The first Santa Clarita Community College District board of trustees meeting since the removal of Dianne Van Hook as chancellor of College of the Canyons saw the board stick to its guns on its handling of her exit and interim replacement.
The board, which oversees COC, stood behind its decision last month to place Van Hook on leave, which was followed by Van Hook announcing her retirement just a week later. Board President Edel Alonso said at the close of Wednesday’s meeting, ahead of the first day of classes on Friday, that the decision to move on from Van Hook was made with confidence, as was the decision to appoint David Andrus as her interim replacement.
Andrus, a longtime political science professor at the college and former president of the Academic Senate, was officially given the title of interim superintendent on Wednesday after previously being named acting chancellor.
His contract, which has a salary of $300,000 per year, was approved by the board on Wednesday and is set to run through June 2026, or whenever a permanent selection is made.
“I am confident that we have made the right decision for this time at this college, and I’m also very confident in our selection of David Andrus as the interim superintendent/president of this college,” Alonso said. “David has a long history here, just like I had before I joined the board. I feel we both know this college very well from the inside out, and that’s been our biggest asset, that we know the people that work here, that we admire the people that work here, that we think this place is amazing.”
Alonso stated, as she has previously, that the board is not allowed to discuss why Van Hook was placed on leave, citing state laws surrounding personnel matters.
Board member Jerry Danielsen said he would actually prefer if the board could be more transparent about the process — it spanned four closed sessions that each took multiple hours before an announcement was made July 10 following a four-hour closed session — but understands that it’s in the board’s best interest to follow the law.
“I can say there was no rush,” Danielsen said. “We had four different closed sessions, which lasted many hours, each one. We discussed all possibilities and options. We were careful, meticulous, thoughtful, considerate, and we followed the law. We did our due diligence.”
Board member Sebastian Cazares said that while changes may be occurring — the board also recognized the retirements of Diane Fiero, who held the role of deputy chancellor, and Sharlene Coleal, who held the role of assistant superintendent of business services — there are also many good things that are being retained.
“I feel confident in the new administration,” Cazares said, “and I hope that this symbolizes a new era on campus, while at the same time being complex and nuanced by praising the positive things that the school is known for, while at the same time empowering and addressing concerns that faculty and staff and students have had for years, and I believe have been swept under the rug.”
A campus climate survey conducted in the spring showed that 20% of employees did not feel welcomed at the college and multiple employees stated that there was a fear of retaliation across the campus for speaking up about problems.
Cazares also said that saying one person made the college what it is, as some have stated Van Hook did, is disrespectful to the hundreds of employees at the college.
“Placing so much emphasis on just one individual, as some other comments made, I believe in many ways disrespects the hard-working labor and contributions of hundreds and thousands of employees that are essential to College of the Canyons,” Cazares said. “This school thrived and was an excellent institution despite internal problems, and it will continue to be such.”
Jason Burgdorfer, president of the COC Faculty Association, agreed with the board’s sentiments. He said notions that the college is going to fall apart are simply not true.
“We have hundreds of dedicated classified professionals, faculty, administrators,” Burgdorfer said. “We have a very professional board that acts in the utmost integrity. So, I’d say we’re in very good hands. And now we have, I think, a very good selection as our interim president.”
Andrus addresses the community
While he had already given his first address to faculty and other employees at the end of his first week in charge, Andrus said he wanted to inform the community who he is and where he comes from.
“Here I am, now superintendent/president with an enormous responsibility,” Andrus said. “So, I just think it’s fair, many of you know who I am, but fair to express for a few moments who I am and where I’ve come from and what my life has been like.”
Andrus said his entire family, including both parents and four older sisters, all went to community colleges at one point or another. He eventually went on to get his law degree from Southwestern University, but rather than wanting to be a practicing attorney, he said he always wanted to be involved in government and politics, which he taught for 23 years at COC.
He said that long tenure and the number of relationships he’s built at the campus throughout that time is why he believes he was chosen to lead the college.
“I believe I’m fair, and I also believe that I’m here because of that institutional knowledge, that my colleagues want certain things to be changed and certain things to be maintained,” Andrus said. “There’s a lot of good things going on that don’t need to be changed here, and there’s other things that do need to be changed, and I guess I have been entrusted to move forward with those decisions.
“I will tell you there have been public comments I have read that have said this district is in trouble, maybe going down the drain,” Andrus continued. “This campus is not in crisis, at all. This college is in transition, and it is insulting, quite frankly, to the hundreds of people that work here and have dedicated decades of their lives to think that the campus is not running smoothly like it has in previous months and years.”
Filling a vacant seat
Wednesday’s meeting also marked the first since 1993 without Joan MacGregor being an active board member.
She officially resigned from the board Aug. 5, and the board officially approved the timeline to appoint someone to fill the seat representing Trustee Area 5. That seat is not eligible to be consolidated with the upcoming general election on Nov. 5 as her resignation date fell well after the July 27 deadline to do so.
That seat is next up for election in 2026. The seat formerly held by Chuck Lyon, representing Area 1, will be on the ballot as he resigned by that deadline.
Thursday was the final day for the college to publicly notice that it is seeking applicants for a seat on the board.
The timeline for filling that seat is as follows:
- Sept. 6: Deadline for applications.
- Sept. 13 (or before): Applications are reviewed by the superintendent’s office and candidate eligibility is confirmed.
- Week of Sept. 16: The board reviews candidates and votes on the appointee, who will be administered the oath of office. That appointment must then be publicly noticed within 10 days of it occurring.
The board has until Oct. 4 to make an appointment before the county is required to order an election. The next possible date to do so would be March 4.
The motion to approve the process was made by Danielsen and seconded by Sanjana Sudhir, the student trustee.
According to Eric Harnish, spokesman for the college, Education Code 72023.5, Section C, allows for such actions by a student member of a governmental body overseeing a community college district.
“It is the intent of the Legislature that any decision or action, including any contract entered into pursuant thereto, upon the motion or second of a motion of a student member, shall be fully legal and enforceable against the community college district or any party thereto,” the code reads.
Harnish said because a trustee is not an employee of the college, Board Policy 2015, which states that student trustees cannot make motions or second motions involving personnel or labor relations, does not apply to this specific action.
