Butte College
News Announcement

Butte College Announces New Vice President for Student Services

After an extensive hiring process, the Butte College Board of Trustees has announced Dr. Peter Gitau has been selected as the new vice president for student services.

Allen Renville, recently announced his retirement as vice president for student services, effective December 30, after serving 44 years at the college.

Dr. Gitau has a wealth of higher education management experience that spans more than 20 years and has a strong commitment to access, inclusiveness, and opportunity for all students. A proponent of holistic learning and the seamless integration of curricular and co-curricular programs, Dr. Gitau has a long history of creating partnerships for learning with collaboration across campus departments.

“We are pleased to announce that Dr. Gitau will serve as our new vice president for student services effective January 4, 2021. His unwavering commitment to students, and long standing experience in higher education make him uniquely qualified for the role and his expertise will serve the college well,” said Butte College President, Dr. Samia Yaqub.

Dr Gitau’s professional experience includes serving as vice president for student affairs at Northern Kentucky University and Dixie State University; associate vice chancellor and dean of students at Southern Illinois University.

“I appreciate Butte College’s mission to the community and commitment to students, along with the wonderful programs it has developed such as being one of the first community colleges in the state to offer a Veterans Resource Center, its high school Reg2Go program, and the new Promise Scholarship, ” said Gitau. “I believe in the great work Butte College is doing to serve our students. My goal is to work together to provide even greater access and inclusion for students.”

During his tenure, Dr. Gitau has supervised comprehensive student affairs departments, managed complex capital projects, and developed cross-divisional student success initiatives. He has demonstrated a commitment to diversity and inclusion having developed diversity strategic plans and student success strategies and initiatives with demonstrated success. He is the founder and president of the African International Foundation for Educational Excellence (AIFEE), a non-profit organization with service learning sites and community development initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa, where he has facilitated the international engagement of hundreds of students, faculty, staff and community members.

Born and raised in Kenya, Dr. Gitau received his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. As an international student, he earned a master’s degree in educational administration from Eastern Illinois University, and a doctoral degree in higher education administration from the University of Kansas.

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