City College of San Francisco has placed Chancellor Kimberlee Messina on paid administrative leave while an independent investigator reviews allegations of financial impropriety, making her the latest in a procession of more than 10 chancellors to run the community college district in the past 15 years. Messina, who took the permanent post on July 1, 2025, was sidelined on Oct. 6, with vice chancellor David Yee stepping in as temporary acting chancellor.
A District That Cannot Keep a Chancellor
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, CCSF has cycled through more than 10 chancellors in the past 15 years, most of them serving in interim capacities.
Board president language around Messina's leave emphasized it was procedural rather than punitive. The leave is described as a non-disciplinary, interim step and does not reflect any finding, per the Chronicle's reporting. Trustees separately hired an investigator to look into the allegations after Messina's executive assistant sent trustees a letter alleging seven instances of financial misconduct, the Chronicle reports.
How Messina Got the Job
City College of San Francisco announced five finalists for the chancellor post in March 2025 — Carlos Cortez, Messina, Mitch Bailey, Rudy Besikof and Henry Yong — according to a CCSF announcement. Trustees backed away from Cortez; an announcement posted Tuesday was removed Friday, and the nature of his candidacy remained unclear. The Chronicle also reported that he had been arrested in Florida the prior year on suspicion of driving under the influence. The board then turned to Messina, formerly president of Spokane Falls Community College, and CCSF confirmed her selection following a formal board vote, pending contract negotiations and approval at a June 26, 2025 meeting, according to the college's own announcement. Messina's base salary was set at $350,000, the Chronicle reports, while the chancellor oversees a district with a nearly $300 million annual budget, according to CCSF.
Mitchell Bailey served as interim chancellor and was a finalist for the permanent job, the Chronicle reports.
A Pattern Stretching Back Nearly Two Decades
Don Griffin became interim chancellor in March 2008 and permanent chancellor in December 2008. Pamila Fisher then served as interim chancellor through October 2012, followed by Thelma Scott-Skillman through October 2013. During that period, an accrediting commission placed City College on show cause in 2012 and accreditors threatened to shut the college down unless it repaired its problems, giving it eight months to do so, the Chronicle reports.
Another Interim Chancellor
Susan Lamb was tapped as interim chancellor in 2015.
Messina's Predecessor and the Latest Vacancy
David Martin, the former chancellor, departed in 2024.
Now Yee, CCSF's vice chancellor, is serving as temporary acting chancellor.
Union Leaders Call the Job Cursed
Robin Pugh, president of American Federation of Teachers Local 2121, discussed billionaire-backed candidates and gentrification.
Enrollment losses tie into the instability. City College's enrollment has declined; KALW reports that financial mismanagement roughly a decade ago caused a major enrollment decline, reducing state funding and triggering budget cuts, layoffs and canceled classes, though enrollment has ticked up slightly in the past few years. KALW also reports that City College closed its Downtown campus this past summer. The college currently serves roughly 43,000 students, per the Chronicle.
Trustee Elections Loom as Board Seats Turn Over
San Francisco voters are preparing to elect trustees to three open seats on the seven-member college board, and none of the incumbents in those seats is seeking reelection, according to KALW, which reports eight candidates are competing for the three spots. A separate review by Inside Higher Ed found at least 17 of California's 137 community college leaders retired between January 2020 and March 2022 alone, out of a statewide system of 73 community college districts. The Chronicle's account of more than 10 chancellors in 15 years underscores the turnover, leaving Yee to steady a district still waiting to learn what the investigation into his predecessor will find.
