Instruction was the catalyst for Dr. Greg Gillespie’s education career, and a for a passion for education that drove his rise up the community college ladder, all the way to becoming president of Ventura College. Today, he stands as the newly appointed chancellor of the VCCCD, the Ventura County Community College District.

Gillespie began his current career in rural Yakima, Wash. with a degree in Agronomy, or crop science. Not in the field of agriculture, however, but in the field of community college education. Yakima Valley Community College was where his career began for Gillespie, who attended the school before transferring to Washington State University. As a former community college student, as well as instructor, dean, vice president and president, Gillespie is a firm believer in the power of the humble institutions.

“With community colleges, [what] I really like about them is [how] strongly student-focused [each institution is] and it’s all about teaching…while research is important, we’re about just helping students,” said Gillespie.

The transition from agriculture to education wasn’t instant, however. After attending Washington State for his bachelor’s and North Dakota State for his Master’s and Doctorate in Agriculture, Gillespie spent more than ten years conducting professional research before an agricultural instructor position opened up back at his hometown’s Yakima Valley Community College.

“Education had really opened up a lot of doors for me…I really enjoyed the agricultural research I was doing, but I was also interested in teaching and helping people access education,” said Gillespie.

Not a second of Gillespie’s education career has been spent outside of community colleges. After Yakima Valley, Gillespie moved into positions at South Seattle College, and later became Vice President at Yavapai Community College in Arizona.

“I think I’ve always been interested in learning about new systems and how different colleges and organizations work,” said Gillespie. “so when the opportunity was there to come into a new environment and look at how I could contribute to make things better, I was fortunate to have the opportunity and to be selected.”

Gillespie has been in the district for only a short five years. In that small period of time, Gillespie considers himself to already be firmly rooted in the community. Gillespie has left his mark on Ventura College, expanding the availability of higher education through CTE programs and the Promise Scholarship, all the while maintaining high standards of collegiality.

“If you talk to the people who’ve worked there, he’s very well liked and very well respected, and I think he’s done a really good job of helping to generate a climate of trust,” said Sanchez

Gillespie’s presence is felt throughout the district, but nowhere is it more strongly felt than at Ventura College.

“He’s got a good personality,” said Interim Ventura College President David Keebler, who served under Gillespie as Vice President. “it isn’t one of those ‘oh, I’m going to go out there and talk about everything to everybody,’ I think he’s more reserved, but he still has that impact [and] his presence is very strong.”

As Chancellor, Gillespie has taken into account that his impact now extends not just within Ventura, but throughout the county as well. His main objectives are to create a district wide Promise Scholarship, and to expand the awareness of quality community college education, in addition to continuing to help the students of the VCCCD

“We all have that same mission, and that’s student success,” said Keebler.

Gillespie has set a few concrete goals for himself, however. Besides continuing the current quality of education, Gillespie desires to branch out the VCCCD to more people.

“One [goal], is that many students who couldn’t access higher education can access it through us, and the second is we’re really committed to providing quality instruction and supporting the success of each student. Another thing that I want to promote, as chancellor, is at the colleges, really integrating what happens in the classroom with our support services, so that students really have a network there supporting them while they’re at our colleges,” said Gillespie.

Gillespie isn’t afraid of any challenges he might face going into his new position, he’s used to the district way of life, having spent 23 years working in community colleges alone. To Gillespie, becoming the District Chancellor is only the next step to promote his passion for higher education.

“I see as Chancellor, you’re a teacher as well, because one of my big things is to work with legislators, work with community leaders, and educate them about the importance of community colleges,” said Gillespie. “Investing in community colleges is investing in the future of our communities, and investing in the future of our workforce.