Countywide : Top Candidate for Chancellor Named
The leading candidate for the chancellorship of Ventura County’s three community colleges is Thomas G. Lakin, president of Los Angeles Southwest College, officials said Tuesday night.
Timothy Hirschberg, board president of the Ventura County Community College District, said two board members would visit Lakin’s campus to talk with college officials, faculty and students.
“No offer has been made,” Hirschberg said after the closed-door meeting of the trustees. But he said the board hopes to announce a decision on the position April 22.
Lakin, 46, was one of four finalists for the position. He is credited as the force behind a dramatic revival at the predominantly black junior college after years of falling enrollment and poor morale.
He became president in 1988 after serving as acting president since 1986. Before that, he was vice president of Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.
The search for a new chancellor to head the three-campus system is in its seventh month. Barbara Derryberry, chancellor since 1988, announced last May that she would retire this June from the job that pays $112,000.
An 18-member selection committee composed of faculty, students, administrators and community members narrowed the field of applicants from 60 to four finalists.
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