VAN NUYS : College Widens Its Search for President

Trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District have approved a nationwide search to fill the president’s position at Valley College in Van Nuys, apparently ending any chance that former president Mary Lee might return to that post.

When Lee, Valley’s longtime president, was transferred in April to assume the top post at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, district officials said the presidents’ jobs at both campuses would stay on interim status for up to two years in case Lee wanted to return.

But the Board of Trustees’ decision Monday night to proceed with the search for a permanent appointee for the Valley College job means that Lee will probably either become the permanent president at Pierce or, failing that, take another position elsewhere in the district.

During the trustees meeting, which took place at Valley College, students and staff members voiced strong support for Tyree Wieder, the college’s former vice president for academic affairs who has been serving as acting president since Lee left.

Wieder, a district administrator since 1981, is expected to compete for the permanent president’s job, although neither she nor Lee could be reached for comment Tuesday. The district also plans to advertise the post to colleges and other groups across the country.

The district’s board voted to form an 18-member search committee composed of administrators, faculty, staff, students and community representatives. The committee is supposed to interview at least six candidates before the board makes a final selection, probably sometime before next fall.

Meanwhile, the board took action on other items that included the following:

It enacted a new policy requiring faculty members to keep students’ tests and other key written materials for at least a year after the end of each class if the materials are not returned to students. The policy, which was protested by faculty members, was spurred because of at least two instances in which students tried to challenge class grades but found their instructors had already discarded the materials.

It adopted a new policy governing the district’s hiring of outside law firms. Under the policy, which will take effect in February, the district will require qualified law firms to compete for legal work by making fixed-price bids to handle cases. At present, the district hires law firms without direct bidding or clear advance cost limits. The new policy is aimed at trimming some of the more than $6 million spent annually on various legal expenses.

It directed district Chancellor Neil Yoneji to explore the district hiring a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist to seek additional federal funding. Yoneji was asked to return by late January with recommendations on the details and financial terms for such a job.