Recruitment for the State Center Community College District chancellor position ended in early August and finalists are being decided upon by the Board of Trustees. Public forums for community input will take place in the week of Oct. 13, according to Trustee President Robert A. Fuentes.
“Those finalists are going to participate in their own forums at our different colleges and our different campuses,” Fuentes said. “Then the board will conduct public interviews of each of the finalists, and then we will deliberate and make a decision and choose the next chancellor.”
Search consultants recommended by the ad hoc committee of trustees Magdalena Gomez, Daniel Parra and Fuentes worked with search committee members to create a list of qualifying applicants, according to the president.
“They’re being narrowed down currently as we speak,” Fuentes said.
Nicholas Garza is the State Center Community College Board of Trustees student trustee. His role is to advocate and be the voice for students across the district. He is also a Student Representative of the Associated Student Government (ASG) at Fresno City College.
The Board of Trustees worked with the Association of Community Colleges and Trustees (ACCT) to search for chancellor candidates.
“I believe in October timeframe, they’re supposed to be hosting open forums for the community to be involved, as well as the board of trustees to be asking questions. Then eventually, they’ll vote for a chancellor,” Garza said.
“The final dates haven’t been set yet, but we’ll announce that when they are,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes said roughly 340 community respondents participated in the eight public forums in April.
“If there are any students who would like to hear from the from the chancellor finalists, I invite them to come out to these forums, listen to the individuals speak, voice their input, because the input that we get from these forums is going to be super important to us when the board makes the final decision,” Fuentes said.
Garza said that when it’s time for voting, his advisory vote won’t “cement” the position. His vote will speak on behalf of students on all campuses to choose their preferred finalist.
“It just lets the board know exactly what the students are thinking, because I’d be foot on the ground going to all the campuses, getting an idea of, ‘is this something you guys are pro for or con against?’” Garza said.
The chancellor position profile shared by ACCT stated the district is looking for an equity minded individual, somebody with diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in mind.
“What they’re aiming for is somebody that’s going to have that DEIA standard in mind as they come into the position,” Garza said. “They’re finding somebody that’s going to be inclusive, that’s going to be fair to all students.”
Garza said that the position of chancellor has a lot of power and influence within the district. As student trustee, he expressed his hopes for someone with background and initiative to take on the position.
Fuentes said the chancellor is tasked with implementing directives and policies set by the board of trustees across the State Center Community College District.
“The chancellor needs to hold that mindset that we, as a board, value very much. They need to be able to recognize some of the challenges that certain students come to campus with and be able to implement policies, programs, services, etc. to help students overcome those challenges and help students reach their fullest potential,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes said equity mindedness is sought out in the applicant’s job and community experience, but is ultimately determined by in-person impressions.
“It’ll be something that comes up during the public forums that I mentioned, and I’m sure it’ll be something that comes up during our board interviews of the finalists,” Fuentes said.
Garza wants students on campus to get involved in this decision, whether it be with ASG or general self advocacy.
“Don’t ever be timid to get involved with advocating for yourself and for others, that’s probably the biggest thing that we’re not necessarily doing as a collective society, as students, is advocating for one another,” Garza said.
Board of Trustee meetings are on the first Tuesday of every month at 3:30 p.m. with public comment available at the SCCCD office building in downtown Fresno.
“The student voice is really strong, and if we bring these issues to the doorstep of the trustees, it’s a lot easier for us to get the ball rolling on some sort of change,” Garza said.