New Pierce President Alexis Montevirgen spent his first month learning as much as he can about the community, the institution, and the student body it serves.
Montevirgen, who assumed his role on July 1, attended the Valley 200 Reception hosted by the San Fernando Business Journal where he introduced himself as the new president and connected with business owners and influencers.
“I have a stack of about thirty business cards from local community members,” Montevirgen said. “They were excited I was there, but also in terms of possibly reestablishing a connection with Pierce College.”
Montevirgen said he is looking forward to building relationships with faculty and students.
Montevirgen worked in the California Community College District for eight years serving as Vice President of Student Services at the College of Alameda and the Director of Student Life at Evergreen Valley College. From 2014 to 2019, Montevirgen served as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment at Indiana University Northwest.
He prefers to work with students from community colleges despite working with students from both junior colleges and four-year universities.
“What gets me continuously interested in institutions like Pierce, in particular, is the students that we work with,” Montevirgen said. “Oftentimes, they may not even know where they want to go in life. So we have to be able to open up opportunities for all of our students.”
Overall, building relationships with the community, getting everyone unified and creating a culture that is student-centered is what Montevirgen is looking forward to for the Fall semester.
“A culture shift isn’t something that you can do overnight,” Montevirgen said. “For now, I am going to begin planting that seed of where we can be as a campus and then start getting people on board.”
