Valley College President to Replace Pierce Head : Education: Both suffered faculty no-confidence motions. Erickson says district’s financial troubles are a central factor in his departure.

The president of Pierce College, the target of a no-confidence motion by his faculty last fall, is leaving and being replaced by the president of Valley College--herself the object of a no-confidence vote by that school’s faculty after the January quake.

Los Angeles Community College District officials will formally announce today that Pierce President Lowell Erickson will take a leave of absence and his post will be assumed by Valley College President Mary Lee, said district spokesman Fausto Capobianco Thursday night.

The upcoming change was confirmed by the presidents of both 16,000-student campuses, both of whom said the no-confidence motions had no affect on their decisions.

Erickson said that his leave of absence is probably permanent and that he would probably not return to the nine-campus district, to which both schools belong.

“The earthquake and budget problems have been factors in the decision but not the no-confidence vote by the faculty,” said Erickson, 58. The Pierce faculty had scheduled a vote on a no-confidence motion in October, but the formal balloting was first postponed, and then apparently dropped.

Lee, 54, who has been president of Valley College for 13 years, was criticized by her faculty for reopening the Van Nuys campus two days after the 6.8-magnitude Northridge earthquake Jan. 17. Some 88 of 90 participating faculty members voted for the no-confidence motion last month, contending that it was still unclear whether campus buildings--which apparently were not seriously damaged--were safe, and that teachers and students needed more time to grapple with quake damage in their homes.

Erickson cited several reasons for leaving, primarily the district’s dwindling financial resources.

He described the faculty no-confidence motion last fall as born of the same frustration he felt over budget shortfalls and enrollment losses.

Faculty members at both colleges expressed surprise. At least one Pierce instructor expressed glee at Erickson’s departure.

“I’m not pleased with Lowell’s performance,” said Mary Duxler, a speech and communications instructor at Pierce and an Academic Senate member.

“He doesn’t do anything. Decisions were made without faculty input. There wasn’t any interest in what we were doing or any new programs. I didn’t see him at faculty meetings, and he never once came to my department for any reason whatsoever.”

Duxler said she would be pleased to work under Lee, whom she described as a “strong leader.”

Pierce Academic Senate President Ronald Smetzer took a more conciliatory tone: “I liked Lowell,” Smetzer said. “Some people are going to be unhappy no matter who is in there. And I certainly have my concerns knowing that Mary Lee received a no-confidence vote over at Valley, and that may affect how she deals with faculty at Pierce. But it may not.”

Jack Sterk, faculty president at Valley College, said Lee made the announcement as the monthly College Council meeting ended late Thursday afternoon.

“Everyone was shocked,” Sterk said. “No one knew what to say--whether to say congratulations or say nothing. So we said nothing.”

Sterk said relations on the campus have been chilly since the faculty voted no confidence in Lee.

But Lee denied that there was any connection between the vote and her decision to take the position at Pierce.

“I think (the faculty members) were surprised. This has nothing to do with the vote of no confidence--that was a small group of faculty. That’s irrelevant.”

Lee, who has been an administrator at Valley College since 1978, said she was looking forward to taking the reins at Pierce, which began as an agricultural school, operating its own large farm, and still has classes in farm, crop and veterinary subjects.

One of the major issues facing the school is the future of the large swath of pasture land in a high-cost area of Woodland Hills, a tract that neighbors cherish as open space but that attracts frequent proposals for more lucrative use, such as a golf course.

“I think Pierce is a unique institution and with the farm and the location the potential is unending,” Lee said in a phone interview. “I’ve taken 24 units of agriculture. I live on horse property in Chatsworth. It is a wonderful opportunity for me.”

Erickson has worked for the community college district in various capacities since he was hired as the district director of public information in 1973. He came to Pierce College in May, 1991, from Mission College in Sylmar, where he was also president.

Tyree Wieder, 46, vice president of academic affairs at Valley College, will replace Lee as acting president.

Wieder, who grew up in South-Central Los Angeles, has been with the community college district since 1981, starting at Mission College. She has worked at Valley College since August, 1990.

Chip Johnson is a Times staff writer and Susan Byrnes is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Kurt Pitzer also contributed to this story.