The Democracy Commitment   Every student shall have had an education in democracy.

Dr. Bernie Ronan is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs of the Maricopa Community Colleges. He oversees the Division of Public Affairs, which includes government relations, marketing, media relations, communications, as well as the Center for Civic Participation.  He has been an administrator in the Maricopa Colleges for the past 20 years, including serving as the Acting President of Mesa Community College in 2007-8.  Prior to his service in the Maricopa Colleges, he was Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce, and Deputy Associate Superintendent of the Arizona Department of Education.  Over his career as a public administrator, he has developed numerous community partnerships and has done research and analysis on public policy issues. An Arizona native, he has his doctorate in public administration from Arizona State University.

An Arizona native, he has postgraduate degrees in theology and public administration, and obtained his doctorate in public administration from Arizona State University.

Brian Murphy has been president of De Anza College since 2004. A key focus of his presidency is the preparation of students to be active, involved citizens committed to transforming their communities. This vision lead to the creation of De Anza’s Institute for Community and Civic Engagement.

In 2006, he spearheaded a participatory Strategic Planning Initiativefor the college with input from faculty, staff and students, generating initiatives in the areas of Outreach, Individualized Attention to Student Retention and Success, Cultural Competence and Community Collaborations. President Murphy served for 12 years as executive director of the San Francisco Urban Institute at San Francisco State University.

Among other positions, Murphy was chief consultant to the California State Legislature’s reviews of the Master Plan for Higher Education and the community college reform process in the late 1980s. He has taught political theory and American government at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara University and San Francisco State University.

Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, all in political science.