Emily Kelley / Roundup
Pierce College is experiencing quite a few changes this semester thanks to new buildings, reduced classes and continued construction.
One change that is less evident is the new occupant of the president’s office.
Joy McCaslin, Ph.D, was appointed interim president by the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees on July 29.
McCaslin took over for Robert Garber, who retired Aug. 1 in order to care for his son Jesse, who needed a liver transplant due to acute liver failure.
“It was sad that he had to leave quite suddenly because of a family emergency,” said McCaslin during a recent interview in her office. “I respect him for doing that, but he left things in really good shape so that’s nice for me.”
Jesse Garber, who received a liver Aug. 5, is still recovering. Garber has written to letters to the Pierce community, but declined interviews with the Roundup.
Garber served as president for a total of 4 years, and had just completed one year of his second three-year contract as president.
“I don’t feel like it’s difficult (to follow Garber), because I’m the interim president and I’m not going to go for the permanent position,” McCaslin said. “I don’t feel like I’m competing with him in that way.”
David Follosco, who was appointed interim vice president Aug. 2, had worked under McCaslin for the past three years.
“She’s always very calm and just a pleasant person,” said Follosco, who formerly served as dean of student services. “She always seems to find the good side of everything.”
• The early years
McCaslin, who said she prefers being called “Joy” over “president” or “doctor,” was born in Illinois, but moved to Sylmar with her parents and four siblings in 1957 so her father could find work.
“It was a really nice community, somewhat rural. There were lot of little farms and I knew a lot of people with horses. It was a very nice working classes place,” McCaslin said.
After graduating from Sylmar High School, she began her higher education career at Pierce.
“My parents did not get the opportunity to go to college, but they really wanted that for us,” said McCaslin. “When your parents haven’t gone to college, it’s really kind of different because you don’t grow up hearing about ‘When I went to college’ and ‘You should do this and that.’ But still we all ended up going to college.”
McCaslin spent two years at Pierce before transferring to U.C. Santa Barbara, where she received a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology.
“I was one of those students who always had to work. Looking back, I realize that so many students are in that situation, so it’s nothing unusual,” McCaslin said.
“It’s too bad because that takes up so much of your time, so looking back I wish I’d had more time to be a part of student government and things like that. That’s why I really push that now.”
• The times they are a changin’
A lot has changed since she was a student at Pierce, however.
“In 1969 when I came here, it was predominately a white college. We are much more diverse of a community and as a college then we used to be,” McCaslin said.
McCaslin said that her favorite part of Pierce is the diversity of the students, both in age and ethnically.
“I know from talking to my kids that other universities are very homogenous, if not ethnically, in terms of age,” said McCaslin, whose son Connor graduated from UCLA and daughter Caitlin attends UCSB. Both of McCaslin’s children attended Pierce before going to four-year universities.
“I’ve always really appreciated that we have such a big age range and many, many cultures.”
• Return to the beginning
As a girl, McCaslin had already planned to become an educator.
“Honestly, and this really dates me, but when I was a little girl, there were only two things that little girls focused on and that was either teaching or nursing,” McCaslin said. “I never saw women doing anything else other than those two things.”
She then received a master’s degree from U.C. Riverside in special education, which ultimately led to her return to Pierce.
“For a while there, I was looking into speech therapy and ended up going into special education instead. I learned that learning-disability specialists worked on community college campuses, so that’s how I got started in community colleges.”
McCaslin and husband Jim Dawson, a political science professor at Pierce, were living in Woodland Hills, but was working at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, causing her to have a “very long commute.”
“Having gone to Pierce College, I knew this was a great place and always thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could get a job here?'” McCaslin said.
In 1988, she became the Associate Dean of Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) and in 1996 she became the chief student services officer, serving first as dean and then in her current position as vice president.
“I’ve known Joy for nearly 20 years,” Follosco said. The two met when McCaslin first came to the district and Follosco was still at (Los Angeles) Mission College.
McCaslin presided over Admissions and Records, Financial Aid, Counseling, Health Services, matriculation, extended opportunity programs and more in that position.
“She’s always been conscientious about doing a good job and keeping Pierce on course,” Follosco said.
• The road ahead
After the permanent president is selected, McCaslin will return to this position, but before that time, she still has some big challenges to deal with.
“The way this budget is coming down, some things are already targeted. The state chancellor’s office is asking us to reduce classes and our student services. We’re having to cut programs — we’re not eliminating anything, but we’re having to reduce the services we offer,” she said.
Along with big challenges, McCaslin wants to accomplish big goals.
“I really want to get us through this budget crisis and make the strategic decisions that are going to be most helpful to students. That’s really my number one goal,” McCaslin said.
“We’re going to have to select just the right classes and the right programs that are the most meaningful to students.”
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Pierce College alum Joy McCaslin, P.h.D., assumed the role of interim president after Robert Garber retired. McCaslin faces many challenges, including the budget crisis and swine flu. (Louie Heredia / Roundup)
