The Los Angeles Community College District, which runs nine campuses including Harbor College in Wilmington, has named a new chancellor after a nationwide search.
Daniel LaVista, the executive director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, was selected by the district's board, LACCD announced this morning.
LaVista will replace Mark Drummond, who resigned under pressure in July with two years left on his contract. He got a $428,750 severance package. Reasons for his departure were never explained.
Tyree Wieder, former president of Valley College, has been acting as interim chancellor.
The LACCD board is also interviewing candidates to replace Harbor College President Linda Spink, who will leave at the end of July.
Press release after the jump.
LACCD Names New Chancellor
LOS ANGELES, CA (April 16, 2010) -- Dr. Daniel LaVista, the Executive Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, has been selected to be the next Chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District.
The decision was made by the LACCD Board of Trustees after a nationwide search for a new leader for the nation's largest community college district. He will assume his duties on August 1.
"We are thrilled to have Dr. La Vista join us," said Mona Field, President of the LACCD Board of Trustees. "He has superb qualifications, and will bring new energy and ideas to help us move forward in our goals for student success."
Dr. LaVista said he is "honored and privileged to have been selected." Though the District faces significant challenges, he said he was drawn to the job by "the enthusiasm and interest in student success" that he witnessed among District officials during the rounds of interviews that led to his selection.
"The District has a chance to be a national model for student success among urban community colleges," he said.
Dr. LaVista, 66, has served in his current role with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia since August, 2004. In that position, he has provided day-to-day management of an agency that coordinates efforts among the 23 community colleges of the Virginia Community College System, along with the state's 16 public and two- and four-year colleges and universities, as well as private and out-of-state institutions.
Among his other responsibilities, Dr. LaVista has chaired regular meetings of the presidents of Virginia's higher education institutions, and directed system-wide strategic planning and policy development. He also provides reports and recommendations about education policy issues to Virginia's Governor and General Assembly.
Before taking the Virginia position, Dr. LaVista was the Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. He also was president of two Illinois community colleges, McHenry County College and the College of Lake County, and was Chancellor for the Community Colleges of Baltimore County in Maryland.
Dr. LaVista, a native of upstate New York, earned a bachelor's degree from Siena College in New York. He went on to receive a master's degree from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in Speech and Dramatic Art from Syracuse University. He also earned a certificate for participation in Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management.
As LACCD Chancellor, he will be paid an annual salary of $370,000. He also will receive health benefits and relocation expenses.
Dr. LaVista and his wife, Rosemary, have two grown children.
Since August, the LACCD has been headed by Interim Chancellor Tyree Wieder, the former president of Los Angeles Valley College. She retired from her Valley College position in 2008, but agreed to come back to temporarily lead the District after the departure of the previous Chancellor, Dr. Marshall (Mark) Drummond.
Dr. Wieder will continue as Interim Chancellor until Dr. LaVista begins on August 1. She will then stay on into the fall to assist in the leadership transition.
"We were very lucky that Dr. Wieder was willing to come out of retirement last summer to guide us through our transition," President Field said. "It's a role she handled superbly. And we are gratified that she will continue to play a key role with us and make sure our transition goes well."
ABOUT THE LACCD
The Los Angeles Community College District, the nation's largest community college district, serves one-quarter million students a year in more than 36 cities in Los Angeles County. The District covers nearly 900 square miles and has educated and trained the region's diverse workforce since 1969.
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