006 and immediately began expanding relationships and partnerships with local government, business, community, nonprofit, and educational organizations and leaders.

A 35-year veteran in education, Dr. Nixon previously served as Vice President of Academic Affairs at Santa Ana College for 12 years, where he supervised nine academic divisions as well as counseling services and learning resources.  He also served for a year as Santa Ana’s Interim President in 1998 and as Associate Dean of Humanities and Assistant Dean of Continuing Education.

Involved in community affairs, Dr. Nixon has served on the board of directors for the Orange County Community Health Care Clinics, the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross, and the Orange County Marine Institute. In addition, he has held statewide leadership roles, including co-chair of the System Advisory Committee on Curriculum, the statewide Basic Skills Advisory Committee, as President of the California Community College Chief Instructional Officers Association, as a Board member for the Chief Executive Officers for the California Community Colleges, and as a Commissioner with the Accrediting Commission for Community Colleges (ACCJC-WASC).

Educational Background: Nixon holds a bachelor and master’s degree in English from UC Irvine, and a doctorate in English from USC.