Dr. Scott W. Thayer has stepped into the role of Interim President of San Bernardino Valley College, beginning August 1, 2021. Having served as SBVC’s Vice President of Student Services since 2017 and in numerous administrative, leadership and faculty roles at California colleges and universities over the past 23 years, Dr. Thayer will be leveraging his extensive higher education expertise for the continued benefit, growth, and success of our campus community.  
  
Dr. Thayer is renowned systemwide as an advocate for historically underrepresented students, as well as an authority on student access, retention, equity, success, enrollment management, and K-20 partnerships. He is a founding member of two non-profit organizations: Have Faith, Be Strong (HFBS)—a non-profit organization for childhood cancer awareness—and the African American Male Education Network and Development (A²MEND), a service organization that promotes the increased involvement and representation of young men of color in higher education. Dr. Thayer is an established grant writer, having secured over $5 million in grant funding to assist students in their pursuit of a higher education, and continues to teach part-time in San Diego State University’s Community College Leadership program, where he mentors the next generation of community college leaders.  
  
Dr. Thayer received his doctorate in Higher Education Administration and Leadership from the University of Southern California; his Master of Arts in Counseling and Guidance from Point Loma Nazarene University in California; his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rollins College in Florida, and his Associate of Arts from Normandale Community College in Minnesota.  
  
Former SBVC president, Diana Z. Rodriguez, says that Dr. Thayer’s leadership will be instrumental to our campus and district’s successful transition back to in-person instruction and operations during this upcoming academic year.