Missing Title for Official Halts Student Catalogue : Education: Oxnard College chancellor, who holds a doctorate, was not designated ‘doctor.’

What’s in a title? Not much, maybe.

But Oxnard College President Elise D. Schneider thought it important enough to stop the presses when she discovered that county Community College Chancellor Thomas G. Lakin was identified only as a Ph.D. and not a doctor in the college’s new catalogue.

She halted printing a month ago after more than 1,000 catalogues that do not identify Lakin as a doctor already were printed. All but one of the other top administrators listed in the catalogue are identified as doctors.

The leftover catalogues were checked with red ink in the upper left corner to prevent them from being sold or distributed to other colleges.

Boxes of them now are being given away to teachers, freshman and transfer students. Meanwhile, across campus at the bookstore, new catalogues that list the chancellor as Dr. Thomas G. Lakin are being sold for $2.95 plus tax.

The alteration did not cost the college any additional money, Schneider said, because the books are published at the campus bookstore. “Anytime we find an error, we just correct it,” she said.

Every catalogue, whether naming the chancellor doctor or not, will be put to good use, Schneider said.

But the changes have created a glut of catalogues available for counselors like Gil Ramirez, who said that in previous years he has had trouble finding enough of the books to give to his students.

“Before, we might give away maybe 20 catalogues, but now we have four cases (of 50 each) to give to students,” Ramirez said. “They’re usually very hard to get.”

Lakin said he was unaware of any changes in the catalogues that identify him as a doctor. “I didn’t even know they were having them reprinted,” he said. “I don’t know whether my name was changed or not.”

The college each year prints about 5,000 of the catalogues, which are distributed throughout the school year. They describe classes offered by the school and detail requirements needed to transfer to universities.

“I was directed to take the books off the shelves that didn’t have ‘Dr.’ and replace them with the corrected copies,” said printer Augie Castaneda, assistant manager of the bookstore. “All the ones that were pulled were sent to admissions.”

He also said that for the last three years the catalogues have listed Lakin as a Ph.D., not doctor.

College Registrar Delores Tabor-King, who supervises distribution of the catalogues at the admissions office, said she sees no difference between the number of catalogues sent out so far this year compared to previous years.

But she said she could not explain why counselor Ramirez has 10 times more catalogues to give to transfer students this year than last. Nor could college Vice President Ronald Jackson, who supervises the transfer and counseling center.

“I’m curious as to that, too,” Jackson said. “I was not aware that he only had 20 (last year). We give our counselors catalogues based on their needs, and there was no shortage of catalogues last year.”

Despite Schneider’s assurances, one college employee said he worries that removing 1,000 catalogues from sale could sap needed revenue from the college district, which is facing a $2.5-million budget shortfall this school year.

“In times when we’re talking about possible layoffs and having to maybe even cancel some classes, that (money) could have brought in an extra part-time instructor or maybe save a position,” said the employee, who asked not to be identified.

“Students don’t look at that first page to see whose title was left off,” he said. “They look at the class requirements.”