Sylmar : Deadline to Apply for College Post Extended

Los Angeles Community College District officials have stretched the deadline for applying for the top job at Mission College in Sylmar.

The deadline for submitting applications for the presidency of the college--the smallest and youngest in the city’s nine-campus community college district--was originally Oct. 27.

But district officials said this week that they are still accepting applications, because the 20-member committee of college faculty, students, administrators and district and union representatives has not yet convened to consider applicants.

“We’ll have to cut it off soon, but I’m not sure exactly when,” said Lucian Carter, senior director of personnel operations for the district.

Mission College officials had hoped to have a new president by January, but it now looks as if the post won’t be filled until March, officials said.

College administrators have been seeking a new leader since August, when President Jack Fujimoto--on leave from the college for the past year to fill a fund-raising post at the district’s Downtown headquarters--announced that he had accepted a buy-out from the district and would retire.

Fujimoto is stepping down after a 30-year career with the district. He has said he plans to continue to teach a Japanese language course at Mission.

Mission’s interim president is William E. Norlund, former vice president of academic affairs at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Norlund has applied for the presidency, and is favored by some on campus, including student leaders and teachers union representatives.