Dr. John Hamilton serves as the Associate Vice President of University Access & Retention
at California State University, Long Beach. He provides leadership to ten departments
delivering a bridge for services, via Academic and Student Affairs, that impact access and
retention across the university.

A former teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Dr. Hamilton knew that
“impact” and “scalability” were critical to the success of equity and diversity in urban
schools. Transitioning to higher education, Dr. Hamilton used “impact” and “scalability”
throughout his career with great success. Dr. Hamilton has held leadership positions
across a variety of higher education institutions including UCLA and Loyola Marymount
University and has taught at Pepperdine University, National University, and Occidental
College. Prior to his role as AVP of Access and Retention, Dr. Hamilton was the Director of
Educational Opportunity Program and Guardian Scholars at CSULB.

Dr. Hamilton has presented at numerous conferences and provided workshops on equity,
diversity, hip-hop, pop culture, welfare-to-work programming, foster youth, community
policing, and identity-conscious strategies. Most recently, Dr. Hamilton has been named the
co-chair of the CSULB President’s Commission on Equity and Change and is also an
executive board member of the NAACP-Long Beach Chapter.

As an influencer and leader in higher education institutions, Dr. Hamilton seeks to improve
practices, inform decisions, strengthen communities, and ensure success. An expert, leader,
and advocate, Dr. Hamilton has a strong passion to support all students to excel in and
outside of the classroom. He pays particular attention to our BIPOC communities, in the
efforts to dispel the myths and deficit perspective attitudes within and beyond the walls of
education.