Chief Executive of California’s Virtual Community College Suddenly Resigns

The president and chief executive of California’s first-ever statewide online community college announced her resignation on Monday. Heather Hiles was selected less than a year ago to lead Calbright College, the new, much-vaunted means for educating much of the state’s adult work force.

Hiles, an entrepreneur, had a four-year contract with the college, earning a base annual salary of $385,000. Former Gov. Jerry Brown had championed the virtual college, which sought to give adult students the flexibility to finish a degree or learn new job skills.

In a statement emailed to The Chronicle, Hiles wrote that before announcing her departure she submitted a more-than-200-page report to the California Legislature “detailing the road map for building and operating” Calbright. With a business plan in place and a core staff hired, the statement read, “Hiles feels the time is right to resume the professional work in which she was engaged prior to being recruited.”

The statement made no mention of the specific reason for Hiles’s sudden departure. As recently as December 13, the president was confidently discussing 2020 plans with a Chronicle reporter for using Calbright to improve students’ career prospects, by focusing on forging ties with employers. Hiles said the institution would be “in the jobs business rather than the credential business.”

Hiles will be on leave until she resigns, at the end of March, according to a statement released by Tom Epstein, president of the Calbright College Board of Trustees. The board will appoint an interim chief executive until a replacement is hired.

“Calbright has the potential to be a powerful resource to help millions of low-income and disadvantaged Californians move up the economic ladder,” Epstein’s statement read. “We are determined to fulfill that goal.”