Cabrillo College announced that the Chair of the Superintendent/President Search Committee, Trustee Gary Reece, and Dr. Matthew Wetstein have reached a tentative agreement for Dr. Wetstein to be the next President/Superintendent of Cabrillo College, with a projected start date of February 1, 2018.
“The Superintendent/President Search Committee is thrilled with the recommendation of Dr. Matthew Wetstein to be Cabrillo’s next President and Superintendent,” said Gary Reece, Cabrillo Trustee and Search Committee Chair. “Dr. Wetstein has broad leadership, research, strategic planning and instruction experience, both at California Community Colleges and at the state level. We, along with Cabrillo’s Faculty and Staff are very excited about the prospect of Dr. Wetstein leading Cabrillo into its next 60 years of excellence.”
Dr. Wetstein is currently the Assistant Superintendent and Vice President of Instruction and Planning at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California. Prior to that, he served as Interim Dean of the San Joaquin Delta College Agriculture, Science and Math Division, and before that, was the Dean of Planning, Research and Institutional Effectiveness for five years.
He has served as the President of the Research and Planning Group of the California Community Colleges from 2014-2016. Dr. Wetstein’s research on the effects of the economic recession on California Community College Students has won national and state awards.
Dr. Wetstein began his academic career as a Political Science Instructor, with more than a dozen years of postsecondary teaching experience at colleges and universities in California and Indiana. He received a Ph.D. in Political Science and an M.A. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University, and he holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Illinois.
He began his academic career teaching political science and continues to pursue his research interest in the Canadian Supreme Court along with his wife, Cynthia Ostberg. The two have published multiple books on the topic and compiled a database for more than two decades to track shifts in the high court’s values.
“I am honored at the prospect of joining the Cabrillo College family,” said Dr. Wetstein. “The entire process of interviewing, meeting Cabrillo staff and faculty, and being recommended by the Search Committee has just reaffirmed how special the College is. I look forward to working with everyone to expand the Cabrillo culture of serving students and helping them make breakthroughs that change their lives for the better.”
Cabrillo College is a leading California community college serving Santa Cruz County with locations in Aptos and Watsonville. Founded in 1959, the college offers over 100 academic and career technical education programs that serve multiple educational goals such as A.A. and A.S. degrees, certificates of achievement, skills certificates, transfer to 4-year institutions or for lifelong learning and personal enrichment.