Stephen J. Handel, PhD

Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the President Stephen J. Handel, Ph.D., coordinates cross-functional initiatives and ensures alignment across Foundation leadership priorities. Prior positions at ECMC Foundation included director of postsecondary education transformation and senior program officer of special opportunities.

Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as the College Board’s senior strategist for strategic higher education assessment use and opportunity and, earlier, as senior director for community college initiatives. Steve also served as the chief admissions officer for the University of California (UC) system, providing leadership on freshman and community college transfer policy and practice for the nine UC undergraduate campuses. With more than 23 years of service at the UC, Steve served in a variety of leadership roles in such areas as undergraduate admissions, enrollment management, outreach and student services.

Steve is the co-author of books and monographs on higher education, including Beyond Free College: Making Higher Education Work for 21st Century Students with Eileen L. Strempel (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021) and the two-volume series, Transition and Transformation (also with Strempel, 2016, 2018), The Promise of the Transfer Pathway: Opportunity and Challenge for Community College Students Seeking the Baccalaureate Degree (with Ronald Williams, 2012) and the Community College Sourcebook: Strategies for Advising Transfer Students from Experienced Community College Counselors (2009). Steve’s articles and essays have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, Times Higher Education (UK), Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning and About Campus. Titles include Fairness and Fate in Elite College Admissions, College Admission: Now and Then Again, Reimagining Remediation (with Ronald Williams), Strengthening the Nation by Narrowing the Gap (with James Montoya) and Second Chance, Not Second Class: A Blueprint for Community College Transfer.

Steve earned his doctorate and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles. He also holds undergraduate degrees from California State University, Sacramento and Cosumnes River Community College.

Why are you working at ECMC Foundation and committed to working toward improving higher education for underserved learners?

ECMC Foundation’s commitment to students, especially students from underserved groups, is fully aligned with my professional devotions. Serving undergraduate students in their pursuit of a postsecondary credential represents my professional life’s work.