Dr. Fred Wood began his tenure as the eighth permanent Chancellor of the Contra Costa Community
College District in January 2017. The District serves over 51,000 students at three colleges (Contra Costa
College, Diablo Valley College and Los Medanos College) and two centers (Brentwood and San Ramon).
The District is one of the largest multi‐college community college districts in California, where more than
3,600 employees serve a county of over one million residents. Dr. Wood came to the District after serving
as Chancellor at the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC). UMC was a two‐year technical college
beginning in 1966 and later transitioned to a baccalaureate granting institution in 1993. It is a workforcefocused
campus of the University of Minnesota system, of which half of the degree‐seeking students are
on‐campus students with a required internship and the other half are enrolled in one of 16 fully online
degree programs.
Chancellor Wood joined UMC after a 26‐year career at the University of California, Davis (UCD), where his
last position was serving as vice chancellor of student affairs from 2007 to 2012, leading one of the largest
student affairs portfolios in the nation. Dr. Wood’s experience at UCD included other leadership positions,
such as interim vice provost for undergraduate studies and associate dean of the College of Letters and
Science, while concurrently serving as a faculty member in chemistry. During his time at UCD, Dr. Wood
led a number of initiatives that increased access for community college students, and overall completion
and success of transfer students.
Chancellor Wood began both his college education and professional career at the community college.
Prior to joining UCD, Dr. Wood was a faculty member at North Idaho College, and his first teaching
assignment during graduate school was at Diablo Valley College (DVC). A first generation college graduate,
Chancellor Wood earned an associate of art degree from DVC, and bachelor of science and Ph.D. degrees
in chemistry from UC Davis. He is married and has three grown children, and enjoys hiking, biking, and
skiing with his family.
