Latino to Head S.D. College District : Education: In a surprise move, trustees name Augustine Gallego to replace J. William Wenrich, the outgoing chancellor.

Augustine Gallego, a 14-year veteran counselor and administrator in the San Diego Community College system, was named the district’s new chancellor Wednesday night in a surprise move by trustees.

Gallego, 46, now district director of instructional and student services, will officially assume the top post Oct. 1 from J. William Wenrich, the well-respected chancellor who is leaving the district for a similar job in Dallas County, Tex. During his two-year tenure, Wenrich is credited by trustees with turning around faculty morale, refocusing academic programs and strengthening community ties after years of faculty-administration tensions.

A surprised but pleased Gallego told reporters after his appointment that he hopes to build upon the many initiatives and programs begun by Wenrich.

Gallego will become the first Latino to be chancellor, overseeing more than 100,000 students and 4,100 faculty members at City, Mesa and Miramar colleges, as well as the Educational Cultural Complex in Southeast San Diego and nine other continuing education centers.

It is the second-largest among California’s 71 community college districts and plays an important role in providing vocational and part-time education to working students as well as preparing students academically for transfer to the UC and Cal State systems who are unable at first to meet four-year-college financial requirements.

Gallego listed his varied administrative preparation as a strength in carrying forward state-mandated plans for increasing the number of full-time faculty members in community colleges, improving ethnic diversity among professors and students and integrating vocational, academic and basic skills programs.

“My appointment is also important not only symbolically but substantively as well,” the Tucson native said. “I have worked well with numerous community groups and have an active profile that I hope to continue . . . with outreach to the community.”

In making the announcement, board president Dan Grady said that trustees decided to move quickly after Wenrich’s resignation Aug. 2 so that momentum built up during Wenrich’s tenure would not be lost during a year-long national search and appointment of an interim chancellor.

“The hiatus under the direction of an interim chancellor was unacceptable,” Grady said.

“The board decided that it was most important to have in the position . . . a person who had long experience within the district and could advise the board based on personal knowledge and historical background.”

Three of the five board members--Grady, Louise Dyer and Charles Reid--are retiring at the end of the year. But, although only two-year members Evonne Schulze and Fred Colby will continue as trustees, Grady and others said that Gallego will have the ability and personality to work well with any new board.

“He can work with anybody,” Colby said. “He’s in the mold of Bill (Wenrich) but he has certain tools to even add things beyond those that Bill started, especially with the community.

“There was no dissension among any of the trustees. Everyone felt he was the right person.”

Gallego received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and his master’s in educational psychology at UC Davis, where he also served as associate dean of student affairs for six years.

Gallego came to the San Diego district in 1976 to head the counseling program at the then-new Educational Cultural Complex. He later served as dean for continuing education programs, as provost at the ECC and as director of instructional and student services at City College before assuming the systemwide post under Wenrich.