Woodland Hills : Former Pierce Chief Mary Lee Is Reassigned

Mary Lee, former acting president of Pierce College, has been reassigned to an administrative job at the Los Angeles Community College District’s downtown headquarters, officials announced Wednesday.

Chancellor Neil Yoneji, who recommended that Lee, 56, be reassigned to the district office, said she will report to work April 1. It will end a 2 1/2-month absence that began in mid-January, when Lee learned that she had been passed over by an 18-member selection committee that was seeking a permanent president for Pierce College.

Yoneji said Lee has not yet been given a title, but that, among her duties, she will serve as the district’s liaison to other segments of the higher education community, including the state community college system.

He said she will also work on developing his proposal to create a series of teleconferencing centers at the district’s nine campuses.

Lee, he said, will serve as his representative to the county Board of Education, which is working on a joint effort with the community college district to increase the use of technology in schools.

After learning she had been passed over for the permanent president’s position, Lee did not report to work at the beginning of this semester.

The district later confirmed that she had asked to be reassigned to another job in the district.

Her situation resembles that of Jack Fujimoto, a former president at Mission College, who was lured out of retirement to fill in as acting president until E. Bing Inocencio, Pierce College’s newly appointed permanent president, can settle into his new job.

Fujimoto was president of Mission and then left that position last year to do administrative work at the downtown district office.

No details about Lee’s salary were available, but as acting college president she earned $92,000 a year.