The State of Black California was created by Dr. John Hamilton to dispel myths and advance African American/Black people in California. His hope is that these successful efforts will be implemented across the country. Who is John Hamilton? He served as the Associate Vice President for Student Success & Equity at CSU, Long Beach (CSULB) providing leadership to bridge for services, via Academic and Student Affairs, that impact access and retention across the university. Additionally, Dr. Hamilton served as co-chair of the CSU, Long Beach President’s Equity and Change Commission.
A former teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Dr. Hamilton knew that “impact” and “scalability” were critical to the success of equity and diversity in urban schools. Transitioning to higher education, Dr. Hamilton used “impact” and “scalability” throughout his career with great success. Dr. Hamilton has held leadership positions across a variety of higher education institutions including UCLA and Loyola Marymount and has taught at Pepperdine University, National University, and Occidental College. Prior to his role as AVP of Student Success & Equity, Dr. Hamilton was the Director of Educational Opportunity Program and Guardian Scholars at CSULB.
Dr. Hamilton has presented at numerous conferences and provided workshops on equity, diversity, hip-hop, pop culture, welfare-to-work programming, foster youth, community policing, and identity-conscious strategies.
As an influencer and leader in higher education institutions, Dr. Hamilton seeks to improve practices, inform decisions, strengthen communities, and ensure success. An expert, leader, and advocate, Dr. Hamilton has a strong passion to assist BIPOC students to excel in and outside of the classroom. He pays particular attention to African American males, in the efforts to dispel the myths and deficit perspective attitudes within and beyond the walls of education.