Santiago Canyon Names New President

For the second time in its three-year history, Santiago Canyon College in Santa Ana has appointed a new president. He is Mark Rocha, the provost of Seton Hall University, a Catholic institution in South Orange, N.J.

“We feel Dr. Rocha is a first-class selection,” Edward Hernandez, chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, which governs the college, said in a press release. “He comes to us with outstanding praise for his work and a background of academic leadership excellence.”

Rocha, whose term begins Aug. 1, will succeed President Dean Strenger, who announced his resignation effective July 31. Strenger became the college’s first president on July 1, 1997, the date it formally ended its status as a satellite campus of Santa Ana College.

“Santiago Canyon College is a premier college that is poised for robust growth,” Brian Conley, district board president, said in a statement. “The board believes President Rocha is the exceptional leader this college needs to realize its vast potential for serving higher education needs in our community.”

As provost of Seton Hall, Rocha has been responsible for the institution’s substantial investment in online education. Among other things, he established a graduate studies division and brought entrepreneurial focus to its academic programs.

Rocha, who has family ties in Orange County, could not be reached for comment late Monday. In the press release, he is quoted as saying, “I’m honored to have been chosen” and praising the college’s faculty and staff.