UPDATE MAY 6, 2015: Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez withdrew his request for Pierce College President Kathleen Burke to assume the position of vice chancellor of educational programs and institutional effectiveness. In an email on Monday, May 4, Rodriguez said the decision to rescind the recommendation was made “in the interest of maintaining stable leadership at Pierce College.”
Pierce College President Kathleen Burke was recommended for the position of vice chancellor of Educational Programs and Institutional Effectiveness for the Los Angeles Community College District by LACCD Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez.
Burke announced the offer in an email to Pierce faculty and staff Wednesday, but has yet to accept the position.
“I’m really talked out about it,” Burke said at the LACCD Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, April 29. “It was all in my email to the college last night.”
The position, which is currently filled by interim Bobbi Kimble, oversees the district-wide accreditation process, accounts for campus attendance, conducts institutional research for the district’s colleges and coordinates student success programs, according to the district’s website.
Selecting a replacement for Kimble is Rodriguez’s job and he looked at “a pool” of possible candidates before he offered his recommendation to Burke.
“We went out and conducted a search for the permanent vice chancellor for that position,” Rodriguez said.
Kimble will vacate the position because of a state educational code rule that says the role can’t be held on an interim basis for more than two years, Kimble said.
“I’m in a limited position,” Kimble said. “It was always an interim position, and I serve at the pleasure of the board and the chancellor.”
In her time as vice chancellor, Kimble worked closely with the board to supervise the accreditation process for all nine LACCD campuses. That task, which Burke would assume if appointed to the position, ultimately determines the validity of a degree from a college based on the performance of its faculty and students in meeting standards set by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.
“I think we, the district office and everyone in it, have worked very hard,” Kimble said. “We’re all kind of rowing the boat in the same direction. So we are really hoping for the best.”
Steve Springer, media contact for the LACCD, said that Burke may indeed replace Kimble, but that no decision has been made yet.
“As of now, she’s the only one they’ve talked to,” Springer said. “Nothing has been decided, and it would be premature to say what is going to happen.”
