Mesa College President Constance Carroll has been named chancellor of the state's second-largest community college system, making her the only African-American college chief in the county.

Carroll was selected over colleague and fellow finalist Patricia Keir, president of Miramar College, for the top job at the San Diego Community College District, which has 100,000 students and three colleges.

When Community College District Board President Marty Block called her at home with the offer late Wednesday, Carroll said it took some time and meditation before the news sunk in that she would be heading one of the largest districts in the nation.

Then she celebrated in the most decadent manner she could imagine, she said: "I made myself an incredibly fattening milkshake. Chocolate malt with whipped cream and everything I'm not supposed to eat."

Carroll, 58, replaces retiring Chancellor Augustine Gallego, who leaves June 30.

The two local finalists were chosen from a pool of 32 candidates after a national search. The two preside over two of the three colleges in the district, with Carroll running the largest, the 25,000-student Mesa campus.

She has been paid $153,000 per year, and trustees have yet to determine her new salary or how to choose a successor for her position. Gallego earns $220,000 a year.

"The board had a very hard time choosing between these two candidates," said Gallego, who had hired both finalists.

He praised Carroll for her organized and visionary planning for the college, and credited her with strategic planning, managing enrollment and expanding the academic program during her tenure.

He said she was also instrumental in the passage of the district's $685 million bond measure.

"She's well-organized. She's a strong leader," he said.

Carroll was recruited from Orange County, where for 10 years she was president of Saddleback College. She also had been president of Indian Valley Colleges in Marin County.

Her educational background is in the humanities. She earned a bachelor's from Duquesne College in Pittsburgh and holds both her master's and doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. Her familiarity with ancient languages was sharpened with Hellenistic studies at a university in Greece.

Since coming to San Diego, Carroll said, she has become invested in the community and did not want to leave to pursue her career. "When I came here, I realized: This is home."

She said she prizes the great diversity in the community college district, the range of ages and backgrounds and ethnicity of both its students and faculty. "That gives a vibrancy to the district. Its size and complexity are fascinating."

Carroll grew up in Baltimore during the era of segregation, which seared in her the importance of education as a gateway. "I learned firsthand what it means to be excluded from opportunity and how it feels to be the target of low expectations. I want to do everything in my power to ensure that all students have an opportunity to rise to their potential."