Shirley B. Lewis Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship has been established by Shirley’s fellow faculty and staff members at SCC to honor her in her retirement and for the great work Dr. Shirley B. Lewis has done at Solano Community College. Dr. Shirley Lewis is a graduate of Vacaville High School, and she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and juris doctorate in Law from King Hall, University of California Davis. While an active member of the State Bar of California, she worked primarily in the areas of civil rights, administrative law, and immigration law.

Shirley is an active member of the SCC Community and has dedicated over 35 years of service, teaching and in educational administration, in California postsecondary educational institutions. Her experience includes serving as Vice President of Student Services at D-Q University (1983-1997), California’s only Native American two-year community college, where she also taught Federal Indian Law. In her time at Solano Community College, Dr. Lewis has served in various administrator roles over her 20+ years of tenure, including Dean of Student Development and Outreach and ASSC Student Government Advisor (1997-2010) as well as Dean of the Vacaville Center/School of Aeronautics and Travis AFB (2010-2013) and Dean of the Vallejo Center (2016-2020). Dr. Lewis was instrumental in establishing two Early College High Schools in 2013, in partnership with the Vacaville Unified School District and the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District. From 2013- 2016, Lewis served as the Chief Student Services Officer (CSSO) and Student Equity Officer. In 2016, she was tasked with implementing a face-to-face college program for incarcerated students in two state prisons in Vacaville: CA State Prison-Solano and the California Medical Facility. Her efforts have led to the Rising Scholars of Solano Community College program with 1,437 students currently participating. Dr. Lewis served as Dean of Academic Support Services until her retirement in 2024.

Across her roles at Solano, Dr. Lewis was a student advocate in all her work; student needs always came first. She served as a role model for hundreds of students through her work with student government and Phi Theta Kappa. The staff, faculty, and administration at Solano Community College benefited from Dr. Lewis’s calm, thoughtful approach to issues and her unwavering support to meet out students’ needs. Her door was always open, and her sage advice guided many of us over the years. She is beloved by the Solano Community College community.

Dr. Lewis is a past recipient of Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society Outstanding Teacher of the Year at Solano College and the African American Excellence in Achievement Legacy Award. She was the Founding Advisor of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at SCC (2003-2019). She currently serves on the Boards of the Solano College Scholarship Foundation, the Solano County Educational Consortium, Fighting Back Partnership, Inc., and the Vallejo Community Access Television (VCAT). In 2017, Dr. Lewis was inducted into the SCC Hall of Fame for her contributions to the SCC Athletic Boosters.
One $500 scholarship will be awarded in the Fall semester.
Students must have completed 12 or more units at SCC
Students must have been enrolled at SCC for the previous academic year and achieved a 2.75 GPA
Students will be asked about their commitment to social justice and civic leadership.

Award
500.
Deadline
09/10/2025
Supplemental Questions
  1. Have you completed 12 or more units at SCC?
  2. To be eligible for this award, you must currently be enrolled in at least 12 units.
  3. Were you enrolled at SCC in the past academic year and did you earn at least a 2.75 GPA ?
  4. Please list your chosen Major?
  5. Please list your campus or community activities that demonstrate your commitment to social justice & civic leadership?
  6. Please describe how you have engaged in civic leadership or social justice in your community and/or how you plan to do so in the future?
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