Trustees Won’t Disclose Reason : Chancellor of College District Put on Leave

The chancellor of the North Orange County Community College District was ousted from his post after a midnight vote by the Board of Trustees, but district officials and board members contacted Thursday refused to say why.

Chancellor James S. Kellerman, whose $97,000-a-year contract runs through June, 1991, was informed of the decision to place him on paid administrative leave Wednesday afternoon by board President Otto Locayo.

Locayo and three other board members interviewed Thursday refused to say whether the board will move next to dismiss Kellerman.

The unanimous vote to remove Kellerman, taken at 11:55 p.m. Tuesday, is the second time in 3 years that district trustees have ousted their chancellor.

Kellerman, 54, a former vice chancellor for the district, was appointed chancellor in February, 1986, after his predecessor, Leadie Clark, was fired. A discrimination suit filed by Clark, who is black, was settled for $125,000 in an out-of-court agreement in 1987.

Attempts to reach Kellerman were unsuccessful Thursday. His wife, Tricia, declined to comment when reached at the couple’s Fullerton home.

Berdette (Bert) Cofer, 61, was named to replace Kellerman on an interim basis. Cofer, who emerged from semi-retirement in January when he signed a 1-year, $450-a-day contract to be the district’s interim vice chancellor of finance and facilities, said Thursday that he will not be a candidate for the permanent position if Kellerman ultimately is fired.

As for Tuesday’s action, Cofer said he had “no indication that what happened was about to happen.”

Cofer retired in July after 12 years as a financial executive with Yosemite Community College District and now lives in Placentia.

“I’m really not aware of why the board made its decision,” Cofer said. “I did not ask and I did not want to know. I view my role at this juncture as keeping the college strong and the instructional program operating to the benefit of the students and community.”

‘Findings’ by Counsel

Board members said Thursday that Kellerman’s removal as chancellor was based on “findings” by Spencer Covert, the district’s legal counsel, but refused to elaborate. Covert could not be reached Thursday.

The matter that resulted in Kellerman’s ouster had been discussed in closed session over “a couple of months,” according to board member Wallace Hardy. He said the action was not prompted by any charges of misconduct, conflict of interest or any disagreement with the board or college faculty.

“We did something fairly drastic, but it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision,” Hardy said. Added Hardy: “I was fairly pleased with the way he was doing his job.”

A faculty government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that there was growing dissatisfaction on the part of faculty government and union members with Kellerman’s perceived lack of initiative to recruit minority instructors.

An Assembly bill passed last fall, AB 1725, requires, in part, that community college faculties reflect the racial diversity of the state population by 1992.

‘Faster-Acting Chancellor’

“Some of us wanted a faster-acting chancellor,” the faculty member said. “The top administration was not moving as quickly as possible to get in line to hire the most qualified minority instructors.”

North Orange County Community College District runs Cypress and Fullerton colleges.

In an interview shortly after becoming chancellor in 1986, Kellerman said staff morale had improved significantly since he took over from Clark. He contrasted his leadership style, saying: “I’m considerably more open, believe in more participation of the faculty, staff and students.”