Assistant Superintendent / Vice President of Academic Affairs

Maria Photo

Dr. María L. Villagómez

Assistant Superintendent / Vice President of Academic Affairs

Dr. María L. Villagómez is a goal-oriented and resourceful leader known for her ability to navigate between the intricate details and the broader vision of complex issues. With over 30 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in educational settings, she is recognized as an innovator and a driving force in the pursuit of academic excellence and student success.

Dr. Villagómez's degrees and credentials are as follows:

  • Doctorate (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership;
  • Master’s degree in Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning with an emphasis in Educational Leadership;
  • Master’s degree in Spanish Linguistics and Literature;
  • Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Linguistics and Literature with an emphasis in Sociology;
  • Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Credential; and
  • @ONE Online Teaching and Design Certification.

Her extensive academic background underscores her commitment to fostering student success and maintaining high academic standards.

Throughout her career, Dr. Villagómez has demonstrated an exemplary dedication to student success in higher education. She possesses a deep understanding of the critical connection between classroom experiences and administrative responsibilities. Her primary strengths lie in her proactive approach, initiative, and her ability to anticipate and organize change. She consistently brings an educator’s perspective to her administrative roles, enriching her leadership with insights drawn from her extensive teaching experience.

At SBCC, Dr. Villagómez oversees the entire academic affairs division and serves as the Accreditation Liasion Officer (ALO). Also, she co-chairs the Strategic Enrollment Management Committee and the Educational Vision Plan. 

Dr. Villagómez has more than 13 years of increasingly responsible management experience covering a broad leadership scope across the following areas:

  • Academic Affairs: Oversee instruction, scheduling, cataloging, curriculum development, distance education, accreditation, success centers, tutoring, grant management, study abroad programs, academic support, professional development, enrollment management, international education, workforce development, distance education, state mandates (AB705/1705, Common Course Numbering, Zero Cost Textbooks, Workforce Development) and teaching and learning technologies.
  • Student Services: In partnership with Student Affairs, oversee dual enrollment programs. Additionally, library services, first-year student experience initiatives and programming, external partnerships, legal mandates, and exploration/guided pathways also fall under her perview.
  • Institutional Planning: Lead accreditation planning and visiting team cycles, policy development, educational visioning, planning and implementation, strategic enrollment management planning and implementation, research capacity building, shared governance improvement, and program review processes.
  • Fiscal Management: Oversee the management of large budgets, ensuring fiscal responsibility and strategic resource allocation. Successfully led initiatives that maximized efficiency by implementing more cost-effective strategies, often at no additional expense.
  • Human Resources: Participated in the first faculty hiring cluster at SBCC, focusing on advancing equity in the hiring process to increase representation of faculty of color, thereby fostering a teaching community that more accurately reflects and supports our diverse student population.

For over 19 years, Dr. Villagómez taught Spanish Language, Literature, and English as a Second Language courses at Napa Valley College, earning the McPherson Distinguished Teaching Award in 2015. As a tenured faculty member, she served in multiple leadership roles, including President, 1st Vice President, and Grievance Officer for the Faculty Association, as well as Secretary and 1st Vice President for the Academic Senate. Also, she has experience teaching at the K-12 level and at university levels. 

At Napa Valley College, Dr. Villagómez served as an academic dean for over six years, including as Senior Dean of Language Arts and Social Sciences, two of the largest FTES-generating and most productive divisions at Napa Valley College. She also oversaw the Library and Distance Education areas. In her role, she secured funding and launched the district’s first laptop and hotspot loaner program, significantly reducing the digital divide in the community. Additionally, she spearheaded the launch of an online writing tutoring program, expanding access for students, and secured funding for a second Puente program cohort.

Her prior roles include Dean of Instruction and Academic Support, where she established Napa Valley College’s first CCAP agreement across multiple disciplines, and Dean of Language Arts, Educational Support, and Learning Technologies, where she led a classroom creation project to optimize space utilization and increase classroom availability. Dr. Villagómez also led and co-led various initiatives requiring close collaboration with Student Affairs, including the development and implementation of an automatic student enrollment process that boosted enrollments. She successfully co-led two of Napa’s Guided Pathways Cross-Functional teams: AB705 and Exploration Pathways. In recognition of her contributions, Dr. Villagómez was honored as the Administrative Employee of the Year in 2021.

Dr. Villagómez has completed the following leadership programs:

All leadership programs are prestigious programs specifically designed for California community college administrators. 

Dr. Villagómez has been actively involved in various civic, local, and statewide organizations, including Napa-Solano Girl Scouts, Leadership Napa Valley, HOPE (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality), and the Napa Valley College Leadership Academy, among others. Most recently, she served on ACCCA’s Board of Directors and currently serves on ACCCA's Commission for Finance, Legislation, and Advocacy. 

Assistant Superintendent / Vice President of Academic Affairs Office
MacDougall Admin Bldg., A-112
(805) 965-0581, Ext. 4379
mvillagomez2@pipeline.sbcc.edu 

Team


Holly Higgins
Executive Assistant (Confidential)
(805) 965-0581, Ext. 4379
hkhiggins@sbcc.edu

Gary James
Educational Programs Support Specialist
(805) 965-0581, Ext. 4153
gnjames@sbcc.edu

Kaylene Thomas
Curriculum Coordinator
(805) 965-0581, Ext. 4258
kmthomas3@sbcc.edu

Victor Bryant
Catalog/Schedule Specialist
(805) 965-0581, Ext. 4715
vlbryant@sbcc.edu

Charlotte Early
Catalog/Schedule Specialist
(805) 965-0581, Ext. 4715
clearly@sbcc.edu