For Immediate Release: Oct. 12, 2023
Media Contact: Juliet V. Casey, Director of Marketing (925) 473-7322
Pittsburg, Calif. – Los Medanos College officially welcomes Pamela Ralston, Ph.D., as its seventh president at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19 with a reception and Investiture Ceremony at the Pittsburg Campus Student Union, 2700 E. Leland Road. The event will feature speakers, including Pittsburg Mayor Shanelle Scales-Preston.
Ralston took the helm at LMC, overseeing its Pittsburg Campus and Brentwood Center, in January 2023 as interim president. She stepped in for President Bob Kratochvil, who retired. The Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board in July named her to the permanent position.
“Our East County community deserves the best, and we believe Dr. Ralston fits that description,” Interim Chancellor Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said. “She has the qualities of leadership, experience and commitment to serve all students, particularly for students of color, which makes her an excellent choice as president of Los Medanos College.”
Since joining LMC, Ralston has aggressively worked to increase student enrollment for transfer and for career and technical education. During her time at LMC, Ralston has emphasized the “serving” aspect of the college’s mission as a federally designated minority- and Hispanic-serving institution. Her work also has focused on outreach and inviting student and community voices to civic discussions on local and regional topics.
Before coming to LMC, Ralston was president of the Santiago Canyon College. Prior to joining SCC, she held numerous administrative and academic appointments at Santa Barbara Community College District, College of the Desert in Palm Desert, and Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. She was a faculty member and division chair of English and Written Communications at Tacoma Community College (TCC). Before joining TCC, she was an American Studies lecturer at the University of Washington.
Ralston received her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Oregon and her master’s and doctoral degrees in comparative literature from the University of Washington. She has earned excellence in teaching awards from Tacoma Community College and the University of Washington, and was honored with a Fulbright fellowship for doctoral research at the Royal Library and University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
About Los Medanos College (LMC): LMC is one of three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District, serving the East Contra Costa County community. Established in 1974, LMC has earned federal designations as a Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving institution. It offers award-winning transfer and career-technical programs, support services, and diverse academic opportunities in an inclusive learning environment. With exceptional educators, innovative curriculum, growing degree and certificate offerings, and state-of-the-art facilities, the college prepares students to succeed in their educational pursuits, in the workforce, and beyond. LMC’s Pittsburg Campus is located on 120 acres bordering Antioch, with an additional education center in Brentwood.