San Diego Mesa College has named Leland Simpliciano as the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Service Institution (AANAPISI) Program Activity Manager/Grant Director in January 2023 and leading Mesa’s first five-year, $1.5 million Title III AANAPISI Grant. Mr. Simpliciano is a first-generation college graduate and a proud product of the community college system. He is currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Community College Leadership at Morgan State University and holds a Master’s in Counseling (Student Development in Higher Education) from California State University Long Beach, a BA in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine, and an AA in Sociology from De Anza Community College. Simpliciano has over 10+ years of experience working in higher education.

As of December 2022, and over the next several months, Mesa College will be installing dispensers that will provide free feminine hygiene products in all women's and gender-neutral restrooms throughout the campus. Mesa College will be installing approximately 50 dispensers, in over two dozen locations across campus. The first set of dispensers was installed in the Learning Resources Center (LRC)/Library, with the remaining dispensers scheduled for installation during December and early January 2023. About 20 devices from the company Aunt Flow were donated towards this effort. Mesa College also provides menstrual products at the Student Health Center and at The Stand Resource Center.

San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego Miramar College have been recognized as among the top 100 colleges in the country for enrollment of Hispanic/Latino students, according to a ranking by Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine. Among two-year colleges across the United States, San Diego City College was ranked 35th, while Miramar College was ranked 68th. Mesa College was ranked 45th for four-year colleges and universities. The figures are based on enrollment during the 2020-21 academic year, using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Mesa is considered a 4-year college for data purposes because it offers a bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management.

Since 2017, Mesa College GIS Alumnus Carmen Leedham has been assisting the County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency in the Office of Business Intelligence. The department works with, and provides support for, Aging, Independent, and Public Health Services.

The San Diego Community College District – which includes San Diego City, Mesa, Miramar, and Continuing Education colleges – will no longer require face coverings on district property beginning December 19. The SDCCD made the announcement on November 7, stating the decision was made only after the issue was discussed extensively during the fall semester with SDCCD leadership, the Board of Trustees, labor representatives, a COVID-19 Advisory Group, and other stakeholders.

This past summer, the U.S. Digital Corps selected Jonathan Hart, San Diego Mesa College Alumnus spring ’22, to be a part of the inaugural cohort of the U.S. Digital Corps. The U.S. Digital Corps is a new program that was launched last year by the White House to bring civic-minded early-career technologists to serve in the federal government.

Climate change and a host of other factors increase food insecurity, which disproportionately impacts Latinx and other underserved communities in our region. Now, San Diego State University has received a four-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to train Latinx students for careers in sustainable agriculture and food science.

In Spring 2022, Mesa College officially named Travis Nichols as full-time Head Coach for the upcoming 2022-23 Men’s Basketball season. Travis Nichols is going into his fifth season as coach at San Diego Mesa College, having previously served in a part-time capacity. The San Diego native and former Mesa star player was hired as the school’s first African American head coach. Nichols is the face of the program and it goes deeper than basketball.