Claudia Salcedo, who has served the UCLA community for more than two decades, has been appointed director of the Center for Community College Partnerships at UCLA, or CCCP, starting April 1.

During her tenure, Salcedo has worked within the Academic Advancement Program and CCCP, focusing on outreach, access and retention initiatives for diverse populations.

“I’m thrilled to step into the role of CCCP director,” Salcedo said. “I’ve spent my career advocating for access to higher education and am excited to continue by expanding the impact and reach of CCCP as we address educational outreach, research and policy issues as it relates to community colleges.”

CCCP works with California community colleges to increase the academic preparation and competitiveness for community college transfer students, particularly first-generation, low-income or historically underrepresented students.

Under Salcedo’s leadership, CCCP will be expanding its focus to include research and policy, in addition to supporting educational programs.

This article originally appeared on UCLA’s Newsroom.