5 Finalists Identified for Top Pierce College Post

It took some lobbying, but the Los Angeles Community College District has mustered a group of at least five finalists for the presidency of beleaguered Pierce College, and might announce its choice as soon as this week.

Those seeking to replace E. Bing Inocencio, whose contract was not renewed after he spent less than three years in the job, include administrators from Santa Monica College and Cal State Northridge, as well as three district insiders.

Patrick McCallum, the district’s lobbyist, said skeptical educators had to be persuaded to look past Pierce’s financial, educational and community problems and see the job’s potential.

“I’ve been making a lot of phone calls to get people to take a more serious look at the district,” McCallum said. “It’s been a challenge--I’ve had to spend time convincing people that we’re serious and that changes are being made to make this a better situation to come into.”

Darroch “Rocky” Young, vice president of planning and development at Santa Monica College, has emerged as the strongest candidate, according to several sources familiar with the presidential search.

“I’ve heard people talk highly of him,” said one district source. “Santa Monica College has a good reputation.”

Young was passed over for the presidency of Santa Monica College in 1995, a surprise decision that sparked protests by many faculty members. Young scored points however, for calling for unity in the days afterward and by pledging his support for his new boss. He is also credited with spearheading many of the programs that have made Santa Monica one of Southern California’s most reputable community colleges.

Also favored is CSUN Vice President Ron Kopita, who recently announced his resignation from the school. His chances are hindered, however, by the fact that he has never worked at a community college.

Others in the running include Francisco Quiambao, vice president of student services at Harbor College; Thomas W. Oliver, vice president of academic affairs at Mission College, and Pierce College Vice President of Academic Affairs Carmelita Thomas.

Interviews were expected to take place during Wednesday’s board meeting in closed session, but it was unclear when a decision would be announced. Board members are required to submit a short list of at least three candidates to the chancellor, who will make the final decision.

Pierce, once the district’s flagship, has suffered a series of setbacks, including reports of financial mismanagement and clashes with Woodland Hills neighbors over a proposal to turn the college’s farm into a golf course.

The intensity of political pressures at Los Angeles’ community colleges has also given some candidates pause, McCallum said.

Another top college administrator familiar with the search process said the district was having trouble finding interested applicants outside of California. In fact, last month the district extended its application deadline for the soon-to-be-vacant chancellor’s job and hired a national replacement search firm because too few qualified candidates had sent resumes.

But plans to decentralize the district, Pierce’s potential for renewal and forthright district leaders who acknowledge existing problems have attracted some promising candidates, McCallum added. The campus has been without a president since last week, when Inocencio departed to head the Los Angeles campus of American InterContinental University, a private Atlanta-based business school.

In an interview Monday, Inocencio said the next president will have to contend with many of the same issues that marred his tenure at Pierce. District trustees blamed him for allowing Pierce College’s enrollment to decline and its finances to worsen.

But Inocencio defended himself, saying that decentralization plan or not, “LACCD presidents do not control the budget.”

“So if they have no control over finance how can they influence financial results or be legitimately held responsible?”

After he proposed turning the Pierce College farm into a golf course, some board members said Inocencio did not pay enough attention to the concerns of neighboring residents.

“I listened to them,” Inocencio said. “But what they want is not good for the college.”

The board of trustees is currently reviewing several golf course proposals for the farmland, but has not made a final decision.