Sol Rapoport
“I’m not looking for fame,” jokes Kenneth Takeda, new vice president of administrative services.
“I’m not looking for fame,” jokes Kenneth Takeda, as the photographer sets up a tripod and begins shooting.
The new vice president of administrative services has only been at his new post at Pierce College a month, but he’s no stranger to attention.
After a grueling hiring process that involved numerous exams and interviews at both the Los Angeles Community College District and at Pierce, Takeda replaced Timothy Oliver, who retired in December 2006.
“It’s been a great adventure,” said Takeda, 55, of his appointment. “The first week was taken up entirely with accreditation. That was an exciting time to start work.”
Pierce President Robert Garber believes Takeda’s presence will benefit the college.
“Ken brings with him significant knowledge about business operations in the LACCD, familiarity with Pierce as a campus and a positive commitment to our college and community,” wrote Garber in a campus-wide e-mail.
According to the LACCD We site, the vice president of administrative services “applies a broad knowledge of business principles and practices, as well as skill, in dealing with organizations, methods, funds, people, equipment and other resources of management in administering a comprehensive program of business services at the college.”
At Pierce, this position is responsible for managing a variety of sectors including finance, human resources, information technology, purchasing, contracts, facilities management and construction and general business services.
Although new to the Pierce campus, Takeda is hardly new to the world of education.
He served as the director of business services at the LACCD office in downtown L.A. from 2000 until his current appointment.
Prior to his tenure in the LACCD, Takeda held similar leadership positions at the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the Los Angeles Housing Authority.
“Someone asked me the biggest difference between Pierce and the district office and the answer was students,” said Takeda.
“One of the reasons I wanted to come to Pierce is that at the district it’s hard to see the end result of what you do in terms of student learning. And here, you’re in the middle of it.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Takeda is a “Sansei”-a third-generation, U.S.-born, American citizen, whose grandparents were Japanese immigrants to America.
Takeda stayed local during his education, attending public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District through his high school graduation.
He then earned his bachelor’s degree in political science as well as a master’s in public administration from UCLA, where he has also completed coursework for a Ph.D. in business management.
He now lives across the street-literally.
His twin 6-year-old daughters attend Calvert Elementary School, which means he can spend plenty more time with his family.
His commute is now considerably shorter than the hour and 15 minutes his ride to the district office used to take.
But Takeda, who calls himself “a real transit buff,” insists it wasn’t all bad.
He lessened the monotonous routine by commuting to the district via public transit.
He walked to the Metro Orange Line station at Pierce College and then took the Metro Red Line subway downtown.
He took the job at Pierce, he said, not just because of the shorter commute time.
Takeda was influenced by comments made by LACCD Chancellor Darroch “Rocky” Young when announcing his retirement.
“He mentioned how much he missed Pierce and the interaction with students and faculty,” said Takeda.
“So when Tim Oliver’s position became available I consulted with Rocky. He said he thought it was a more interesting job than I had at the district office.”
Takeda already has a long list of projects he wants to get involved with. Among other things, he wants to focus on campus construction.
“I want to work with the college president and the community on bond construction,” he said.
“We need to figure out how to manage traffic and parking too, as the project spreads to other parts of campus.”
The new vice president said his motivation to succeed comes from his desire to honor the public’s trust. He does his best despite his biggest obstacle-bureaucracy.
His biggest pet peeve, he said, is “taking a long time and going through unnecessary steps to accomplish something.”
Despite those things, which he chalks up to “just part of the job,” Takeda said he’s happy to be at Pierce and is looking forward to getting to know everyone.
In fact, he said he’s interested in finding out what students have to say about the college.
“What do students like?” he asked. “What do they dislike about Pierce? I want to know their thoughts on that.” And he’s been prepared to hear the answers for quite some time.
“I hope to retire from here,” said Takeda.
“I plan to be here for the rest of my career.”
As for how he’d like to be remembered, Takeda said he wants to be known as “Someone who came in, did the best job he could, worked well with the rest of the college community and left the college better than he found it.
“That’s a good enough legacy for me.”
After a grueling hiring process Kenneth Takada is the new vice president of Administrative Services. “I’m so glad to be able to work here,” he said. “Please say Hello if you find me on campus.” Takada said he wants to hear students’ voices as much as possible and looks forward to working with students. ()