Decision on Pierce College President Delayed

Los Angeles community college trustees Wednesday interviewed the three finalists for the president’s job at Pierce College in Woodland Hills but delayed making an appointment, probably for at least several weeks, a district spokesman said.

Board members of the Los Angeles Community College District spent more than two hours midday behind closed doors interviewing the administrators from colleges in Long Beach, Orange County and New York. But the board decided to have district officials make campus visits before making a decision.

Pierce College’s current acting president, Mary Lee, was not among the finalists recommended by a selection committee two weeks ago. She has been on vacation leave ever since, and was granted another week’s vacation Wednesday, officials said.

The college’s academic affairs vice president, Carmelita Thomas, had been filling in for her.

District spokesman Blair Sillers predicted the appointment of a new Pierce president probably would not be made prior to the college trustees’ scheduled Feb. 21 meeting in order to allow enough time for district staff to visit the finalists’ campuses. The visits could be by board members or district staff employees.

Although district officials have refused to comment, sources have identified the three finalists as Kamiran “Kim” Badrkhan, academic affairs vice president at Long Beach City College; Bing Inocencio, associate provost at New York City Technical College, and Christopher O’Hearn, a vice president at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.