By Samantha Bartholomew

Riverside Community College District Chancellor Wolde-Ab Isaac was honored by NAACP Riverside at its 76th Annual Freedom Fund Gala on May 3 for his contributions to education.

The Freedom Fund Celebration is an annual fundraising gala where community leaders and organizations are honored for significant contributions made to their community.

Isaac has more than 35 years of experience as an educator. He was hired by the district in 2006 as dean of Health Science at Moreno Valley College. In 2012, he was named vice president of Academic Affairs at Riverside City College and later as interim president of RCC before being appointed the college’s president in 2015. He was named chancellor Dec. 12.

“Dr. Isaac assumes the helm of our great institution as a highly accomplished immigrant with an impressive academic and professional resume and impeccable track record at the time that some of our citizens, our diverse student population and the immigrant communities, especially those from non-western societies, are being treated in some of the most despicable manner in our modern society,” Faculty Association President Dariush Haghighat said in a statement on Isaac’s appointment to chancellor.