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West LA College President Mark Rocha was unanimously selected as the new president/ superintendent of PCC by the Board of Trustees on Wednesday.The board also unanimously approved his contract, effective July 1 through June 30, 2014, under which he will be paid $230,000 a year.

“I’m absolutely thrilled, excited and can’t wait to get started. If the board had given me a ten-year contract I would have taken it-I was clear with everyone that this is my last stop,” Rocha said in a telephone interview after the vote. “On a personal level this is a dream come true. I plan to retire from PCC.”

Rocha was not present at the meeting, but will be formally presented to the campus and surrounding communities during the regular board meeting on June 16. He has been president of West Los Angeles College since 2006.

The current search process for PCC’s new president/superintendent, which included finalist Desdemona Cardoza of CSU Los Angeles has been more inclusive and inviting to the campus than in the past, a number of key players said.

Glenna Watterson, president of the Instructional Support Service Union, feels the board welcomed campus involvement.

“[This process] was much better than the last time. I’ve pretty much moved on,” she said, adding that much of the campus has come to terms with the finalists. “A lot of people have been here for many years. One president won’t ruin us. We will get through it.”

Robert Cody, assistant dean of computing services, agreed the process was clear, and that the board followed the guidelines it agreed upon at the outset of the search. “The decision is at the discretion at the board [though] I would have liked to see more than two candidates,”he said. “I think they did a better job than last time.”

Concerns about the finalists, were brought to the board in previous weeks, unease cemented in the idea that neither candidate was right for the college.

Board President Hilary Bradbury-Huang said college presidents are selected for their fit into the community, and noted that she felt that both Cardoza and Rocha fit well.

Cardoza, who has been in a number of searches during her academic career, “both as a candidate as well as the party responsible for hiring,” called the process at PCC very comprehensive.

“There was a genuine attempt to provide an opportunity for interaction with all of the campus and community stakeholders,” she said. “The open forum was well attended and the questions from the audience covered a wide array of topics reflectingissues and concerns of the PCC campus community. Each group that I met with was provided with an evaluation form to provide their individual feedback to the board. In my experience, this is one of the most effective and efficient ways of collecting feedback from large numbers of people.”

Others on campus still harbor doubts about the progression of the president/superintendent search.

“Based on past history, I would definitely have some concerns about the presidential process,” said Gregory Smith, an associate professor of kinesiology health and athletics.

Assistant professor of social sciences Suzanne Anderson, who served on the screening committee the year former President Paulette Perfumo was selected-and subsequently said she would never participate again because of that decision-thinks the process is still flawed.

“They keep saying that this process is different. The only difference I see is that they had all these forums,” she said. “But the outcome is the same. I don’t know if they heard our voices at all.”

The search for a new president/superintendent began after Perfumo asked for a leave of absence in late August and two weeks later, abruptly resigned. She retains an administrative role with the college, off-site in Sacramento.

College President Lisa Sugimoto, whose contract expires June 30, was installed as interim for the position in October, to support from the campus. Sugimoto has voiced uncertainties about her future at PCC.

“It’s hard to go someplace you’ve already been,” she said, referencing her previous position as vice presidentfor student andlearning services. “I will serve the college for as long as I am needed.”

Trustee Geoffrey Baum predicts that Sugimoto will play an integral role during the transition period. “We’re very grateful for the leadership of Dr. Sugimoto and we will continue to call upon her to help the new president,” he said.

Trustee Anthony Fellow also praised Sugimoto’s work. “I could see why many faculty, staff and students were hesitant to replace Sugimoto. I have great admiration for her and consider her a good friend,” he said. “She has done a wonderful job and brought stability to PCC.”

In November, the Board of Trustees finalized the search process, choosing not to change the number of members who sit on a first-level screening committee. Its primary role was to narrow an original field of over 40 applicants to about ten for the board to evaluate.

The committee was comprised of 15 members: seven representatives from the trustees’ constituent areas; two from the Academic Senate; two from the Classified Senate; one from the Management Association; one from the Executive Committee; and one from the Associated Students, with the student trustee also receiving a seat.

Screening Committee Chair Richard Garcia said the board allowed the committee to complete its work as the members saw fit. “No directions were given on the process other than to keep moving forward,” he said.

Candidates were narrowed from the initial pool on credence of their resumes alone, and were then interviewed by members of the screening committee. Six were formally presented to the board.

Senior Consultant Stanton Hales of Academic Search, Inc. (the firm hired to assist the college in its search) then conducted extensive background and reference checks on the remaining candidates.

“The process followed for the PCC presidential search-particularly as it involved participation by, and feedback from, the campus community-is basically the process that I and my colleagues at Academic Search normally recommend to the institutions in which we consult,” Hales said.

After off-site interviews, the board chose three finalists, but one withdrew from consideration for the position due to family reasons, Bradbury-Huang said at a recent meeting. The two finalists were then brought on campus for forums and meetings with administrators.

-Additional reporting by Barbara Beaser and Janine Shimomura.

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