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The following article originally appeared in the 2020 edition of the School of Education magazine, advancing. For a PDF, please click on the magazine to the right. |
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Support System
Dr. Keith Curry (Ed.D. ’11), president and CEO of Compton College and School of Education donor, makes it a priority to build partnerships and support staff and students – skills he learned while at UCI.
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Out of the hundreds of experiences, relationships, classes, and moments that Dr. Keith Curry (Ed.D. ’11) had as a doctoral student at the UCI School of Education, one memory stands above all else.
One day, after a long day of work, Curry visited the office of his dissertation committee chair, the late Dr. Michael Martinez. There, Curry sat through extensive reviews and explanations of his dissertation draft. Page after page, line after line. “He could have just handed it back to me, but he wanted me to understand what every edit was all about,” Curry said. “You cannot put a dollar amount on that. Now, in my career, I go through every single page and every single detail for my employees.” |
Dr. Keith Curry speaks at the 2015 UCI Black Leadership Advancement Coalition Gala. Curry received the Distinguished Alumnus Award and served
as the event’s keynote speaker.
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Curry now serves as president and CEO of Compton College and Compton Community College District, a position he has held since graduating from UCI. He describes the role as a “jack-of-all-trades” – Curry oversees district operations, sets the college’s budget and goals, serves as the chief instructional officer, and is committed to promoting student enrollment, success and retention. Under his leadership, three facilities projects are currently under construction – two instructional buildings to be completed in fall and winter 2021, and a student services building to be completed in early 2022.
Curry took to his role of CEO immediately upon graduating from UCI thanks in part to his dissertation, “The De-accreditation of Compton Community College: An Interpretation Through the Kubler-Ross Grief Construct.” Compton Community College was de-accredited in 2005. In 2017, after years of Curry serving as CEO, the college achieved initial accreditation.
The UCI School of Education also imbued in Curry leadership, writing, and research skills.
“UCI gave me that opportunity to learn more about research and understand data and gave me tangible tools, all of which are very helpful for me to this day,” Curry said.
After graduating from UCI, Curry established both the Keith Curry Undergraduate and Graduate Awards to honor School of Education students who have demonstrated significant growth in academic achievement and unusual perseverance. More than a dozen students have received a Curry scholarship over the years, including 2020 recipients Miguel Abad (Ph.D. ’20), Yailin Cervantes Rios (B.A. ’21), and Nestor Tulagan (Ph.D. ’20).
Curry sees his contribution as “extra money” for students, which can relieve stress and in turn improve performance in the classroom and in the community.
Curry took to his role of CEO immediately upon graduating from UCI thanks in part to his dissertation, “The De-accreditation of Compton Community College: An Interpretation Through the Kubler-Ross Grief Construct.” Compton Community College was de-accredited in 2005. In 2017, after years of Curry serving as CEO, the college achieved initial accreditation.
The UCI School of Education also imbued in Curry leadership, writing, and research skills.
“UCI gave me that opportunity to learn more about research and understand data and gave me tangible tools, all of which are very helpful for me to this day,” Curry said.
After graduating from UCI, Curry established both the Keith Curry Undergraduate and Graduate Awards to honor School of Education students who have demonstrated significant growth in academic achievement and unusual perseverance. More than a dozen students have received a Curry scholarship over the years, including 2020 recipients Miguel Abad (Ph.D. ’20), Yailin Cervantes Rios (B.A. ’21), and Nestor Tulagan (Ph.D. ’20).
Curry sees his contribution as “extra money” for students, which can relieve stress and in turn improve performance in the classroom and in the community.
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“Money can stress students out, and I remember as a student asking how I was going to pay for certain things, or how I was going to eat,” Curry said. “The amount I award is meant to keep students working and engaged in the campus, while helping relieve their stress.”
For Curry, supporting students dates back to 1996, when Curry himself was an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz. At age 19, Curry created a program called “Destination Higher Education,” which invites admitted African American students to the campus so they could learn more about UC Santa Cruz and meet other students. It was Curry’s first experience working for a college and engaging in outreach, a gest that quickly evolved into his calling. “I felt connected to the students – I was in the same position as them in high school but enrolled at UC Santa Cruz without ever visiting the campus,” Curry said. “Being able to create a program for admitted African American students to come and see the campus, get to know the Black community, and make an informed decision about their college attendance was very rewarding.” |
Dr. Keith Curry presents the 2019 Keith Curry Doctoral Award to doctoral student Carlos
Sandoval. From left: Curry, Sandoval, and Stephanie Reich, associate professor and associate dean of the graduate
program.
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Nearly 25 years later, the program still exists. It is student-run and has expanded from a daylong event to an entire weekend of activities. Curry appreciates that the program has evolved.
“When it comes to all programs and partnerships – I have ideas about what needs to be done, but I want to create programs where people can expand it with their own twist,” Curry said. “I want to give my employees the flexibility to model those ideas and change them to fit their needs.”
Curry furthered his understanding and appreciation of building partnerships when working with UCI’s Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP), part of the School of Education’s Center for Educational Partnerships. Curry also funds scholarships for EAOP students.
While working for the EAOP, Curry learned from the late Dr. Juan Francisco-Lara, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment services, whom Curry called a “partnership guru.”
“He was sincere and genuine when he talked to people, and I try to model myself after that – not to be exactly like him per se, but in how you can connect with people,” Curry said. “That’s how I learned about building partnerships, and how they are all about relationships.”
Curry said that UCI and the School of Education “set me up for the rest of my life,” and that as a result, he is forever grateful to the university, school, and above all else, the faculty and staff.
“I am invested in the school because of the people, and it’s why I’ll never stop giving back,” Curry said. “I don’t know how else to thank someone for what they did for me – I can say thank you over and over again, but by paying it forward, that for me is more rewarding.”
“When it comes to all programs and partnerships – I have ideas about what needs to be done, but I want to create programs where people can expand it with their own twist,” Curry said. “I want to give my employees the flexibility to model those ideas and change them to fit their needs.”
Curry furthered his understanding and appreciation of building partnerships when working with UCI’s Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP), part of the School of Education’s Center for Educational Partnerships. Curry also funds scholarships for EAOP students.
While working for the EAOP, Curry learned from the late Dr. Juan Francisco-Lara, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment services, whom Curry called a “partnership guru.”
“He was sincere and genuine when he talked to people, and I try to model myself after that – not to be exactly like him per se, but in how you can connect with people,” Curry said. “That’s how I learned about building partnerships, and how they are all about relationships.”
Curry said that UCI and the School of Education “set me up for the rest of my life,” and that as a result, he is forever grateful to the university, school, and above all else, the faculty and staff.
“I am invested in the school because of the people, and it’s why I’ll never stop giving back,” Curry said. “I don’t know how else to thank someone for what they did for me – I can say thank you over and over again, but by paying it forward, that for me is more rewarding.”
