James T. Minor

James T. Minor is the current Chancellor at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Prior to this, they served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor & Senior Strategist at California State University from September 2016 to March 2022, where they were responsible for providing academic and administrative leadership for system-wide goals to dramatically improve degree completion rates. This included advocacy for legislative budget support, advancing academic policy reforms, and supporting faculty innovation in the largest and most diverse four-year system in the nation.

Before their time at California State University, James served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education from March 2014 to August 2016. In this role, they were responsible for overall leadership and administration for federal programs designed to expand access to higher education, strengthen institutional capacity and to promote postsecondary innovation. James was also responsible for administering and leveraging programs available for postsecondary institutions such as the State College Access Challenge Grants, GEAR-UP, Title III and Title V programs, The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), and TRIO - totaling nearly $3 billion dollars annually. Across the nation and U.S. territories, James' office was responsible for more than $7.5 billion in active programming.

With extensive experience in both academic leadership and administration, James T. Minor has proven himself as a powerful force in higher education. Their work has helped countless students gain access to quality education, while also promoting innovation and institutional capacity-building on a large scale. James continues to serve as an advocate for educational opportunity and excellence through

James T. Minor has a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Jackson State University. James has a Master's degree in Sociology from University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership & Policy from University of Wisconsin-Madison.