Before the College of the Canyons governing board could get an update Wednesday on the CEO/president search following on-campus forums, Associated Student Government representatives criticized the board for its silence after student representatives announced their resolution of no confidence on Oct. 8.
Over the past two months, the COC governing board has faced scrutiny from campus staff and educators following the separation of David Andrus from the interim president position.
The board in early-September announced its intent to fire Andrus “for cause,” but two weeks later reached an agreement with Andrus in which he officially resigned from the position and remains on paid administrative leave through the end of the year.
Following a general update presentation from the student government organization on campus Wednesday, students vocalized their views to the board about a lack of response following their resolution of confidence for Andrus and no confidence for trustees Fred Arnold, Sharlene Johnson and Darlene Trevino.
“Many students have reached out to us, expressing frustration and the lack of transparency and accountability they have witnessed,” said Farah Ghaban, ASG director of equity.
“We just would like to remind you guys that our officers here that are elected represent the 39,360 students here at College of the Canyons,” said Kristian Mengistu, of the ASG Valencia activities team. “A vote of no confidence is not simply symbolic. It’s a call for reflection, responsibility and meaningful change.”
The group of ASG members present then urged the governing board to take the resolutions seriously and “to remember that rebuilding confidence starts with listening to the voices of students that you guys were elected to serve,” Mengistu added.
ASG Vice President of Communications Ava Hernandez then took the podium and said that due to the ongoing challenges COC has faced with its CEO/president situation, she’s never felt so isolated as a student with the current board of trustees.
Since the Oct. 8 meeting, when the ASG resolutions were read to the board, “There has been silence. This silence bears significant weight. Your silence towards these statements only echoes and amplifies the conflict you have chosen to create,” Hernandez said.
“Silence will not rebuild trust, accountability will. Respect will … Your decisions and inaction shape the experience of every student who walks through these halls. The students who attend College of the Canyons deserve leadership that represents us with integrity and honesty.”
Trustee Edel Alonso responded, “Thank you for speaking to us. What you say to us is important and of value. So, thank you for keeping us informed and for sharing your views, and know that I appreciate you keeping us as a board accountable for our actions. Kudos to you.”
Update following forums
The new permanent superintendent/president is being sought to replace former Chancellor Dianne Van Hook, who was placed on administrative leave in July 2024 by the board of trustees — which had three different board members at the time, prior to the November election of Arnold, Trevino and Johnson, as well as the September appointment of Carlos Guerrero to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of longtime board member Joan MacGregor.
Less than two weeks after the board placed her on administrative leave, Van Hook announced her retirement after 36 years in the role.
The search for a new permanent superintendent-president is now expected to end nearly two years after Van Hook’s departure.
Following the recent forums for the CEO search and input from the campus community, PPL Search Consultants Pam Walker and Jim Riggs gave a presentation to the board on their findings and the process.
The input forums were implemented with the goal of seeking input from diverse groups and individuals throughout the district, according to the presentation, and were held on Tuesday for employees in three separate sessions and on Wednesday for students.
The general public was excluded from the forums.
Recruitment for the position will now include finalizing and launching the superintendent/president search website where PPL will then conduct a national and statewide recruitment, advertise the search and direct recruitment.
The website is anticipated to go live on Dec. 1 and will have information about the college and the job posting and will remain open for two months, Riggs said, which will allow candidates to apply during the holidays.
A search committee will also be implemented for the search and, according to the presentation must be representative of the constituent groups, reflect the diversity of the college and community, comply with all Equal Employment Opportunity and Best Practices throughout the search, and maintain confidentiality. Representatives of the search committee also need to be willing to commit necessary time to the search and attend all meetings, and review and score applications.
“Their role is to prepare. They will go through some training and then they will be prepared to screen all the applicants that come in,” Riggs said, and once finalists are identified, there will be open forums for “the college community” to listen and ask questions to the candidates once they’re closer to finalizing the search process.
The timeline was described as follows:
- Preliminary stage of search: 4 to 6 weeks.
- Recruitment stage of search: 8 to 10 weeks.
- Initial applicant screening and first-level interviews: 4 to 6 weeks.
- Final selection process including reference checking, finalist forums and impression checks, interviews with trustees: 6 to 8 weeks.
- Selection and announcement of new superintendent/president: 2 to 4 weeks.
- CEO begins July 1, 2026.
Following the presentation, Walker and Riggs provided insight on what some people stated they were looking for in the forums. Participants answered a handful of questions.
Some of those answers included a “service mindset, admits mistakes and learns from them, adaptability, and messaging clear and direct communication. Wants to have that willing to educate student engagement outside that classroom, values good sense of student engagement and a CEO that values everyone,” Walker read.
Alonso then asked Walker and Riggs for their professional opinion and concerns they have for the search following the district’s past 18 months.
Riggs responded and said the search is focused on moving forward, they will have dialogue with candidates and plan to provide full transparency with what’s happened in the past but they will make sure to communicate that COC is a great school and the great opportunity it is “for the right person with the right skill set and the right frame of mind.”
“It doesn’t do us any good to sugarcoat anything. We don’t want you doing this again in 12 months. We don’t want this college to go through that,” Walker added. “We want to get it done. Help you move on and be proud of the work that we all did together.”
