Lawmaker, educator Jack Scott named Presidential Medalist
August 19, 2013 •
University of California President Mark G. Yudof has awarded the UC Presidential Medal to Jack Scott, the former state legislator who led the 112 schools of the California Community Colleges as chancellor from 2009 until his retirement in 2012.
Scott, who also served as president of Pasadena City College (1987–95) and Cypress College (1978–87), lectured as Scholar-in-Residence at the Claremont Graduate University’s School of Educational Studies during the past academic year.
In presenting the Presidential Medal to Scott in Pasadena on Aug. 15, Yudof said: “Your remarkable efforts and achievements as a lawmaker, educator and chancellor expanded opportunities for countless Californians to enhance their lives and pursue their dreams.”
The Presidential Medal citation reads, in part: “…you have been an ardent and powerful voice for California’s historic Master Plan for Higher Education, fully dedicated to the idea that, by working in partnership, California’s higher education segments have given this state a model for the world to follow…”
The Presidential Medal, which recognizes extraordinary contributions to the University of California or the community of learning, is the highest honor UC’s president can bestow.
Scott served in the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2000 and in the State Senate from 2000 to 2008.
He holds a Ph.D. in history from Claremont Graduate University and master of divinity from Yale University.
