Degrees of Change
A podcast from California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy that explores how smart higher education and workforce policies can help Californians learn, contribute, and thrive. Through candid conversations with thought leaders, policymakers, and practitioners, this podcast brings bold ideas and practical solutions to address some of the state’s most pressing challenges.
Degrees of Change
Transforming Higher Ed Through Bolder Policy Reform
On the latest episode of our Degrees of Change podcast, State Senator Christopher Cabaldon challenges us to think bigger and act bolder. A UC Berkeley graduate, former vice chancellor for California Community Colleges, and faculty member at Sacramento State, Senator Cabaldon has experienced higher education from nearly every angle—as an educator, policymaker, and longtime mayor. Now serving in the State Senate, he makes a compelling case: the stakes in higher education are as high as in healthcare or climate policy. It’s time we start acting like it.
Senator Cabaldon shares his approach to eliminating barriers rather than simply helping students navigate them, including his new legislation driving automatic admissions to the California State University. He also discusses why California must refocus our systems on serving all Californians throughout their lives, not just recent high school graduates.
Key Topics
- The paradox of higher education: shared values make collaboration easier but can prevent the accountability and breakthrough innovation found in other policy areas
- What higher education can learn from other policy domains about ambition and urgency
- How California can create meaningful coordination to streamline pathways to and through higher education
Our Guest, State Senator Christopher Cabaldon
Senator Cabaldon represents California's 3rd Senate District, which spans portions of Contra Costa, Solano, Sacramento, Napa, Sonoma, and Yolo counties. He was elected to the State Senate in 2024 after serving over two decades as Mayor of West Sacramento, where he launched the first auto-admission program in the country.
His extensive experience includes serving as Vice Chancellor for Policy, Planning, and External Affairs at the California Community Colleges, teaching as a university faculty member at Sacramento State, serving as a commissioner on the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, serving on President Obama's College Promise Board, and serving as a former board member of California Competes. He also chaired the education committee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. This multifaceted background gives him unique insight into how education policy works at every level of California's complex system.
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