Pierce President to Retire in Move He Calls Unrelated to Farm Cuts

Dan Means, president of Pierce College in Woodland Hills, said Wednesday he will retire on June 28.

Means leaves Pierce College after two years and in the midst of a budget crisis and community protests over the scaling down of the school’s agricultural department. But he denied that his retirement had anything to do with those controversies or with his decisions to close the college dairy and farm store, which were criticized by many community members.

Means said his decision was based solely on the “dollars and cents” of an attractive retirement incentive offer made by the Los Angeles Community College District earlier this year in an effort to reduce its administrative staff.

“When I did the mathematics, I couldn’t think of any reason not to accept the offer,” he said. “It was too good to refuse.”

Means, 61, announced his decision in a letter to the faculty Wednesday. He had informed his administrative staff and the Faculty Senate earlier this week.

“I’m going to play golf with my grandson and maybe do some consulting,” Means said.

District officials said they will appoint an acting president to serve until they find a replacement.

Means said he had given no thought to leaving his $88,857-a-year job until the district made the retirement offer in January. He had until June 29 to accept or reject it.

Margo Murman, chairman of the Coalition to Preserve the Pierce College Farm, said she was surprised by Means’ decision but that she hoped his successor would be more open to her cause.

“I’m hoping the person they choose for the next president will be very interested in preserving the agricultural program and in keeping the community involved,” she said.

Means said he had never intended to eliminate the college’s agricultural program, as some community members had claimed.

“The agricultural department is reviewing its course offerings,” he said. “We were working together to develop a department that would be an educational laboratory. We just couldn’t afford a 250-acre farm any longer.”

Means was selected to head the 16,000-student campus in March, 1989, after a six-month search to replace David Wolf, who resigned to become vice president of academic affairs at Santa Rosa Junior College in Sonoma.

Means, a graduate of Cal State Los Angeles, started his career as a teacher at Hollywood High School in 1956. He was acting president of East Los Angeles College before being named Pierce president.

“My job at Pierce has been the highlight of my career,” he said. “I leave with mixed emotions. I still think it’s the premier community college in California.”