When Del M. Anderson accepted the position as chancellor of the
City College of San Francisco (CCSF), she knew she wasn’t walking into
the ideal situation. There had been relatively few applicants for the
job, the pay was lower than she expected for such a large urban
institution, and there was much work to be done in building community
support.
She took the job anyway. It was a step up from her position as
president of the San Jose City College, and it was an opportunity to
prove what she could do under challenging circumstances.
“The salary was lower than average for chancellor of a district
this size,” she said. “But the board seemed like a good one to work
with, so I decided to take it and maybe if I did a terrific job they
would raise it.”
So in August 1995, Anderson became the first woman president of the
77,000-student college. After setting priorities and addressing all the
goals she outlined to the board in the last eighteen months, Anderson
asked for that raise — and got it.
She now has the highest base salary among her colleagues in the
state’s 106-college system, and is among the highest in the nation. Her
salary even eclipses that of her boss, chancellor of the state
community college system, by more than $20,000.
“I’ve done a very good job in a very short period of time,” Anderson said.
In December, the CCSF board voted to raise Anderson’s compensation
— through cost-of-living, step and merit increases — from $144,000 to
more than $156,000. In a commendation of her management, the board
cited her exemplary accomplishments.
