Final candidate for Pasadena City College's…
Final candidate for Pasadena City College's top job drops out amid faculty concerns about the search process
The Pasadena City College satellite campus on Rosemead Boulevard and Newby Avenue in Rosemead, pictured October 21, 2013. (Staff photo by Leo Jarzomb/SGV Tribune)
By Hayley Munguia | hmunguia@scng.com | Long Beach Press-Telegram
PUBLISHED: May 2, 2018 at 11:28 am | UPDATED: May 3, 2018 at 10:31 pm
Pasadena City College announced Wednesday the final candidate to be its next superintendent-president dropped out of the running.
The news came amid angst within the college community about the search, which led the college's Academic Senate — the organization representing the faculty — to send a letter on Monday to the board of trustees. In it, the group threatened a vote of no confidence and a walkout.
In the statement announcing Cliff Davis of the Springfield, Missouri-based Ozarks Technical Community College System had withdrawn, Pasadena City College board President Anthony Fellow called the news "very unfortunate," but he did not address the Academic Senate's letter.
Fellow did not respond to requests for comment. A representative from the college said administrators will not be issuing a statement.
At Monday's Academic Senate meeting, "students, classified staff, faculty, managers and community members packed Creveling Lounge" to express concerns about the search, according to the letter prompted by the meeting. People were worried that Davis would be chosen by default after the other finalist, Byron Clift Breland of San Jose City College, dropped out of the process last week.
In the letter, the Academic Senate said it was uneasy about Davis' qualifications.
"While Dr. Davis may be serving his current district and student population admirably, … we are not confident that Dr. Davis is adequately prepared" to lead a college like Pasadena City College, given the campus he leads is much smaller than PCC, the letter said.
Davis did not respond to a request for comment on why he withdrew, and PCC's statement disclosing his withdrawal said only that "he is a finalist for president at another community college."
The Academic Senate's worries also extended to the superintendent-president search as a whole, as the college seeks to replace Rajen Vurdien, who will retire effective June 30.
The search process thus far has not been sufficiently "equitable and transparent," the letter said. "In light of these concerns, the Academic Senate Board expects the current search to be deemed a failure."
To adequately address these concerns, the faculty group said the college's board must "revise the hiring process, contract a new, experienced search firm, and initiate a new search."
The college has canceled the forums that had been scheduled with Davis next week, according to the PCC statement, and the board of trustees "is expected to meet this week to determine the next steps in the search for a superintendent-president."
The statement did not directly address the Academic Senate's requests. But if the group's wishes aren't heeded, its letter said, faculty members will take more drastic action.
"If the board chooses not to listen to these requests, the faculty will be forced to take action based on the recommendations of the Academic Senate Board, including a vote of no confidence and a potential walkout," the letter said. "We sincerely hope that we will not be forced to take these steps."
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Hayley Munguia
Hayley Munguia covers Long Beach City Hall for the Southern California News Group. She previously worked as a data reporter for FiveThirtyEight and has written for The Week, the Jerusalem Post and the Austin American-Statesman, among other publications. She's originally from Austin, graduated from NYU and will pet a dog any chance she gets.
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