Cuyamaca College names new Dean of Learning & Technology Resources

Dean Jessica HurtadoEL CAJON – Cuyamaca College has named Jessica Hurtado as the new Dean of Learning & Technology Resources. She began on Jan. 3.

Hurtado comes to the Rancho San Diego campus after helping lead online student support for the California Virtual Campus (CVC), a $20 million initiative to meet the online distance education and online support services needs of the 116-college system.

In her new post at Cuyamaca, Hurtado will oversee instructional computer facilities, instructional media services, the campus library, instructional technology support and training, tutoring, and web development.

“I’m very excited,” Hurtado said. “I’ve been able to see the support we can provide systemwide, and now I’ve hit a point in my career where I would love to be able to bring that back to a local campus.”        

Hurtado’s work developing and promoting technologies that enable distance education began before the COVID-19 pandemic, and has only grown more important. Hurtado sees great potential at Cuyamaca College to expand technology for distance education. She is committed to promoting student equity and plans to lead efforts to integrate student services online, including library resources and counseling.

“At Cuyamaca College, we are committed to meeting students where they are and, more than ever, we know that means offering flexibility and options for online education and services,” said Jessica Robinson, Interim President of Cuyamaca College. “I’m thrilled to welcome Jessica, who will lead our efforts to better connect all students to what Cuyamaca can offer them.” 

At the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, Hurtado served as a CVC program manager for online student experience. There, she led operations in distance education for the CVC Student Experience division, oversaw and maintained professional partnerships, and collaborated with the Foundation for California Community Colleges.         

Hurtado grew up in San Diego and lives today with her family in Rancho San Diego. She holds a certification in E-Learning Instructional Design and Development from Oregon State University, a master’s degree in Public Administration from National University, a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences from San Diego State University, and an associate degree in social and behavioral sciences from San Diego City College.

The district’s two colleges, Grossmont College in El Cajon and Cuyamaca College in Rancho San Diego, together serve about 24,000 students each year. For information about the college district, go to www.gcccd.edu.