image of Benjamin T. Duran
Benjamin T. Duran
Executive Director, Central Valley Higher Education Consortium & President Emeritus, Merced College

Stanislaus State

B.A. Spanish (1971)Credential Secondary Education (1974)​
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  • Lifetime educator and mentor. His career at Merced College began 1991; appointed superintendent and president in 1998. 
  • Born in El Paso, Texas, he grew up in California labor camps, working the fields with his parents and seven siblings.
  • As president of Merced College, he oversaw the growth of the student population from 6,000 to over 11,000. He oversaw the development office and oversaw multiple $1 million gifts to the college.
  • During his tenure, the college built new state-of-the-art facilities for the main campus in Merced and constructed a new center in the city of Los Banos.
  • Appointed by Chancellor Jack Scott to the former California Community College Student Success Task Force. He also previously chaired the State Chief Executive Officers Board for the California Community Colleges. He most recently served as co-chair for the Community College League of California’s 2020 Vision for Student Success – Commission on the Future.
  • Appointed as a former board member of the San Joaquin Valley Partnership by Governor Schwarzenegger.
  • Served as Chair of the Mercy Hospital Community Board in Merced.
  • Served on the University Committee and Friends of UC Merced Committee, helping to bring the University of California, Merced campus to the Central Valley. He also served on the UC Merced Board of Trustees.
  • Prior to serving as Executive Director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, he was instrumental in founding the consortium, which consists of higher education representatives throughout the San Joaquin Valley, and served as its board chair.
  • As a community activist with the Merced County Hispanic Network, he developed and starred in a short film designed to combat methamphetamine use among Latinos.
  • Maintains his ties to the university by sitting on the CSU Stanislaus Community Advisory Board for Stanislaus State’s Educational Leadership Ed.D. program. He also served as a faculty member in Stan State’s Education Doctoral program.

Notable CSU Alumni in education

education
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