Golden West College President Valles Retiring : Academe: In surprise announcement, the 58-year-old educator says she’ll leave later this year while still healthy and able to enjoy her family.

Golden West College President Judith Valles, the only Latina to head an Orange County community college, made a surprise announcement Thursday that she is retiring after four years of tirelessly pushing for higher enrollment and increased diversity.

News of the popular president’s decision stunned both faculty and staff.

But Valles, 58, is used to shaking up the campus. During her tenure, Valles reversed the community college’s eight-year enrollment decline and encouraged office workers to learn a little Spanish by providing free lessons. She taught the lessons herself.

Valles said she decided to retire now while she’s young enough to enjoy her family and good health.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” said the veteran of 36 years as a teacher and administrator. “It only seems sudden because I didn’t tell anyone. It’s never a good time to retire. But I’m one to enjoy life while I’m young. Too many of us wait too long until we have so many reasons why we have to retire or are forced to retire. I have none of those problems.”

Valles, who has been commuting to San Bernardino to see her husband on weekends since she arrived at Golden West in 1988, plans to leave her $89,000 post during the summer or when her successor is chosen.

Her departure, as the college celebrates its 25th anniversary, drew expressions of regret.

“Judith’s retirement will be a great loss to the Coast Community College District,” said Alfred P. Fernandez, chancellor of the district that includes Orange Coast and Coastline community colleges. “Judith has inspired leadership at Golden West. . . . She will be greatly missed.”

Said Nancy A. Pollard, president of the district’s Board of Trustees: “Judith has been a tremendous asset to Golden West. She has brought a new infusion of energy to the college, and I have nothing but the highest accolades for her.”

Valles is often described as a workaholic who puts in 16-hour days. Even after her announcement Thursday afternoon, she was busy with visits, telephone calls and memos. And by day’s end, long after her secretary had gone home, she was still on the job and answering her own telephone calls.

When she was hired four years ago, Golden West was in turmoil--enrollment had dropped and funding for vocational courses at community colleges had been cut drastically. The college found itself competing for students with its sister colleges in the district.

But in one year after taking the helm in September, 1988, Valles managed to turn the school around. She started several acclaimed programs, including the Intercultural Center for the growing Asian, Latino and other ethnic students flocking to the campus, as well as a minority recruitment program for the college’s police academy.

Most recently she began teaching Spanish to her own employees when she noticed that her front-line office workers had trouble communicating with many Latino students coming to seek English classes.

Valles, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, is also a product of community college. She attended San Bernardino Valley College before earning a bachelor’s degree at Redlands University and master’s degree from UC Riverside.

She taught elementary and high school until her first husband died suddenly, leaving her with three small children. She sought higher pay and challenges by teaching Spanish at the San Bernardino community college, and soon began climbing the administrative ranks.

She eventually became the college’s executive vice president before moving on and up to president of Golden West.

“The last four years here been the zenith of my professional career,” she said. “I have wonderful memories of people and events. I have gone through a great deal of soul searching and anguish to make up my mind.”

She said she’ll spend her time with her family and end the “long-distance” marriage she has shared with her husband, Harry Smith, the retired dean of occupational education at San Bernardino Valley.