2 College Presidents Offered New Contracts

The presidents of Irvine Valley and Saddleback community colleges were offered new two-year contracts by the South Orange County Community College District’s Board of Trustees on Monday night, with pay raises likely to follow within the next month.

Irvine Valley College President Raghu Mathur, a controversial figure who has been the target of student and faculty protests since his appointment in September 1996, was praised by the board for his “dedicated, sincere work to improve relations among college employees and students.”

The measure renewing Mathur’s contract passed 5 to 1, over the objection of Trustee Dave Lang. Trustee Marcia Milchiker was not present for the vote.

Mathur’s previous contract, which expired Sept. 8, would have required 18 months’ notice from the board if it were not going to be renewed. Under the new standardized contracts offered to both Mathur and Saddleback President Dixie Bullock, the contracts could be terminated with seven months’ notice.

Trustees voted 6 to 0 to renew Bullock’s contract. The board acknowledged her work in the last year in overseeing a reorganization of divisions, leading searches for faculty and administrators, and encouraging positive interaction among employees and students.

The board also lauded both presidents for efforts to bring down the costs of “release time,” a mechanism by which professors are paid extra for administrative work, and for dealing with the requirements of an accreditation review that both schools face.

District Chancellor Cedric Sampson said he and board President Dorothy Fortune would negotiate salaries with both Mathur and Bullock within the month, with the terms subject to approval by the board. Presently, each earns about $105,000 a year. Under the district’s salary scale for administrators, the board could choose to pay them as much as $111,000.

Sampson said both presidents would probably be offered raises. “The statewide average for community college presidents is actually higher than our district pays, and we need to be competitive,” he said.

The board is also expected to renegotiate Sampson’s contract soon. He was hired a year ago with a salary of $150,000 and a three-year contract. Under his current contract, he is guaranteed annual pay raises equal to the average percentage increases paid to the district’s vice chancellors and the two college presidents.