Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

State Sen. Jack Scott, the influential chairman of the Senate Education Committee, will take charge of the California Community Colleges system in January after an 11-year career in the state Legislature, it was announced Thursday.

After a national search, the colleges' Board of Governors met in a closed session Tuesday and later announced the unanimous vote to select Scott, D-Altadena (Los Angeles County), as the system's 14th chancellor, overseeing the state's 109 community colleges.