Emily Kelley / Roundup
The deadline to apply for Pierce College president has been extended to April 1, instead of the previous March 1 date.
When the new president takes office July 1, they will become Piece’s 20th president in the school’s 63-year history.
The position was vacated by former President Robert Garber as of Aug. 1, due to his son, Jesse, being diagnosed with acute liver failure.
Garber had just started the first year of his second, 3-year contract with Pierce.
Joy McCaslin, P.h.D., who was vice president of student services before becoming interim president, will hold the position until the end of the school year.
McCaslin has said that she has no intention of seeking the permanent job, and wishes to return to her previous post.
The new president will be selected by the district board of trustees, who will select from the candidates chosen by a 12-person committee.
The committee was selected based on board of trustees’ rules, and were elected or appointed by the constituency they represent. Mark Rocha, president of West Los Angeles College was selected to chair the committee.
Pierce Academic Senate President Tom Rosdahl and Plant Facilities Director Paul Nieman, are also part of the committee.
“We’ve met and we’re just going to be reviewing applications,” said Nieman at the Pierce College Council (PCC) meeting on Feb. 25.
They will next meet again on March 8 to discuss the applications already received.
The committee’s meetings are not open to the public since personal information is discussed.
“We are trusting the committee to do the will of their constituents,” said Debbie Swarens, assistant administrative analyst for Academic Affairs and the PCC representative to the Academic Senate.
In their last meeting on Jan. 25, the committee determined what questions they were going to ask the candidates they chose to interview. Before the deadline was extended, the interviews were slated for April 7, 8 and 9.
The selection committee’s deliberations will not be shared with other members of the Pierce faculty or staff according to Swarens.
After the committee selects the finalists, their names will be forwarded to the Chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), currently Dr. Tyree Weider, and the board of trustees.
“The board of trustees is the ultimate decision maker for everything,” said Rosdahl.
The last time a president was selected in December 2005, former President Robert Garber and the two other finalists appeared at Pierce for a question-and-answer session open to the community.
A consultant group hired by the district has advised having the finalists present themselves, due to the possibility of a candidate’s current position being compromised.
The PCC has said that they will reassert their desire to have the finalists give presentations.
There are usually three finalists, but the number could flex, according to Rosdahl.
The next story in the series will focus on what the committee and the campus population is looking for in a president.
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