Lucknow-born Cooke is at present President, Grossmont College.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: Dr. Sunita ‘Sunny’ Cooke, president of the Grossmont College, has been selected by Trustees in the MiraCosta Community College District to be the new superintendent/president of MiraCosta College, a community college in California.
Cooke has been president of Grossmont College in El Cajon since 2007, reported The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“We are extremely excited about someone of Dr. Cooke’s ability and track record becoming MiraCosta’s superintendent/president,” MiraCosta College Board President David Broad said in a news release. “She has proven in her previous posts that she is a visionary and effective leader with the ability to work in an academic environment.”
MiraCosta trustees are scheduled to ratify Cooke’s contract on October 22. Her annual salary will be $250,000, according to MiraCosta Human Resources Director Sheri Wright.
Cooke was born in Lucknow, India, and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1968. After earning a doctorate in biology at Georgetown University, she completed a postdoctoral training program at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, in the molecular aspects of cell adhesion and metastasis. She also is a founding faculty member of Lone Star-Montgomery College in Houston, Texas.
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Chancellor Cindy Miles praised Cooke’s focus on students and called the hiring bittersweet.
“We’ll miss her smart, caring and charismatic leadership, but we congratulate her on achieving this new phase in her career,” Miles said in a news release.
Cooke said through a news release that Grossmont College would always hold a special place in her heart.
“Working together as a family, we have thrived during the most challenging of circumstances and continued to keep the focus on our students, our employees and our community,” she said. “I remain dedicated to our vision of ‘changing lives through education.’”
Grossmont-Cuyamaca spokeswoman Anne Krueger said degrees and certificates awarded by the school doubled and financial aid awards almost tripled during Cooke’s tenure, said Union-Tribune.
The number of students earning a C or better and the number of students continuing at college rose three percent in the past seven years, she said. There also was a 16 percent increase in the number of Grossmont College students transferring to four-year universities during Cooke’s tenure, Krueger said.
Before joining Grossmont, Cooke spent 12 years with the Lonestar System, where she served as professor of biology, director of a biotechnology institute, dean of sciences, health and wellness, and associate vice chancellor for workforce development. She also has taught full time and part time for more than 13 years and continues to teach each summer in the community college leadership doctoral program at San Diego State University.
Cooke is expected to start her new job in January. She will replace interim Superintendent/President Dick Robertson, who has been on the job since former Superintendent/President Francisco Rodriguez left to become the chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District in April.
Besides her work at the college, Cooke has served as a board member of the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, the East County YMCA, Sharp Grossmont Hospital and the San Diego County Workforce Partnership.
She also has served as regional leader for workforce development and on the state chancellor’s Workforce and Economic Development Advisory Council.
On the national level, she has served on the American Association of Community College’s Emerging Trends Council.
Grossmont College has about 19,000 students and MiraCosta College has about 14,600.