As students and faculty bid farewell to President Susan Lamb, who is retiring from Diablo Valley College following the spring semester, many have taken a moment to reflect on her remarkable journey and the profound impact she has had on campus life.
In her eight-year tenure as college president, Lamb has been recognized for her vision of academic excellence and commitment to student success while guiding DVC past significant hurdles—from overseeing the school’s shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, to handling repeated racist graffiti incidents between 2019 and 2025, and responding to student activism around LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice during Black Lives Matter, and contentious protests surrounding the Israel/Gaza conflict.
Lamb has upheld immigrant privacy and protection rights during both the first and second Trump administrations, and most recently signed “A Call for Constructive Engagement” letter along with hundreds of U.S. college and university presidents to denounce the administration’s interference in American higher education.
“I want students when they leave this institution to be able to advocate and have a voice, because to me, if our democracy is to continue, we need individuals that have a voice for their own autonomy, a passion to help change the world, and are willing to stand up for their values and commitments,” said Lamb.
“I support the students’ right to their freedom of expression. A college isn’t one person, it’s all of us, and I hope I’ve done my part to help this college continue to move forward.”
In a series of interviews with The Inquirer, DVC faculty and staff commented on the many ways Lamb’s leadership since 2017 has inspired and left a mark on the college that may be felt for years to come.
“Her knowledge of the community college system and the support she provides to her staff in pursuing professional growth and development are invaluable,” said Vicki Ferguson, vice president of equity and student services.
“She facilitates input from others and listens to multiple perspectives. She’s a true believer [in shared governance].”
An unconventional journey
A daughter of the South, Lamb was born in Little Rock, Ark., but moved at the age of five with her family to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), where she spent part of her early childhood. After returning to the United States as an adolescent, she lived in New Orleans and then completed high school in Mississippi.
Following graduation, Lamb moved in the early 1980s to Austin, Tex., where she attended the University of Texas and majored in engineering, a path she said her family encouraged her to pursue.
But three years into her major, she decided to take a step back and dropped out of university due to the pressures she felt as one of the few women studying among 600 mostly male students in the engineering program.
“I ended up going to the [department] administration because I [felt] actually attacked at the school for being a blonde,” said Lamb.
In 1984, Lamb instead attended Austin Community College where she took courses while working as a manager at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI). It was not her first time working with people with physical and mental disabilities; at the age of 13, Lamb had already worked with children with special needs.
Then, one day while volunteering in the aquatics and gymnastics programs at the college, Lamb’s formal path as an educator began.
Mentored by the head of the school’s health and kinesiology department, Jamee Stewart, Lamb worked for the first time as an instructor teaching swimming courses, while also employed as a manager at TSBVI.
Lamb next obtained a Master of Science in recreation from Southwest Texas State University, now known as Texas State University, in San Marcos, which she attended between 1984 and 1991.
In 1991, while searching out new opportunities in the West, she saw an advertisement for a job opening in the Bay Area.
“I was looking for something new and at that time I had been saying, ‘I want to move to California,’” Lamb recalled.
“I applied for Contra Costa College, and my sister gave me free airfare, otherwise I couldn’t have afforded [to come out]. The second time, CCC flew me out for the final interview,” she said.
“I never thought I’d get the job. And then they called and they offered me the position.”
Bay Area leadership
At CCC, Lamb taught physical education and coached the men’s tennis and women’s volleyball teams, working under the guidance of Dr. Helen Benjamin. Fifteen years later, in 2006, she was hired at DVC as the vice president of academic affairs, a role she held for the next seven years.
Then, in 2013, Lamb moved over to City College of San Francisco, where she worked for two years under Dr. Guy Lease as the vice president of academic affairs before being named the school’s interim chancellor, a role she held from 2015 to 2017.
At City College, Lamb made history by becoming the school’s first openly LGBTQ chancellor. During her two years there, she also played a key part helping to transform the institution’s accreditation status from Termination to full Reaffirmation under the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.
As a result of her achievements, Lamb earned the 2017 Leadership Award for Administrative Excellence from the Association of California Community College Administrators.
Later that year, Lamb competed with three other candidates for the position of DVC president, and was ultimately chosen to replace outgoing President Ted Wieden after his one-year term ended.
After 35 years of working in community colleges in the Bay Area, Lamb’s impacts continue to shape the academic administration.
Ferguson, who has worked at DVC since 2021 and become the longest-serving vice president under Lamb’s leadership, emphasized the importance of Lamb’s level of engagement and her understanding of students and faculty on campus.
In particular, Ferguson mentioned the important role Lamb played incorporating equity as a part of Ferguson’s position.
“When she changed the vice president’s job titles to include equity,” Ferguson said, “I believe she was courageous and led the institution in addressing equity work as outlined in the educational master plan.”
“I am thankful she hired me and continues to support my growth as a leader. I wish her nothing but the best in her retirement endeavors.”
Christine Worsley, the head athletic director at DVC since 2009, said Lamb has been a huge supporter of the school’s athletics department and a strong advocate for students balancing their academics with sports, helping showcase how both areas contribute to students’ overall growth and success.
“She always has brought an administrative perspective to be very student-focused, and she loves to come and attend the games, so she’s an avid supporter of our student athletes,” said Worsley.
Lamb “always wants to know the schedules for all of our teams, and she’ll just pop in all of a sudden, you’ll see her up in the stands and watching a game,” she added.
“I hope that she finds an amazing adventure in retirement, and she loves to travel so I expect that she will be going on some big trips now to see the world.”
John Freytag, an oceanography instructor who has taught at DVC since 2005, and currently serves as president of the Academic Senate, said he has worked closely with Lamb on the Academic Senate since 2019. He recalled ways that Lamb helped play an impactful role shaping the college’s mission and vision through the years.
In particular, her focus on improving student success was one of her major contributions, he said.
“The Academic Senate Scheduling Committee is always closely monitoring success rates across different qualities to help students succeed,” Freytag said. “Susan has worked with our Academic Senate scheduling committee [and] we’ve done a lot of work to try to find that balance. We were paying close attention to the success rates.”
After COVID-19 hit in the spring of 2020, Freytag said he, Lamb and others collaborated to develop online, hybrid and in-person class instruction in a way that addressed student needs.
Freytag also discussed Lamb’s dedication to helping students and faculty at DVC. She has always backed initiatives focused on racial equity and LGBTQ+ rights, he said, further creating a sense of community and inclusivity on campus.
“You can walk right up to [Lamb] and have a conversation, she’s friendly and outgoing and supportive of individual students and our learning communities,” said Freytag, from “our PUENTE and UMOJA programs, [to] our alliances like Pride Alliance and other affinity groups.”
Freytag said the Academic Senate and faculty members will honor Lamb at a retirement tribute event in May.
“Thank you, Susan, for your years of work, dedication to the California Community Colleges system and, of course, to Diablo Valley College. You have led us through some exciting and challenging times, and we are a better college because of your time here with us in this district as faculty, as a dean and vice president, and now as a president,” he added.
“I wish you all the best in your retirement, and hope you get to take some time and do the traveling and the scuba diving that I know you enjoy so much.”
Lamb also expressed final words of appreciation for the faculty, staff and students she got to know throughout her time at DVC.
“I want to thank this college. It has been an honor and a privilege to be here, and the people have been incredibly kind to me,” Lamb said.
“I would like to thank the faculty leadership, working with the Academic Senate, working with the classified Senate presidents (John Freytag and Lisa Smiley-Ratchford),” she went on. “I’ve got three amazing VPs (Vicki Ferguson, Joseph Gorga, and Sara Parker) and deans.”
In addition, “I want to thank Marta Gillen because I work with her every single day, and you know she gets me on the good days and the bad days, and some days keeps me sane.”
Lamb offered special thanks to “Jamee Stewart, who was the first person that hired me over at Austin Community College, my first opportunity at community college level; Dr. Helen Benjamin when I came here (to Contra Costa College), and then Dr. Guy Lease when I was over at City College of San Francisco.”
Lamb confirmed that after retirement one of her goals is to travel the world. She recalled her sister giving her a present, a big “scratch-off map” for her bucket list of countries to see. In 2026, Lamb said she plans to go to Europe and visit Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
She also has plans to visit continents she has never seen, like Australia, and to revisit Asia, South America and Africa to explore countries she hasn’t been to. After traveling, or in between, Lamb said she also wants to try out some new refreshing hobbies.
“After that, you know, I’m looking at some wing folding and curling and, who knows, maybe I’ll finish my helicopter license. That’s still in the books, so we’ll see.”