Cabrillo College Names Four Finalists for Superintendent/President Position

Cabrillo College has named four finalists for its next superintendent/president following a months-long national search that campus leaders described as broad, inclusive, and highly competitive.

“This has been a broad, national search, and we are pleased with the significant and highly qualified pool of applicants we received,” said Christina Cuevas, Cabrillo Governing Board chair and chair of the Superintendent/President Search
Committee. “It is a thorough and inclusive process — the Search Committee includes representation from all campus constituent groups: faculty, staff, administration, students, the Foundation, and the community. We look forward to presenting this impressive slate of finalists to the Cabrillo and broader community and having the opportunity for open dialogue.”

The four finalists, listed alphabetically, are:

• Dr. Jenn Capps, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Cal Poly Humboldt. Capps has helped lead Humboldt’s transition into the California State University system’s third polytechnic university and helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding to expand career and workforce programs.
  She previously served as dean at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she developed academic partnerships that connected students to regional industries.

 

 

• Dr. Travaris Harris, assistant superintendent and vice president of instruction at Cabrillo College. Harris also serves as Cabrillo’s accreditation liaison officer and co-chairs the college’s participation in the national Achieving the Dream student-success initiative.
  With more than 25 years in higher education, he has led equity-based efforts to improve student retention and has been active in regional workforce and community development, including service with United Way of Santa Cruz County.

 

 

• Dr. Tia Robinson-Cooper, former chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana. Robinson-Cooper has held senior leadership roles across several community college systems, including positions as president and provost.
  She has focused her career on equity-minded, student-centered leadership and has built partnerships aligning college programs with workforce needs in healthcare, public safety, manufacturing, and education.

 

 

• Dr. Maria Villagómez, assistant superintendent, vice president of academic affairs and accreditation liaison officer at Santa Barbara City College. A first-generation college graduate, Villagómez has more than three decades of experience in education, including 25 years in California’s community college system.
  She has championed initiatives to expand guided pathways, dual enrollment, and faculty diversity, and has led curriculum reforms to better align courses with student and industry needs.

 

Public forums for each finalist were held Wednesday, Nov. 12, at Cabrillo’s Samper Music Recital Hall in Aptos and streamed online via Zoom. Each session lasted 45 minutes, with a 15-minute break between candidates.

Candidates were each asked the same two opening questions and given about 10 minutes to respond. Members of the Cabrillo community and the public were invited to submit additional questions in advance through a Google form. A selection of those submissions, reviewed and chosen by the search committee, were read aloud by moderators during the forums for impromptu Q&A segments. Each candidate concluded with a five-minute closing statement.

Recordings of all four forums are available for viewing on Cabrillo’s Superintendent/President Search page at www.cabrillo.edu.

Following the forums, the Cabrillo College Board of Trustees conducted final interviews with the candidates Thursday in closed session. The board is expected to make its selection later this month, with a formal vote anticipated at its December meeting. The new superintendent/president is expected to begin in January 2026.

•••

Founded in 1959, Cabrillo College serves Santa Cruz County with campuses in Aptos and Watsonville. The college offers more than 100 academic and career technical education programs and is ranked No. 1 in student transfers to UC Santa Cruz.