FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Purdy New President of Coastline College

Coast Community College District trustees have selected Leslie N. Purdy as the new president of Coastline Community College.

Purdy is currently administrative dean of instructional systems development at Coastline. She oversees the creation of “telecourses”--classes taught via TV screens, either on videotape or broadcast on public television.

She replaces William M. Vega, who had served as president of Coastline until he was named chancellor of the community college district in November. Purdy will take office June 1.

Coastline is one of three colleges in the district and offers classes to about 15,000 students a semester at about 80 locations stretching from Garden Grove to Newport Beach, Purdy said.

Purdy, 50, said she started working as a research assistant for Coast Community College District in 1975 and was one of the founding staff members when Coastline started in 1976. She acted as a liaison between teachers and video technicians, ensuring that classes satisfied course requirements.

At that time, televised classes were considered “alternative learning,” Purdy said.

“Over 18 years later, because of changes in technology, it’s being seen as a major way that higher education will be delivering educational materials to students both on campus and off,” she said.

Purdy said she has served as executive producer of three telecourses that won Emmys, covering topics varying from introductory psychology to Chinese brush painting to child development.

Purdy noted that a fifth of Coastline students use televised classes to complete their associate degrees. The rest are traditional community college students, ranging from recent high school graduates to senior citizens.

“Part of my task is to learn about other areas of the college,” Purdy said. “I’m going to have plenty of challenges for me for some time.”

Originally from Downey, Purdy grew up in Eagle Rock in Los Angeles and northern New Jersey, she said. She graduated from Occidental College, went on to get a master’s degree from Oberlin College in Ohio and earned a doctorate in education at UCLA.