The 2010 Aaron/Elijah Lovejoy Award is given to recognize individuals in the Southern California community who have contributed to the freeing of African Americans either economically or educationally.

Dr. Ding Jo Currie - Chancellor Coast Community College District

Dr. Ding-Jo H. Currie has been a nationally and internationally recognized leader in education for more than 30 years. As the Chancellor of the Coast Community College District, she is the Chief Executive Officer responsible for the three colleges that include Coastline Community College, Golden West College, and Orange Coast College. More than 60,000 students are served each semester at the colleges within Coast Community College District, one of the nations’ largest in credit enrollment.

Before becoming chancellor, Dr. Currie was the president of Coastline Community College headquartered in Fountain Valley. Dr. Currie had served as Board Chair of the American Association of Community Colleges—an honor bestowed upon her by peer CEOs nationwide. She is also called upon to serve in many other leadership roles such as Chair of the Community College Advisory Panel for the College Board, Board Member for American Council of Education, Higher Education Resource Services, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, Center for Global Integrated Education, and many other organizations.

Dr. Currie is consistently active and outspoken promoting global workforce development, business partnership and leadership development, women’s issues, international education, and most importantly, she is a strong proponent of diversity. She has earned a respected reputation as a dynamic and visionary leader as well as a strong unity builder.

Dr. Currie has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Women Helping Women Award, the Dr. Consuelo Nieto Award, the Outstanding Chinese Educator Award, the Small Business Administration District Director’s Award, Visionary of the Year Award and the award for Woman of the Year in Community Colleges. These honors were based upon her successes in a leadership role and for her capacity to bring about positive change for higher education, businesses, communities, women, and minorities.

Supporting her career endeavors is a solid education. Dr. Currie obtained her Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Southern California in Intercultural/International Education. She also holds degrees in Mathematics, Psychology and Counseling .