Higher Education Policy Expert, Educator and Candidate for Los Rios Community College District Board of Trustees, Area 1
Dr. Devon Graves has built his professional career around a central question: how can higher education create greater opportunity for students and the communities they call home?
A first generation college graduate, Graves earned his bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly Pomona before completing his master’s degree and Ph.D. in Education at UCLA. He earned his doctorate at age 26, focusing his academic and professional work on higher education, community colleges, financial aid and the policies that influence students’ ability to access and complete college.
His career has taken him from student advocacy to some of California’s most significant higher education governing institutions. Graves served two terms as a gubernatorial appointee to the California Student Aid Commission, where his responsibilities included work involving financial aid programs such as Cal Grants, the California Dream Act and the Middle Class Scholarship.
He later served as the 44th Student Regent on the University of California Board of Regents. During his tenure, he chaired the Regents’ Special Committee on Basic Needs, addressing issues including student food and housing insecurity. His policy experience also extended to the federal level, where he participated in the U.S. Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking process involving federal student loan policy.
Today, Graves is an Assistant Professor of Community College Leadership at North Carolina State University and a Faculty Scholar with the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. His research examines community colleges, financial aid and the experiences students encounter while navigating higher education. Now he is bringing that background into a campaign for the Los Rios Community College District Board of Trustees, Area 1. Area 1 encompasses communities in the northwest portion of Sacramento County, including Del Paso Heights, McClellan, North Highlands, Natomas and Rio Linda. Graves lives in North Natomas with his wife and daughter.
His campaign centers on three areas: college affordability, support for faculty and staff, and workforce development. On affordability, Graves argues that keeping tuition comparatively low is only one part of the equation. Transportation, housing, textbooks and everyday living expenses can still prevent students from completing their education.
He supports more proactive efforts to connect eligible students with FAFSA, California Dream Act applications, scholarships and other financial aid resources. His second focus is the faculty and classified professionals who work directly with students. Graves has emphasized examining compensation, benefits and working conditions, including the challenges faced by part time faculty who may teach across multiple community college districts.
Workforce development represents another major component of his platform. Graves believes community college programs should be closely connected to Sacramento region labor market needs, particularly in fields such as healthcare, construction, technology and other occupations where employers need trained workers. Healthcare illustrates the challenge. When demand for programs such as nursing exceeds available capacity, qualified students may turn to substantially more expensive educational alternatives. Graves argues that districts should continually evaluate faculty availability, classroom capacity and regional workforce projections when deciding where to invest resources.
Artificial intelligence adds another dimension to that challenge. As AI changes occupations and creates new technical requirements, Graves believes community colleges will need to evaluate curriculum more frequently and build stronger relationships with employers and industries shaping the region’s economy. For Graves, the argument for community colleges extends beyond the students enrolled in them.
Graduates become nurses, technicians, public safety professionals, paralegals, tradespeople and other members of the regional workforce. Their education, he argues, ultimately becomes part of the economic infrastructure of the communities the colleges serve. That perspective also shapes his view of the role of a trustee.
Graves says governance requires more than identifying problems. It requires understanding public funding, regulations and institutional structures while building coalitions capable of turning policy proposals into programs. His campaign presents his candidacy as an extension of a career already centered on higher education policy and student access.
“My approach is student centered,” Graves told New Times Magazine. “Every decision I make as a trustee would come back to one question: How does this best support our students?”
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CONTACT
Dr. Devon Graves
Candidate for Los Rios Community College District Board of Trustees, Area 1
Phone: (951) 970-7815
Devon@Devon4LosRios.com
Social Media: @Devon4LosRios
