Search for President of College Concluding

The newly appointed chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District said the search to find a permanent president for Mission College has reached its final stages.

William Segura, who was hired in May to oversee the nine-campus, 95,000-student system, spoke Wednesday evening to members of the Mission College Community Advisory Council at a reception on the Sylmar campus.

“We are doing final interviews and I would guess that in the next three to four weeks we will have it done,” Segura said of the selection process.

Segura declined to comment on whether William Norlund, who has served as acting president since early 1995 and whom many consider a favorite for the permanent position, will be offered the job.

Segura praised Mission officials for revitalizing the campus after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which caused extensive physical damage and led to a 30% drop in enrollment.

“What’s happening at Mission right now is exciting,” said Segura, pointing to rising enrollment figures that show the school nearing its pre-earthquake total of 7,500 students.

“I have the greatest expectations about Mission and its future.”

Segura also spoke highly of a new 57,000-square-foot, three-level library and learning center under construction at Mission. The facility is scheduled to open next month and will contain 300 new computers with Internet access and a host of special features such as a teleconferencing center and an electronic media studio.

Funds from Proposition 153, a $900-million bond measure for higher education approved by California voters in 1992, will pay for the $11-million project.

“We will have one of the most state-of-the-art facilities in the state, not just at community colleges but at any school,” said Norlund of the center.

“It gives us an opportunity to put a brand new focus on the way we teach our students,” he said.